The virtual world has changed in the year 2050. Staying
connected has never been simpler, as each person has the
ability to have a djinni installed directly into their
head. With the djinni, a person has a constant stream of
data always available with just the blink of an eye.
Marisa Carneseca and her two best friends, Anja and
Sahara, live almost entirely in the world as they rely
heavily on their djinni to aid them in everything from
directions to even playing their favorite game of
Overworld. The virtual world is changing, however, as a
new drug has hit the streets that promises to give each
user a safe high by directly impacting the user's djinni.
Is the new drug, BLUESCREEN, truly as safe as promised?
The aptly named BLUESCREEN is the first book in the
Mirador series, and oh do I want more of this world
already! Dan Wells crafts a futuristic world that is as
fascinating as it is scary. I love the implications and
potential for a world in which even the brain can
possibly be hacked. Some of the scenes still make me
laugh, such as Marisa rejecting a link from a cute boy
because he had too much adware in his djinni.
The world of BLUESCREEN has lots of flash and color in
the virtual world. I particularly like the creativity of
clubs involving a sensory program like the Synestheme,
where actions and worlds are defined by colors. However,
the world outside the virtual one is dark and grim, as
Marisa has to deal with poverty, gangs and the very real
threat of violence. I hope Dan Wells explores this part
of Marisa's world a bit more because I'm dying to know some
of
the history and how things in the United States reached
the point they are at in BLUESCREEN.
BLUESCREEN has a whole host of characters, some more
likable than others. One of the things I love about
BLUESCREEN is that the choices aren't always easy for the
characters. Sometimes quite likable characters make
choices that can be frustrating, even irritating, such as
Anja blithely choosing to use BLUESCREEN. Without a
doubt, Bao is my favorite character, though, as he hasn't
allowed the digital world to completely overwhelm him but
instead he uses "the old fashioned way" of connecting to
the virtual world, sans djinni. However, even Bao has to
resort to darker tactics to survive in Dan Wells's world.
BLUESCREEN is an exciting, action-packed futuristic tale
that is a pure delight to read! Fans of the latest
technologies will relish the treat Dan Wells has in store
for them as BLUESCREEN takes all sorts of twists and
turns while introducing us to a very clever and
diabolical plot based on the use of technology. I can't
wait to read more from Dan Wells and see just where the
Mirador series takes us!
From Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling
Partials Sequence, comes the first book in a new sci-fi-
noir
series. Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as
long
as you have the right connections. That connection is a
djinni—a smart device implanted right in a person’s head.
In
a world where virtually everyone is online twenty-four
hours
a day, this connection is like oxygen—and a world like that
presents plenty of opportunities for someone who knows how
to manipulate it.
Marisa Carneseca is one of those people. She might spend
her
days in Mirador, but she lives on the net—going to school,
playing games, hanging out, or doing things of more
questionable legality with her friends Sahara and Anja. And
it’s Anja who first gets her hands on Bluescreen—a virtual
drug that plugs right into a person’s djinni and delivers a
massive, nonchemical, completely safe high. But in this
city, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually
is, and Mari and her friends soon find themselves in the
middle of a conspiracy that is much bigger than they ever
suspected.
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