Marcus does role play, he plays video games, he knows everything about computers…and somehow he’s not an ultra nerd? Yeah, that’s about it. I guess I’ll buy it, because it makes for a pretty exciting book.

It’s sometime in the unspecified future. Marcus and his friends ditch school to do some harmless gaming. But unfortunately for them, they chose the worst day to cut. While they’re out on the streets, San Francisco is attacked by terrorists. They make it out alive, but that means that now they’re suspects in the bombing. They’re apprehended by Homeland Security for questioning, but they don’t just get questioned, they get treated like they are terrorists. Marcus’ parents think he’s died because he isn’t allowed to contact them.

When they are finally released, Marcus vows to get back at the DHS for how they treated him. Especially when he sees that the whole of San Francisco has lost its freedom. There are new hidden cameras, street security, and investigations into every aspect of people’s lives. Marcus does all he can to get his privacy back. He (unintentionally) starts a revolution to win back the rights that were wrongfully taken away from so many.

Yeah, this is a good book. Not incredible, I did have a lot of problems with it (way too much extraneous detail, most of his friends disappearing from the story to make way for new main characters Marcus meets later, and unnecessary horn-doggish-ness.) Yet somehow it all can be looked past; and Marcus is surprisingly real. It’s a good adventure, even if it is about a boy who, in all fairness, should be a techno-nerd.