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Athena Shrugged
By Solveig Singleton
January 9, 1999

If you're a fan of Greek mythology, you'll instantly recognize something familiar about the names of the main characters in this book (Bob Priam and daughter Cassie, Will Ajax and others). This book tells the story of Bob Priam, CIO for a large non-Y2K-compliant company, and scheming Y2K consultant Will Ajax.

Y2K: The Day the World Shut Down (Word Publishing, 1998) begins when Priam is fired because his boss Menelaus can't deal with the Y2K realities Priam has revealed. Priam sets up his own Y2K assessment firm and thus meets the unscrupulous Ajax. Ajax's consulting firm "fixes" Y2K bugs but leaves a back door so he can enter later and raid his unsuspecting clients, a classic Trojan Horse scenario.

The authors are trying to present information about Y2K and its cultural context, as well as tell a story. This isn't easy. Also, for someone who knows a lot about Y2K already, the more informative parts move slowly. But the authors know what they're talking about (if anyone does on this complex subject). Michael S. Hyatt is the author of The Millennium Bug: How to Survive the Coming Chaos and a frequent guest on religious radio shows. George E Grant studies history and theology, and has written books on these topics before.

The book's is a fairly good read, and I've always been a pushover for references to the "Illiad." The characters are well drawn, the writing good, and the plot moves along nicely. But the book itself, fittingly, like some Y2K fix projects, gives the feeling of having been rushed towards completion in the final chapters. I felt let down after the careful buildup of characters and action in the earlier chapters. The actual Y2K crisis and its impact on society is only vaguely outlined, and the final conflict is resolved much too easily.

Another flaw is the heavy-handed moralizing: Community over individual survivalist. If most or everyone in a community is prepared, then community is an asset. But if most in a community are not, from the standpoint of the individual, the community becomes a menacing mob.

Given the time constraints on our authors, though, not a bad effort in my opinion.

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