Net Force is almost a hybrid novel, with most of it seeming to be aimed at adult audiences but with long sections seemingly designed to attract young adult readers. In the passages detailing how youngsters help to identify and then track down the terrorist responsible for ordering the murders of Net Force and Mafia leaders and for numerous computer virus attacks on important computer systems, Net Force lays the groundwork for its sequels, all aimed at young adult readers.

The first sequel, Virtual Vandals, establishes the settings and atmosphere for the novels to follow. The year is 2025, and the Internet has become an intricate world of interconnecting virtual realities. People have implants that allow them to blend their consciousnesses into the imaginative, fabricated locales created by individual people, as well as by governments and businesses.

The implants are supposed to give each person a...