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William Hertling
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Kill Process (Kill Chain Book 1) Kindle Edition

by William Hertling (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 1,259 ratings
By day, Angie, a twenty-year veteran of the tech industry, is a data analyst at Tomo, the world's largest social networking company; by night, she exploits her database access to profile domestic abusers and kill the worst of them. She can't change her own traumatic past, but she can save other women. 
 
When Tomo introduces a deceptive new product that preys on users’ fears to drive up its own revenue, Angie sees Tomo for what it really is—another evil abuser. Using her coding and hacking expertise, she decides to destroy Tomo by building a new social network that is completely distributed, compartmentalized, and unstoppable. If she succeeds, it will be the end of all centralized power in the Internet.
 
But how can an anti-social, one-armed programmer with too many dark secrets succeed when the world’s largest tech company is out to crush her and a no-name government black ops agency sets a psychopath to look into her growing digital footprint?

“Awesome, thrilling, and creepy: a fast-paced portrayal of the startup world, and the perils of our personal data and technical infrastructure in the wrong hands.”
—Brad Feld, managing director of Foundry Group

“His most ambitious work yet. A murder thriller about high tech surveillance and espionage in the startup world. Like the best of Tom Clancy and Barry Eisner.”
—Gene Kim, author of The Phoenix Project.

“Explores the creation and effects of the templated self, the rise of structured identity and one-size-fits-all media culture, and feasible alternatives.”
—Amber Case, author of Calm Technology
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Kill Chain
  2. Print length
    424 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    18 Jun. 2016
  6. File size
    3.4 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 2 books in this series.
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Product description

About the Author

William Hertling is the author of Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears, A.I. Apocalypse, The Last Firewall, and The Turing Exception. His near-term science-fiction novels about realistic artificial intelligence have been called "frighteningly plausible", "tremendous", and "must reads". Born in Brooklyn, New York, William Hertling grew up a digital native in the early days of bulletin board systems. His first experiences with net culture occurred when he wired seven phone lines into the back of his Apple //e to build an online chat system. He’s been influenced by writers such as William Gibson, Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, and Walter Jon Williams. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Follow him on twitter at @hertling or visit his blog williamhertling.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01HANZUI6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liquididea Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 18 Jun. 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.4 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 424 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 2 ‏ : ‎ Kill Chain
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 1,259 ratings

About the author

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William Hertling

William Hertling

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William Hertling is the author of the award-winning Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears, A.I. Apocalypse, The Last Firewall, and The Turing Exception. His near-term science-fiction novels about realistic ways strong AI might emerge have been called "frighteningly plausible", "tremendous", and "must read". Kill Process and Kill Switch comprise his new series about social media, data ownership, privacy, and Internet control.

Wired called his work "chilling and compelling", and his writing has been recommended by Brad Feld, Harper Reed, Glenn Beck, Gene Kim, David Brin, and many more.

He's been influenced by writers such as Cory Doctorow, William Gibson, Charles Stross, and Walter Jon Williams.

William Hertling was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up a digital native in the early days of bulletin board systems. His first experiences with net culture occurred when he wired seven phone lines into the back of his Apple //e, creating an online chat system.

He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Follow him on twitter at @hertling or visit his blog http://www.williamhertling.com.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
1,259 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy this intelligent tech thriller, praising its quick pacing and superb writing style. The book features great characters and technical content, with one customer noting its thorough explanation of technical details. Customers appreciate the wit, with one mentioning good tech jokes throughout the narrative.

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14 customers mention ‘Readability’14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and enjoyable.

"...This pretty much gets there in the later chapters. Really a very very good book...." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book, both the well-researched tech elements and the grumpy middle-aged IT lady...." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in the first person when the heroine / leading character is present & in third person for other parts...." Read more

"...Is this the future? Anyway the book was enjoyable, there were so many other branches that I felt could have been explored in more detail but it..." Read more

13 customers mention ‘Plot’13 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the plot of the book, describing it as an intelligent tech thriller with a great story.

