Michael Grant Michael Grant has spent much of his life on the move. Raised in a military family, he attended ten schools in five states of the USA, as well as three schools in France. Even as an adult he kept moving, and in fact he became a writer in part because it was one of the few jobs that wouldn't tie him down. His fondest dream is to spend a whole year circumnavigating the globe and visiting every continent. Yes, even Antarctica. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife, Katherine Applegate, their two children, and far too many pets. In addition to his best-selling Gone series, described by Stephen King as "high-tension stories told in a driving, torrential narrative", Michael has also written books such as the BZRK, Magnificent 12 and Animorphs series as well as the standalone book for young adults Eve and Adam.
"'exciting, high-tension story told in a driving, torrential narrative... This is great fiction. I love these books.' (Stephen King, bestselling author.)"
Gr 10 Up-In the 21st century, war is covertly being waged and the fate of humanity is at stake. The conjoined, middle-aged Armstrong Twins, who head the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, want all of humanity to be as connected as they are. Rebelling against this vision is a shadowy organization, BZRK, which is somehow linked to McLure Industries. When Sadie McLure's brother and father die in a mysterious plane crash, leaving her the heir to the company, the 16-year-old finds herself pulled into the conspiracy. She and another gifted recruit, Noah, are trained by BZRK to fight with biots-minuscule genetically engineered extensions of themselves-against mechanical nanobots controlled by the teen hackers of AFGC. Their success will determine society's future. Grant cleverly blends the science of Michael Crichton with the international espionage of Anthony Horowitz's "Alex Rider" series (Philomel) in a sci-fi thriller that will hook teens. There's plenty of gore here, and frequent high-tension battles within and between human hosts of nanobots and biots. No one in this war is a hero, which keeps readers wondering if there really are "good guys." This moral nuance doesn't extend to the Twins, described as "Satan playing with DNA" and "fused together in a way that made the mind rebel." This ableism mars an otherwise engaging novel, which is the first in a series.-Gretchen Kolderup, New Canaan Library, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
