In Variant (2011), Benton Fisher thought he lucked out when he was admitted to Maxfield Academy in New Mexico, and then even luckier when he escaped what turned out to be a virtual prison populated by robot clones, but…
Ben and Becky have fled into the forest, with Becky badly injured. Ben has to find help before they’re discovered. The hunt for them is on, and the clock is running against them. Ben finds a settlement outside the school grounds, but he is shocked to discover that it’s populated by people he already knows…or thought he knew. But these people are real, while the kids from his past were no more than clones of these originals. Hiding out while Becky recovers, Ben tries to learn who is for real and who can be trusted, always looking for a path to safety. But it becomes clear there is only one way to go: back to school to destroy the enemy from within. Picking up only moments after the first book ends, this book features the same nonstop, breathless pace, adding new dimension to old characters and new plot twists that are hard to see coming. The often violent action flows logically from the plot.
An absorbing read that won't let fans of the first down
. (Thriller. 12 & up)