"...And unnecessary imo. The characters are great, the story is great, it is eye opening if only half the tech is do-able..." Read more

"...There are two distinct parts to the story, the early parts involve the leading lady, Angie, despatching in ever so cunning ways, men whom she..." Read more

"...in the direction it appeared to start, which for me made it far more interesting...." Read more

"Picked this up as a techno-thriller from a new-to-me author. WOW. Great plot, great characters that the reader identifies with and a horde of..." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Knowledge level’6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the technical content of the book, with one customer highlighting its impressive breadth of knowledge and another noting how it makes the book unique.

"I really enjoyed this book, both the well-researched tech elements and the grumpy middle-aged IT lady...." Read more

"...great characters that the reader identifies with and a horde of technical geeky stuff...." Read more

"...before then be prepared; this is not conventional sci-fi, it is much deeper and more emotional and challenging, but it is also superb writing...." Read more

"I really loved this book. The technology was an excellent treat, along with some good tech jokes, it made the book quite unique to anything I've..." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Writing style’6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, describing it as superb and noting the author's cleverness, with one customer specifically mentioning the first-person narrative approach.

"...quick paced, well balanced and well written. Few books nowadays are 'page turners' in reality...." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in the first person when the heroine / leading character is present & in third person for other parts...." Read more

"...I was impressed by the author’s presentation of someone who had been badly damaged yet persists with her own moral standards...." Read more

"...is much deeper and more emotional and challenging, but it is also superb writing. I loved it." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Character development’4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book.

"...The missing arm is an irrelevance. And unnecessary imo. The characters are great, the story is great, it is eye opening if only half the tech is do-..." Read more

"...WOW. Great plot, great characters that the reader identifies with and a horde of technical geeky stuff...." Read more

"Liked the storey line and the unusual characters" Read more

"Another great book from William Hertling. Interesting characters and story. Loved the technical stuff. Looking forward to what he does next" Read more

3 customers mention ‘Pacing’3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book.

"...the tech is do-able (and I suspect, it is more than half do-able), quick paced, well balanced and well written...." Read more

"Great book, fast paced and scarily accurate about the cyber world. Read it almost in one go. Highly recommended reading" Read more

"Fascinating and fast-paced..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Wit’3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's wit, with one mentioning its good tech jokes.

"...The technology was an excellent treat, along with some good tech jokes, it made the book quite unique to anything I've read before...." Read more

"Excellent Book, Clever, Fast and Satisfying..." Read more

"This may just niggle your paranoia nerve! But a witty & exciting read...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • S. Hodgson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, Clever, Fast and Satisfying
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Nothing to dislike about this book. I read a 2* review here about the problems of a one armed hacker detracting from the book. The missing arm is an irrelevance. And unnecessary imo. The characters are great, the story is great, it is eye opening if only half the tech is do-able (and I suspect, it is more than half do-able), quick paced, well balanced and well written. Few books nowadays are 'page turners' in reality. This pretty much gets there in the later chapters. Really a very very good book. Closest analogous book/film would be (again imo) The Firm, although here technology takes the place of law. The pace and development and engagement with the characters is of the same standard. Would make a great film. The sequel is behind me, ready.
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  • Trilby Black
    4.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent tech thriller
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this book, both the well-researched tech elements and the grumpy middle-aged IT lady. Of course, every character must have their arc, but I could have read an entire book of her just murdering people in creative ways.
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  • JohnnyN
    5.0 out of 5 stars This may just niggle your paranoia nerve! But a witty & exciting read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in the first person when the heroine / leading character is present & in third person for other parts. It is set in modern times & all but the present day but it skips back in time at various points, which I feel better explains the story & the characters within the book.
    Overall the story is about how much information, how much influence & how controlling the digital age has become.
    There are two distinct parts to the story, the early parts involve the leading lady, Angie, despatching in ever so cunning ways, men whom she identifies as 'domestic abusers' via the way social media works. This to the point where one does wonder how secure (or insecure) are things of this digital age.
    So why could it niggle your paranoia nerve? The story centres around the controlling power held over individuals by a fictitious social media company, I suppose something like facebook, which I know of but do not use & Angie having an epiphany regarding their ethics, or lack thereof. Deciding to do something about it, she sets out to right the wrongs with a rival system, this sets the stage for a David & Goliath conflict.
    Now whether the 'bits, bytes, 1s & 0s & everything else binary, electronic, programable, readable, writeable, communicable etc.' are all true, it does not matter, as the end result, IMHO, is a very intriguing thriller, with a very clever plot line.
    Not really sure I should have written this review - never know who might be spying.......
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  • MichaelG
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beware, it's morally questionable and deeply IT literate - but a great read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The book didn’t continue in the direction it appeared to start, which for me made it far more interesting. It’s clear from the start that Angie is a seriously flawed character, but she has our sympathy. I was impressed by the author’s presentation of someone who had been badly damaged yet persists with her own moral standards. It makes her more human and gives the book a powerful authenticity.

