Catalyst

August 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Tom Raines faces his biggest challenges yet in this final installment of the trilogy that began with Insignia (HarperCollins, 2012). The action begins immediately as Tom accidentally creates a security incident that exposes the existence of his neural computer to his already paranoid father and puts them both in danger with the NSA. He manages to free his father, but alienates him in the process. Reporting back for training at the Spire, he finds that much has changed: a new General is in charge, and training (and punishment) is in place to force them to be better soldiers. Tom continues to use his secret ability of infiltrating networks to communicate with his love interest, Medusa. The truly evil Joseph Vengerov is a threat to everyone, and when he kidnaps Tom to examine and ultimately use his secret ability, he may be hard to stop. There are finally explanations to be had for some major questions, and what they lack in credibility is compensated for by the nonstop action and intrigue that fills every page, much like the first two installments. Some readers may find the juvenile humor funny, but others will find it jarring alongside the very adult decisions that Tom and his friends must make. Still, a worthwhile read for those who enjoyed the previous books.-Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ

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Starred review from August 15, 2014
Intrasolar cadet Tom Raines helps bring the Insignia trilogy to an appropriately explosive conclusion. As the book opens, Tom is feeling the consequences of the stunt with which he closed Vortex (2013), a spectacular thumbing of the nose directed at the oligarchs who control Earth's resources and governments. A crackdown at the Pentagonal Spire sees a newly installed commander exerting tight-fisted, military control over the nominally civilian cadets. Kincaid raises the stakes with abandon, introducing a midnovel calamity that strains credulity-but so sure is her control over her protagonist's character arc and so sincere her commitment to good, old-fashioned science-fiction ideals that it works. Tom's Spire nemesis, Lt. Blackburn, is close to thwarting Joseph Vengerov, the magnate who seems poised to realize his dreams of total world domination, but a twist that's both chilling and heartbreaking stretches Tom to his limits. Despair and hope, memory and oblivion, love and hate all come together in a climax that employs the trilogy's greatest strength-the friendships forged among Tom and his fellow cadets-as the key to victory. Kincaid's trademark spectacular action sequences and affectionate banter make room for Tom's coming-of-age without compromising what readers have come to love. An unabashedly optimistic denouement is the perfect ending for this series that's unafraid to ask readers to grapple with big ideas-it's the joyful flip side of Feed. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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