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.Gantz is a good choice.The story is fairly simple.Some recently dead folks awaken in a secluded room dominated by a mysterious talking black sphere, which calls itself Gantz.These folks have been cloned and resurrected in order to serve as agents for Gantz: it arms them with special suits and weapons, then sends them on missions to confront hostile aliens that are invading the world.Or maybe it's all a virtual-reality game, run by an unknown game master for some obscure purpose.Gantz is not for kids: there's a fair amount of violence, foul language, and some sexual content.But the characters are compelling and the story psychologically gripping.The art is superbly atmospheric.Give this to your favorite young anime fan, and you'll quickly become the coolest “old person” they know.If you aren't already.* * * *Little BrotherCory DoctorowTor, 382 pages, $17.95 (hardcover)ISBN: 978-0-7653-1985-2Genres: Cyberpunk, Teen SF* * * *It's been said that most books for teenagers are based on the literary form called Rite of Passage, a ritual in which a young person learns to assert his or her independence while becoming part of the larger society.Combine the Rite of Passage with science fiction, and the result can be very powerful.That's certainly true of many of the great classic “juveniles” by the likes of Andre Norton and Robert A.Heinlein.Little Brother is the first of a pair of recent teen sf novels that would make great gifts for the teenagers in your life.Marcus Yallow is a high school senior in San Francisco, and he's a whiz at computers and the Internet.Moreover, he knows it; he is smarter than any of the adults around him, and he's not shy at expressing his contempt for them.Now before you go disliking Marcus, you have to understand that this sort of thing is part and parcel with books for teens.If one is going to have teenage protagonists getting into various troubles and getting themselves out, then one has to de-emphasize the adult characters.It is an unspoken assumption of children's and teen fiction that most adults are stupid, ineffectual, or both.(Just look at what idiots the adults are in the Harry Potter books.) Adult villains can be a little more canny than friendly adults, but ultimately the kid has to outsmart them in the end.It's no use protesting—the books aren't written for us adults, anyway.And the kids who read them don't notice.Back to Marcus.He and his friends, deep into a live-action role-playing game, ditch school and go in search of clues.But they are in the wrong place at the wrong time when a major terrorist attack hits San Francisco, killing thousands.Suddenly Marcus and his friends are detained by the Department of Homeland Security.With their encrypted computer files, mad hacking skills, and ability to evade school surveillance technology, they look an awful lot like terrorists.Imprisoned and psychologically tortured, Marcus gives up his passwords and files, and after a few days he's released.One of his other friends is also set free; the third remains missing and (presumably) still in custody.But that's only the beginning of the story.Over the next weeks, Homeland Security turns San Francisco into a police state bristling with security measures.And Marcus realizes he has a mission in life: to use his knowledge and his networks (both computer and personal) to bring down Homeland Security.Although a little preachy in spots, the story is exciting and Marcus winds up being a fairly sympathetic character (even for old people like me).The story of one boy's opposition of authority is bound to please most teens.* * * *The Hunger GamesSuzanne CollinsScholastic Press, 374 pages, $17.99ISBN: 978-0-439-02348-1Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Teen SFSeries: Hunger Games 1* * * *Katniss Everdeen, 17, lives a hard life in the Seam, an impoverished village in District 12, one of the poorest of the twelve Districts that make up the nation of Panem.Ever since her father died in a mining accident, Katniss has been the primary breadwinner for her ineffectual mother and her frail younger sister.Along with her male friend Gale, Katniss spends most of her time hunting and gathering in the forbidden forest, then trading with other villagers for the necessities of life.It's subsistence living at best.Once a year, by law, comes the Reaping.All children between twelve and eighteen are entered in a lottery, and each District draws two Tributes: one boy and one girl [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]