The following books were reviewed by Dan Bogey for the Tribune-Review.

'Shadow of the Hegemon' by Orson Scott Card, Tor, $25.95. When one returns home after nine years at school there are bound to be awkward moments. But in Petra Arkanian's case the nine years in question were spent in space in Battle School where she, and a highly trained crew of other children were schooled in military strategy and taught to defeat Earth's alien enemies. But now the battle has been won and Arkanian and the rest must try to adjust to family life as normal 14-year-olds. Life on Earth had not changed, and without the enemy from space to contend with, mankind quickly returned to bickering and aggressiveness with its own kind. It soon becomes apparent that the battle-tested children who have just returned to Earth are a valuable resource to whatever power has its eye set on world domination. The graduates of the Battle School find themselves kidnapped by one of their former students, the brilliant Achilles who was forced to leave Battle School because of his less-than-stable psychological state. Eventually Arkanian is captured, and Achilles has the brains and know-how to complete his dream of world domination. The only piece missing from his puzzle is Bean, the youngest member of the Battle School and the only one to elude capture or death. Bean finds himself aligned with Peter Wiggin, an individual not much better than Achilles, as they try to forestall the manipulation of a violent and fragile world, where back stabbing and double-dealing are par for the course. Card has created an atmosphere of hopelessness and paranoia in which children are recruited as preschoolers to fight a world's wars. 'Shadow of the Hegemon' is the continuation of the world created by Card with 'Ender's Game,' and many of the characters have reappeared from earlier novels, but the book stands up quite well on its own.

'Ancients of Days' by Paul J. McAuley, EOS, $6.99. Yama is a young man on the verge of adulthood, and like many at that point in life he is searching for the meaning of life and his place in it. This quest becomes complicated when he begins researching his ancestor's past in the venerable library in the ancient city of Ys. Yama is perhaps the last descendant of the Builders, the first of many bloodlines established by the Preservers when they created the artificial world known as Confluence. But for all its beauty, Confluence is in the midst of upheaval due to the warring factions of various governing agencies striving for control. Yama is urged by a computer simulation of dead woman named Angel, one of the group of humans know as the Ancients of Days, to take up their forgotten cause against the status quo of Confluence and begin a revolt. To avoid this and other outside pressures he embarks upon a journey of self-discovery that leads him down the Great River to the home where his bloodline began. As compelling a character as Yama may be, it is the world of Confluence that is the real star of this book. There are 10,000 different races of genetically engineered beings living in a world run by machines created centuries ago by the long vanished Preservers. Yama's realization that he has the ability to exert control over these machines is further evidence that he is special, whether as a messiah to lead the world into a new state of understanding, or as a pawn in a deadly game set up by one of the rival bureaucracies. 'Ancients of Days' is the second book in the Confluence series, and readers who are familiar with the first volume, 'Child of the River,' will be much better equipped to follow the story and catch the subtleties McAuley liberally sprinkles throughout the book. Even for the uninitiated, 'Ancients of Days' offers the rewards of an exciting and well-written tale of a youth growing into manhood.

'A Matter of Profit' by Hilari Bell, HarperCollins, $15.95. Ahvren has a lot to think about on his five-month journey through space to his home T'Chin. The city is the hub of a 40-planet confederation, and each planet is populated by a different species. Ahvren doubt that he deserves the hero's welcome that his family is sure to be preparing for him, given his uneasiness during the battles of the Mirmami revolt. At 18, he is not quite sure he fits into the hero mold his father has laid out for him. When his ship finally touches down, he finds his father has reached a position of considerable power as the emperor's right-hand man and that one of his immediate jobs is to discover who is plotting the emperor's assassination. But even more disturbing to Ahvren is the matter of his foster sister Sabri. The two have always had an especially close relationship, and her uncharacteristically guarded call to Ahvren colors his mood and hastens his return. Ahvren, to his father's everlasting chagrin, has been training Sabri in the arts of war. Even though women are not permitted that role, Sabri seems much more suited for it than the young man. When dad offers to let Avhren opt out of his next military assignment - if he can track down the origin of the plot on the emperor's life - he jumps at the chance. Besides with Sabri wearing disguises and running off, any heroic impulses he may possess are needed closer to home. Hilari Bell retells the classic coming-of-age story against the exotic backdrop of deceit, treachery and a cast of fantastic creatures. Dan Bogey is a Mahaffey free-lance writer for the Tribune-Review.

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