The Egg Code

by Mike Heppner

Olden Field is a solitary computer hacker, whose ultimate purpose is the destruction of the Gloria 21169, a monstrous router that has taken control of the Internet. Motivational speaker Derek Skye finds himself sickened by the advice he spews to his legions of fans. Meanwhile, his ex-wife Donna fabricates folklore to assist those looking for guidance in our troubled times. Her friend Lydia Mould-Tree is determined to see her talentless son, Simon, achieve celebrity, so she bullies her complacent husband into getting Simon his big break in a company advertising campaign.As only the most accomplished fiction can, The Egg Code brings them together with a host of others in a sweeping, comic, wildly entertaining narrative. In this audacious literary debut, Mike Heppner concocts a brilliantly realized, impeccably structured mediation on the value of information in our information-saturated time.

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2002

Reviews

[Kaylie Longley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Egg Code seeks to challenge readers with its sweeping plot. It's ambitious to try to intertwine characters who have minimal connections or contact with one another, as the plot is nonlinear. There are a handful of hustlers, including Lydia, a cynical mother who wishes stardom for her intellectually challenged son, Simon. Donna and Derek Skye are a motivational speaking husband-wife team who begin to doubt their own shallow wisdom and marriage. Olden creates a news website, the Egg Code, that is saturated with lies in a dark, "haha" funny way. The characters shape the novel's content yet it is ultimately not successful due to Heppner's convoluted approach. Each character ultimately serves a purpose in warning the reader of the dangerous nature of living in an increasingly connected world. Heppner suggests both the mediums and the messages are at fault, whether it's the vulnerability of Internet users to spread and believe disinformation, advertising companies perpetuating sexualized culture, speech and its curious power to influence and persuade, and the fall of traditional print media, due in part to this massive, seemingly infinite surge of information. Unlike other books in the genre, Heppner suggests Corporate America, in the form of the shady Gloria Corporation, is the ultimate culprit. Gloria loosely ties everyone together, and these small moments of connection shine in an otherwise cumbersome, even nauseating read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't believe everything you read in a book or on the internet.

[Bradley Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

hOLDEN caulFIELD would have hated this book. Too many phonies.

[Dwheeler11 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing - like CloudAtlas, but worse, in terms of jumping around from character to character and different points in time. Very hard to follow the story, but easy to grasp the message.

[Whowantsphi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great journey back and forth in time as the story unfolded.