There’s Wendy and Rachel, whom you mentioned (and I completely agree that they’re awesome). I loved that Rachel was into music–she was actually part of my inspiration for learning to play the pennywhistle.

Sounds like you remember a lot about Wendy . I especially loved the robotic dolls–is it sad if I remember that their names were Blondie, Baby Pee Pants, and Mr. Pumpkiss? Anyway, you’re right in that she was an awesome dynamic character and added a lot of humor, spunk, and uniqueness to the books. Actually, though, she was my third favorite (I liked Rachel and Hap too much .

Hap was the boy Rachel was ‘dating’ (it wasn’t official, after all, they were only 12/13 years old, but I still thought it was so cute!) He joined the group a little later, but fit in really well because he was such a great mechanic. He’s the grease monkey of the group(I say that with 100% admiration. He was one of my favorites partially because he was really mature and even philosophical for his age, although really, the whole group was kind of that way. At the same time, though, he knew how to have fun, and he was great in emergencies, which the gang found their way into, of course. And yes, he was also one of my earliest fictional crushes .

Roger was Rachel’s twin brother. He was the one who did most of the programming on the good ole pun machine named Paracelsus. (can ya tell by now how big a freak I am? Roger was the leader of the group and was responsible for a lot of the situations the gang found themselves in, and also for a lot of the solutions to get out of those problems. Still, one of the things I loved most about the AI Gang is that there really isn’t a main character: the books focus on everyone, and each of them plays a unique role in the group. Roger was a pretty cool leader, though.

There were also Trip and Ray. They were cool, but I can see how you could kinda blend them together into one person in your mind. Trip was the really tall one with the artist dad. He was the dreamer of the group, and tended to come up with ideas that were a little more out there and not so scientific–for me, this was nice for a change. He also had a cat named Lunkhead before he moved…wow, I’m pathetic. : )

Ray was the short one with glasses and really wanted to be a basketball star. Oh, and his dad was the one who invented Gamma Ball…that futuristic 3-D game thing in the books that would totally beat any video game today. He didn’t seem to have a huge role, but more than a few times he would come up with the solution to save the day. Like Trip, Ray’s role in the group seemed to be coming up with unexpected ideas or solutions.

There’s also a bunch of adult characters, but they’re not as important, and I’m pretty sure that by now you must be sick of hearing me ramble. I was just so incredibly excited to FINALLY find someone who has read the books and still remembers them. They were my favorite books of my childhood, and even now, I think they probably beat out a lot of the books that are around today, both for children and adults. The series had a unique plot, awesome characters, and a style of writing that had it all–humor, suspense, drama, and even a little bit of romance for the Rachel/Hap fans like me.

Anyway, you probably think I’m crazy by now (and that’s probably true , but I just wanted to say thanks for remembering one of my favorite series, and for giving me a place to spill my useless information.

And I still compare every book I read to his.

Have you ever read the tetralogy that starts with Aliens Ate My Homework? That is my absolutely favorite series of his, but the AI Gang runs a close second.

R: YES. I read about the book on his website but hadn’t ever seen it, then ran across it in a bookstore, like, a year later. I absolutely devoured it, I couldn’t put it down…I should really go back and reread it so I have some memory of what happened in it.

I’d definitely recommend it.