Mia, Antoine and Midori are the envy of the world. They are the three lucky teenagers who have been randomly chosen to go on a trip to the moon  to commemorate the first landing.  As everyone tunes in to watch the takeoff, we find Oleg Himmelfarb in front of the TV at his nursing home, trying to remember something as the footage of the moon plays. No one is supposed to go back to the moon, he thinks. What is it they find on the moon again?

First off, 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad is not the best written book. Perhaps something is lost in translation from the Norwegian original. Nevertheless, this science fiction still has its merits and good entertainment value. Here's our joint review (contains spoiler):

Steven: It took way too long to get into the real story. The first 150, maybe even 200 pages, were just setting up who these characters were, but this background info, except maybe in the case of Mia, was not mentioned ever again in the rest of the book.  This book seriously violates the principle of Chekhov's Gun and it makes for a frustrating reading experience. None of the background info helps us care more about the characters because their backstories are irrelevant to the rest of the plot.
Like the bit about Antoine's girlfriend. The chapter from her point of view in which she feels that something bad has happened to him is quite pointless, since readers already knew about it.

Virginia: That is definitely my biggest complaint about this book too. Fortunately, for those who stick with the book, it does get better and progressively more intense. Once they were on the moon and mysterious and horrible things started to happen, we have a story. You kinda knew that there's no hope for these guys, and I'm glad they stick with that throughout, rather than taking the easy way out.  I like the ending. Feels right to me and it fits.


Steven: The book could have ended a couple of pages earlier, though.  Things are spelled out to us that may have been better left to the imagination.  I already know that a threat exists: it was explained to us more than once already.

Virginia:  Maybe it's priming for a sequel...  Well, like we said, despite its flaws and plot holes, the book is still worth recommending. One thing I know we both really like is that this book is one of the rare cases where even though we have a female protagonist, it's not about a girl, and so there's no girly-ness to it at all. 


Steven: The book also really reminded me of a Japanese horror Manga.  I haven't read many, but the ones I have read felt much like this: hopeless and bleak.  Come to think of it, it seems most Nordic entertainment that we get over here is like that.  Maybe this isn't unusual.  You tell me, Virginia.  You read Nordic authors.


Virginia: Yah, probably pretty grim, even for crime fiction. The main guys are generally more flawed, and  at least for the ones I've read, you don't really feel the triumph of solving a crime and a job well done at the end. Can't get enough of them though. 


Despite its flaws, we'll still recommend this sci-fi/horror to readers who enjoy Alien, Event Horizon, Solaris, or the more depressing Philip K. Dick works.

If the emotions you feel in response to what you see, hear, feel and taste are caused by connections in your brain -- what would happen if someone was able to get inside and change those connections?  Say, connect the areas in the brain responsible for discomfort to chocolate? Or associate memories of your mother with the area responsible for fear? Or connect pleasure with the images of violence?

In the world in which Sadie and Noah live, two groups are secretly fighting for the control of minds on the micro scale, in the brains of world leaders. On one side is a group led by the Armstrong twins, brilliant but power-hungry brothers that were born joined at the head, with three eyes and three legs. They claim their goal is the re-wire the brains of as many humans as possible to bring about world peace (which involves killing off any opposing forces). Their group operates under the disguise of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation (AFGC), which has stores all over the world. On the other side is BZRK, a secret organization that tries to ensure fredom of thought by stopping the Armstrong twins.

Technology has allowed for the creation of biots and nanobots -- living microscopic beings made from spider, cobra, jellyfish and human DNA. These biots/nanobots are not robots, but are a detached part of the person whose DNA is included in the biot. The person not only controls his/her biots but also sees, hears, and feels whatever happens to them. (And yes, you can create multiple biots for one person.) These biots are small enough to climb into ears and ears, then burrow to the brain where they can re-wire whatever they want. Unfortunately any damage to the biots are also felt by the "owner" as equivalent pain (e.g. if your biot's leg is ripped off, you feel like your leg is being ripped off). If all the biots are destroyed, the person usually goes insane.

Operating multiple biots that are busy re-wiring someone's brain or fighting off other biots while still going about daily life is not an easy task. Those who are able to do this are usually super gamers or crazy.

Noah is recruited by BZRK after his brother, a previous BZRKer, goes insane. He joins the fight in hopes of escaping his depressed parents and revenging his brother. 

Sadie is familiar with the technology -- her father was the one who came up with it -- and is drawn into the conflict when her father and brother are killed by AFGC.

AFGC is about to infiltrate the brains of the US and Chinese presidents and the Prime Minsters of Britain, Japan and India. Attempts to stop them is suicidal -- but it looks like Sadie and Noah don't have much choice but to join the fight.

