The Duke of Uranium (Jak Jinnaka)
Barnes' latest is a wildly entertaining homage to the best '60s Heinlein juveniles, an amiable, slangy adventure for the teenager in everyone. Good-looking, athletic Jak Jinnaka, 18, has survived compulsory education with the help of his pretty girlfriend, Sesh, and a generous allowance from Uncle Sib. After Sesh is kidnapped, Uncle Sib explains a few things. Sesh is really the princess of the powerful distant planet Greenworld. Sib is a senior agent of a political cabal, or zybot, planning to rescue and then, possibly, exploit her. Promising Jak will meet no harm, Sib invites him to be an emissary to Sesh's captors. On the long trip to the Duchy of Uranium, Jak befriends a few members of a trading starship's crew, survives his shuttle being shot out of the sky, befriends the duchy's imprisoned heir, and discovers additional details of Sib's career that make joining Sib's particular political group something he should consider very, very carefully. Lots of action, dancing, interesting clothes, hints of sex, and a lovable, laid-back hero.Roberta JohnsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved