Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner


It's the future of the United States. A place where black-market and side alley deals are made for video games...a place where computers and their peripherals are high commodities. There is no Las Vegas, and Sam knows he's the one responsible for the downfall of the United States....

It started out harmlessly. A little hack to get some free neuro headsets for him and his best friend Fargas. Sam knew the hack was easy, but he still couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching. And then the invitation arrived. Neoh@ck would invite him to the elite of the elite if he could find their con. What did he have to do? Crack the firewall of the White House and find the virtual con. Sam did, and now the feds are knocking on his door.

But there is more to it than meets the virtual eye. Sam runs into Dodge while incarcerated and makes a daring plan to escape. And his escape turns into the a proposition he can't refuse, working on what he does best. One that means life or death, protection of countries and their resources and governments, and a battle against Ursula, a virtual being that wants to take control of not only the what Sam and the crew are trying to protect, but of people as well, using the only means available to her...neuro headsets.

WOWOW!!! Okay, this isn't quite a word you'd use for a review, but from the beginning I was hooked. Brian Falkner writes a YA thriller that does exactly what he set out to do - thrill the reader. A dystopian novel in a very futuristic, realistic way, Falkner writes about the dangers of the future involving technology, and one that could quite conceivably happen. Sam is one of those teens we all know...an extremely bright and talented person who walks, talks and lives for technology. He is vibrant, intuitive, and leaps off the pages as well as the other characters in this novel. The prologue will capture and the book will follow suit.
I requested a guy read on the floor of ALA...the next best novel that will capture this audience. The rep at Random House handed me this...Brian Falkner's book will too with the guys. Due out late September.

5 comments:

Savannah said...

Never heard os this book before. Great review. Soudns great.

McLibrarian said...

I have heard of this book, only just, but as a YA librarian always looking for guy reads, I cannot WAIT to get my hands on this one. Dystopian reads are very popular with some of my YA male readers, and the idea of hacking will snag them immediately. Thanks so much for sharing!

ballen said...

I'm a middle school librarian, and I think this book is really going to be a hit! Teens will identify with Sam's character--a elite techie who gets himself "drafted" into a national security position and still manages to be a kid. Lots of action, hacking, and a tiny bit of romance, too. Not just for guys!!!

Unknown said...

This is the greatest book of the centuary! Great job!

Unknown said...

THIS IS THE GREATEST BOOK OF THE CENTUARY! GREAT JOB!