It took me a little while to get into this book (probably due to the fact I was reading it sporadically), but once I did, I found it it pretty intriguing and exciting. The beginning is a bit choppy, as Grant tells the story through the perspectives of several different characters (I also find his writing style fragmented at times), but as the story developed, I found the movement smoother and faster.
The whole thing with little nanobots crawling in people's brains had the right amount of creepiness and grossness and I'm sure will appeal to many guy readers. Scientific details are minimal kept simple, so it makes for an easy sci-fi read.

Michael Grant is the author of the Gone and Magnificent 12 series. He also co-authors the well-know kids' series, Animorphs. Visit his website to watch trailers of some of his books.

...and get them reading.
CBC Books posted a list of Batman non-fiction books you can highlight at your library for fans of the dark knight.
» Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero by E. Paul Zehr
» Batman: The Complete History by Les Daniels
» Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley
» The Essential Batman Encyclopedia by Robert Greenberger
The article gives a brief summary of each, so head on over.

Readers may also be interested in learning more about the Physics of Superheroes.

What do you get when you combine the current two most popular themes in teen fiction? The Hunt, by Andrew Fukuda.


In Gene's world, everyone is a vampire, and humans, whom they call hepers, are protected just like endangered animals. They are only released once a year for the Hunt, an annual event that demonstrates and consolidates the power of "the Ruler" (Sounds familiar? Yah, I know.)  Only a selected few are picked by lottery to participate in this delicious feast, and Gene's name was chosen. It would have been his lucky day, except he is actually a human. Of course he is.  Can he survive among the bloodthirsty fiends?


For this book to work, readers will have to buy into the premise that Gene has successfully passed as a vampire for all this time until now. Since a good chunk of the book is spent on telling you all the things that you can and will do wrong that give you away as a human, the premise is a little hard to swallow.  There is also a crucial plot element that you wish you can't see from miles away. Having said that, it is nice to see the return to real vicious vampires. Like the ones in Abraham Lincoln:  Vampire Killer (better movie than people give it credit I think).  The Hunt, when it finally happens, is actually pretty intense. The dynamics between Gene and the hepers is probably the most interesting part, and hopefully we'll see more in the next book.  What? You weren't expecting a sequel?


The Hunt is also available on audiobook. Check out a sample clip, courtesy of Macmillan Audio.

The internet is magical.  For the vast majority of us, the internet begins with a hole in the wall and ends on our screens.  And if we use mobile or wifi, I doubt our image would even extend that far. But for all that magic, the internet is nevertheless a real place with physical parts.  Pretty unimpressive ones, actually, a bit like the router in your house: big black boxes with flashing lights and wires coming out all over the place.

Andrew Blum explores these places, visiting server farms that route traffic across the planet, meeting engineers who maintain the hub through which most of that traffic passes, and even paying homage to its creators in the very room where early strides were made, all the way back in the '60s.

This book isn't intended or designed for teens, but given how huge a part the internet plays in the lives of everyone, let alone kids, these days, it's pretty darn neat to see what is involved as something so seemingly simple as sending an e-mail.

I doubt the name Ken Jennings has much meaning for kids these days.  I can't believe that it's been 8 years since his historic run on Jeopardy!, a 75 episode run that landed him a ton of cash. Nevertheless,  Mr. Jennings spun that time in the spotlight into a writing career, focusing largely on trivia topics, and his books are actually really good.  His first book was a history of trivia itself, the second a sort of daily trivia quiz almanac.

Maphead is his most recent.  Like a lot of young people, he grew up obsessed with maps and geography.  He'd read atlases cover to cover, imagining visting all the little oddities that appear, the funny names, the weird choices of communities that appear over larger, more famous cities.  Here, he visits with mapmakers, collectors and other mapheads who share his obsession.

This book isn't really about maps so much as the people who enjoy them.  Kindred spirits to a lot of young people I know.  Certainly I was like them.  In fact, I recommend all his books for people like that.  Maybe not his forthcoming book, what with being about bad parenting advice.  But read Maphead. and Brainiac. 

Something strange is happening in Santa Feliz. People -- particularly the teens -- have been changing into wild animals and back again. They've been coined "Wildlings" and the Federal Government is offering to help anyone with their new found "abilities". But none of those who have gone to the government facility for "orientation and training" have ever returned.

Josh is incredulous when he turns into a mountain lion and almost kills his mom's boyfriend. He wants to keep everything a secret and  live a normal life, but when he starts to meet other Wildlings and finds out what is happening to them, he realizes this might not be possible. Other kids at school are getting suspicious and it seems that he's being followed by not only government agents, but other mysterious strangers as well...

The story is told with alternating perspectives of the two main characters: Josh and Marina. This creates suspense as some details only get revealed through one perspective, but it also seemed slow down the movement of the plot sometimes. I felt like there could have been less talking and mulling over their situations and more action. Things started to move pretty good closer to the end of the books and I wish there was a bit more of that excitement throughout the book.

