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Randoms, by David Liss
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A science fiction superfan finds himself on his very own space adventure when he’s randomly selected to join an alien confederacy in this hilarious middle grade debut novel.
Zeke Reynolds comes from a long line of proud science fiction geeks. He knows his games, comics, movies, and TV shows like Captain Kirk knows the starship Enterprise. So it’s a dream come true when he learns the science fiction he loves so much is based on reality—and that he’s been selected to spend a year on a massive space station. To evaluate humanity’s worthiness, the Confederation of United Planets has hand picked three of Earth’s most talented young people—and then there’s Zeke. He’s the random.
Unfortunately, Zeke finds life in space more challenging than he’d hoped. When he saves his transport ship from a treacherous enemy attack, he’s labeled a war criminal. Now despised by the Confederation, rejected by his fellow humans, and pursued by a ruthless enemy, Zeke befriends the alien randoms: rejected by their own species, but loyal to each other. But their presence in the Confederation may not be so random after all, and as the danger increases, Zack’s knowledge of science fiction might be the only thing that can save himself, his friends, and Earth itself.
- Sales Rank: #272247 in Books
- Brand: Liss, David
- Published on: 2015-08-25
- Released on: 2015-08-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x 1.50" w x 5.50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 496 pages
From School Library Journal
Gr 5–8—Sixth-grader Zeke Reynolds is a second generation science fiction geek, so when he gets a top-secret opportunity to spend a year on a space station along with three other Earth kids, he leaps at it. It turns out that his fellow humans are all talented geniuses who shun Zeke for being the "random" pick, but on the space station, Zeke befriends two other young randoms of different species. Together, they set about trying to rack up skill points for themselves and their worlds, while simultaneously uncovering a deadly conspiracy that is undermining the Confederation of United Planets. Zeke may be a geek, but he's no nerd; his readiness with a clever retort or a bon mot makes for a formidable character and an entertaining read. The cliff-hanger ending promises more space shenanigans for Zeke and his friends. VERDICT Fans of science fiction and nonstop action alike will enjoy this smart, light adventure that brims with allusions to a variety of sci-fi movies and TV shows old and new.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Review
“Funny, wild, possibly deranged, and way too much fun.” (Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Army and Rot & Ruin)
“As fun as a barrel full of tribbles, Randoms is middle-grade space opera at its best. Scary aliens! Cat people! Exploding starships! My inner geek stood up and cheered. Kids who love sci-fi, comics, or gaming will gobble up this fast-paced story, and it will make converts out of the rest.” (Pete Hautman, author of National Book Award Winner Godless)
"What an adventure! Randoms has such a clever concept behind it, and it’s thrilling to ride along as Zeke Reynolds battles enemy aliens (and humans), buddies up with up with aliens (and even, sometimes, humans), and manages again and again to score his own version of victory for underdogs and 'randoms' all across the universe." (Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of the New York Times bestselling series The Shadow Children and The Missing)
"Randoms is an incredibly fun and heartfelt space adventure. With menacing villains and lovable underdogs, this book has so much to offer readers of all ages. I can't wait to read what happens to Zeke and his friends next!" (SJ Kincaid, author of Insignia)
"A smorgasbord of sci-fi geekiness, David Liss's Randoms blends angst, adventure, humor, pathos, space battles, anime, giraffe aliens, and philosophical meanderings on the nature of "humanity" into a plot that twists and tumbles towards a breathless summer-action-flick finale. Be prepared to cheer on the underdogs in this dizzying romp of a novel." (John David Anderson, author of Sidekicked)
“My fellow geeks, rejoice! We have a new hero in the form of the all-nerdy, all-knowing, Zeke. And it is no random chance that his knowledge of pop sci-fi makes him the hippest hero of the galaxy.” (Tony DiTerlizzi, author of The Search for Wondla)
“Like Spider-Man, Zeke has superpowers, but his power is his geekiness. … the aliens feel genuinely—and wonderfully—alien.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"Liss’s characters are engaging, the video-game-like competitions and SF commentary are fun, the sheer plenitude of alien species is fascinating, and the jokes just keep on coming." (Publishers Weekly)
*"First in a series, Randoms is an exhilarating read that will have no trouble hooking sci-fi fans—particularly with its many sf references—and it carries enough fun and excitement to appeal to reluctant readers, in spite of the intimidating page count. With a tip of the hat to geeks everywhere, this novel is a class act." (Booklist, starred review)
"Fans of science fiction and nonstop action alike will enjoy this smart, light adventure that brims with allusions to a variety of sci-fi movies and TV shows old and new." (School Library Journal)
"For readers who get giddy about mentions of obscure episodes of Star Trek or complex descriptions of nanites that allow humans to build up their natural abilities as they gain skill points (complete with a flowchart), this is a comradely treat." (BCCB)
About the Author
David Liss is a proud science fiction geek. When not acting like a total fanboy, he’s generally working on his books, stories, and comics. Liss has written eight bestselling novels for adults, most recently The Day of Atonement, and is the author of numerous comics, including Mystery Men, Sherlock Holmes: Moriarty Lives, and Angelica Tomorrow. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Science Fiction at its very, very best
By Sean
“It was me,” she said. “You’re good for a beginner. If you’d like, you can meet me in the officers’ lounge after 2200 and we’ll play a few rounds.” “I’d
love that!” The humans didn’t much like me, but the beaked otter thought I was okay.
