What do you think?
Rate this book
Paranoia
It was only a diverting cash from Wyatt Telecom's executive slush fund to throw a retirement bash for a member of the loading dock crew. But when corporate security catches up with Adam Cassidy, a low ambition junior staffer at the high-tech behemoth, they call it something embezzlement, to the tune of nearly $80 grand.
Ruthless CEO Nick Wyatt is impressed by Adam's scheming, and offers him one way out-take on the role of a rising corporate hotshot and infiltrate Wyatt's rival, Trion Systems. His mission is to get close to Trion's legendary founder Jock Goddard, and his ultra-secret "Project Aurora," and report back to Wyatt.
With Wyatt pulling the strings and a dramatically improved identity, Adam is set up as Trion's new boy genius. Suddenly, he's got a sweet new Porsche, a closet full of $1,500 suits, and even a lovely lady who thinks he's a dream. But it's all just a mirage, because Adam is about to learn that nothing is what it seems and that it isn't paranoia...everyone is out to get him...
Ruthless CEO Nick Wyatt is impressed by Adam's scheming, and offers him one way out-take on the role of a rising corporate hotshot and infiltrate Wyatt's rival, Trion Systems. His mission is to get close to Trion's legendary founder Jock Goddard, and his ultra-secret "Project Aurora," and report back to Wyatt.
With Wyatt pulling the strings and a dramatically improved identity, Adam is set up as Trion's new boy genius. Suddenly, he's got a sweet new Porsche, a closet full of $1,500 suits, and even a lovely lady who thinks he's a dream. But it's all just a mirage, because Adam is about to learn that nothing is what it seems and that it isn't paranoia...everyone is out to get him...
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
371 people are currently reading
3,794 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Finder
61books2,517followersJoseph Finder is the author of the forthcoming novel JUDGMENT and fourteen other novels, many of them New York Times bestsellers, published in 35 countries around the world. His book HIGH CRIMES was adapted into a movie starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd; PARANOIA was made into the Harrison Ford/Gary Oldman film.
He was born in Chicago, lived in the Philippines, Afghanistan, Washington State, and upstate New York. His novels have won numerous awards, including the Strand Critics award, the Barry Award, and the International Thriller Writers� Thriller Award for best novel. His first novel, THE MOSCOW CLUB, was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the 10 best spy novels of all time.
He lives with his wife in Boston and Cape Cod, where he roots for the Red Sox and mourns his Golden Retriever rescue dog, Mia. He’s currently trying to convince his wife to get another dog.
He was born in Chicago, lived in the Philippines, Afghanistan, Washington State, and upstate New York. His novels have won numerous awards, including the Strand Critics award, the Barry Award, and the International Thriller Writers� Thriller Award for best novel. His first novel, THE MOSCOW CLUB, was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the 10 best spy novels of all time.
He lives with his wife in Boston and Cape Cod, where he roots for the Red Sox and mourns his Golden Retriever rescue dog, Mia. He’s currently trying to convince his wife to get another dog.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 779 reviews
March 27, 2022
In Paranoia we meet Adam Cassidy, who pulls a stunt at his high tech corporation and gets pulled into the world corporate espionage but when he tries to break away from his controller he finds himself way over his head .
November 16, 2021
2007 read: Finder's heavily marketed tech thriller became a huge bestseller when it was first released. Paranoia is about a tech slacker who gets caught playing a tech prank and to save himself gets caught up in tech espionage! He is forced by his CEO to go undercover and spy on a business opponent only to find out that the target business maybe a lot more honest than his own employers! One of those books where the cover is a lot cooler than the content! Lots of solid page turning suspense and drama though... problem is, did I care? 6 out of 12.
On second reading in 2007, my grading went up to 7 out of 12, so I presume I care enough to read it again!
On second reading in 2007, my grading went up to 7 out of 12, so I presume I care enough to read it again!
August 23, 2020
Great read that kept me interested and guessing until the final page! My only complaint is I would have liked a bit more in the conclusion but overall very entertaining!
April 7, 2017
A fantastic read by the master of suspense.
The story follows a coasting through life, Adam Cassidy who pulls a stunt at his work and expects to get fired for it. Instead, he gets pulled into a world of corporate espionage and is forced to become a puppet.
In all of Finder’s books that I’ve read, he always puts his characters in situations where they very nearly (or actually) get caught. The way he does this creates suspense like no one else I’ve read.
One of my favourite scenes is when Adam spends a lot of time on a PowerPoint presentation, adding all sorts of animations and impressive slides, only to get shouted at and ‘get to the point�. Anyone working in a corporate atmosphere will have chuckled as much as I did.
I also enjoyed the fact that the story ends on a question mark.
Format
I read this on audiobook. The narrator, Scott Brick, is an audiobook veteran. The story is linear and simple enough to be an ideal audiobook.
Themes
To me, this book was about family, how people deal with loss and, of course, corporate greed. It had more feelings than I thought. There was a particular scene that nearly had me in tears:
’You think you’ve got it all figured out, right? Until god sends you a little telegram saying ‘oh, forgot to mention none of that means a thing. And everyone you love on this earth, they’re really just on loan, you see. And you’d better love them while you can.’�
Notable issues
Very minor point but I’ve no idea why this book is called Paranoia. To me it should’ve been called ‘Espionage� or something like that.
Final thought
Finder is the master of suspense. There is no one that creates an ‘edge of your seat� reading experience quite like Finder. The other books of his that I’ve read have been the same and I’ll be reading more of his works very soon. A great page-turner, well written.
And that ending! Honestly, I did not see it coming.
The story follows a coasting through life, Adam Cassidy who pulls a stunt at his work and expects to get fired for it. Instead, he gets pulled into a world of corporate espionage and is forced to become a puppet.
In all of Finder’s books that I’ve read, he always puts his characters in situations where they very nearly (or actually) get caught. The way he does this creates suspense like no one else I’ve read.
One of my favourite scenes is when Adam spends a lot of time on a PowerPoint presentation, adding all sorts of animations and impressive slides, only to get shouted at and ‘get to the point�. Anyone working in a corporate atmosphere will have chuckled as much as I did.
I also enjoyed the fact that the story ends on a question mark.