    I didn’t attempt to follow the technology, which I see at least one reviewer found off-putting. It didn’t seem necessary to understand the detail when it did no more than explain and defined Angie’s direction.

    I rarely give a book 5 stars, but this for me is a rare book.
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  • Tina
    4.0 out of 5 stars 🤔
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing how this seems to sound like another real life site that almost everyone uses 🤔. Is this the future?
    Anyway the book was enjoyable, there were so many other branches that I felt could have been explored in more detail but it didn't take away from the book.
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  • Serious Snapper
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, Brilliant
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Picked this up as a techno-thriller from a new-to-me author. WOW. Great plot, great characters that the reader identifies with and a horde of technical geeky stuff. Could not put this down and have started searching for more William Hertling novels.
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  • tektron
    5.0 out of 5 stars martha
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 December 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is a disturbing, yet moving and engrossing story by William Hertling. It deals with violence and abuse but does not sensationalise them. The hi-tech background is realistic and adds to the steadily mounting suspense. If you have read any of this author's work before then be prepared; this is not conventional sci-fi, it is much deeper and more emotional and challenging, but it is also superb writing. I loved it.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Mig Bardsley
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Overall, a good tech thriller, in interesting insight into hi tech surveillance and abuse and it raised a number of moral issues. I personally wasn't comfortable with a heroine who chose to kill violent abusers using her (surely improbable?) hacking skills but it made for a number of interesting scenarios. Still, she suffered for it a bit, emotionally, and I suppose that balances her moral position somewhat. At some point she says she doesn't trust herself and neither would I but she does try to learn normal and human in spite of her problems. The thing that moves her away from killing is the huge issue of privacy and data ownership. It's a bit of a wake up call to be reminded that not only does Google (and I suppose, Twittter and Facebook and the rest) have all your data - they own it. You do not own your own stuff! And you have few, if any, rights to it's privacy.
    Angie's paranoia and PTSD symptoms were well described (I thought) and while her skills were a little too super-powerish to make for a completely believable thriller, it moved surprisingly fast for a book which was simply packed with techy detail - most of which I completely didn't understand! No problem - it worked for me.
    Much much better than the Avrogardo Corps books I thought.
    I'm not sure if I'll move on to the next book in the series. I have a feeling that Mr Hertling has said what he needs to in this book and it would be disappointing just to get more of the same.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Ishan Sharma
    4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to start, thrilling after that.
    Reviewed in India on 6 September 2016
    Verified Purchase
    It was a bit hard to pick up compared to other books by William. However, once I made past part 1, I couldn't keep it down and finished in 4 days.

