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Briggs sends four friends on a dangerous adventure through cyberspace in his engrossing sci-fi debut. Like most people in the London of the near future, college-age Theo Wilson and his friends Clemmie, Baxter, and Milton spend most of their time together in SPACE, a virtual reality system that allows users to experience the world without having to worry about bodily harm or the pesky laws of physics. Even when moving through the real world, they stay hooked up to their VR rigs. When Theo’s mother, Ella, goes missing, leaving her rig behind, Theo puts it on and receives a call from an unknown enemy threatening both his and his mother’s lives. Theo and friends search for Ella through SPACE, following clues she’s left behind and uncovering secrets about SPACE’s dark underbelly along the way. Time spent in SPACE is limited by the threat of brain damage caused by overexposure, making the mission a fun, high-stakes race against the clock. Fans of virtual reality–set sci-fi will find this a solidly entertaining offering. Agent: Tom Witcomb, Blake Friedmann Literary (U.K.). (May)