Format
I read this on audiobook. The narrator, Scott Brick, is an audiobook veteran. The story is linear and simple enough to be an ideal audiobook.
Themes
To me, this book was about family, how people deal with loss and, of course, corporate greed. It had more feelings than I thought. There was a particular scene that nearly had me in tears:
’You think you’ve got it all figured out, right? Until god sends you a little telegram saying ‘oh, forgot to mention none of that means a thing. And everyone you love on this earth, they’re really just on loan, you see. And you’d better love them while you can.’�
Notable issues
Very minor point but I’ve no idea why this book is called Paranoia. To me it should’ve been called ‘Espionage� or something like that.
Final thought
Finder is the master of suspense. There is no one that creates an ‘edge of your seat� reading experience quite like Finder. The other books of his that I’ve read have been the same and I’ll be reading more of his works very soon. A great page-turner, well written.
And that ending! Honestly, I did not see it coming.
March 25, 2025
Surely not the best plot ever, but an interesting one, which twists in final pages.
Alert, well documented, somehow pathetic (just see Adam's father's story) and childish in his behaviour, it deserves somehow more than three stars. At least because the style reminds me of John Grisham...
Alert, well documented, somehow pathetic (just see Adam's father's story) and childish in his behaviour, it deserves somehow more than three stars. At least because the style reminds me of John Grisham...
May 30, 2021
Adam Cassidy este un tip simpatic si inteligent care lucreaza pentru compania Wyatt Telekom condusa de catre temutul si vicleanul Nicholas Wyatt. Satul de slujba sa marunta el organizeaza o petrecere de pensionare in valoare de mii de dolari pentru un cinstit muncitor necalificat din cadrul firmei. Desigur ca banii vin din conturile companiei, Adam avand capacitatea de a sparge sistemul lor informatic.
Desi procedase iscusit el este descoperit de catre Nicholas Wyatt care ii propune un targ diabolic in schimbul libertatii sale: sa devina spionul sau in compania concurenta. Astfel, Adam ajunge sa lucreze la Trion, sa conduca un Porsche, sa aiba un apartament fabulos, sa intalneasca o femeie frumoasa si sa fie asistentul sefului cel mare Goddard. Insa, cand acesta se va dovedi mult mai uman si cinstit decat rechinul de Wyatt, pe Adam incepe sa-l roada constiinta si se gandeste serios sa intoarca armele.
Un roman foarte bun care mi-a placut, tensiunea si suspansul fiind nebunesti astfel incat cititorul ajunge sa se teama pentru Adam si sa-i tina pumnii ca sa nu fie prins cand spioneaza. M-a incantat foarte mult plot-twistul de la final care practic ridica valoarea cartii la un alt nivel. Am apreciat si ca fiecare parte incepe cu un citat din dictionarul de spionaj si astfel ne putem familiariza cu acesti termeni de specialitate.
Interesant e si faptul ca la un moment dat se enumera toate facilitatile pe care le are Adam la noul sau serviciu si anume: un urias centru de fitness, bancomate, curatatorie chimica, camere de odihna unde aveai gratuit apa minerala, popcorn si cappuccino. De asemenea, in cadrul companiei, puteai spala si curata masina, beneficiai de bilete cu pret redus la filme, concerte si meciuri de baseball si erai premiat pentru fiecare copil care ti se nastea. Cu asemenea facilitati cine nu s-ar duce la serviciu cu drag?
M-a amuzat modul in care Adam incearca sa scape de amenda pentru exces de viteza: "Smecheria era sa-l faci pe politist sa-ti inteleaga durerile. E un razboi psihologic. Tocmai de aceea poarta ei ochelari de soare cu oglinda, ca sa nu-i poti privi direct in ochi in timp ce te vaicaresti. Pana si politistii sunt oameni."
De multe ori romanul aduce aminte de filmul "Wall Street" din 1987 cu Michael Douglas si Charlie Sheen in rolurile principale, avand foarte multe elemente in comun: numele personajelor, intriga, asemenarea dintre Adam si Bud Fox, boala tatalui lui Adam, Nicholas care semana mult cu Gordon Gekko din film, inginerul de la Trion care il citeste pe Adam din prima si care de fiecare data ii citeaza din Sun Tzu etc.
In final am selectat cateva citate, unele amuzante, altele care ofera mostre din "bunul mers al afacerilor":
"Cei ce-ar putea rani, dar nu-ti fac rana, a spus Goddard, primesc pe drept cereasca mostenire. Asta e din Shakespeare. Cu alte cuvinte, cand ai puterea de a-i dobori pe oameni si n-o faci, ei bine, atunci arati cu adevarat cine esti."
"Asta venea de la consiliera-sefa a lui Wyatt, un tip atat de ticalosit incat ar fi fost in stare sa triseze si la examinarea propriei prostate."
"Nu arat chiar ca Brad Pitt dar nici spaima ciorilor nu sunt."
"Singura putere pe care o au tiranii e cea la care renunta victimele lor."
"Mi-a luat pana si ceea ce ea numea ciorapi, adica sosete. [...] Pareau sa radieze ceva: puteai spune ca fusesera tricotate de italience vaduve, in timp ce ascultau vreo opera de Verdi."
"Pesemne ca in copilarie ii placuse sa smulga picioarele insectelor, unul cate unul, cu penseta, dandu-le apoi foc cu ajutorul unei lupe."
"Sigur ca sunt paranoic. Vreau ca toti care muncesc pentru mine sa fie paranoici. Succesul impune paranoia."
Desi procedase iscusit el este descoperit de catre Nicholas Wyatt care ii propune un targ diabolic in schimbul libertatii sale: sa devina spionul sau in compania concurenta. Astfel, Adam ajunge sa lucreze la Trion, sa conduca un Porsche, sa aiba un apartament fabulos, sa intalneasca o femeie frumoasa si sa fie asistentul sefului cel mare Goddard. Insa, cand acesta se va dovedi mult mai uman si cinstit decat rechinul de Wyatt, pe Adam incepe sa-l roada constiinta si se gandeste serios sa intoarca armele.
