Rogue Code by Mark E. Russinovich

Rogue Code Reviews

• 
  Vicki Elia

  Audiobook Review
  
  Although I've enjoyed Russinovich's books in the past, Rogue Code left me feeling like I'd just had a Cartesian join induced migraine. As an old retired techie who's married to a family of Hedge Fund techies and Wall Street brokers, I understood Rogue's complicated narrative. But a reader without this exposure would most likely stop reading -- fast. There are other issues with the book: The intricate relating of how the technology and high-frequency trading works is repeated far too many times. There is little action, with the exception of the ending. A decision of the protagonist Jeff Aiken and his colleague to go to Brasil is quite ludicrous. For characters that are presumably intelligent, one of which has 'saved the world several times,' of which we are repeatedly reminded, it was an incredibly stupid act. However, it's the only way the author can conclude the story, so it feels forced.
  
  Johnny Heller's narration, to be blunt, sucks. It is a 1990's approach to narration. His breathless, rapid-fire reading allows no individualization of characters, so it's difficult to tell who's speaking in the sparse dialogue.
  
  In all, the plot was a great idea. The execution was poor.
• 
  Chris (horizon_brave)

  So at this point in the series (book 3), I really thought my review for this one was going to mirror my review for Mark Russinovich's first two books in the Jeff Aiken series. And for some parts it will. Just to summarize my thoughts... The Jeff Aiken series suffers from two main flaws. First, it's a series written for and by computer geek(s). Much of the story is heavily based on computers and cyber security. Unfortunately when you think about it, and look (realistically) about how real cyber security works, it isn't all that exciting. There's no hollywood like stunt actions, explosions or great chase scenes. We'll most likely have a person or small group of people hunched over computer with coffee and perhaps a pastry laying around. So an easy way to by pass this interest crippling fact is to add in all of this artifically. The first book in my opinion fell for the trap of trying to go too big in scale, drama, and dooms day plot. It literally pits a cyber security researcher (note I don't mean a secret agent or someone trained in combat) go up against two Al Qaeda cyber hacking assassins, one brandishing a sword by the way if it couldn't get any more ridiculous.
  The first book to me is just a parade of cliche's, bad character dialogue, and a plot that is just too James Bond for me. The 2nd book improves upon this in small amounts. It still wasn't perfect, and the characters are as flat as ever, but the plot isn't as bombastic and it cleaned up some of the drama. That being said, it still fell for the same cliches, super evil middle east terrorists and all...
  
  So with that recapped, "Rogue Code" I was prepared to be written in the same vein. And for some of it, it is. But I'll give credit where it's due. Mark Russinovich has improved noticeably. (that or he just wanted to change it up a bit) Either way, the book comes off as far more polished. What I mean by this, is..well here's a check list of things I feel have improved...
  
  Character Development.. Now after 3 books of the same core characters, you'd have to be a really crappy writer if you couldn't get your audience to care at least a tiny tiny bit about them. But in Rogue Code there actually is a noticable increase in character depth here. I mean it's not going to have me trying to psycho analyze the character's driving motivations, but they actually seem far more real in this book. I suppose this could be because it takes places about a year after the 2nd book and both of the main characters who have been dating, have split, and are off making their own way. Now the flip side of this is how quickly the fall back to each other, and the inclusion of having Darryl be like the only person in the world who can assist in this.. (though granted the role she plays is pretty cool, and even a bit painful to read at the end).
  
  A more down to earth story is presented here, which...thank god is also (to me anyway..) more interesting. To some the plot of the hacking of the NYSE for a corruption ring in Brazil, may pale in comparison to the world shattering events of mid east terrorists on the verge of plotting a nuclear attack on the US, and the only man who can stop them is Super Aiken. To me, I mean come on, let's get a far more realistic story to make me feel like these characters are real. Not super hero archetypes. I think this more human plot (the back story of our antagonists is actually fleshed out modestly well too) gives life to Jeff, Darryl and Frank. Character decisions and the story flow itself just felt far more natural because it was a story I could (almost) expect to see on the news.
  
