Data Runner is a fast-paced YA debut novel by Sam A. Patel. Data runners are couriers who transmit information securely by means of chips implanted in their arms. The job is risky as interceptors or destructors are often after that same sensitive information. Jack Nil needs money to clear his father's debt and decides to take an offer from a company that runs data. Jack's parkour skills and keen intelligence are the reason he has been recruited, and he will need those qualities in this hazardous new job.
The characters could have been better developed, the plot more realistic, and the world building better clarified, but the action keeps this novel going. The novel feels as if the author was rushing to get his ideas down, but skimped some areas that would have added depth.
The use of parkour is an innovative addition to a familiar theme; I was unfamiliar with parkour, but found the sport fascinating.
From Wikipedia: Parkour (French pronunciation: [paʁˈkuʁ]) (abbreviated PK) is a holistic training discipline using movement that developed out of military obstacle course training.[1][2][3] Practitioners aim to move quickly and efficiently through their environment using only their bodies and their surroundings to propel themselves, negotiating obstacles in between. They try to maintain as much momentum as possible without being unsafe. Parkour can include running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadrupedal movement and more, if they are the most suitable movements for the situation.[4][5][6]
You can get a better idea from the videos below.
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NetGalley/Diversion Books
Science Fiction/Dystopian/YA. June 25, 2013. Print version: 320 pages.
Cool. I am way too old and wimpy to do that kind of maneuver. The book sounds fun. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Parkour is definitely for the young and athletic! I can't imagine the strength and practice for most of these moves. More than I could have handeled at twenty...and that was a long time ago. ;>)
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