Un roman foarte bun care mi-a placut, tensiunea si suspansul fiind nebunesti astfel incat cititorul ajunge sa se teama pentru Adam si sa-i tina pumnii ca sa nu fie prins cand spioneaza. M-a incantat foarte mult plot-twistul de la final care practic ridica valoarea cartii la un alt nivel. Am apreciat si ca fiecare parte incepe cu un citat din dictionarul de spionaj si astfel ne putem familiariza cu acesti termeni de specialitate.
Interesant e si faptul ca la un moment dat se enumera toate facilitatile pe care le are Adam la noul sau serviciu si anume: un urias centru de fitness, bancomate, curatatorie chimica, camere de odihna unde aveai gratuit apa minerala, popcorn si cappuccino. De asemenea, in cadrul companiei, puteai spala si curata masina, beneficiai de bilete cu pret redus la filme, concerte si meciuri de baseball si erai premiat pentru fiecare copil care ti se nastea. Cu asemenea facilitati cine nu s-ar duce la serviciu cu drag?
M-a amuzat modul in care Adam incearca sa scape de amenda pentru exces de viteza: "Smecheria era sa-l faci pe politist sa-ti inteleaga durerile. E un razboi psihologic. Tocmai de aceea poarta ei ochelari de soare cu oglinda, ca sa nu-i poti privi direct in ochi in timp ce te vaicaresti. Pana si politistii sunt oameni."
De multe ori romanul aduce aminte de filmul "Wall Street" din 1987 cu Michael Douglas si Charlie Sheen in rolurile principale, avand foarte multe elemente in comun: numele personajelor, intriga, asemenarea dintre Adam si Bud Fox, boala tatalui lui Adam, Nicholas care semana mult cu Gordon Gekko din film, inginerul de la Trion care il citeste pe Adam din prima si care de fiecare data ii citeaza din Sun Tzu etc.
In final am selectat cateva citate, unele amuzante, altele care ofera mostre din "bunul mers al afacerilor":
"Cei ce-ar putea rani, dar nu-ti fac rana, a spus Goddard, primesc pe drept cereasca mostenire. Asta e din Shakespeare. Cu alte cuvinte, cand ai puterea de a-i dobori pe oameni si n-o faci, ei bine, atunci arati cu adevarat cine esti."
"Asta venea de la consiliera-sefa a lui Wyatt, un tip atat de ticalosit incat ar fi fost in stare sa triseze si la examinarea propriei prostate."
"Nu arat chiar ca Brad Pitt dar nici spaima ciorilor nu sunt."
"Singura putere pe care o au tiranii e cea la care renunta victimele lor."
"Mi-a luat pana si ceea ce ea numea ciorapi, adica sosete. [...] Pareau sa radieze ceva: puteai spune ca fusesera tricotate de italience vaduve, in timp ce ascultau vreo opera de Verdi."
"Pesemne ca in copilarie ii placuse sa smulga picioarele insectelor, unul cate unul, cu penseta, dandu-le apoi foc cu ajutorul unei lupe."
"Sigur ca sunt paranoic. Vreau ca toti care muncesc pentru mine sa fie paranoici. Succesul impune paranoia."
August 13, 2021
“When everything's coming your way, maybe you're driving in the wrong lane�
� Joseph Finder, Paranoia
Wonderful! I adored this tight corporate thriller. In fact not since Disclosure have I enjoyed a book like this so much.
This book is so well written. It's long but extremely well paced and everything flows perfectly. It is hard not to like the main character who absolutely has his issues but really is at heart a decent guy. And the fact that the book is soo long and does not have as much dialogue as one might expect and still manages to be terrif, says alot.
SPOILERS:
I was a bit confused by the ending..was not sure what the final outcome was though I do not think I am alone on that. The corporate executives are sleezy as anything and chillingly creepy because they are so realistic. I mean I have no problem thinking something like this has happened or even is happening even as I write this.
Would love to see a sequel although I doubt that will happen. Side note: this book was turned into a film but no way did the film do the book justice although it is still a decent movie.
� Joseph Finder, Paranoia
Wonderful! I adored this tight corporate thriller. In fact not since Disclosure have I enjoyed a book like this so much.
This book is so well written. It's long but extremely well paced and everything flows perfectly. It is hard not to like the main character who absolutely has his issues but really is at heart a decent guy. And the fact that the book is soo long and does not have as much dialogue as one might expect and still manages to be terrif, says alot.
SPOILERS:
I was a bit confused by the ending..was not sure what the final outcome was though I do not think I am alone on that. The corporate executives are sleezy as anything and chillingly creepy because they are so realistic. I mean I have no problem thinking something like this has happened or even is happening even as I write this.
Would love to see a sequel although I doubt that will happen. Side note: this book was turned into a film but no way did the film do the book justice although it is still a decent movie.
July 21, 2009
Reader reviews of this work tend to emphasize the twist ending and the suspense. I wish there were a rating lower than one star. This is the tale of a pathetic, amoral, loser who finds himself blackmailed by his company's CEO after embezzling from the company to pay for a friend's retirement party. It is poorly written, filled with unbelievable happenstance, wooden characters, and the ending is predictable ten pages after the protagonist goes to work for his employer's main competitor where he is to carry out industrial espionage. What a waste of time.
January 22, 2008
Joseph Finder, Paranoia (St. Martin's, 2004)
Joseph Finder (High Crimes, recently made into a movie)'s fifth novel is something different. Something new. From the looks of things, Finder wanted to take aspects of literature-and I'm not talking your basic modern 20th century "literary" novel here, I'm talking lit-rat-chaw-and apply it to the technothriller. Certainly as risky as anything his protagonist, Adam Cassidy, comes up with during the novel. And how does he succeed? Very well, thank you, for the most part.
Finder does for the technothriller what Hammett did for the mystery novel, though he's still something of a neophyte in places. Paranoia is a shining example of the idea that literate subtlety will always beat straight genre writing, no matter what the genre.