Oh, my word. If there was one book worth starting in bed and staying up after 02:00 hours on my last night of school holidays, it was this one. Of course
I don't have school holidays per se anymore, working at one rather than learning in one, but I almost wished I was young enough to still be at school because
although this book totally got me at my age it would have utterly and unashamedly knocked my socks off as a teen.
“You’re being daft,” Steve said. “It’s only a plasma wand.” “No it’s not,” I told him, as I whoomed back and forth. “It’s an elegant weapon for a more
civilized age. This is a light saber.”
Each part builds on the next with inevitable, astoundingly pull-you-in progress. I mean I was hooked at chapter 3, the quality of the writing alone did
that, but then to have the character and plot click into place so brilliantly felt like a bonus. And so, by the time we end the first part we're already
firmly on the side of our hero and wondering just how on earth he's going to pull off his task.
“not only did I not forget regulation 46-A, I’m counting on it. Our lives, at this point, depend on a scheme I’m stealing from Star Trek Two.”
At the end of the second part, when we get the - what's the word for the literary punch that snaps things into clarity and lets you see where things are
going? - after that, it was a good, old-fashioned roller-coaster of adventure, and when the mission seems to be over and there are wisecracking geeks bouncing
off each other I felt as if I could really quite happily just go join in with them.
Of course, I won't spoil anything for you, so you're gonna have to read this to find out what happens. But I felt as if I were reading an
armada
for a slightly younger audience (Yes, it's marketed to kids, but don't let that put you off), because it's seriously the best book I've read this month.
I've only given one other 5 stars in August and I think if I had to choose one of them, it'd be this one. It has it all, including a character who reminded
me a little of Ron Weasley, and I cannot wait to pick up more of Liss's works. The jacket calls him "a proud science fiction geek". The man deserves recognition
for this novel. I can't wait to give it to my kids and have them just "get it".
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Terrific Start to a Fun Series: It was fun. We should do it again. Soon.
By Ernest Lilley
When the alien Confederation of Planets contacts Earth's governments with an offer to send four young humans to represent the planet as a candidate for admission into galactic society, Zeke Reynolds unexpectedly finds himself rounding out a team that includes a math genius, a chess champion, and a martial arts pro. His special talent? Aside from an encyclopedic knowledge of SF pop culture tropes and a talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothing. Zeke's a random, the every-man element that the aliens insist on so that they get to see not just the best and brightest, but what the rest of the planet's like.
And it's just a coincidence that Zeke's father created a failed SF series called Colony Alpha before he died in a car crash, a series about a planet caught between two galactic civilizations.
Zeke's happy to go to the stars. What fanboy wouldn't be? The icing on the cake is that technology that Earth will get if it's admitted to the Confederation will cure his mother's crippling ALS -- Lou Gehrig's disease. He expects outer space to be weird but what he doesn't expect is that the other team members are going to shun him, based on data collected over previous trials that randoms will pull their scores down, or that the government will send the nanny from hell along to ride herd on them, one who'd done everything she could to get Zeke replaced with someone useful.
