Organized Crime / Cybercrime
The premise of Reamde is built on the entwined criminal underworld of Russian mobsters, cybercriminals, Jihadist terrorists, and the tech-world of software developers and hackers. Each character is ensnared in some form of criminal activity. Richard Forthrast, a former drug smuggler, now the owner of the gaming company convoluted in cybercrime and espionage across the globe. Interconnected through a multiplayer online role-playing game after a ransomware virus damages database of stolen credit numbers. The Russian mob intends to retrieve the database by tracking down the software developers involved delving into cryptovirology and cyberwarfare.
Computer Programming
Neal Stephenson is renowned for incorporating themes of cryptography, computing, and technology in his thrillers. Thus, Reamde centers around the modern tech-world in which cybercrime is the new form of illegal activity adopted by criminals. The novel explores the interactive culture of online gaming and social networking hence illustrates the interconnectedness of users. Programmers, hackers, and software developers are great assets in the narrative as their expertise is in high demand from the Russian mobsters to magnates. It focuses on the cyber platforms that have been turned into avenues for money laundering, identity thefts, cyberwarfare, and even gold farming.
Violence
The setup of the narrative shifts from the virtual space to the physical space therefore violence erupts through firearms and ordnances. The key players in this convoluted saga are seeking power to enact their will upon the world, though the virtual space makes it problematic. In that, the hackers and programmers are at an advantage over the criminals who depend on violence and death to achieve their end goals. Initially, they rely on the cyberspace and their influence to retrieve the database and use ransomware for their advantage. However, the power game changes into a blood sport across the world as kidnapping and crossfires between violent groups break out. The Russian mafia encounters Islamist jihadists and the result is carnage following an exchange of firepower and ferocity. Moreover, instances of violence escalate with every conflict, inconvenience, and access between the key players in this game of espionage and cybercrime.