  The action, flow and direction of the story as a whole hasn't changed. And that is a very good thing. One of Mark Russinovich's talents is he can really write a good climax and set the pace so that it becomes a real page turner. For all three of his novels. Despite my dislike of the first two, even those, provided a really entertaining ride at the end. Characters met, faced off, and as unrealistic as the combat usually turns out, It's a fun ride.
  
  In Rogue Code, it seems Mark has also moved away from the preachy style of writing. In his first two novels, they come off as bordering on fables, with a morale that he's trying to ram down our throats. He makes it painfully aware to the reader than we, through the heavy use of the internet and lack of focus on security, leave ourselves open. The idea is one that is very real and the audience is made away of it in the first book. Book two comes along and basically re-hashes that same point. The book Trojan Horse could, in my opinion be a carbon copy of book 1, Zero Day. The same thesis is presented and even the character dynamics, and villains and support characters, are the same. It offers nothing new. This is why Rogue Code was such a breath of (Moderately) fresh air. It lays off the gas of rubbing the terrorist plot in our faces and presents us with a book that is still thrilling, and deals with cyber crime, but not so determined to prove a point.
  
  One complaint that I did have with Rogue Code is that (exactly like the first two books) is that the presentation of the different pieces of the storylines. While the first two books provided a few different points of view and story threads, Rogue Code goes a bit overboard with this, and in the beginning it can be pretty jarring. There's a lot of different people and players in the book and unless you really pay attention to their jobs and titles, and what company they're in, it can get very confusing as to who is who and why they're apart of this story. This came off as me reading about these characters who I wasn't sure if they were even important to the story. (there's quite a few that aren't, but I suppose just add to the feel of the story)
  
  I'll wrap this up by saying that reading Rogue Code is far far more enjoyable than the first two. I think the character interaction, and the way it's presented fueled this. It really feels like an organized, natural and fun cyber thriller. I wasn't rolling my eyes and cringing like I was for the first book. Jeff Aiken and Darryl actually had me smiling for a bit, and the plot of the story was very acceptable in terms of how much I could take in as believible. If Mark were to write a 4th in the series, I'd be hoping that he builds on this, and continues his development as an author.
• 
  Patrick

  This was an enjoyable book. It is full of a lot of action. I especially enjoyed the parts about computer hacking. I didn't learn as much as I thought I would. Much of what is in this book I already knew and I can say that it represented it accurately. However there were some new things I didn't know. I found the parts about High Frequency Trading (HFT) very interesting as well. I don't know much about that, though I'm sure I've encountered some of that in my trading activities, and wondered about it. There is a good bibliography on HFT in the back that I may look into.
  
  In balance this is a good action packed booked based on some realistic senerios that I'd encourage you to read if you like that sort of thing.
• 
  Bryan

  This book was a little scary because it is so plausible. The security in most computer systems is not great. Mark Russinovich has been on the inside of various large systems and understands the threats. He writes about the penetration and the hidden code fairly accurately. It is a fun book with good pacing and lots of action. The adventures that Jeff Aiken get himself involved in are getting a little more far fetched with each new novel. I still enjoy the writing style and pace of the novel.
• 
  Jason Copenhaver

  Not as good as the other two. I felt like it was just a ton of exposition. Beating a dead horse. I'm pretty sure at least one paragraph showed up twice.
• 
  Nusrah

  I'm not really sure why I decided to read this but it was pretty boring
• 
  Elwin Kline

  The conclusion of the Jeff Aiken series, Rogue Code continues the same model as the other two previous books Zero Day and Trojan Horse by providing a light reading approach with easy to consume entertainment.
  
  The same thing I said in my Trojan Horse review, these books are "popcorn."
  
  Rogue Code was a lot of fun, I would say based off of the previous description above and my expectations, a solid 3/5.
  
  The story is predictable, the characters are cliche, you know exactly how it's going to end before you even get started... the hero will win the good fight, he's going to get the girl, and the bad guys are going to be stopped. However, it is still a lot of fun as you go along the smooth ride.
  
  The technical aspects of this book at best are amusing more than anything for me being as I have been in the field for well over a decade, but I imagine someone with little to no technical experience in information tech/security would find this book even more enjoyable and more fun as they learn something new here and there.
  