Adam Cassidy is your basic punk. He spends his free time drinking and doing drugs, and his work hours trying to find ways to do as little as possible. He feels more comfortable hanging out with the loading dock crew than he does in his cubicle at Wyatt Industries, being a low-level marketing goon. Because of that, when the loading dock foreman gets ready to retire, Cassidy decides to screw his company and give the guy the best possible send-off, so he pulls a couple of the appropriate numbers and gets the affair catered. Problem is, he's not quite aware of the scope of the catering, and when the bill hits the desk, Cassidy's head is about to roll. Nick Wyatt, the almost cartoonishly evil chairman of the company, gives Cassidy a choice-either go to jail for embezzlement or go to work for their main competitor, Trion Systems, and get the dirt on a top-secret Trion project. Needless to say, Cassidy chooses the latter, or we wouldn't have a novel.
Paranoia grabs you from the beginning and refuses to let go. As with any competent thriller, techno or otherwise, the plot and the pacing are strong, but that's not where the true strength of Finder's book lies. He uses subtle tricks to give insight into the characters, couches his moral lessons in dialogue (they do scrape close to the surface at times, but nothing hits you in the face with a dead haddock), and generally turns the whole thing into the kind of technothriller that Frederick Exley or Barry Hannah might have written, had they the inclination.
I was struck at first with the idea that the book's use of profanity was gratuitous, but once I figured out what Finder was doing, I took a second look and realized he was working with the precision of a jeweler. Every time you think the prose seems a little off kilter, profane or not, take another look. There's more under the surface than there seems to be. What this results in is characters drawn more strongly here than in almost any modern fiction; if Stephen King is the undisputed master of drawing characters in a few lines, Finder has quickly become the main understudy.
So why am I not hailing this the most brilliant novel to come down the pike since Kathe Koja last released something? Because I'm still not sure about the ending. I got to the bottom of page 423, turned it over, fully expecting there to be a few more sentences, and... blank space. I practically growled at the book. (I simultaneously can't wait to see and dread what Hollywood is going to do to the end of this when it gets filmed. And for the record, no one but Brian Dennehy can possibly play Nick Wyatt.) Given everything I've said above, I get the feeling I missed something along the way in that last chapter, but there's a part of me that thinks Finder tried the classic ambiguous ending, another literary risk, and it just didn't go as smoothly as the other highbrow tricks that make this novel so incredible. As it stands, the novel doesn't have loose ends, it's got an Oriental rug that comes unraveled all at once. Expect to spend a good deal of time mulling over the ending. You probably won't get anywhere, but you'll do it anyway.
As with all good thrillers, Finder packs a whole lot of twists, turns, red herrings, blue herrings, mysterious gurus, father figures, and a whole plethora of wonderful minor characters (Antwoine deserves his own book, to be sure) into these pages. Don't let the ending stop you. Read this. ****
Joseph Finder (High Crimes, recently made into a movie)'s fifth novel is something different. Something new. From the looks of things, Finder wanted to take aspects of literature-and I'm not talking your basic modern 20th century "literary" novel here, I'm talking lit-rat-chaw-and apply it to the technothriller. Certainly as risky as anything his protagonist, Adam Cassidy, comes up with during the novel. And how does he succeed? Very well, thank you, for the most part.
Finder does for the technothriller what Hammett did for the mystery novel, though he's still something of a neophyte in places. Paranoia is a shining example of the idea that literate subtlety will always beat straight genre writing, no matter what the genre.
Adam Cassidy is your basic punk. He spends his free time drinking and doing drugs, and his work hours trying to find ways to do as little as possible. He feels more comfortable hanging out with the loading dock crew than he does in his cubicle at Wyatt Industries, being a low-level marketing goon. Because of that, when the loading dock foreman gets ready to retire, Cassidy decides to screw his company and give the guy the best possible send-off, so he pulls a couple of the appropriate numbers and gets the affair catered. Problem is, he's not quite aware of the scope of the catering, and when the bill hits the desk, Cassidy's head is about to roll. Nick Wyatt, the almost cartoonishly evil chairman of the company, gives Cassidy a choice-either go to jail for embezzlement or go to work for their main competitor, Trion Systems, and get the dirt on a top-secret Trion project. Needless to say, Cassidy chooses the latter, or we wouldn't have a novel.
Paranoia grabs you from the beginning and refuses to let go. As with any competent thriller, techno or otherwise, the plot and the pacing are strong, but that's not where the true strength of Finder's book lies. He uses subtle tricks to give insight into the characters, couches his moral lessons in dialogue (they do scrape close to the surface at times, but nothing hits you in the face with a dead haddock), and generally turns the whole thing into the kind of technothriller that Frederick Exley or Barry Hannah might have written, had they the inclination.
I was struck at first with the idea that the book's use of profanity was gratuitous, but once I figured out what Finder was doing, I took a second look and realized he was working with the precision of a jeweler. Every time you think the prose seems a little off kilter, profane or not, take another look. There's more under the surface than there seems to be. What this results in is characters drawn more strongly here than in almost any modern fiction; if Stephen King is the undisputed master of drawing characters in a few lines, Finder has quickly become the main understudy.
So why am I not hailing this the most brilliant novel to come down the pike since Kathe Koja last released something? Because I'm still not sure about the ending. I got to the bottom of page 423, turned it over, fully expecting there to be a few more sentences, and... blank space. I practically growled at the book. (I simultaneously can't wait to see and dread what Hollywood is going to do to the end of this when it gets filmed. And for the record, no one but Brian Dennehy can possibly play Nick Wyatt.) Given everything I've said above, I get the feeling I missed something along the way in that last chapter, but there's a part of me that thinks Finder tried the classic ambiguous ending, another literary risk, and it just didn't go as smoothly as the other highbrow tricks that make this novel so incredible. As it stands, the novel doesn't have loose ends, it's got an Oriental rug that comes unraveled all at once. Expect to spend a good deal of time mulling over the ending. You probably won't get anywhere, but you'll do it anyway.
As with all good thrillers, Finder packs a whole lot of twists, turns, red herrings, blue herrings, mysterious gurus, father figures, and a whole plethora of wonderful minor characters (Antwoine deserves his own book, to be sure) into these pages. Don't let the ending stop you. Read this. ****
July 25, 2009
Hey budding authors! Do you want to read a book that has pages of cliches, popular names, products, chilling and scintillating narrative such as "He sounded like he'd just found a turd in his Cracker Jack box" [K 7865:] or "She was wearing a Fred Perry shirt and she had...bodacious ta-tas" [K 2550:]
Ok, this tops it - the single worst book I have read in over 25 years. How a publisher let this book through is a complete and total disgrace to the writer's community. I wanted to give it 0 stars but was forced to give it 1 star just so I could write this review. I thought it was written by a 15 year old - but, alas, no.
