Icecore: A Carl Hobbes Thriller

If Robert Ludlum ever wrote a book for young adults, it would probably be a lot like Whyman’s action-packed techno-thriller. Carl Hobbes, a 17-year-old British hacker, has penetrated the ultimate network: he’s hacked into Fort Knox. Although he hasn’t done it for profit (“I did it because I could.... It was the security measures I wanted to beat”), his ingenuity isn’t exactly appreciated. The U.S. government essentially kidnaps him, and, along with some of the most infamous mercenaries and terrorists in the worlds, transports him to a U.S. detainment camp in the Arctic Circle known as the Guantánamo Bay of the North” for questioning. Soon after arrival, Hobbes and other enemies of the state are subjected to brutal interrogations—but when one of the detainees successfully stages a violent uprising, Hobbes must decide which side he is on. Powered by a fast-paced narrative, the exploration of numerous timely themes—criminality on the digital frontier, the war on terrorism, the ethics of torture and prolonged detainment versus human rights—gives this eminently readable adventure a degree of depth. Ages 12-up. (Dec.)