Voyagers: Game Of Flames - Robin Wasserman

Voyagers

Game Of Flames (Book Two)
Robin Wasserman
Random House Children’s

 

SciFi/Middle Grade
 
Note:  This is Book 2, so this review will spoil the ending of Book 1.  If you don’t want that to happen, read Book 1 first!
 
Earth is running out of energy.  The remaining resources available here will last only a few years.  The only option is to look somewhere else for energy.  That’s why there’s the Alpha Team.  A team of four kids who volunteered to go out into space to collect the elements needed to create a new, renewable energy source.  It’s exciting, but scary.  Because the truth is, if they don’t manage to collect and combine all six of the required elements, they won’t have enough power to return their ship to Earth.
 
Dash, Piper, Gabriel, and Carly trained for this mission together.  But training in simulators and being millions of miles from Earth are very different.  They’re headed to their second planet, Magnus-7, to collect the second element.  The planet is like one huge factory.  It’s all metal and moving parts and danger.  Training is good, but there are no do-overs here.  Before they arrive, they get a very nasty surprise: They’re not the only team out there.  There’s a second team, in a similar-yet-different ship, and they seem to think they’re competing with the Alphas.

Omega Team is made up of the four kids who came in second during training.  They’re pretty bitter about it, especially their leader, Anna.  They’re being directed by someone who thinks it’s foolish to simply bring the energy source home and give it away to everyone.  He wants to control the energy and become rich by charging for it.  Dash suggests that the teams should work together, but Anna doesn’t want to hear it.  For her, winning is the only thing that matters.  Once they’re on the planet, they find a war raging, and are forced to take sides. 
 
There’s a lot going on in this second book.  Obviously, they need the second element.  But there’s a long way to go to get it.  This mission involves getting through the maze of the planet, dealing with the locals, and even dealing with the other humans there.  It will take the whole team to make it work.  So far, this series is more than solid.  Each character is unique (one of the crew members can’t walk and uses a hover chair) and each brings different skills to the story.  The story is fast paced and very exciting.  Readers, be on the lookout for some huge news about one of the crew!
 
Winter 2015
ISBN# 978-0-385-38658-6  (hardcover)