Book Note: Diane Duane, Deathworld

This note contains spoilers for the book.

Another of the Net Force Explorers spinoffs. This one pleased me rather more than the previous two I read. I'm still a bit bothered by the risks the kids take—I don't think it's a "kids" thing with me, I think it's having learned too much about the importance of teamwork and communication in law enforcement, undercover work, espionage, and all those things.

There's a nice portrayal of the "Deathworld" virtual site—sounds like using a classical model of hell with modern trimmings and occupants, mostly. And a nice twist that this very dark, despairing, site (and the musician behind it) is actually aimed at leading people to learn things aren't all that bad.

I'm bothered by the depiction of security and cracking security given; typical of lots of cyberpunk really. I just don't believe it; the virtuality has to come from somewhere, and having key clues show up usefully in that virtuality is hard to swallow. Makes for visual imagery for something that's inherently very non-physical, I guess, but it bugs me.