The Infinity Program by Richard H. Hardy Review

Publisher:  Camel Press (March 23, 2014)
Category: Science Fiction, Techno-Thriller, Thriller for the Digital Age
ISBN: 13: 978-1-60381-933-6
Tour Dates: June 23-August 1, 2014
Available in: Print and ebook, 250 Pages

Jon Graeme and Harry Sale are unlikely friends. Harry is a world-class programmer, but his abrasive personality alienates co-workers. In contrast, Jon is a handsome and easy-going technical writer, the low man on the IT totem pole.

Sharing a love of nature, the men set out together, planning to go their separate ways–Jon on a hike and Harry, fly fishing. Three days later, Jon arrives at the rendezvous point, but his friend is nowhere in sight. When Jon finds Harry unconscious on the floor of a cave, Harry claims to have been lying there the entire time. But he is neither cold nor hungry. What Jon doesn’t know is that Harry fell into an underground cavern, where he came into contact with an alien quantum computer.

Back at work, Harry jettisons his regular tasks and concentrates exclusively on inventing a new operating language to access the alien system. In the process he crashes his company’s Super Computer and is fired. Jon convinces the company to give Harry a second chance, arguing that the system he has invented will make them millions.

Jon has no idea what havoc Harry is about to unleash.

Praise for The Infinity Program:

“I am not a hater of technobabble.  I’m perfectly happy to have my science fiction rely on information that is either completely fictional or completely over my head in technical terminology.  As long as the story is good, I can live with not understanding every nit and tiddle along the way.  Hey, I grew up watching Star Trek re-runs – it’s just how I roll.
I plowed through The Infinity Program, thoroughly enjoying it.  It’s not so different from reading Dan Brown or Robert Ludlum. I can happily give The Infinity Program 4 stars out of 5 for being jubilant, self-indulgent mind candy.”-S. Millinocket, Reader’s Lane

“This book is a high technology science fiction story, and it was surprisingly easy for me to follow.  I am not a high tech kind of girl, yet I was able to move right along with the story for the most part, even as I lack any knowledge of computers and programming. The main character Jon was not totally familiar with the programming lingo either, so as dialog with him progressed, I was able to learn what I needed to know and never once did I feel overwhelmed with jargon.

When it comes right down to it, I was highly impressed with the storyline and the way everything played out. With ups and downs, a touch of romance, and a bunch of pig headed supporting characters, The Infinity Program by Richard H. Hardy is sure to please the high tech science fiction readers as well as the readers who are not so technically savvy.  In general, this novel was absolutely fantastic!  I am more than ready to see what Hardy comes up with next.”-Jennifer Hass, BC (blogcritics)

” Richard H. Hardy pens an exciting tale about an underground extraterrestrial computer with clairvoyant powers, but it’s the humans it’s manipulating who end up stealing the spotlight. Because what makes this story unique is that Hardy has inside knowledge about how technology companies operate, because he worked for one, and the office politics he infuses into the core of his novel definitely ring true to life. The long hours, the tight deadlines, the demanding clients – all combine to create an implied sense of urgency.

Hardy is smart to use a sci-fi hook in order to discuss these crucial cultural issues. He draws readers in with an otherworldly premise that promises to entertain, while enlightening them about the challenges that people face in everyday life that are no less extraordinary or important than a super intelligent species looking to take over the earth. He mixes the mundane with the fantastical to maximum effect, causing readers to think with their minds and their hearts. Framed in this context, prejudice and intolerance are just as frightening as getting encapsulated in gelatinous slime or being resurrected by nanobots.”-Tribute Book Reviews

About Richard H. Hardy:

I was born at home in Glasgow, Scotland during a week of relentless bombing raids just before the close of World War II.  The day I was born an incendiary bomb fell on the church across the street from where we lived.  I guess I entered the world with a big adrenalin rush.

My family later moved to England and then on to America. I learned quickly what it was like to be a stranger in a strange land.  Like so many immigrants I developed the reflexive habit of stepping back and watching, looking at the world through the wrong end of a telescope. All in all, it was a great beginning for someone who would become a writer.

I followed a path typical of so many writers.  After college I bounced through a series of temporary jobs as I traveled around the country.  I wasn’t interested in a career; all I wanted was to write.  I produced dozens of short stories and at least a half dozen botched attempts at novels.  Finally, I met a wonderful woman who became my wife.  I got a job driving a library van and spent much of my free time writing short stories and working on a novel.  When I couldn’t sell my novel, I took a long look at myself.  I had no career and no prospects.  I decided it was time to turn things around.

My wife and I moved to New Hampshire and I got an entry level job at a software company.  I was soon promoted to the technical writing department and ended up writing over 500,000 words of online documentation.  After a few years in technical writing I was promoted to the programming department and ended up the Senior EDI Programmer, creating EDI maps and writing UNIX scripts and troubleshooting on AIX systems throughout the US and Canada.

I started writing again when I retired.   I decided to write the kind of book that I would enjoy reading — a book that was entertaining and had a strong story, clear writing, interesting characters, and unexpected twists.  The title of this book is The Infinity Program.  It was published on April 1, 2014 by the Camel Press.  The book is about a 60 million year old computer system, a world class systems programmer by the name of Harry Sale, and an alien program that might just change the world forever.

Website:  http://richard-hardy.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rhfh944

Buy The Infinity Program:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords
Book Depository

My Review:

There are so many different computer programs and games that this is not that hard to fathom. The author did a great job of creating a world perfect for our computer filled world. There are computers in everything. If an outside source, aliens, gets control of our everyday needs then the world as we know it would change. This is definitely a nice book to read if you know about computers or like to read about aliens. There was a great balance and I felt as though I could understand all the computer "lingo". Harry has no idea what he is unleashing. Will he be able to fix what he has done, or is it too late? I liked that Jon and Harry were friends, but not best friends. They were believable as coworkers. The ending was good. I also thought that the book was paced pretty good. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own.