While the idea of being able to turn into animals is a pretty cool one, it personally kept reminding me of the children's series, Animorphs. However, I do think De Lint's writing and development of plot and characters will appeal to many readers who will most likely want to continue with the series after reading this first book.

Be sure to check out Razorbill's What Wildling Are You website where you answer a short questionnaire to determine which animal you'd turn into if you were a Wildling. (I was disappoint to discover that I am a boring rabbit...)

Charles De Lint is a World Fantasy Award winning author who has written plenty of other books (most of them adult titles). For a list of his work visit his website.

Ever wonder what the life of a Redshirt is like?  You know, the guys from Star Trek who go on the away missions and get killed by whatever mysterious threat is creeping about the planet.  Andrew Dahl and a few other new crew mates are assigned to the Intrepid, the flagship of the Galactic Navy.  The quickly find that the existing crew members are terrified of going out on away missions since someone of low rank always dies, usually of something stupid and pointless, like ice sharks and land worms.  More, the Captain, Science Officer and a couple of others seem to get into really strange and unlikely scenarios on a weekly basis, often surviving debilitating injuries and diseases only to recover and do it all again, like clockwork.

One word of warning: this book is not a at all what you expect.  Like I Am Not a Serial Killer, there is a bit of a twist that could potentially kill any interest in the book if you aren't prepared for it.  This book is deeply philosophical and quite amusing at the same time, but isn't what I expected.  In fact, it reminded me something of Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.  What the heck, I'll *spoilers* it: It's a TV show.  This is a work of meta fiction, and the characters in the book discover that they are being controlled by the writers of a science fiction series that's a bad knock-off of Star Trek.  It gets even deeper than that, but I'll save at least some surprises for later.  Suffice it to say, they need to find a way to get to the writers to prevent any further deaths.

The book is capped off with three codas, sections that take the premise a little more seriously and are the most philosophical part of the book.  Looking for a fun romp, skip these, but otherwise they make for a surprisingly thoughtful story.

Point being, Redshirts is a fascinating read, and, like the aforementioned Sophie's World, is great for guys with a taste for philosophy.  It's a bit unsettling for aspiring writers, though, since it calls into question the power and control you have over your characters, but it's pretty neat.  Onoe other note: language and some sexual discussion.

When I was a teen, I hated modern music.  Pop music just washed right over me, and rock music of the day just didn't sink in though I might have preferred it over pop.  My musical tastes were just being formed when the big news hit: Kurt Cobain was dead.  I knew the music, and I knew who he was, but for me, it was all about '70s rock.  My Kurt Cobain was John Lennon, when died when I was a baby.  15 years later, a lot of guys think the same way, but their version of '70s rock is '90s music.  The faces have changed, but the story remains the same.  Modern music sucks; old music is better, end of story. Historical personalities more meaningful, more thoughtful, and just cooler.

Everybody Loves Our Town : An Oral History of Grunge by Mark Yarm tells the story of the music scene that passed me by, but marks a major point in musical history that a lot of young men these days look at the same way I saw Led Zeppelin and the Who.  With interviews with major figures from the Seattle scene, it fills in a lot of details and clears up a lot of myths about what it was really like in the late '80s and early '90s when it hit big.

This isn't for everyone, mind you.  This is best for guys who already know a bit of the history or the music of the era.  Jumping in cold isn't much fun; there are just too many names that wouldn't otherwise mean much.

I must say this is becoming one of my favourite series. I previously posted a review on the first book of the series (A World Without Heroes) -- and this second book is going to receive another glowing report.

Jason manages to return to the magical world of Lyrian (yes, through the hippo's mouth again) after unwillingly returning home and spending several months worrying about Rachel and the others he's left behind. With the evil ruler Maldor growing in power, unrest and danger have increased -- and Jason has become Maldor's most wanted enemy. Jason knows he must warn the Blind King, Galloran, that the magical word supposed to destroy Maldor is a fake, and find Rachel without getting caught. This proves difficult though, with Maldor's almost invincible lurkers tracking him.

Fortunately, Jason manages to reunite with Galloran, Rachel and others on his side. They decide the best course of action is to rally up as many people as they can to fight against Maldor -- but this means traveling through dangerous territory, fighting zombie-like creatures, surviving attacks from tentacled swamp monsters and confronting a dangerous wizard. There's even more action in this sequel than the first book.

Brandon Mull has done a great job in creating a fascinating fantasy world with with intriguing creatures. Many of the characters in the previous book appear again here, and as they become more developed, you can't help but become increasingly attached to them. Many of them are definitely complex and mysterious enough to keep you on your toes. I found myself completely immersed in the book and wishing the story wouldn't end. It's one of those great adventures that you almost wished you were a part of in reality.