Surveillance

In Australian author Keane’s overlong fiction debut set in what could well be the present, governments seek to preserve their ability to operate in secrecy, corporations strive for any economic advantage they can get away with, and people pursue personal advancement regardless of cost. When Veldtech, an Australian-based software company that originated in South Africa but is now owned by America’s Emergency Technology Systems, finds itself in financial difficulty, Veldtech division head Tom Dao comes up with the idea of stealing and releasing sensitive government data to reverse the company’s fortunes. Dao enlists a Veldtech employee, Emma Thomas, to release the data in a such a way that the source appears to be a whistle-blower outside the company. The “leak” prompts public outrage and swift Australian government attempts to identify the hacker. Readers may have trouble keeping track of the host of aspiring, often libidinous characters within and outside of Veldtech, all of whom are affected by the leak as Dao’s plan spirals out of control. At the end, Keane devotes many pages to detailing the frequently surprising, sometimes amusing fates of the principal players. (Oct.)