After traveling thousands of light-years, Zeke finds himself in the same petty cliquishness he left behind in his high school. Except that he's not the only random. There are three planets testing for addition, so there are three randoms. There would have been four teams, but there was an incident along the way and if Zeke hadn't been in the wrong place at the right time, it would have been a real short book, but you'll get to that on your own.
If their own teams won't have them, the randoms best bet is to team up on their own, so Zeke soon makes friends with Steve, a scrappy lizard, and Tiamet, the devious cyber-expert whose feline looks are straight out of manga. Zeke always wanted friends who'd have your back when things got rough, but he didn't realize he'd have to go to the end of the galaxy to find them.
Despite the assurances of the aliens when parental permission slips were being handed out, the galaxy isn't the safe place they were assured it was. In fact, the Earth and other worlds being tested are right in the middle of an uneasy standoff between the Confederation and the Phandric Empire, and the candidates are part of a deeper game than any of them could imagine. Unless, of course, you've got an encyclopedic knowledge of SF, SF that's been carefully seeded with information about the actual state of the galaxy for decades by Confederation agents.
Zeke, Steve, and Tiamet may be randoms, and maybe nobody wants them around, but these wildcards might just be the galaxy’s only hope.
Author David Liss is a self confessed fanboy, and it shows. I lost count of the SF references that Zeke comes up with, though I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Zeke wonders early on if they're in an Ender’s Game scenario, and periodically tries to figure things out by using movies as a model. Since we know that a lot of what we think of as science fiction has been "helped" along by the Confederation, that works pretty well, and provides readers with a lot they can relate to.
Of course, this isn't such a new idea, going back to the 1930s and Arthur Clarkes' short story Security Check (Fantasy House, 1957) where the writer of a SF TV series is suddenly confronted with the space patrol type vessel he thought he'd dreamed up. The more obvious reference is, of course, The Last Starfighter (1984), in which a video arcade game is sent to Earth as part of a recruiting campaign for starfighters. Zeke's gaming practice comes in handy, and the aliens badguys have a distinct resemblance to the Space Orcs in Warhammer 40K, but Randoms is actually a much more intelligent book than The Last Starfighter.
Randoms has middle grades and tweens in its crosshairs, but that shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying it. If you love SF in film and comics, you'll find this an totally enjoyable. It's funny, fast-paced, had plenty of character and team dynamics and enough galactic polity and intrigue to keep things from being too easy for anyone. The story opens with Zeke reflecting that he doesn't live in a perfect world the good and evil get their just deserts, and closes with the reality that it's not a perfect universe either.
This is the first book in a series, and though it delivers a complete story arc it leaves us hoping that Liss isn't distracted by anything that will keep him from publishing the next volume in short order. As one of the characters notes toward the end of the book:
"It was fun. We should do it again. Soon."
Note: Review originally posted in sfrevu.com as well as an interview with the author: David Liss Interview: http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=16431
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
This is not your typical story of good guys vs
By Al
This is not your typical story of good guys vs. bad guys. Because in this story the good guys aren’t always good, sometimes they just aren’t as bad as the bad guys. Hmm, maybe it is more typical than we think. “Randoms” is young adult sci-fi book exploring themes of peer pressure, rejection, and young love between humans and between humans and aliens. At the same time Liss explores the very adult themes of corruption and treason setting his story in an alien confederation on the home station at the seat of government. While there is plenty for young adults, it is perhaps all too easy to find parallels to modern political greed and corruption as we find that human nature remains basically unchanged whether it is human or alien. The government officials tend to be more concerned with public perception than with justice and fairness, and it becomes a lesson for our young hero in all types of relationships: peers, romantic, parental, and political. Liss has crafted a wonderful plot that, while not as complex as an adult thriller, still offers several twists. He has intermingled bits and pieces from other sci-fi franchises and used a clever plot device to make these references fit seamlessly into the story. His real strength is the characterization and he is as masterful at building sympathy for strange aliens as he as building it for his human characters. The book is a fun read, and it is well written; he keeps the reader turning pages until all too soon we reach the end.
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