“Michael was not himself.”

From James Dashner’s The Mortality Doctrine: The Rule of Thoughts.

When Michael and his friends, Bryson and Sarah were contacted by VirtNet Security (VNS), they thought they were in trouble because of their item hacking in the the virtual reality gaming world, so the chance to hunt down a cyber-terrorist named Kaine was an exciting opportunity.  However, the young hackers quickly learned that Kaine and his Mortality Doctrine were far more dangerous than anyone anticipated.  All of Kaine’s evil plans seem insignificant for Michael though, when the rogue AI tells Michael that he isn’t a real person, but actually a VirtNet Tangent programmed to believe he’s alive.  When Michael wakes up in another human’s body, he is reminded that through his completing The Path unintentionally helped Kaine complete the first step in his plan to use the virtual reality “coffins” in the real world to trap human users in the VirtNet, leaving their body open for free Tangents to use.  Michael refuses to work with Kaine, and against repeated warnings, he reaches out to Sarah in the real world trying to figure things out and find Bryson.  However, every move they make seems to play right into Kaine’s hands, but they keep searching for Bryson, clues to VNS Agent Weber’s true intentions, and a way to stop Kaine’s wicked plan.

The second book in Dashner’s sci-fi thriller trilogy provides the reader with non-stop action.  The expansion of the virtual and real world allows the characters and story to develop rapidly, if not in a slightly confusing manner.  The Rule of Thoughts takes the sci-fi action from the first book and only adds to it, which will leave readers desperate waiting for the next book to see how the thrilling trilogy ends.