RAT RUNNERS

Nimmo, Manikin, Manikin’s younger brother, FX, and Scope, all rat runners who live outside the constraints of their controlling government, inhabit an edgy, believably depicted dystopian version of London.

Nimmo generally fights his battles alone, staying hidden in plain sight and eluding the piercing interest of the robotic Safe-Guards that cruise the city to enforce its laws. Manikin and FX work their scams together, combining FX’s tech-savvy skills with Manikin’s quick wits. Scope’s area of expertise is forensics, but she spends nearly all her time within the underground domain of crime boss Move-Easy. After Nimmo’s neighbor is murdered, Move-Easy enlists the aid of the teens to find a valuable box, but it becomes clear that more is missing than that, and the trove is of great value to any number of thugs. The kids, never fully certain of one another’s loyalties, nonetheless form an effective team in this high-velocity effort. McGann too often tells rather than trusting his narrative to show, but the peril is so pervasive and persistent, and the teens’ responses so clever, that few will object. Even though this London is a grim place, the upbeat, can-do attitudes of the protagonists relieve the potentially depressing effects of the dystopia.

Who cares if the teens’ escapades and escapes seem a little too convenient to be fully plausible; it’s all about suspense and action.