    The main character is nicely fleshed out and there are lot of thrilling moments when you care about her. Whole universe is quite believable and tech part is accurate too.
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  • Tuena Fabrizio
    5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny and second of your time
    Reviewed in Germany on 19 August 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The combination of the main character being a Hacker, killer and founder of a startup is unique. Her psychosis fits the story well and is a good reason to view back in time. The storyline is always interesting even with Hacker Chinese strewn in. Overall one of the best books I read in the last years.
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  • Brian
    5.0 out of 5 stars What A Thrill
    Reviewed in the United States on 20 November 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Kill Process was like 5 books rolled into one. It was one of those books that I had to take in bite-sized chunks because I didn’t want it to end. I found this book because of Hertling’s Avogadro Corp books. I must have bought it months ago because when I saw the second book in this series while prepping my weekly New and Notable posts I was surprised and thrilled to see it in my library.

    Kill Process tells the story of Angie, a 45-year-old hacker/programmer with lots of problems. She works for Tomo (basically a fictional Facebook) by day and at night she kills off domestic abusers in mysterious ways. That’s just the first part of the book (and what could have been its own book). She’s introduced to a new product that Tomo wants to introduce and decides that she can no longer work for such a disingenuous company and strikes it off on her own to try and compete with the tech giant. What follows would be a spoiler but is full of a wild ride of a story from beginning to end.

    Kill Process is Hertlings best book I’ve read yet. He fills the pages with perfect examples of tech, white and black hat hacking, real SQL database queries, and lots of other techno-jargon that would give people who work in the industry that “feel good” feeling knowing how much Hertling knows and is able to shove into the book. Think The Martian for space/science but for computers and tech. It definitely had a Mr. Robot feel (without the distinctive split personalities) especially when it came to the hacks that Angie described. It also had a bit of a Fight Club feel (also without the same distinctive split personalities) but the “take down the man” feel. It throws in a lot of other things from a lot of other sources but the biggest thing that it felt was real. Sure, Tomo is not Facebook, but it is. They know everything about us, the way that Hertling describes the way that they keep users, not because they want to stay, but because it’s where all their friends just hit a little too close to home. Throw in the recent data breaches and other similarly pitched products by Facebook and it’s a terrifyingly real depiction of where we could be right now without even knowing it.

    I work in the tech industry (specifically in and around online advertising) and the scene where Angie talked about using data to figure out that moving an ad 3 degrees in Cincinnati (I think that was where she said) caused a higher click-through rate hit a little too close to home for me (but also made me realize just how good Hertling’s research and knowledge of the industry is.

    Another thing that I think Hertling hit on the head with Kill Process was the psychological feelings, reactions, and inner thoughts that Angie had after enduring what she endured with her husband. Even the conversations with her therapist were definitely taken from real therapy sessions and ways that people can calm anxiety among other issues. The repeated scenes of flashbacks, reactions, and irrational thoughts that Angie describes feeling were absolutely perfect. So perfect that I wonder if they would cause a real trigger for others who have been abused (physically or emotionally). My wife was never in anything that rough, but there are still things that she does (where she sits in a restaurant is a good example) that Hertling perfected with Angie.

    I know that the second book in this series was just released, but I need to take a mental break for a few days. I will hopefully read it before the end of 2018 (but no promises). Hertling is on the top of his game interweaving the Avagadro world with the Tomo/Tapestry world mentioning Avagadro numerous times and spurring that little memory bank from reading some of the Avogadro Corp books.

    A fantastic technothriller that will stick with me for a long time. Hertling’s Kill Process is one of the best books in the genre I’ve read in a long time.
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  • Best Hypothesis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling story
    Reviewed in Canada on 1 January 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Really liked the story, the characters and the tie backs to old school hacking.
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  • The Menace
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really hits the spot if you're into IT Security
    Reviewed in Australia on 8 July 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I read a few reviews about this before I read it and noted that some people winged about the techno babble. Well, you don't read a book on Brain Surgery if you don't have some basic concept of medicine.
    In any case, a person with no technical aptitude could still forgo and forgive some of the anagrams and jargon and still get some decent entertainment from this story. I LOVED it !
    I found it well written, the plot and characters were easy to understand and overall gave it 5 Stars.
    Thanks William
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