Book Review: Insignia By: S.J. Kincaid

Today I am reviewing a science fiction novel by S.J. Kincaid called Insignia.

Book Cover

A young Tom Raines is born in a distraught, divorced family. His father Neil gambles and says he will always win the next time, but never does. With only one parent to take care of him, who is drunk mostly, he is quickly offered to child care agencies and alternate schools. Then luck hits him. As he is gambling in the VR (virtual reality parlor, where he always wins) he notices that he was being observed by the military General Marsh. General Marsh offers him into a program in which he could use his gambling mind in virtual reality games for real life. Situated at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., a military training site is designed for kids with strategic brains like Thomas, so that they can train and fight battles against the enemy countries. In this period of time there are a several companies banded together to fight for their rights on resources in outer space. In one side with the U.S., India, Western Europe, Canada, and Australians is companies like Dominion Agra, and Nobridis. Inc who want to their own piece of space resources, on planets like Saturn and Uranus. On the other side with the Russians, Chinese, South America, Africa, and the Nordic is companies like Stronghold Energy and Harbinger who want their share of outer space. The kids like Thomas are implanted with millions of dollars worth of neural processors to enhance their brain capacity. Because they are worth so much, both sides don't actually kill the opponent party, because a war would start in which they would lose millions of dollars. Instead, the kids control machines in outer space to fight their battles. As Tom goes through the training, he learns how to program his neural processor, place a firewall to protect his neural processor, and how to get into someone elses neural processor.
Then a kid from his side, and a kid from the Russian side must compete in a public battle. They have fake controllers and behind the scene Thomas is controlling one ship, and the undefeated Medusa is controlling the other. Additionally someone from his side, is trying to sabotage him. In this fun-action packed book, everyone is guaranteed to get a good deal of laughs, learn a lot from a teenager in the military, and also experience his battles and how they felt.