I read this novel because it was recommended via a computer security discussion group at work. That doesn't sound like a good way to make decisions, does it? Oh, Amazon.com recommendations, why do I ever stray? Tetraktys is a thriller starring a classicist-turned-computer-security expert. The bad guys might be a conspiracy rooted in Pythagorean philosophy. You think this book was written just for me, right? You'd think this book would be right up my alley, right?
"Yes," he said, running his finger down the page. "And there is a remarkable thing about Archimedes, Rochelle. He wrote a book called the Stomachion. Only a fragment remains, but it looks like it may have been a treatise on combinatorics. As you know, combinatorics is the mathematics behind computer science. If so, then Archimedes was the father of computer science in a way.
Something about this mention of Archimedes bugs me. Combinatorics isn't the mathematics behind computer science. Oh, it's a darned important piece of math behind computer science. You could say it lies at the heart of computer science.
See, this book says things about stuff I have opinions about. Thus, it is doomed to prod me in to nerd hissyfits about things that shouldn't really matter that much. What should make me mad is when a quote in a novel starts "As you know, Bob Rochelle..."
There were geeky things to like about this book. When we find out how the bad guys are doing something extraordinary, it's believable and... and I can't say what it is without spoiling things. I liked that part.
So... if you like thrillers, you might like this book. I don't tend to like thrillers. I suspect that the parts of this book that sent me into hissyfits were the thriller-ish bits.
