Thank you for your kind words and sense of humor. You are a gifted man!

- Richard Simmons
Hollywood, Calif.
Full review

... it doesn't take a super sci-fi buff to see the potential implications of an Internet superpower and the American government operating out of people's homes hand in hand. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine having a serious love jones while trying to begin a new chapter in the world of technology. With the recent Internet chatter that has been surfacing about larger, more powerful Internet companies the book's message appears to be eerily relevant. This is a must for anyone who really dug 1984 or Brave New World but also likes to surf the Net from time to time, preferably with the idea in the back of your head that Big Brother could be watching.

- Katie Richardson, Buzz Magazine
Champaign, Ill.
Full review

Basically I really liked this book. Like, I missed my stop on the subway when reading it. I thought there was some trail off at the end, and it could use another edit, but especially for something self-published it was great. It was incredibly funny and reminded me of "microserfs" by doug coupland and "Company" by Max Barry. I highly recommend it to anyone who has worked in a techie office.

I would clarify, I think, because I liked the characters so much, any ending would have sucked, you know? Because it's an ending!

- Triumphantly Jenny
Queens, N.Y.
Full review

(Book talk)

Woods embodied the energy and humor central to his well-received book about the crazy world of Web developers and secret government projects. And he was disarmingly candid about the challenges faced by first-time authors succeeding in print.

- Greg Gapsis, News-Tribune
New Albany, Ind.
Full review

"The Developers" is a startlingly original and somewhat curious debut novel. The earnestness of the writer, the diversity of the characters, the originality of the presentation and the clarity and understatement of the prose combine to make it one of the most surprising releases of 2005. Woods' first book gives reason to expect some kind of masterpiece somewhere down the road.

- Paul Kopasz, Louisville Eccentric Observer
Louisville, Ky.

Ben Woods lucidly and quite pleasantly describes some of the issues surrounding the establishment of a new company in the internet age. He clearly understands plotting and structure and can put together a story with a good rhythm and pace. I look forward to reading further installments from Malorett or from wherever his imagination sets to work next.

- John Walsh, BookPleasures.com
Bangkok, Thailand
Full review

What can I say...Ben Woods is a funny guy. Following the adventures, misadventures and love lives of a bunch of young 20-somethings, Ben is able to effortlessly give us something techie that we can all, surprisingly understand. What's even more surprising is that we can all relate to his characters as well, despite their "heightened" intelligence above us all. They're all still human at their core--and everyone from your high school jock, to even your 50-year-old grandmother looking back in nostalgia--will be able to say they "felt" this book.

- Tiffiny K. Whitney
Santa Monica, Calif.

... The Internet concepts in 'The Developers' are enough by themselves for a novel. But Woods wraps the technical aspects of the story around the company's five 20-something employees, who try to balance work with their love lives, marriages, Richard Simmons fixations, stalker ex-husbands and secret lives in dangerous miniskirt cults ...

- Jim Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer
Owensboro, Ky.
Full review

"The Developers" is a frank and honest, and truly humorous window into the creative economy. The characters we meet in Woods' novel are the prototypes for the engines of our future. Whether it is the author's imagination or reality, I'm sold. These are people I'd like to know. Or at least people I'd like to have working for me.

- Randy Smith, Destinations Bookstore
New Albany, Ind.

The Developers project .comU is the most exciting thing to happen in Michigan's U.P. since the discovery of copper. OK, that's not too hard to beat, and there hasn't been any competition since they built the Mackinac Bridge, but it's a pretty good read. The 80's pop references definitely hit the mark with whatever you call the generation that preceded Generation X. Now that I think about it, I guess that makes us Generation IX. Reading this book is the second best thing to do in front of a nice cozy fire...

- B. Blomeke
Holt, Mich.

I've never read a book that used pop culture as a way of explaining the characters and the environment around them. This book uses pop culture in a humorous and descriptive way. If you were born in the 70s,80s, or 90s, you'll pick up all the references and you'll be amused by the way the characters come alive as your friends or people you went school with because you'll recall what you saw happen in the world, what movies impacted you, what tv shows affected culture. This book is not just for computer nerds for sure. It's a good find and it's original, at least in my library.

- JW Boiler
Palatine, Ill.

I have to say I have caught myself laughing out loud about every third page. My daughter keeps coming in to ask me what I'm laughing about. Very entertaining.

