Enigma Gamers is the seventh installment in the Enigma Gamers series with the authors expanding on the married leaders—Julie and Juan. These two have put together a team called Cyber Assassins Technology Services team, better known as CATS. Their job? Stop the high-tech criminals who are out to disrupt technology all around the world and destroy people’s lives in the process.
Enigma Gamers by authors Charles V. Breakfield and Rox Burkey, takes readers into a cyber world where criminals come out to play, and the victims are anyone and everyone. From the companies that have gone completely tech to save a dollar, to the average everyday citizen simply trying to live their life, these criminals swoop in and create mayhem while demanding exorbitant ransom demands to restore what they disrupted, i.e., allow their victims access to their infrastructure technology again, not put things back the way they were. As you read, you’ll quickly see there is no fixing some of what they set into chaos.
For readers new to the series, this book can be read as a standalone novel. However, saying that, it would be best to have read the previous books in this series first. I say this because the relationships between the characters have already been established and built upon to this point in the series. This book is simply taking a select few characters and expanding them to give readers a grittier storyline with more in-depth moments between the characters.
Enigma Gamers starts off pretty mundane. Julie and Juan are on vacation. They’re enjoying some much-deserved downtime before the chaos hits. This part of the story is the quiet before the storm. Know that the storm is brewing just over the horizon.
A good amount of humor coming in the second chapter in the form of Jamie. He and his partner are in a separate part of the world working hard. However, you’re quickly going to see they are having some financial issues with the people they are working for. Believe me, you’re going to be wondering just how fiscally “tight” this man is. Progress costs money, but this guy sounds like he’d rather they make advancements in their job with water and thin air. Basically? Be as low-cost as possible. The way that Jamie handles the whole situation though—is absolutely fantastic. He will have you laughing even as he later claims to be “conning” the guy to get the money they need. Jamie is easily going to slip into the favored character category with that scene by itself.
Each chapter will take you to a different place, to different characters. You will get a lot of Julie and Juan throughout this book. This is understandable as they are leaders of the story. You will also get quite a bit of two other characters as well. One is Chairman Chang and the other, Dmitry Vasnev. These two characters are interesting, however, for a time they don’t play a huge role in the storyline. You have to wait until the story gets deeper for them to fully assume the roles they are meant to play. For a time, you witness them playing video games and tossing scathing quips back and forth.
The book’s highlight is the humor. Some of the humor will have you laughing out loud, while others will shock you before delivering the punchline. When Jamie is talking to the finance manager in chapter two, the whole scene turns hilarious.
Another scene is when Dmitry relates a story about a dog he once had and his reasoning for naming his gaming character after the dog. The story is shocking, but Chairman Chang’s response is absolutely gold when he says, “I dare say that I have nothing as charming as a rabid pet dog operating as the grim reaper for a boyhood companion.” I nearly choked. These characters really bring the quips and sarcasm, and it is absolute gold.
Enigma Gamers has its ups and downs. The intriguing elements pull you into the story, however, when it slows down, it gets sluggish. If the story had stayed focused on grit and drama, then this book would be fantastic. It takes time for the cybercrimes to start, but when they do, they amp up the drama. You won’t know who’s the mastermind is until later. No complaints there, as the intent is to keep you engaged in the story and eager to see the team working together.
The authors focus on giving readers the various details of the characters and their relationships. Some of this focus sheds light on the characters who came to be together. Whether it was a mission or another scenario, it definitely paints a vivid picture. As this book is meant to be grittier, the focus would have been better served to pay more attention to the characters and the various situations/tasks.
Enigma Gamers is an interesting novel. For readers who haven’t read the previous novels, the characters will be unfamiliar, but you’ll still find various aspects to enjoy.
Pros:
– The humor.
– Can be read as a standalone.
– The drama surrounding the cybercrimes
– The variety of the team and the interconnecting relationships.
Cons:
– Story gets bogged down at times.
– The drama of the overall storyline.
– Recommend reading previous books in the series first for a fully immersive experience.
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