Michael used to be all code. Living in Lifeblood Deep, his life used to be for gaming and nothing else. He had lived in sweet, innocent bliss. All that changed when he met Kaine and underwent the Mortality Doctrine program. After he stole a random Jackson Porter’s body, he stumbled through reality and tried to stop Kaine’s master plan. In just a few weeks, he managed to destroy the entire security of the VirtNet, even as Kaine grew stronger. Teaming with several other sentient code beings like himself, he traveled with his allies to bring down Kaine. If he lets Kaine succeed, the world will have no choice but to surrender. Doing all in his power, Michael faces a variety of challenges and impossible odds stacked on top of each other. As time goes on, more and more surprises reveal themselves as he learns about the secrets of his enemies and the loyalty of his friends. In the end, Michael will have only one choice left to make – one which decides the fate of all humanity to come.
I felt that this book was extremely enjoyable with well-developed characters, powerful tone, clear moods, and detailed situations. Although this was the third book of the series, this book is written so that one can jump right in and understand what happened in its prequels. The characters were described in detail and had interesting personalities, and the different events in this book were organized so that surprises were true surprises and unable to be predicted. There was some humor in this book, which added to its overall quality. In addition, the plot made it impossible to put down. The various settings too were unique and often unheard of. Overall, I felt that this was an entertaining read, and I would recommend this to a friend.
Much of this book was unique. The entire concept of betrayal and loyalty particularly stood out, but there was one such example more memorable. This was the entire setting of virtual reality, which could be coded, programmed, and changed without much effort. I personally found this as very easy to remember, as it may be used in the future.
Reviewed by Shirvam, Grade 8, Gayton Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 