Okay, I admit, I got suckered in by an author’s indorsement.  Normally my reading tastes lean more toward fantasy than science fiction (What can I say?  I do love a dragon.), but when I read Veronica Roth’s (Divergent) comment, “You won’t be able to put this book down,” on the top of the cover of S. J. Kincaid’s Insignia, I thought, “Okay, I’ll take that challenge.”  And boy, am I glad I did!

The beginning of a trilogy, Insignia tells the tale of Tom Raines, a teenage boy with a knack and love of video games.  In a world post-economic collapse, where boundary lines are not as important as corporate loyalty, WWIII is being fought on a virtual reality stage by kids with computers implanted in their brains.  Recruited from a virtual reality parlor in a casino, Tom joins a division of the military where winning is more dependent on brain power and quick thinking than on fire power and might.

 Would I recommend it?  Oh yeah, this is one fun summer read!  The characters are relatable as teenagers in a boarding school type environment.  The teachers/superiors are interesting.  The antagonist isn’t the obvious from the get go and makes for an interesting plot twist.  But I think the best part is the fact that this story has enough reality in it to make you think it could really happen.

What I liked…

• Set post-economic collapse, WWIII is underway but loyalties lie with corporations not countries.
• Main character Tom is a teenager, a cranky, cocky, hormonal teenager.  I have one of those and
• can honestly say Tom was well written.
• Tom is recruited into an arm of the military and stationed in the Pentagon Spire, a structure built in the middle of the Pentagon.  I could totally picture that.
• The structure of the Spire made me think of Hogwarts and its houses and common rooms and house competitions.
• Tom’s school friends are funny, memorable and loyal.  They have Tom’s back and their nicknames for each other are awesome.
• Only a kid would think having a computer implanted in his head is cool.  Adults (as Neil, Tom’s father was) would be all, “Big Brother!!!”  Or spend a lot of time making bad Terminator jokes.
• Love, love, love the whole idea of the calisthenics!  If only my runs could be so fun.
• The virus war was fantastic.  Not only was it a rather cool way to remind us all that brain power can’t be totally replaced by computer power, it was creepy and scary to think it could actually be real.
• The reprogramming of Tom – I kept wanting to yell at the book which I took as a good sign.
• Wyatt is brilliant, literally and character-wise.  The fact Tom and Vik befriend her and Yuri falls for her endeared the boys to me even more.
• The world’s greatest warrior is a teenage girl.  The smartest programmer in the school is a girl.  Girl Power rocks!
• Medusa’s choice of sim characters were chosen for a reason.  What a nice way to show emotions.
• The gorgeous girl Tom is recruited by turns out to be manipulative but in a believable, not mean girl sort of way.  At the end, when she suggests they hang out, her allure still stuns Tom for a moment and I thought that rang true.
• Tom’s victory was not easy.  It cost him, hurt him.  There was no victory dance.  Instead, there was concern, consideration and caring.
• Reaching out to Medusa at the end and the teaser of things to come – I think I was just as pleased as Tom to know this wasn’t the end.

What distracted me?

• About the only thing that disgruntled me a bit was the spending spree.  From an adult standpoint, it seemed a bit childish (although I did like the fact Tom set his dad up with some dough compliments of his mom’s boyfriend).  Plus, there wasn’t really any serious repercussion because of it (at least, not in this book…).

What I would consider before handing this to my kid:

•  This book has that boarding school friendship/prank type feel about it, coupled with virtual reality warfare.  Tom is manipulated by his mother’s boyfriend and programmed against his will and seeks revenge.  In one of the simulations, characters are cast as warriors of the opposite sex and talk about being curious and checking out ‘their equipment.’ 6^th grade on up.

 Final Thoughts:

One of the best parts of this book was the fact the characters continually surprised me.  They rang true and honest and that made them fun to read.  The story as a whole didn’t seem all that farfetched either which kept me engaged.  Ending on a note of promise with a group of kids who show the potential to grow and stumble and grow some more, this is a story I’m looking forward to continuing.