MindWar

May 19, 2014
Klavan (the Homelanders series) kicks off a trilogy with this fast-paced cyberthriller involving a teenager tapped by a secret agency to fight evil inside a form of virtual reality. Former football star Rick Dial has been living in a funk ever since his father walked out on his family and Rick himself was injured in a car accident. A self-described “useless cripple,” Rick has taken to playing video games nonstop. His exemplary skills lead him to be recruited by the MindWar Project, where he’s charged with a vital mission: go into the digital “Realm” to investigate, spy on, and possibly combat the terrorist Kurodar. Inside the Realm, Rick fights code disguised as monsters as he learns how to achieve his full potential. While Rick starts out as depressed and surly, his self-image and confidence are gradually restored. The story, while interesting, suffers from a lack of focus—both an awkward romantic subplot and religious undertones involving the power of spirit feel tacked on, rather than an organic part of the novel. Ages 12–up. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group.

June 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-High School football star Rick Dial becomes depressed and immerses himself in video games after a car accident leaves his legs painfully useless. After racking up world-class high scores, the teen is recruited to fight real life baddies in The Realm-a virtual reality world created by Kurodar, a terrorist out to destroy the free world. Rick enters The Realm on several occasions, and each time the missions get more dangerous. He must fight for his life, because what happens to you in this virtual world affects your body in real life. Can Rick defeat Kurodar's evil Axis Assembly and save not only the country, but his family as well? The novel's overarching conservative and nationalistic themes turn this seemingly gamer-centric sci-fi novel into an exposition on forgiveness, faith, family, and patriotism. With quoted Bible passages and casual conversations with God, the author brings to the forefront the importance of religion in the protagonist's life. Sports commentary and video-game jargon are awkwardly integrated into the narrative. Recommended for athletes, young gamers, and readers looking for YA books with a Christian outlook.-Eden Rassette, Kenton County Public Library, KY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
A young video game whiz squares off against monsters and terrorists in a mad genius' cyberworld to save America.Ex-football star Rick gained world-class Xbox expertise during months of seclusion following the sudden disappearance of his scientist father and an accident that cost him the use of his legs, so he puts up only minor resistance when federal agents kidnap him and demand that he allow his mind to be wired into a MindWar Realm. The Realm's creator, Kurodar, is lining up support from the Axis Assembly ("the gathered leaders of every tyranny on earth") to wage cyberwar on the United States. Rick works to learn how to use spiritual force in the Realm to battle ravening security bots on the way to sabotaging a never-specified demonstration of Kurodar's powers. Meanwhile, the bad guy himself pursues a certain American computer expert known as Traveler-whose real identity is telegraphed well before a big reveal in the late going. In the end, Rick's immediate lot has improved, but Kurodar remains at large, and evidence of a traitor sets up the next episode.The cyberthrills are stylized, but the focus is on action, and there's just enough left unresolved to tempt readers onward. (Science fiction. 11-13)

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July 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 After recent high-school grad Rick is so seriously injured in a car accident that he will likely never again be a football star, he's consumed with so much bitterness, particularly about his absent father, that his life has spiraled into days and nights spent playing video games alone in his room and snapping at his adoring younger brother and caring mother. As he drifts ever closer to permanent, alienating self-centeredness, he's kidnapped by a team of secret agents who find him through his prowess in his favorite video game, Mindwar. They offer him an opportunity to use his athletic talents again, this time in a virtual environment, to combat a foreign threat. But is there something more sinister at work? Edgar Awardwinning Klavan's well-orchestrated fantasy thriller features brisk but compelling character development, a touch of wry humor, Christian sensitivity that doesn't proselytize, and an imaginative mix of gaming action with real-life stakes. With just the right cliff-hanger ending, this trilogy opener shows promise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)