Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of <i>Net Force: Dark Web</i> in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

<h4 style="margin-top: 84px;">The Gist</h4>

<i>Net Force: Dark Web</i> steers through the intricate world of cyber threats with intensity. I have never read a <i>Net Force</i> story before this one, and I have never been very interested in it, but the synopsis caught my attention.

<h4>The Details</h4>

The novel presents a gripping narrative, filled with the expected technological intricacies and fast-paced action that, I assume, fans of the series would appreciate and anticipate. The Net Force team faces challenges that reflect the evolving landscape of cyber warfare, and the characters remain a highlight, showcasing diverse skills and perspectives.

However, <i>Dark Web</i> occasionally falters in its balance between technical details and narrative progression. For readers less familiar with cybersecurity concepts, the novel can feel dense and at times overwhelming, impacting the overall engagement with the plot. The pacing, while generally brisk, can become bogged down by information dumps.

Character development, while present, doesn't reach any great depth. Some protagonists feels more like archetypes than fully fleshed-out individuals. Their personal struggles lack emotional resonance.

<h4>The Verdict</h4>

Overall, <i>Net Force: Dark Web</i> offers an engaging techno-thriller experience. However, it might not fully satisfy both avid fans of the series and newcomers. While the narrative remains compelling, the balance between technicality and accessibility could be better managed.

It started with great action and intriguing mystery then dragging in the middle then it's getting weird, I just took a long time to read it.
Almost DNF a few times, but I keep pushing through, but it's getting weird and weird and end up just skimming it.

Was slow at the beginning but that some what helped with the plot of of the story or so I felt . Will diffently been doing a re read of this when I can .

The plot was promising, the beginning was engaging, but... then the story turned into something convoluted and weird. I wasn't even interested in discovering how it ended. Probably wasn't the right book for me, but you should give it a try and form your own opinion on the matter.

This was a very lengthy read and the first half went incredibly slow for me. I had trouble identifying with any of the characters and it was an arduous task, trying to get through the story which was interesting, but very complicated. I wish there were more character development and less technical jargon that I had to keep looking up. Eventually, I started skimming the pages and stopped researching words I did not understand. I think this book would work better as a movie, unfortunately.

I tried to get into this one. The description sounded right up my alley but I just couldn't fall into the book the way I was hoping. I'm sure it will be good some folks but this one just wasn't for me.

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was hard to get into and ultimately I just couldn't pick it back up day after day. It seemed like a good idea, but whether it was my mood or the execution, it just didn't work for me.

I tried unsuccessfully for several years to get through this book. The first few pages intrigued me. I am interested and want to know more. Within the next few chapters, too many characters were introduced and they were meaningless. There is zero character development of them. If this were a movie, I think it would be easier because I can easily see the people and make connections.

There is also a lot of techno jargon which I could care less about. Sadly, I'm in the IT business so whilst I could follow along, it was tedious and boring for me to read about it. I pushed forth and around the 48% mark, probably 300+ pages in, I realized this was too much work and I wasn't enjoying this book. I think my stance may be different if it was a movie. I do not recommend this book. It either needs to be severely edited with less players or just developed into a TV series, Netflix original or movie.

This book was just okay for me. I was hoping for more of a Clancy vibe. Though it moved pretty quickly, I didn't get pulled into the story.

I am not sure how this book got on my shelf because this is not typically a book I would pick up. However, I thought I would give it a try but I did not enjoy it. I found it to be confused and hard to follow due to the amount of characters. Plus the story is told in such a fragmented way and the jumping around increase the confusion. Also, I did not find the story interesting which I could have predicated since I do not read much from this genre.

The plot of this book tended to be a little all over the place, not really allowing me to grasp one concept before going on another tangent. I will say that this genre of book is not typically one that I read so that could have been a part of it. There were too numerous characters that were introduced as well that did not give a lot of time for character development and for the story to naturally progress. Unfortunately, I was not a fan.

A Fast Paced Thriller in the Tom Clancy Series

A sudden and widespread hack into the banking system sets off alarms. An enormous computer invasion is redirecting money, electronically spreading it across the nation. A disaster such as this one has been a consideration for some time, but when it hits it is larger than expected.

Which is why “Net Force” was established, to be a shadow operation against cyber crime. They are quickly prepared to dive into the investigation. Yet the obvious nature of the attack has some wondering if it is a false trail for them to follow while something even worse is plotted.

Even as the team delves into the records, a text is sent out to numerous phones. Simply the word “exit” and people instantly go into action. What purpose?

Right from the beginning, Net Force quickly follows clues getting close to at least a part of the operation even as they prepare to run.

