After preventing conservative MP Victor Palgrave from engineering a human mind-controlled teenage army, Joe Dyson and Ani Lee, operatives for a secret youth division of British Intelligence, have probably earned a rest. But there's no time to be lax with bizarre new developments popping up across the UK and the world. While busting a group that's pressing teen runaways into slave labor building tech, Joe discovers a computer component not yet out on the market, linked to a very popular, but highly secretive gaming company based in California. Meanwhile, skilled hacker Ani works her way into a vigilante hacking ring intent on using viral social media to bring the truth to the world and bring world governments to their knees. They're method: rewriting reality, virtually, so that the world never knows the difference. As Ani's and Joe's missions draw closer together, they realize that they have been corralled into a real-life video game-one where the levels are constantly being rewritten, and the stakes are constantly shifting. What happens when AI evolves to the point where it has a mind of its own? When the computer threatens to turn on its master? Joe, Ani, and the world are about to find out.
"With charismatic protagonists, sharply self-aware dialogue, and gut-wrenching detail-particularly in the visceral portrayal of X-Core's adverse effects and Ani's haunting recollections of her mother-this tale of ingenuity in the face of insatiable evil is a deeply infectious one."
Booklist
"Believably written characters and a quick-moving plot distinguish this compelling thriller with an SF twist."
Publishers Weekly
"Combining a love of science fiction with modern technology and some very original thinking, this novel takes a look at some of society's preconceived notions from a slightly off-kilter view. . . . Though it takes its time, it never drags, parceling out plot details and world building in classic thriller fashion. This one's a page-turner."