  A very good companion book for this would be Dark Pools, which you can find my review for at:
  
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
  
  Dark Pools was significantly less entertaining than Rogue Code, but it does go much deeper in the technical side of the house.
  
  I would recommend Rogue Code and the Jeff Aiken series to anyone who is in the IT field and is looking for something fun and light. Or, someone who is relativity foreign to info sec/IT and would like to learn a little bit while they receive a decently enjoyable story line presented in a very entertaining format.
• 
  Corine

  This author has insight into the mindset of covert operations people. He writes with the sureness of an experienced author who recognizes that the reader may or may not know anything about covert organizations, leading the reader with the story line.
  Mr. Black is a young operative but has great potential. His boss recognized this potential and selected him personally for a dangerous mission in Hong Kong. In spite of interference, he succeeded, but this particular mission affected him deeply.
  
• 
  Stephen

  Although I enjoy Russonovich's mix of cybersecurity sleuthing and some action sequences, this one got into the weeds of high finance and I couldn't get intoit as well as I have others in the past. Russonivch's villains are less interesting than previous ones, relying more on their Brazilian cartel background than any individual depth: there are several unnecessary scenes of sexual violence that I suspect were included to ensure we don't sympathize the cool gangsters ripping off Wall Street.
• 
  Neil McGee

  Really enjoyed this book filled with much trading jargon.
  
  Very interesting fictional account of the markets.
  
  It seems we are on the cusp of a market crash after a historical 8+ year Bull run.
  
  
  
• 
  Bikerider99

  A strong background in IT is almost essential to fully appreciate the complexity of the plot. Cyber-security is complex. Lots iof smart bad-guys and equally smart good-guys out there on offense and defense. Highly recommended !!
• 
  Si

  felt like I was being patronised for much of this book. terrible end to the trilogy.
• 
  Erin Templeton

  Again, the writing is meh. But I am now kinda grossed out about how much of our world we have surrendered to computers.
• 
  Justas Butkus

  Technical details are sometimes skimmed in favor of pace elevation, but overall a nice read involving spies turned SecOps.
• 
  Chris Knight

  Very much like the previous 2 books. Starts out slow with a computer forensic investigation and ends with a lot of action.
• 
  Pamela

  It seemed very repetitive to the previous books. The first part of the book I didn't get enough facts to understand what the story line was getting to.
• 
  Thomas Duff

  
  Rogue Code
  
  Mark Russinovich
  
  I really like how how Mark Russinovich mixes computer technology and spy/techno/action thriller material together in his novels. His latest, Rogue Code, continues his string of great reads, especially for those of us who are computer geeks.
  
  Russinovich takes on a hot topic currently in the news... high-frequency trading in the stock market. He uses it to build a story based on his main character, cyber-security expert Jeff Aiken. Aiken and his partner are called in to do a penetration test on the trading engine of the New York Stock Exchange. Starting from a normal level of access, they quickly tunnel their way into the crown jewel servers of the Exchange, where they find they aren't the only ones who shouldn't have made it that far. As they investigate the malware present on the servers, they discover that some group is using high-frequency trading techniques to skim off millions from regular trades. The people behind the malware aren't ready to give up their upcoming huge payday, so they set up Aiken to look like he's the person doing the skimming. Now Aiken has to stay out of jail long enough to prove what's going on and salvage his reputation.
  
  Since Russinovich is a technical expert in real life at Microsoft, the tech angles on his stories are all solid. He also did a good job in understanding the issues surrounding high-frequency trading and how it could easily send the financial system into a tailspin with the wrong nudge at the wrong time. I like how they pair up the tech geek (Aiken) with an ex-CIA security operative (Frank Renkin) so you get the mix of spymaster who can (and has) killed people with the computer expert who isn't really sure he wants to be part of that world. It makes for interesting situations which work well as the story flows along.
  
  I'll admit that those with a tech background will probably get the most enjoyment out of Rogue Code, as they'll be able to track the story better when the discussion turns to computer hacking. Even so, fans of techno-thrillers will like Russinovich's latest effort.
  
  Disclosure:
  Obtained From: Library
  Payment: Borrowed
• 
  Tex Reader

  4.0 – Well-Written, Scary Depiction of Vulnerable Electronic Trading.
  
