Outrageous fun. ( )

This is a novel for Sheldon Cooper and his friends on Big Bang Theory. This is totally science-fiction.

The Confederation is visiting several planets to pull other beings into their group. They are non-violent and promote peace. Each planet in this trip has more of a violent history, which is not what they typically choose. Each planet sends four teens to live one year on the Confederation’s planet. They select teens because they are more willing to accept new ideas. They are also chosen by their abilities. Zeke isn’t the top of his field, so he’s been selected as a “random.” When the four humans arrive with the Earth’s representative, a United States State Department person, they meet four people from three other planets. The four from the fourth planet were killed by the Phandians. In response, Zeke kills the Phandians. Now, Zeke is infamous. Some call him a murderer, some want him killed, and a few appreciate that he saved lives.

In his home for the next year, Zeke makes friends with the other randoms. Statistically, groups do better without their randoms, but this group is particularly talented. Zeke and the other two randoms rack up points and learn quickly that there’s more going on than they’ve been told. They also work together to protect Zeke from the many forces who would like to see Zeke given over to the Phandians or sent home. The randoms have to work together to save everyone.

I see all the “nerdy” characters in Big Bang reading this novel in middle school. If you know a lot about science fiction, Star Trek, and Star Wars, you’ll especially love it. It’s a long novel, so be prepared to live in outer space for a while. ( )

This is not your typical story of good guys vs. bad guys. Because in this story the good guys aren’t always good, sometimes they just aren’t as bad as the bad guys. Hmm, maybe it is more typical than we think. “Randoms” is young adult sci-fi book exploring themes of peer pressure, rejection, and young love between humans and between humans and aliens. At the same time Liss explores the very adult themes of corruption and treason setting his story in an alien confederation on the home station at the seat of government. While there is plenty for young adults, it is perhaps all too easy to find parallels to modern political greed and corruption as we find that human nature remains basically unchanged whether it is human or alien. The government officials tend to be more concerned with public perception than with justice and fairness, and it becomes a lesson for our young hero in all types of relationships: peers, romantic, parental, and political. Liss has crafted a wonderful plot that, while not as complex as an adult thriller, still offers several twists. He has intermingled bits and pieces from other sci-fi franchises and used a clever plot device to make these references fit seamlessly into the story. His real strength is the characterization and he is as masterful at building sympathy for strange aliens as he as building it for his human characters. The book is a fun read, and it is well written; he keeps the reader turning pages until all too soon we reach the end. ( )

This middle reader novel works from a premise similar to that of Ernest Cline's Armada, but succeeds in a way that Cline's novel didn't quite. Partially I think it's because Liss was writing for a younger audience and didn't feel like he needed to impress anyone with his cleverness and pop culture references. It allowed this book to just be fun, which made it a joy to read. It's not a perfect book--it's a little long and not all of the characters are as fully-developed as they could be (there are a LOT of them, though, so it's a little understandable)--but it was a deeply enjoyable read. ( )

This may be a middle-grade science fiction novel, but it should make a great read for all ages, especially those with a history in sci-fi/fantasy and gaming fandoms, to which the book pays loving tribute, while still telling its own story. Our hero is plucked from Earth to discover the universe at large, make new friends and enemies, and maybe put some of his geeky knowledge to good use along the way. ( )