In "The Developers," a new book by first-time author Ben Woods, a web development company is commissioned to join forces with another technology firm and the United States government to build the Super Information Portal (SIP). The SIP will allow ordinary home users improved speed and performance through their existing ISPs by tacking on an extra dollar or two a month.

The new infrastructure, however, will be owned by the government and will be paid for as an Internet tax. Fittingly, the price tag will be a fraction of the overall Internet service cost.

However, 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.

The book's main characters, Matt and Katy, are doing just that: Trying to change the world while their co-workers make snide (but witty) pop-culture remarks on everything ranging from hard drives to Richard Simmons to Bingo to McDonalds.

Such is the way of art, you can't really hope to entertain based on the sole concept of a book written about the potential destruction of peoples' privacy or the development of an internet super conglomerate without a little wit involved.

If you didn't have it, people who are less, shall we say, Internet savvy may get bored.

But Woods pulls his characters together well while making some interesting indictments about the fast progression of technology. And, what most people may not realize is that the people who are in charge of such developments are not necessarily equipped to handle the philosophical implications of such endeavors. But that doesn't stop them from trying. Each character tries to distinguish themselves from the other in the pack, while trying to figure out what exactly the group is pursuing and why they are doing so.

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.