Gr 7-10 Carl Hobbes, aka James Valentine, aka Finn Carter, is an 18-year-old computer hacker pursued by CIA operatives after being suspected of raiding Fort Knox's gold coffers and escaping from Camp Twilight. He is now leading a playboy existence. Applying for a job at Sphinx Cargo, an ultra-secure storage facility for valuables shipped around the world, Finn plans to lay low in an unassuming job as a night security officer. Living in a cheap apartment with his Fort Knox accomplice Beth Nelson, he knows that they will always be looking over their shoulders. He learns that Sphinx is protected by "Cleopatra," a supercomputer security system able to flush out intruders with visual-recognition markers and motion detection and uses high-pitched frequencies and electrical charges as preemptive assaults. "She" even knows when the security officer is napping. When Beth missteps, a CIA officer and Al-Qaeda operatives who lost a mercenary at Hobbes's hands in a previous episode close in on the Sphinx facility. The pace quickens as Hobbes and Nelson use Cleopatra and all of her technological talents to ward off the assassins, at the expense of the facility and its valuable contents. This is an all-action title, told in the present tense, which may be appealing to reluctant readers who care little about the lack of character development. Fans of Anthony Horowitz and other spy thrillers will latch on to this probable series."Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
In this sequel to Icecore, computer hacker Carl is in hiding in London with Beth. He's one of the world's most wanted criminals, and there's a bounty on his head. The plot highlights the fact that the flaw in any computer is its human element--and this is Carl's flaw as well. Short chapters and present-tense narration make for a highly suspenseful read.
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