A former princess and hostage to war, Greta Gustafson is now beyond human: she is Artificial Intelligence, and the first human to successfully become one in a century. AI leader Talis needs more like himself to maintain world order, so he brings in his army of Swan Riders to protect Greta as they navigate back to AI headquarters. Their journey is fraught: Greta may not survive the messy transition from human to AI; her former country has begun a new rebellion in response to her sacrifice; and the most dangerous risk comes from her protectors, the Swan Riders, who have begun to tire of being repeatedly and grotesquely sacrificed for Talis's sake.The Swan Riders picks up immediately after The Scorpion Rules (Simon & Schuster, 2015/VOYA October 2015). Politics and social order outside the Preceptures are intricately expanded. Talis's background is thoroughly explored through flashbacks to his human days, as well as Greta's new super-computer analysis of him. While threats of a coup keep the action moving, the book is really about the dichotomy of being AI and human. Greta struggles to keep her humanity and risks her life to do so. Meanwhile, Talis disregards humanity by destroying cities as collateral and using his Swan Riders' bodies as human vehicles, uploading himself into their brains to be physically human when necessary. This results in the Riders' deaths, and ugly ones at that. It is this part of the story that gets convoluted and confusing as Talis swaps between his character and the human he occupies, but it is integral to the success of its powerful conclusion. Readers may miss the romance of the first book, but will enjoy more time with the weirdly likeable Talis.Liz Gotauco.

Greta, once a princess and political prisoner, is now a robotic AI, slowly but surely getting used to what it feels like not to feel, in this sequel to The Scorpion Rules (2015). Talis, the head AI, is there to guide Greta along the path he has already taken, and he hopes that she'll survive, even though countless others haven't. Once she's ready to face the world as an AI, complete with data stores of information, she has to take on the country she left behind, now locked in war. This is solid sci-fi, and it is best for dedicated fans of the genre, and for readers who have already tackled its predecessor.

Gr 10 Up-This sequel picks up shortly after the conclusion of The Scorpion Rules . Greta Gustafson Stuart, former princess of the Pan Polar Confederation, is a newly minted Artificial Intelligence. In agreeing to become an AI, Greta has saved herself and fellow hostage Elián Palnik while avoiding the wrath of Talisthe all-powerful AI who rules the world with the judicious use of satellite weaponry, carefully chosen hostages, and his Swan Riders, who act as part army and part cult. Greta is the first new AI in more than a century. Haunted by memories of her time as a hostage growing up at Precepture Fourincluding torture, friendship, and Xie, the future queen and the lover Greta had to leave behindthe protagonist struggles to cling to what is left of her humanity while learning about her capabilities as an AI. With the future of the world hanging in the balance, Greta will have to use everything she knows about being AI and human to bring her two dramatically different worlds together. Quick recaps and Greta's own memories bring readers up to speed in this fast-paced sci-fi novel, although having knowledge of the first book is ideal. Bow dramatically expands the world here by introducing more of the landscape as Talis, Greta, and two Swan Riders travel across Saskatchewan toward the AI home base near Montana. Interludes from Talis's point of viewin his present form as an all-powerful AI and in flashbacks to his time as the idealistic Michael Talis, who wanted to save the worldadd another dimension to this disturbingly likable character. Weighty subject matter and heavy questions about what is best vs. what is right are tempered with humor and Greta's wry first-person narration. Like its predecessor, this installment has a thoughtfully diverse cast of characters with familiar faces and newer additions, including Francis Xavier, a stoic, dark-skinned Swan Rider born with one hand. VERDICT A fascinating follow-up and stunning story that is a must-read for fans of the first volume. Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library