The virtual world has changed in the year 2050. Staying connected has never been simpler, as each person has the ability to have a djinni installed directly into their head. With the djinni, a person has a constant stream of data always available with just the blink of an eye. Marisa Carneseca and her two best friends, Anja and Sahara, live almost entirely in the world as they rely heavily on their djinni to aid them in everything from directions to even playing their favorite game of Overworld. The virtual world is changing, however, as a new drug has hit the streets that promises to give each user a safe high by directly impacting the user's djinni. Is the new drug, BLUESCREEN, truly as safe as promised?

The aptly named BLUESCREEN is the first book in the Mirador series, and oh do I want more of this world already! Dan Wells crafts a futuristic world that is as fascinating as it is scary. I love the implications and potential for a world in which even the brain can possibly be hacked. Some of the scenes still make me laugh, such as Marisa rejecting a link from a cute boy because he had too much adware in his djinni.

The world of BLUESCREEN has lots of flash and color in the virtual world. I particularly like the creativity of clubs involving a sensory program like the Synestheme, where actions and worlds are defined by colors. However, the world outside the virtual one is dark and grim, as Marisa has to deal with poverty, gangs and the very real threat of violence. I hope Dan Wells explores this part of Marisa's world a bit more because I'm dying to know some of the history and how things in the United States reached the point they are at in BLUESCREEN.

BLUESCREEN has a whole host of characters, some more likable than others. One of the things I love about BLUESCREEN is that the choices aren't always easy for the characters. Sometimes quite likable characters make choices that can be frustrating, even irritating, such as Anja blithely choosing to use BLUESCREEN. Without a doubt, Bao is my favorite character, though, as he hasn't allowed the digital world to completely overwhelm him but instead he uses "the old fashioned way" of connecting to the virtual world, sans djinni. However, even Bao has to resort to darker tactics to survive in Dan Wells's world.

BLUESCREEN is an exciting, action-packed futuristic tale that is a pure delight to read! Fans of the latest technologies will relish the treat Dan Wells has in store for them as BLUESCREEN takes all sorts of twists and turns while introducing us to a very clever and diabolical plot based on the use of technology. I can't wait to read more from Dan Wells and see just where the Mirador series takes us!

Book Summary

From Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, comes the first book in a new sci-fi- noir series. Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as long as you have the right connections. That connection is a djinni—a smart device implanted right in a person’s head. In a world where virtually everyone is online twenty-four hours a day, this connection is like oxygen—and a world like that presents plenty of opportunities for someone who knows how to manipulate it.

Marisa Carneseca is one of those people. She might spend her days in Mirador, but she lives on the net—going to school, playing games, hanging out, or doing things of more questionable legality with her friends Sahara and Anja. And it’s Anja who first gets her hands on Bluescreen—a virtual drug that plugs right into a person’s djinni and delivers a massive, nonchemical, completely safe high. But in this city, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and Mari and her friends soon find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that is much bigger than they ever suspected.