Invisible Sun
In this stand-alone companion to Black Hole Sun (2010), Gill returns to his fascinating future world: a postapocalyptic Mars trashed by Earth emigrants. Our guides to this strange new world are two renegade teenage mercenaries: Durango and Vienne. Durango, the son of a morally corrupt politician, is a rowdy, carefree teen seeking to escape his roots, and he is hopelessly in love with Vienne. We learn about Vienne&#x2019;s past and then see her embark on a dangerous odyssey as she is captured by an enemy corporation and used as a killing machine. This swift read features constant, bombarding action and subplots to spare. Durango&#x2019;s clever banter with his interior sidekick&#x2014;the acerbic Mimi, his former chief who has been installed in his brain as an artificial intelligence system&#x2014;is a highlight, employing the witty, realistic thoughts and retorts of a teen boy. Mimi calls Durango &#x201C;Cowboy,&#x201D; and indeed, there is a strong western flavor to Gill&#x2019;s science fiction. The tense cliff-hanger ending, with a cute Star Wars reference, will leave readers poised for more. Grades 8-11. --Debbie Carton