Yet, oh yet, this author has more books published!!! How is this possible??? Please, if you have any money or time - sue the publisher and get these books off the shelf.
Hmmmm....wonder why Amazon gave this book away for free on the Kindle?? If you are an author I would strongly suggest you read this book to see how NOT to write a novel - it would be a great education.
(I'm starting to wonder about my anti-book burning beliefs - except I don't want to burn my Kindle 2 - hey, look! a delete button!!!)
Ok, this tops it - the single worst book I have read in over 25 years. How a publisher let this book through is a complete and total disgrace to the writer's community. I wanted to give it 0 stars but was forced to give it 1 star just so I could write this review. I thought it was written by a 15 year old - but, alas, no.
Yet, oh yet, this author has more books published!!! How is this possible??? Please, if you have any money or time - sue the publisher and get these books off the shelf.
Hmmmm....wonder why Amazon gave this book away for free on the Kindle?? If you are an author I would strongly suggest you read this book to see how NOT to write a novel - it would be a great education.
(I'm starting to wonder about my anti-book burning beliefs - except I don't want to burn my Kindle 2 - hey, look! a delete button!!!)
August 11, 2007
Tightly constructed plot, but little else going for it. I'll admit that halfway through, the book hooked me and I couldn't put it down, but it reads like a cheap Hollywood thriller - no character development, half-realized characters, and stilted dialogue. The ending in particular is easy to see coming, and then the book just stops, allowing little resolution. What resolution is there is undercut by the main character acting out of what little character you've managed to divine. A fine summer read, but little else.
October 29, 2016
Dan Brown war gestern, jubelt ein Rezensent auf der Rückseite. Im Vergleich zu den kunsthistorischen Schnitzeljagden mit einem psychopathischen Serienmörder im Rückspiegel ist der Goldjunge ein erfrischend freches Werksspionagegaunerstück mit witzigen Karikaturen der Wirtschaftsleute und ihrer Wichtigtuerei.
Ein unbedarfter Nichtsnutz mit einem massiven Vaterkomplex wird in die Rolle des Industriespions gepresst und macht seine Sache überraschend gut, auch wenn die Hürden immer höher werden, passiert immer gerade rechtzeitig ein Wunder, so dass sich schnell der Eindruck einstellt, dass da von mehr als einer interessierten Seite Strippen gezogen werden.
Die schönste und bezeichnendste Stelle ist die Ausfahrt mit dem Obermacker der ausspionierten Firma Trion. Der ist ein Oldtimersammler und das Schmuckstück ein Buick Roadmaster von 1949, an dem vermutlich keine einzige Schraube des ursprünglichen Scheunenfunds noch dran ist. Der allseits gebildete Mann vergleicht sein Vorzeigeexemplar mit dem Schiff des Theseus in Athen, das auch ständig ausgebessert werden musste, bis irgendwann nichts mehr von dem Kahn übrig war, mit dem Theseus die vor dem Minotaurus geretteten Athener Jungfrauen in die Heimat zurück brachte.
Held und Flachkopf Adam, gewissermaßen der moderne Theseus, erinnert sich irgendwie noch daran, dass da was mit einem Labyrinth gewesen sein soll. Ein bezeichnendes Moment für seine erst spät begriffene Rolle und seinen Aufenthalt im Labyrinth eines Firmenkrieges.
Leider gelingt Finder danach nicht mehr allzu viel, das letzte Drittel ist dann doch ziemlich dahin geschludert, während in der ersten Hälfte eine Vielzahl interessanter Nebenfiguren über die Fadheit der Hauptperson hinweg trösten konnten.
Viel zuletzt verschenktes Potenzial, Hauptsache fertig werden war wohl das Motto, von daher sind am Ende zwar alle Rätsel gelöst, trotzdem bleibt ein fader Nachgeschmack. Auch wegen der absolut öden Liebesgeschichte, in der sich das Traumpaar gegenseitig in die Kiste bringen und ausspionieren bzw. mit Falschinformationen versorgen soll, da wäre mehr drin gewesen. Bei Dan Brown, so armselig seine Schreibe auch sein mag, hatte ich nie das Gefühl, dass der Autor gleich ein paar Reihen seiner scheinbar endlos strickbaren Erfolgsmasche fallen ließ. Die Nummer des Goldjungen lässt sich nicht beliebig reproduzieren, um so ärgerlicher ist das verschlampte Potenzial der Geschichte. Von daher 51/100 eigentlich zweieinhalb Sterne.
Ein unbedarfter Nichtsnutz mit einem massiven Vaterkomplex wird in die Rolle des Industriespions gepresst und macht seine Sache überraschend gut, auch wenn die Hürden immer höher werden, passiert immer gerade rechtzeitig ein Wunder, so dass sich schnell der Eindruck einstellt, dass da von mehr als einer interessierten Seite Strippen gezogen werden.
Die schönste und bezeichnendste Stelle ist die Ausfahrt mit dem Obermacker der ausspionierten Firma Trion. Der ist ein Oldtimersammler und das Schmuckstück ein Buick Roadmaster von 1949, an dem vermutlich keine einzige Schraube des ursprünglichen Scheunenfunds noch dran ist. Der allseits gebildete Mann vergleicht sein Vorzeigeexemplar mit dem Schiff des Theseus in Athen, das auch ständig ausgebessert werden musste, bis irgendwann nichts mehr von dem Kahn übrig war, mit dem Theseus die vor dem Minotaurus geretteten Athener Jungfrauen in die Heimat zurück brachte.
Held und Flachkopf Adam, gewissermaßen der moderne Theseus, erinnert sich irgendwie noch daran, dass da was mit einem Labyrinth gewesen sein soll. Ein bezeichnendes Moment für seine erst spät begriffene Rolle und seinen Aufenthalt im Labyrinth eines Firmenkrieges.
