Format C

A Y2K-induced millennium meltdown is the subject of Black's over-the-top first novel, which pits a self-infatuated investigative reporter against an even more egomaniacal computer mogul who's trying to implement a bizarre form of mind control through the software he manufactures. Dan Levin is the independently wealthy freelance journalist who learns that Windgazer CEO Ben Hinnom has assassinated one of his corporate competitors, allowing the Windgazer operating system to dominate the market as the race to beat the Y2K bug picks up steam. After landing a book deal to expose Hinnom, Levin is assisted in his investigation by his girlfriend, Park McGuire, a programmer whose teenage son also happens to be a computer prodigy. When Park is transferred from Chicago to Israel to assist in a top-secret effort to break Windgazer's stranglehold on the market, Dan accompanies her and finds that deep within the holy city lies the key to his rival's defeat. After rummaging through a series of ancient scrolls, Dan uses dodgey biblical archeology to hunt down Hinnom. The battle between journalist and executive remains fairly believable for the first half of the book, but Black goes off the deep end with the mind control subplot. On the eve of the millennium in Jerusalem, the freedom of the world hangs in the balance as the equally unsympathetic Levin and Hinnom struggle over a formatting solution for the year 2000. Hinnom's fraudulent fix will give him terrifying power, while the ""format c:"" of the title will save the day. The potential of Y2K as a storytelling device gets lost among Black's many detours to remote desert spots, leaving readers to wade through pages of clich s as this erratic yarn veers toward a preposterous conclusion. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour. (May)