The first three books in #1 <i>Wall Street Journal</i> bestselling author Richard Bard's <i>Brainrush</i> series garnered over 2,000 Amazon 5-Star reviews, setting the stage for the continuing story spanning three continents and two more books. With <i>Brainchild</i> (Brainrush 4) called "a high-speed thriller that ignites pages with scenes of action and suspense" by <i>Kirkus Reviews</i>, and <i>Smoke & Mirrors</i> (Brainrush 5) named <b>"best book of the year"</b> by <i>IndieReader.com,</i> this mind-gripping adventure is sure to capture the imagination long after the final heart-stopping chapter.<br /><br /> A gifted boy forced to grow up too fast... A father who will do anything to protect him... A madman bent on destroying them both.<br /><br /> In Amsterdam, a visionary scientist is laying the groundwork for a cybernetic life-extension project that will transfer individual consciousness to a personalized avatar. Halfway around the world, his brilliant grandson is secretly planning to use the same technology to infiltrate the world's most secure networks. But the scientific advances necessary to perfect the brain-to-computer interface are slow in coming, too slow for the aging founder of the Everlast foundation--who may die before realizing his dream of immortality--and too slow for his ruthless grandson, who will stop at nothing to attain the recognition that is his birthright.<br /><br /> Caught in the middle are Jake Bronson and his seven-year-old son, Alex, whose combined mental gifts might provide the key to leapfrogging the impasse.<br /><br />When Jake's family and closest friends are simultaneously abducted in a globally coordinated kidnapping scheme, he races across two continents before uncovering the first clue to their whereabouts, unaware that his hostage son and teenage siblings crash-landed in the jungles of South China, where they must find every ounce of their courage and wits to survive the wilds and escape the ruthless drug lord who is hot on their heels. Can a seven-year-old boy learn to kill to save his family?<br /><br /> An international thriller with soul. Ideal reading for fans of Michael Crichton, Nora Roberts, Clive Cussler, James Rollins, J.D. Robb, Marcus Sakey, Michael Grumley, Brad Thor, Dan Brown, Matthew Reilly, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Vince Flynn.<br /><br /> Note: "Brainchild" was formerly entitled "Everlast"