Leider gelingt Finder danach nicht mehr allzu viel, das letzte Drittel ist dann doch ziemlich dahin geschludert, während in der ersten Hälfte eine Vielzahl interessanter Nebenfiguren über die Fadheit der Hauptperson hinweg trösten konnten.
Viel zuletzt verschenktes Potenzial, Hauptsache fertig werden war wohl das Motto, von daher sind am Ende zwar alle Rätsel gelöst, trotzdem bleibt ein fader Nachgeschmack. Auch wegen der absolut öden Liebesgeschichte, in der sich das Traumpaar gegenseitig in die Kiste bringen und ausspionieren bzw. mit Falschinformationen versorgen soll, da wäre mehr drin gewesen. Bei Dan Brown, so armselig seine Schreibe auch sein mag, hatte ich nie das Gefühl, dass der Autor gleich ein paar Reihen seiner scheinbar endlos strickbaren Erfolgsmasche fallen ließ. Die Nummer des Goldjungen lässt sich nicht beliebig reproduzieren, um so ärgerlicher ist das verschlampte Potenzial der Geschichte. Von daher 51/100 eigentlich zweieinhalb Sterne.
February 8, 2024
Nu m-a dat pe spate. 🫢
Chiar dacă are o intriga bună și te tine un pic cu sufletul la gură când și când (mai ales după ce te atașezi de personajul principal), mi s-a părut plictisitoare pe alocuri.
Mi s-a părut usor amuzanta, are câteva replici menite sa aducă zâmbetul pe buze.
Scriitura cursiva si ușor de citit (dacă faci abstracție de denumirile specifice -la care nu ma pricep deloc).
Intorsatura de la final mi-a plăcut, făcând parca ca toată lectura să merite.
Ii dau 3 stele, nu e printre preferatele mele, dar merge.
Chiar dacă are o intriga bună și te tine un pic cu sufletul la gură când și când (mai ales după ce te atașezi de personajul principal), mi s-a părut plictisitoare pe alocuri.
Mi s-a părut usor amuzanta, are câteva replici menite sa aducă zâmbetul pe buze.
Scriitura cursiva si ușor de citit (dacă faci abstracție de denumirile specifice -la care nu ma pricep deloc).
Intorsatura de la final mi-a plăcut, făcând parca ca toată lectura să merite.
Ii dau 3 stele, nu e printre preferatele mele, dar merge.
April 2, 2010
Cliché-ridden potboiler, full of dated technical jargon and (I kid you not) “babe magnets�. If you are old enough to remember the days when LexisNexis was the cutting-edge search engine, or were any part of the twentieth-century internet bubble with its ludicrous "How To Succeed" business books, you might find yourself engulfed by waves of nostalgia - or nausea.
According to his biography on ŷ, the author "graduated summa cum laude from Yale College, and later taught on the Harvard faculty". So, I can only assume he's taking the mickey.
According to his biography on ŷ, the author "graduated summa cum laude from Yale College, and later taught on the Harvard faculty". So, I can only assume he's taking the mickey.
February 25, 2019
I read this book last year, but I never gave it a mention on GR, although it well deserves it.
I hope the reader has enough energy to match what the author put into his writing. The pace never lets up, and even though you find yourself exhausted, drained, burning out, you still have to turn the page.
Finder also does a good job of getting into the head of a young, cocky smart-ass who finds himself over his head.
I've read a couple of this author's books, and this one's my favorite.
I hope the reader has enough energy to match what the author put into his writing. The pace never lets up, and even though you find yourself exhausted, drained, burning out, you still have to turn the page.
Finder also does a good job of getting into the head of a young, cocky smart-ass who finds himself over his head.
I've read a couple of this author's books, and this one's my favorite.
April 14, 2013
Joseph Finder’s Paranoia is not just a fun corporate thriller out of the author’s wildest imagination. It is a story that has uncanny resemblance to the operation, set-up, corporate culture and technologies of the Fortune 500 workplace, Cisco Sytems. The names are altered poorly for the trained eye. I heard through the rumor mill that Finder spent much time on campus learning and observing the ways of Cisco � and while the book is now dated, as much has changed in the last few years, some of us know and remember the early days of Cisco fondly.
As a former Cisco citizen, I found humor where none was intended, and amusement where no one else might. This may have been the only thriller that was extremely entertaining for me by virtue of being a long time Cisco employee, on levels probably most unintended by the author.
The characters are eccentric, the tech and corporate jargon are clever, and the setting is no better than my beloved Silicon Valley. An engineer and a keen user of our own technologies, I especially found Finder’s added twist and play on words to the tech jargon very amusing, almost hilarious. He seems to have taken (and passed) a crash course on Cisco acronyms, project names and everyday dialogue. Well-done! Very impressive! Finder must have worked with an inside source and spent a few weeks on Cisco campus as part of his research on this book, or else how could he become so vernacular on Cisco lingo?
The plot is plenty strong for a corporate thriller, but my favorite things about this book are outside of the plot. They are things that I can relate to from experience because this book is about my company. The cubicle farm. The techie culture. The old ways of Cisco. The copious use of acronyms. Free food and drinks. Perks and rewards. The insane work hours especially with the appeal of the exploding economy in the 1990s. The super secrets of the hot products and related top projects. The executive worship. The instant millionaires in their fast cars and seemingly bottomless stroke of luck. Life at Cisco.
It seems fiction to others because it is a surreal culture we used to live and breathe at Cisco. Paranoia left me with a tinge of sadness for the old culture and things that no longer are. As with all things, change is inevitable and until the change has happened, we do not realize the depth of its impact. I know I will appreciate Paranoia more over time because of the vivid images it set in motion from a similar environment to which I belonged a long time ago, and to memories that will serve me for a very long time to come.
As a former Cisco citizen, I found humor where none was intended, and amusement where no one else might. This may have been the only thriller that was extremely entertaining for me by virtue of being a long time Cisco employee, on levels probably most unintended by the author.
