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James Te Ronde has built an extensive career designing and implementing global computer systems. His interests include theoretical physics, brain science, and religious philosophy. He’s also a musician and enjoys the occasional craft beer. When the situation calls for it, he is prone to posing for an awkward photo and writing a short bio about himself. He lives with his wife somewhere in the woodlands of Wisconsin. Menticulous is his first novel.
Reviewed by Olga Markova for Readers' Favorite
Menticulous is a stellar techno-thriller by James Te Ronde. The story takes us to the state-of-the-art Markus Center, a high-tech research facility designed by Dr. Noah Markus, the mastermind behind the Menticulous, a highly advanced, most powerful computer system. But Dr. Noah Markus dies, and his employer, Prognosys Corporation, cancels the Menticulous, suffering a heavy financial blow of nearly ten billion US dollars in the failed investment. Five years later, desperate to avoid bankruptcy, Prognosys brings on board a lead team of engineers to complete Menticulous and bring it to market. Cooper Timm, whom Dr. Noah Markus had handpicked as his replacement before his death, receives the offer to lead the Menticulous project. Wondering what the catch is in the highly lucrative, unexpected job offer from Prognosys, Cooper accepts. But will Cooper and his team accomplish this mission – and more importantly, will they survive?
Menticulous kept me immersed from the first scene to the last. The complex intrigue fueled by the corporate war between Prognosys Corporation and its rival Wharlobe Industries, the scientific puzzles Cooper’s team had to unravel from Dr. Noah Markus’ legacy, the cinematic quality of the scenes in the virtual reality, and the blend of real and virtual worlds made this novel very hard to put down. In addition to the highly suspenseful and fast-moving storyline, I appreciated how James Te Ronde portrayed the evolution of Cooper’s character and love life. But most of all, I appreciated the story’s deeper level that exposed corporate greed and readiness to sacrifice human lives for profit. I highly recommend this brilliant novel to techno-thriller fans.
