Computer savvy teens, a war game gone awry, and good old-fashioned intrigue are the elements of The Deadliest Game, a high-octane episode in Tom Clancy's wildly popular teen series Net Force. Clancy and co-author Steve Pieczenik envision a futuristic society where people enliven their dull lives with intense virtual experiences. One of the most favored of these virtual realities is a medieval war game called Sarxos. Players leave their physical bodies at home while an implant in their head carries them through their computer to the virtual Dominion of Sarxos, a land where they may be anyone-- from a reigning warlord to a practicing hedge-wizard. But when players who are winning too many battles in Sarxos start getting stalked and attacked in the real world, it becomes clear that one player has begun taking the game far too seriously.
Enter teen cyber-sleuths Meg and Leif, experienced Sarxos players. As members of the Net Force Explorers, a teen auxiliary of the cyber-crime-stopping Net Force, Meg and Leif start questioning characters in the alternate reality. Even when their boss instructs them to stop, they stay hot on the trail of the online Sarxian player who is "bouncing" any threatening opponent out of the game. But time is running out in the search for the online criminal, and Meg and Leif may find themselves the next bouncees!
In Net Force, Tom Clancy has created a cyber-thrilling series that will transition into the next millennium with ease. The breathless action and abrupt plot transitions between the real world and virtual reality will fascinate teen computer fiends and young video gamers alike. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert
Tom Clancy's Net Force: The Deadliest Game FROM THE PUBLISHER
The virtual Dominion of Sarxos is the most popular wargame on the Net. But something sinister is going on.
Some players' computers are destroyed by burglars. Another player is attacked and beaten. One thing is certain--someone in the Dominion of Sarxos is taking the game very seriously.
Net Force Explorers Megan O'Malley and Leif Anderson are asked to investigate. They play the game and know the world. But nothing can prepare them for the danger when the real game begins....
SYNOPSIS
Two new exciting adventures starring the teens of the Net Force! In the future, computers rule the world. The Net Force was formed to protect America from any and all criminal activity online. But there is a group of teenage whiz kids who sometimes know more about computers than their adult superiors do. They are the Net Force Explorers.
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA - Donna Scanlon
Based on the Net Force mini-series and set sometime in the next century, these books are about the Net Force Explorers, a group of computer-savvy teenagers specially trained to help investigate on-line crime. The idea is that teenagers often know more about technology and can sometimes access places on the Internet where adults might look suspicious; virtual reality is now commonplace, and monitors and keyboards a thing of the past. In Virtual Vandals, Matt Hunter is sent to investigate a group of teen vandals suspected of disrupting virtual reality sites, while in The Deadliest Game, Megan O'Malley and Leif Anderson look for a player bent on sabotage in a complex virtual reality game. The reader is treated to a number of descriptions of virtual reality experiences and flashing around the Internet, but for all of the high tech trappings, this is very much formula fiction, and not a particularly original formula: teenagers recruited and trained for a government agency eventually stumble across something too dangerous for them to handle alone, and when they are told to back off, they persist anyway. Naturally, they do not say anything to anyone who could be at all useful and end up in the middle of a dangerous confrontation. At the end, after being plucked from the jaws of death, they get a stern (but slightly approving) lecture from their supervisor. It is hard to imagine teens beyond junior high taking an interest in this series. True, the series is mind candy, but the writing is a bit stilted and while obviously targeted at teens, the content underestimates them. Characterization is weak; one gets little information about the characters apart from their appearance and a few character quirks. The dialogue seems clichﾽd as well, and the plots are predictable. Although Clancy's name appears on the cover of the book, nothing says for certain that he is the actual co-author; whether he is or not, Clancy fans who reach for this series will probably be disappointed. You may wish instead to put your time and money toward scouting out good thrillers for your collection rather than these tepid wannabes. Note: This review was written and published to address The Deadliest Game and Virtual Vandals. VOYA Codes: 2Q 2P J (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9).
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