Girls of Geek Book Review: 7 Steps to Midnight

Written by:  Scotty

Could it be possible to have your life stolen from your right in front of your eyes?  Your identity being taken out from under your nose?  No one believing you are who you say, not even your family?  These are questions that Chris Barton is left to ask himself after it happened to him.

Working for the government on a top secret project, mathematician Chris Barton has found himself in sort of a rut.  Not being able to crack his next equation, Chris is feeling burnt out and in need of a break from his work and his life.  One night when leaving his military installation, Chris finds that his car is missing.  Borrowing his co-workers car to get home for the night, Chris stops and picks up a lowly hitchhiker, just to break the monotony in his day.

The old man he picks up is named Albert Veering, and Chris would not forget this trip for the rest of his life.  The old man asks Chris many questions, about what he does, where he works and if he would be able to tell if something in his life was unreal.  Chris tries his hardest to deflect these questions, but when the trip ends for Veering, the old man insists that a wager be placed. ‘I will wager you the security of your existence against your assumption that you know what’s real and what’s unreal in your life.’  Chris, now exhausted from his day, and from talking with the old man, accepts the wager, a decision that will change his life forever.

When you pick up 7 Steps to Midnight, you do not know what to expect.  Someone having their identity stolen in today’s society is no more than having your credit destroyed, but in this novel it is much, much more involved.  Chris Baron is forced to find a way to survive while no one believes he is who he says he is.  Trying to prove his identity, Chris turns to the authorities for help, but is met with resistance when outside agencies are called in.  Now his situation is growing more serious, with spies on his tail at every turn. 

Chris is forced to leave the United States and travel overseas to find someone, anyone that is willing to help him or at least keep him alive for the night.  Not knowing who he can trust, Chris is forced to fall back on anything he can find about espionage.  Not being a spy himself, along with being a mathematician, Chris has no training for this sort of thing, but the books he reads give him an idea of what he needs to do to survive. With different agencies following his every move, Chris has to play his cards right to survive, and hopefully find out what he has in his head that is so important to everyone that is chasing him.

This is a fantastic page turner from Matheson.  Not knowing who he can trust, Chris Barton is on the adventure of his life leaving his home to find refuge in London, Paris and Lucerne.  With more twists and turns taken at every chapter, you never know what is going to happen next.  Also with murders, druggings and a great car chase, you will be doing to your best to catch your breath with where this novel takes you.  Just sit back and enjoy the ride and do not let your paranoia get the best of you. 

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