The book is about a group of young enterprising entrepreneurs in a small town in Michigan. It is somewhat technical in nature, but it is laced with humor that makes the book very entertaining. It's a humorous story about five young people surrounded by crazy people. I thought it was a well written story. It brought out the entrepreneurial spirit in me as well as brought me back to my days in college.

- Fred Miller
Owensboro, Ky.

The Developers is a funny, romantic, and technologically driven book that is sure to interest you in some way. It is about a small-town crew that comes up with a big-time idea that even the government is interested in. If you are ready for a good laugh, check it out.

- Dean Harley
Louisville, Ky.

I really liked "The Developers," and a few of my friends like it, too. I guess all of us have a little bit of the IT nerd in us. Or maybe it was the relationship issues.

- Chris
Cincinnati

Santa Claus brought me a copy of "The Developers," and I'm enjoying it. I especially get a kick out of the guy who looks like Richard Simmons :-)

I just finished the book last night; I always like a story with a happy ending :-)

- Georgette Beatty
Carmel, Ind.

... Each character -- (Matt) Severson, Drew Davis, Katy Terrill, Kevin Gentry and Sarina Metcalfe -- adds drama and humor to the events leading to .comU's launch as personal issues intervene in regular daily work ...

- Mel Robertson, Journal Review
Crawfordsville, Ind.
Full review

Sorry i never got back to you about your book. I loved it by the way.

- Jessi
Jeffersonville, Ind.

I found all your characters inviting and easy to like except Katy; she just didn't sit right with me throughout the book. I liked Kevin, he seemed like a buddy, and I thought if I knew any of them he'd be the one I'd get along with. In a way it reading the book felt like watching reality tv (in a good way) as in, you made me feel a part of thier lives. I'll admit it's not my normal reading preference, but it kept me entertained and completed it in almost one sitting.

- Christie
Crawfordsville, Ind.

This book was awesome! I'm 18 and i understood most of the references to previous decades. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good book to read.

- T.V. Green
Broken Arrow, Okla.

Anyway, great book. I love any fiction books that can keep me interested in the plot and characters. Awesome pop culture references.

I'm really getting into the characters. I think you do a great job in setting up the characters, their pasts, etc. You are good at writing women, by the way. How did you learn how to do that?

I am enjoying the bits of mystery that are popping up. So many questions and I want to find out where they take the book.

- Azure
Lancaster, Mass.

Ultimately, I cannot recommend this book unless you're a hip young developer of the sort depicted in the book. Then again, since I've never been one of those either, even if you were a hip young developer of the sort depicted in the book, my guess is that you wouldn't take book recommendations from an old fogey like me.

- Piaw Na, Google
Sunnyvale, Calif.
Full review

I just finished The Developers. Great job!! We were talking about our girls night out yesterday, but I kept laughing about the black mini skirt cult . . . and then Joe asked to join the group and had a good chuckle :)

I'm looking forward to the next book !

- Faith
Washington, D.C.

I loved your book. It was the first book I read which I had fun reading it. It made me laugh at times which for a book to do is hard. Overall, it was a great book I just hope you write more so I can read more of your writing.

- Danielle
West Lafayette, Ind.

The book touches on some interesting issues, particularly when the developers are contacted by the U.S. government about developing a national "Super Information Portal" that would force internet users not only to connect to the internet via government networks, but to willingly have their internet usage tracked by the government. In short, the developers have to wrestle with the possibility that the technology that they invented will be used by the government to keep tabs on virtually every person living in the United States. Though this is a work of a fiction, it brings up the question: how accessible is private information, and is government control over something as open as the Internet plausible? With the recent changes on websites such as Facebook, one can literally obtain a mass of information on a person in seconds.

- Gaby Arevalo - The Retriever Weekly
Baltimore, Md.
Full review

Reading "The Developers" was like having a really good friend tell you a story of what happened to them, and I enjoyed the book throughout. "The Developers" is vivid, creative, scandalous at times, and just plain fun to read.

- Stephanie Langguth
Erlanger, Ky.

Who doesn't love reviews? Probably the people who don't like to avoid work. If you like to avoid work, I suggest that you kill yourself quickly, otherwise your personal growth will stagnate and you'll feel dead for the rest of your life; then, you'll make others take responsibility for your choice to avoid work, and I'll probably sleep with your ignored partner. If you do like work, then get to it; stop reading reviews! Buy the book yourself!