Adrian Soto’s early transfer of 50 million was for the Unity Project. Will his transfer and openness bring part of the solution?
A woman from the dark web captured or kidnapped, but by whom?
An uprising in Birhan leading to strikes and retaliation.
A young boy fleeing the FBI falling to his death.
Exquisitely designed computer programs grow more realistic every day. With the formation of Net Force, they too will have the most advanced technology. With that comes the ability to read and follow and disassemble the hacks that would attempt to shut down banking and government. But this one is hard to find and even harder to suspend. Relating the computer virus spread to an ant colony was a fascinating comparison.

A Complex Thriller

Pay close attention to this multifaceted thriller. The international tale will impress you with the many directions it leads. At times you simply have to let go and count on the expertise of the author to lead you. With the numerous book written by Tom Clancy, the reader knows he/she will get there.

It’s a terrific suspenseful story. Loved how the agents grabbed a hold of each lead—and how far that took them. Clear hints of more to come lead the reader to see what will happen in the next book. It’s in my cart now.

The Author

Author Jerome Preisler has written a number of Tom Clancy novels, including the Power Play series. With more than forty published books, you can be sure this one and coming books will be bestsellers in Tom Clancy’s excellent tradition.

Don’t miss this exciting novel. It will make you want more!

This book is full of action and intrigue, and a lot of it is digital... it should have been a fantastic read, but I kept getting lost. (Seriously, I'm clueless... ) While trying to muck out what was going on, I had to read and reread certain things too many times and still didn't quite get it. That is more on me than the author, I'm certain - I pictured this as a movie I'd watch with my husband and he'd get annoyed with me for asking questions because he'd totally get all the details and I'd still be asking "who is that again?" (You know the kind of movie watcher I mean...) Unfortunately, you can't ask questions about book plots when your partner hasn't read it... I'm leaving a 3* review as it was well written, but not quite a match for me, genre-wise.

I tried to read this book, I really gave it the college try but I just couldn't get into it. I would like to thank the publisher for thinking I may like this. This is definitely a genre I don't generally read, so I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't finish this book and put it down at 25% because I just couldn't get into it.

DNF

*face palm* I could not, for the life of me, get into this one. The premise sounded interesting enough for me to give it a go, but unfortunately, my mind kept wandering while reading this one.
Personally, I thought there were too many unnecessary details. I'm not a fan of overly descriptive storytelling, and that's exactly what this was.

There's a book for everyone, but this was not it for me.

For full disclosure, the publisher contacted me via Netgalley regarding this book. I love a good mystery or thriller so I thought, “Why not?!” What sounded like a promising premise did not turn out to be a book for me.

In my opinion, this book suffers from a whole lot of too much all around. The point of view changes constantly and rapidly. I lost track of the number of people’s points of view I read from but my best guess would be AT LEAST 15-20 people. The story still could have effectively been told even with editing this down to make it clearer for the reader.

On top of having everyone and their mother’s point of view, there was endless details, much of which was unnecessary or was simply put in to get a reaction out of the reader (and not the kind of reaction I want). I work in a somewhat investigative space and understand how incredibly complex a good crime scheme is… but there are again ways this could have been edited down to streamline and still have the same impact, the same story.

There were a couple of redeeming moments, such as when all of the information thrown at you chapter after chapter finally pulls the puzzle together. And there’s a female U.S. President (finally). But I barely made it to those points.

Overall, this is a rare two star read for me.

Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I have voluntarily read this book and the review expresses my own personal opinion.

Full disclosure; I never read anything by Tom Clancy prior to this- my Dad did and always suggested his titles to me but I also always blew them off.
No more- after reading Net Force; Dark Web, I will definitely gobble them up; it is fast moving, finely crafted thriller that definitely has it's own "unputdownable" moment and I just loved it.
Political thriller lovers, this one if for you!

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have been really getting on to books that are about anything in cyberspace. This said dark web in the title and I was like I have to have this. I like the thrill that it gave me. This book had me on the edge of my seat. It is all about cyber crimes and there are attacks against the US. There is a whole division called Net Force to stop or prevent other attacks. It had me not wanting to put the book down.

A cyber “Net Force” intelligence team is put to the test before it even has an official beginning. The country is attacked and its up to the Net Force team to uncover not one but two plots of deceptions, with lots of twists and turns on the way and the threat of chemical warfare.
This was a 3.5 star read for me. I found the plot slow going with an extremely slow build but in the end, I was invested in the outcome…hence the 3.5 stars. Net Force had a lot of potential but the extremely descriptive writing style made the story lag.

I received this ARC copy of Net Force: Dark Web from HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing - Hanover Square Press. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If you are looking for a book that has you flipping the pages, staying up late, letting the water for pasta boil dry...then this is what you're looking for as your next book to read!
It's fast paced, flows in a way that leaves you anticipating the next scene and has characters that won't leave you alone, even after you've put the book down.
Would I recommend...for sure! Enjoy the read!