Book Review: The Algorithm by Jason Ford

James Heart is a fresh talented programmer who has taken his first job with a multibillion dollar tech company in the middle of silicon valley. He is paid well, drives an expensive car, and is loved by a beautiful fiancé. All is going well in James life, until his morale conscience is used against him. James is catapulted into a complex web of plots that will ultimately threaten his life and the well being of millions of others.

Get this book here: The Algorithm

Title: The Algorithm

Author: Jason Ford

Pages: 202

Publisher: Self-published

This is the first book I have ever read on my iBook app for iPad. I thought I wasn't going to like reading on my iPad, but it was actually really nice. A lot of times I'll lay in bed at night playing some sort of a game, and when I got bored it was super convenient to just switch over to a book. 

The Algorithm is an extremely fast paced book. Once you start, it is pretty easy to get sucked in. The pages go by quickly, and before you know it the book is over! I thought this was a great feat for a first time writer. The first page was intriguing, and I found myself sucked in. 

The story revolves around James, a college graduate who has landed his first job at what he thinks to be a software company. James is extremely good at seeing patterns where normal people would not, and because of this he advances quickly through the company. He sees binary code in the alignment of train cars and codes in the way tail lights flash on the freeway.  These codes end up helping him in his job and allow him to advance. It was intriguing elements like these that made me keep reading the book. 

In the end, it turns out that James is not working for the company he thought he was. The company he is really working for is much more powerful and unescapable than he could ever imagine. 

I did have a few problems with the book. There are a fair amount of grammatical and spelling errors, which at times can detract from the story. At least they can for me, because I tend to be kind of OCD about that. But, all considering, that is a fairly easy fix and it didn't take away from the storyline or character development at all.

The ending was also problematic for me. I felt like everything came crashing down quickly (I hope this makes sense, since I don't want to give away the plot or anything, especially the ending!). The entire story was a build up to the end, and then once the climax hit there were only a few pages until the story was over. Also, the ending was a bit confusing for me. It got pretty high-tech sounding, and was a little big difficult for me to follow. 

Overall I would give this book a 3 arrow rating. It was quick to read and intriguing, but I found the ending difficult to follow and out of place.