  This was a well written, fairly fast paced techno-thriller depicting the scary possibilities of computerized trading and cybersecurity being exploited by super-hacks and HFT (High Frequency Trading). Speaking as a computer user but no expert, I was drawn in by the technology as well as the plot and characters.
  
  This was my first Jeff Aiken novel, but it works well as a stand-alone. The previous ones may have helped a bit in fleshing out characters, but Mark Russinovich did a good job of bringing me up on people’s pasts, and that’s interwoven well with the storyline.
  
  One reason I read this was because I’m not a computer expert, and boy was I educated. To help with that, the first chapters were a lot of set up and explanation of electronic trading and financial systems. It was necessary, but made it a bit slow going, complex and confusing. But I expect that in techno-thrillers, especially since these things are very complex in the real world and that’s needed to stay realistic. And because I wanted to learn more, I wasn’t turned off by this early stuff. Author did a decent job of simplifying things, and while the tech was at times repetitive, for someone not familiar with the tech, that actually helped and didn’t get in the way most of the time.
  
  Soon, the action picked up and the chase was on, propelling me forward to the end. Russinovich’s style is straightforward, with action and dialogue that served the fast pace of the novel. He plainly interwove several interrelated plot lines that converged nicely at the end. His characters are fairly well fleshed out (but not their relationships as much), even with the technology and action involved. I liked the MC, his two friends and some of the other characters, and Russinovich had me rooting for them.
  
  With a compelling forward by Haim Bodek (a real-life whistleblower on HFT) giving credibility to how realistic this could be, I was engaged throughout and wondering how I might become a luddite to protect myself.
• 
  Ingo

  Preordered this for Eur 12,99, this just over my selfset barrier of Eur 10 for most books.
  But I really like his style regardless of the flaws. And this one is about high speed trading, which I just avoided during the first internet bubble and now I am slowly trading with part of my retirement money, so I still have some stocks and try to stay current with the IT / Tech News.
  While no Day-Traiding expert, I know terms like IPO and have a basic understanding of the stock-market, NYSE and NASDAQ which certainly helps reading this book.
  
  What I really liked, in comparison to books describing IT and internet by other writers, the tech is on the point real. This part may be too much for a normal computer-users, as a former Helpdesk-Slave I consider myself not a Hacker, but a Nerd and an Insider and I use a little (Mac OS) Unix daily.
  So I cannot really say how the tech described here works for a non-tech user.
  
  What is obvious to the books before in the series: the writing has matured. Not without faults, I think it is 10-20% too long and jumps too much between the different places. But that is nicely boxed within a chapter, one place per chapter, mostly.
  There are a few news-articles, summaries and memos thrown in the story. Some are of real events, the Facebook IPO.
  
  Still, I recommend it, the tech is real and believable and the risks very real.
  After the book has ended, there is a section with additional material, both books, articles and urls. This something which I miss in a lot of fictional books, and in this case I will read some of the material on the Web (but probably not the books).
  (Corrected two wrong words and inserted a few where the structure and grammar was bad, I German, expect this ... May 29th 2014)
• 
  Michelle

  The story begins mere days out from a very important IPO and chronologically bounces from one stakeholder to the next as IPO day approaches. Each day, the first chapter is an article about high frequency traders, the ethics-skirting NYSE or the looming IPO.
  
  I didn't like that the female characters were stereotypically questioning their abilities while most of the male characters were confident in theirs. I realize that the ending puts that in perspective, but all the women were twits. This was reflected by Richard's view of women.
  
  You are given a lot of information about each character, but nothing that draws you into any of them. The description of each new character read like a police report, factual but not in depth.
  
  My main complaint is that the technical details are told in broad strokes. The architecture was described a little bit but the book did not go into the fine details of the rogue code (as I guess reading about the ins and outs of code would not appeal to an average reader). A little friendly conversation between Jeff and Frank could have given some details.
  
  Despite my criticisms, This book became more engaging the farther I read. The ending was, shall we say, a little fantastical? All the "good guys" win and all the "bad guys" lose. I suspended disbelief and just enjoyed the action. I hope a movie is in the works. (I just read a movie IS in the works.) The story is tailor-made for the big screen.