The characters are eccentric, the tech and corporate jargon are clever, and the setting is no better than my beloved Silicon Valley. An engineer and a keen user of our own technologies, I especially found Finder’s added twist and play on words to the tech jargon very amusing, almost hilarious. He seems to have taken (and passed) a crash course on Cisco acronyms, project names and everyday dialogue. Well-done! Very impressive! Finder must have worked with an inside source and spent a few weeks on Cisco campus as part of his research on this book, or else how could he become so vernacular on Cisco lingo?
The plot is plenty strong for a corporate thriller, but my favorite things about this book are outside of the plot. They are things that I can relate to from experience because this book is about my company. The cubicle farm. The techie culture. The old ways of Cisco. The copious use of acronyms. Free food and drinks. Perks and rewards. The insane work hours especially with the appeal of the exploding economy in the 1990s. The super secrets of the hot products and related top projects. The executive worship. The instant millionaires in their fast cars and seemingly bottomless stroke of luck. Life at Cisco.
It seems fiction to others because it is a surreal culture we used to live and breathe at Cisco. Paranoia left me with a tinge of sadness for the old culture and things that no longer are. As with all things, change is inevitable and until the change has happened, we do not realize the depth of its impact. I know I will appreciate Paranoia more over time because of the vivid images it set in motion from a similar environment to which I belonged a long time ago, and to memories that will serve me for a very long time to come.
November 6, 2015
This book got me in the beginning BUT WHY is the F word used so often in the Dialogue it turns me right off There is no need for it a 1 had been wanting to read this author for a while disappointed
July 15, 2009
I read this because it was free. It's not often you get a free book. I read all my books on an Amazon Kindle and for some reason or other they've begun offering free books. I had never heard of the writer or the book, but I gave it a shot anyway. It turns out it was a terrific page turner. It concerns one Adam Cassidy whose a total slacker at a high tech electronics company. He screws up in such a way the company threatens him with jail. But he' such a good BS artist they blackmail him into become a industrial spy at the rival firm. This sets up a story filled with late night sneaking into offices with security guards doing their rounds just inches away. You get the idea. I don't want to give the story away, but poor Adam is pulled in a hundred directions as he tries to get himself out of the mess he's in. A very good thriller. And the Kindle price is certainly right.
November 22, 2015
Το κλασικό εύπεπτο αμερικάνικο βιβλίο/σενάριο. Μια γενιά συγγραφέων από το ίδιο καλούπι. Η παρομοίωση του συγγραφέα για έναν μυώδη άνδρα που "έμοιαζε με καφετί προφυλακτικό παραγεμισμένο με καρύδια" θα μου μείνει αξέχαστη.
Χαίρε έμπνευση!
Χαίρε έμπνευση!
March 8, 2009
Had all the depth of a made for network television movie.
April 6, 2021
A corporate espionage thriller which unfortunately suffers from exponential plot: it drags at the start, there aren't many surprises, and then suddenly everything happens at once in the last 15% of the book.
July 22, 2016
My first sitting reading, "Paranoia", from author Joseph Finder was to my shock 90 minutes, and almost 125 pages ! Incredibly hard to put down, I read the book in just over 24 hours. At 450 suspense filled pages, "Paranoia", just seemed to fly along at an amazingly high octane pace. Protagonist Adam Cassidy of "Wyatt Telecom" was woefully stuck in an unchallenging job that left him bored to tears. So when a popular loading dock foreman was on his last Friday on the job, Cassidy at the company's expense, and totally unauthorized has an idea. Why not throw a huge send off bash ? Which he does while spending up to $78K of company's funds ! Naturally come Monday morning Company Security Head Arthur Meachum calls Cassidy into his office . Meachum scares Cassidy with decades of prison time, and huge federal fines for his spectacular stunt. However, Wyatt Telecom doesn't want Adam to go to jail. They want him to become a spy in their leading competitor's company to gleam trade secrets and project information. In a highly skillful setup Adam gets inside "Trion Systems". With a fake resume and fake credentials Adam is on his way. The further and deeper Adam works his way inside the company and towards the top, his risks intensify greatly. Adam is welcomed into his "new" company as a hero. No matter how much Adam finds out it's never enough for founder Nick Wyatt in his quest to top Trion. If the pressure of the covert job Adam is doing isn't enough, he's also under extreme stress from his father who is dying of emphysema. Adam's father Frank is never satisfied with what Adam has done with his life. This compelling and intense story was not like a typical suspense thriller. In a lot of ways it was much better. Something far different than the usual type of thriller. Author Joseph Finder is simply a master story teller. "Paranoia", is the fourth book I've read from author Finder, and all four have been top notch excellent. The story is totally engrossing. There was no way I was putting this book down until I found out how it was going to end. Main character Adam Cassidy is a very likable guy whose hasn't had the easiest of times since graduating from college. When he meets the beautiful and brilliant Alana at Trion it's nice to see him get the girl. Adam throughout the book is never it seems in any position to get away from a losing situation, and he knows it. Adam's victories along the way are nice to be able to cheer him on in his impossible life. Five stars out of a possible five stars for author Joseph Finder's, "Paranoia", (Written in 2004). My question to suspense thriller readers would be: If you're not reading Joseph Finder, why the heck not ? This is an author not to be missed. I'm glad I have a couple more of his books to read yet. Seriously- you don't know, "Paranoia", until you read this book.
March 13, 2019
2,5 No me termino de convencer quizás por que a menos de mitad de libro ya me veía venir el final, quizás por que no logra el suspenso y tensión de un thriller. Las páginas iban pasando y el ritmo siempre es el mismo muy tranquilo. Esta bien escrito y los capítulos son muy cortos. Gran acierto Para no hacer más pesada la novela.
May 20, 2011
Paranoia was a fun thriller to read. It afforded me many laughs at my own expense, as a Product Manager in a high-tech company. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of depth in the plot - Finder sets you up for a plot twist, and the twist just isn't that great. There doesn't seem to be much depth of character either; I found it impossible to sympathize with the protagonist simply because there seemed to be very little explanation behind his continual poor decisions. It seems like Finder conceived the end of the book before the beginning, which made for very plastic characters - he knew where they were going to end up, but didn't provide very compelling arguments for why they would make such decisions. All in all, I would suggest this for a plane/beach read, not a thought-provoking read.
June 4, 2015
I really enjoy reading the book.