- Tim Bauscher
Louisville, Ky.

If you liked 1984 or Brave New World, you will love The Developers. It's a novel about a team of geeks who are trying to build a web for a Michigan town that will give total access of everyone's home to the government. The paranoia of Big Brother watching is prevalent throughout the book and makes for a suspenseful read. Woods gives us all something to think about in an age of technology, terrorism, and invasion of privacy.

- Joyce DeBroux - Reader's Book Emporium
Rocky Mount, N.C.

Despite not being an avid reader, The Developers kept my attention from cover to cover. Any book that discloses the intricacies of bingo only one or two chapters removed from a description of a Richard Simmons look-a-like skiing in shorts is worth the read. While the technological portions of the book were a bit bland, the blend of fact, fiction, and absurdity combine to make for an interesting story. On top of all that, The Developers reveals one of the world's greatest Unsolved Mysteries (unfortunately it had nothing to do with how many hours of make-up Robert Stack required), but rather why many elderly bingo players have tattoos that read, `Call the numbers you FREAK!'

- Chris Woods
Seattle, Wash.

I finished the book a couple weeks ago while I was on vacation. Great fun! It definitely picked up after I talked to you last time. The last third is a real page-turner as I kept trying to see how you were going to pull it all together! "The Developers" is an exciting tale set inside the software development industry and does much to expose the human side of computer science.

- Tim Korb, Asst. Dept. Head of Computer Sciences, Purdue University
West Lafayette, Ind.

Whether you are a star trek geek or a basic internet user, you'll find Ben's book fantastic. It's a great mix of tongue in cheek humor and techno speak coupled with great dialog and well defined characters.

My favorite line is on page 93 "People online are crazy," Kevin said "Haven't you learned anything?" Pick one up for the social networker in your family and you can't go wrong.

- Leah Lakstins
McAllen, Texas

... a novel about a little bit of everything - in the mode of 'Seinfeld,' with a helping of 'Dilbert' on the side.

- Rebecca Coudret, Courier & Press
Evansville, Ind.

It was a good read. I had it on the plane with me, and the woman next to me actually recognized it (she files the books at the (University of Washington) stacks).

- John
Seattle

What a loaded book!! This book is filled with innovative Web-based ideas in addition to great character developments....but beware, some of those character developments get a little spicy from time to time. Lots of funny side references take you back through the recent past - what an intriguing and entertaining piece of work!

(Thanks for being one of the initial proofreaders, Mom!)

- Mary Rising
Louisville, Ky.

I have just read the first paragraph of your book "The Developers." There is a glaring error which I have to correct before I continue to the second paragraph. As an "Andy Griffith" show addict, having seen all the episodes numberous times, I must correct you ... there never was an image of a human phone operator or a switchboard. The phone operator was Sarah, who was never seen, and neither was a switcboard. Now, with that settled, I'll try the second paragraph.

- Juanita Jamison
New Albany, Ind.

This book is extremely entertaining!! It was a a laugh out loud read at all the crazy twists and turns. Though it takes you through their very tecnological work lives, he still keeps you fully invested in them personally, drawing you in and making you feel for all the characters. I couldn't put the book down once I started. Butch is the greatest :)

- S. Dries
Houston

"The Developers" is an amazing book encompasing all of the wonderful things that make up its author. If you knew Ben Woods you could see his hysterical sense of humor all over this book, recognize his interest in pop culture (especially anything 80s) and perceive his intelligence and ingenuity on the topic of computers, the Internet and networking. His passion for story-telling and writing comes shining through this story that keeps you turning the pages and wondering where he comes up with the detail he injected to each of his characters' lives.

- Miranda Der Ohanian
Washington, D.C.

I really liked the book. It was very appealing to me and I think it would be a great read for anyone who is young and in the industry of computers.

- Annie Stinson
Louisville, Ky.

This book is a great escape. It ties in the present and future of technology in an exciting story plot of everyday characters. Throughout the reading, one will pulled through a world where technology and computers are the focus but allows the reader to enter into a world that may be unfamiliar to them. Along with the "real-world" technology situations through the developing company, the reader is also introduced to each character's personality. There is something for everyone in the novel. I very much enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to everyone!

- L. Costa
Newark, Del.

Your book is a creative first go and definitely displays your enthusiasm and passion for writing. I look forward to your next go ... the miniskirt club was hilarious!

- Nancy Reinhart
Louisville, Ky.