PINEIRO, R. J. 1961-

PERSONAL: Born April 17, 1961, in Havana, Cuba; U.S. citizen; son of Rogelio A. (an electrical engineer) and Dora R. (a homemaker) Pineiro; married Lory M., October 15, 1983; children: Cameron R. Ethnicity: "Hispanic." Education: Louisiana State University, B.S., 1983. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Tae kwon do (second-degree black belt), flying (private pilot's license), playing classical guitar.

ADDRESSES: Home—Austin, TX. Agent—Trident Media Group, 152 West 57th Street, New York, NY, 10019. E-mail—author@rjpineiro.com.

CAREER: Engineering manager and writer. Advanced Micro Devices, Austin, TX, engineering manager, 1983—.

WRITINGS:

Siege of Lightning, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1993.

Ultimatum, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Retribution, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Exposure, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Breakthrough, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

01-01-00: A Novel of the Millennium, Forge (New York, NY), 1999.

Y2K, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Shutdown, Forge (New York, NY), 2000.

Conspiracy.com, Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

Firewall, Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2002.

Cyberterror, Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2003.

Also author of novellas and short stories titled Combat—Fight of Endeavour, A Spook in Paradise, From Havana to Silicon Hills, Green Zeroes, and Air Infantry.

ADAPTATIONS: Several works are available on audiocassette.

SIDELIGHTS: R. J. Pineiro was born in Cuba and grew up in Central America. A longtime worker in the computer industry, accomplished pilot, expert in martial arts, and gun buff, Pineiro combines his enthusiasm in these arenas to make his internationally acclaimed techno-thrillers not only exciting but intricately detailed and technically correct. He travels extensively throughout Asia, the Americas, and Europe, gathering research for his novels as well as his computer career.

The plot of 01-01-00: A Novel of the Millennium centers around cybercop Susan Garnett and her arch enemy Bloodaxe, an expert computer hacker who sabotaged the Washington, DC, computer-based transportation code after he was fired by government officials. Bloodaxe's actions resulted in the death of Susan's husband and daughter and put Susan in a coma. Two years later, Susan tracks down Bloodaxe and he lands in prison. Her goal achieved and her family gone, a depressed Susan is considering suicide when the head of the FBI's high-tech crime department solicits her expertise and aid in averting a worldwide catastrophe. Twenty days before the millennium and at exactly the same time, every computer in the world froze for twenty seconds; with nineteen days to go, they froze for nineteen seconds. The millennium countdown is on, and Susan's life takes on new meaning. Her dilemma, however, is that the one person with the skill to help her prevent disaster is Bloodaxe. Together they determine that the computer virus originated in an ancient Mayan city. Susan heads for the jungles of Guatemala, where, with the aid of a Mayan anthropologist, she attempts to find and exterminate the deadly virus.

Harriet Klausner, reviewing the book for BookBrowser Review online, commented: "01-01-00 is a welldesigned millennium high tech thriller. The story is unique, fast-paced, and never buries the reader in scientific jargon. One of the charms of R.J. Pineiro's novel is those understandable explanations that always completely flow within the plot. Thus, asides to the audience or simply ignoring the reader never occurs. The complex sub-plots merge into an interesting climax where the modern world converges with the ancient world in a wondrous novel that deserves much acclaim."

Shutdown, called "fast paced and cutting edge" by Carol DeAngelo in School Library Journal, hooks the reader quickly and presents a believable and terrifying scenario in which a covert group within the Japanese Defense Agency coerces discontented engineers to sabotage semiconductors manufactured in the United States. These faulty components cause plane and train crashes that kill hundreds of people in various places and leave Detroit totally without electric power. Erika Conklin—a young woman caught hacking the computer system at the University of Berkeley and now employed by the FBI in lieu of a prison sentence—becomes an invaluable member of the team attempting to uncover the deadly operation. DeAngelo wrote: "The appeal to young adults stems from the personalities of Erika and the government forces with which she works.... Readers are taken along on a mission by a crack Navy SEAL team whose exploits, abilities, and bravery are compelling and illuminating."

Conspiracy.com, Lynn Nutwell wrote in School Library Journal, is "a techno-thriller in which virtualreality scenarios woven smoothly into the plot inject sufficient energy and intrigue to compensate for shortcomings in character development and dialogue." An IRS money-laundering scheme involves a major bank, a giant software company, and a wealthy business owner connected with Cuba and Castro. Big Brothertype invasions into individuals' private lives, assassinations of people and careers, and a kidnapping are among the ingredients that make this technically complex and intricately detailed novel an action-packed suspense thriller.

Action and suspense again combine with technical intricacy in Firewall, in which international intrigue leads the characters on a dangerous and deadly path through North Korea and to the isle of Capri. When a former East German agent is hired by North Korea to steal the access codes to a U.S. spy satellite capable of causing mass destruction, Bruce Tucker and Monica Fox—who have each been given respective halves of the password to the codes—become entangled in a web of terrorism, counterterrorism, and spies. "Pineiro has a knack of spinning cliffhanging twists into impossible situations resolved by explosively clever means," commented a reviewer for Publishers Weekly.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Armchair Detective, winter, 1997, review of Exposure, p. 116.

Booklist, June 1, 1999, David Pitt, review of 01-01-00: A Novel of the Millennium, p. 1800; March 1, 2001, David Pitt, review ofConspiracy.com, p. 1231.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 1997, review of Breakthrough, p. 1057.

Publishers Weekly, February 18, 2002, review of Firewall, p. 77.

School Library Journal, September, 2000, Carol DeAngelo, review of Shutdown, p. 259; September, 2001, Lynn Nutwell, review of Conspiracy. com, p. 259.

ONLINE

BookBrowser Review,http://www.bookbrowser.com/Reviews/ (April 2, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of 01-01-00: A Novel of the Millennium.

R.J. Pineiro Web page,http://www.rjpineiro.com/ (April 2, 2002).