The beginning of the story however, is not interesting at all. I have lost my interest just because of that.
The ending is not satisfying. I am not the person who could deal with that kind of ending.
The blind spot for those two certainly withdraw a star.
The beginning of the story however, is not interesting at all. I have lost my interest just because of that.
The ending is not satisfying. I am not the person who could deal with that kind of ending.
The blind spot for those two certainly withdraw a star.
June 10, 2019
Talvez este seja a nota 5 estrelas mais difícil que eu já dei. Isso porque "Paranoia" não tem grandes destaques, não é um livro que provavelmente eu vá me lembrar daqui uns 5 anos...mas a avaliação bem positiva se deve por um conjunto de fatores: a escrita fluida de Joseph Finder, na qual você devora páginas sem perceber; uma trama de espionagem corporativa bem construída, sem grandes furos, e que segura seu interesse até o desfecho; um personagem central interessante, construído sem exageros; e um final que, diferente de muitos livros deste estilo, não é brilhante mas não decepciona.
August 16, 2022
Joseph Finder's is one of my favorite novels, which I read after seeing the movie - so I already knew the plot and still was on the edge of my seat!
Paranoia is similar to High Crimes with its trickery but it's set in the tech world and the espionage was boring stuff like...looking for the secretary's key to the filing cabinets?
Minus one star for using the descriptor "bodacious ta-tas"
Paranoia is similar to High Crimes with its trickery but it's set in the tech world and the espionage was boring stuff like...looking for the secretary's key to the filing cabinets?
Minus one star for using the descriptor "bodacious ta-tas"
August 10, 2014
For me, this book seemed somewhat average. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. I got enjoyment from it, and it was easy to read, but it didn’t hold anything special for me. I find that some thrillers have a pattern that doesn’t really appeal to me � the pattern of a main character who ends up in trouble as a result of bad decisions, then ends up in worse trouble as a result of more bad decisions, and so forth. This definitely isn’t the case with all thrillers, but it does seem to be a commonly-used device. Characters (and real-life people!) who habitually make bad decisions without thinking through the consequences get on my nerves.
Paranoia is a thriller involving corporate espionage. The main character, from whose perspective the entire book is told, starts off making a bad decision without fully thinking through the potential consequences. As a result, he gets caught up in a spiral of events that lead to more bad decisions. Despite this, he is still a somewhat likeable character and he seems to have learned some lessons by the end of the book. But there were a lot of times when he just really annoyed me.
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, the story itself was interesting and kept me reading to find out what would happen next. The author also provided a lot of details about the corporations involved that reminded me of the corporate offices in which I work and thus added a feel of genuineness to the story. I’m not referring to the whole back-stabbing, cutthroat, darker side to the corporate environments in the story, but rather just the simple things like the layout of the offices, the amenities, the policies, and so forth. I could easily picture what the author was describing.
The plot seemed pretty straight-forward, moving in the expected direction from the beginning to (almost) the end. So I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by an unexpected twist near the end. I say “somewhat� because I had mixed feelings about how things turned out versus how I was expecting them to turn out. In the end, I sympathized more with the main character than I had throughout the majority of the book because I felt as indignant about how things turned out as he did.
The ending was also very abrupt. We’re left with a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen, and the main plot is resolved, but we aren’t 100% sure what the main character’s final decision is or how things turn out for him after he makes the expected decision. If I wanted to imagine my own ending, then I might as well have just imagined my own book too.
Paranoia is a thriller involving corporate espionage. The main character, from whose perspective the entire book is told, starts off making a bad decision without fully thinking through the potential consequences. As a result, he gets caught up in a spiral of events that lead to more bad decisions. Despite this, he is still a somewhat likeable character and he seems to have learned some lessons by the end of the book. But there were a lot of times when he just really annoyed me.
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, the story itself was interesting and kept me reading to find out what would happen next. The author also provided a lot of details about the corporations involved that reminded me of the corporate offices in which I work and thus added a feel of genuineness to the story. I’m not referring to the whole back-stabbing, cutthroat, darker side to the corporate environments in the story, but rather just the simple things like the layout of the offices, the amenities, the policies, and so forth. I could easily picture what the author was describing.
The plot seemed pretty straight-forward, moving in the expected direction from the beginning to (almost) the end. So I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by an unexpected twist near the end. I say “somewhat� because I had mixed feelings about how things turned out versus how I was expecting them to turn out. In the end, I sympathized more with the main character than I had throughout the majority of the book because I felt as indignant about how things turned out as he did.
The ending was also very abrupt. We’re left with a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen, and the main plot is resolved, but we aren’t 100% sure what the main character’s final decision is or how things turn out for him after he makes the expected decision. If I wanted to imagine my own ending, then I might as well have just imagined my own book too.
August 10, 2013
I bought my copy in Costco (the paperback version) at a time when I usually read hard cover books only. I was picky back then. This was the first time I read a book about what goes on in the corporate world. Me being a blue-collar man, Joseph Finder's story was eye-opening. He writes with clarity, and keeps the story flowing smooth. His book Paranoia is a page-turner, and at times made me wonder what I would have done and been like had I been placed in the main character's shoes. I was so interested in Finder's writing I immediately bought his book, 'Company Man,' for my next read. It was not Paranoia, but equally entertaining. For a time I found myself wishing to be a Company Man myself.
In Paranoia the ending sticks out in my mind, but I'm not giving away the story.
David Lucero, author
In Paranoia the ending sticks out in my mind, but I'm not giving away the story.
David Lucero, author
April 14, 2011
I really liked this book. Keeps you guessing and I really did not guess the ending, which is unusual for me lately. When reading it a few times I was frustrated by the shallow/mixed feelings Adam had - on the one hand guilt, but it was shallow, on the other hand he liked what he was doing and getting. And the fact in the end he turned away from Goddard feeling like he wanted nothing to do with it - felt unbelievable, however, you can't tell from the ending what he will do... and he'll probably go back to the million dollar salary (I hope he does...). Anyway, a good read, different and nicely written.
Oh yeah... why was it titled Paranoia? It wasn't at all about that...
Oh yeah... why was it titled Paranoia? It wasn't at all about that...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 779 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.