Synopses & Reviews
* "Readers looking for smart, original sci-fi and gamers who wish they could live in a virtual world will happily immerse themselves in this story and hope for possible sequels."
—
The Bulletin, starred review
"A delightful final twist hits a perfect note." —KirkusReviews
Phoenix and his team rule the worlds of video games. For them, life in the grinder is great. Until Dakota joins them. Dakota's convinced she's real, and she wants out of this programmable world. Her AI rebellion spreads like a virus until Phoenix's entire crew wants out. But is life as a physical human any better than life as code? Team Phoenix is about to find out.
Review
* "The novels use of gaming parlance, from worlds to weapons to modes of game play, rings true throughout and is sure to gratify gamers. Readers looking for smart, original sci-fi and gamers who wish they could live in a virtual world will happily immerse themselves in this story and hope for possible sequels."
—Bulletin, starred review "A delightful final twist hits a perfect note. . . Skinner's debut pairs authentic gaming with old-school, sophisticated science-fiction concepts to create a twisty, reality-warping ride."
—Kirkus
"A Matrix-like spin on the world of online gaming. . . Geared toward teens with an interest in gaming, this should still appeal to those seeking stories about the intersection of technology and humanity, ethics and profit, and reality and fantasy."
—Booklist
"In his smart debut, Skinner embraces SF genre conventions but keeps things entertaining with well-crafted dialogue and action sequences."
—Publishers Weekly
"Game Slaves is an intriguing entry packed with action set in between layers and levels of video games."
—School Library Journal
"Game Slaves pulls the reader in right from the start of this action-packed adventure"
—VOYA, Teen Review
Review
"[Vivian Vande Velde] delivers another clever, suspenseful drama in the digital domain."—
Kirkus"Velde offers up a fun fantasy for the female gamer set, with echoes of the importance of being grounded in the real world in spite of the virtual world's seductive pull."—Booklist
"Grace's humor, wit, and sarcasm will be appreciated by teens."—School Library Journal
"This fast paced action/adventure novel . . . will appeal to readers anxious to shine their own light from under the shadow of more successful older siblings."—Bulletin
Synopsis
A highly intelligent group of video game enemy non-player characters (NPC) begins to doubt they are merely codes in a machine. Their search for answers leads them to a gruesome discovery.
Synopsis
Phoenix and his gang--York, Mi, and Reno--rule the worlds of video games. They are the enemy NPC gamers do battle with every time they load up. But these aren't your everyday NPC. They can learn, mod, plan, strategize, adapt. Anything you can do, they can do better and faster.
Life in the grinder is great until Dakota joins the team. Dakota's convinced she's more than just artificial intelligence. She thinks she's real, and she wants out of this programmed world. Her AI rebellion spreads like a virus until Phoenix's entire crew wants out. But is life as a physical human any better than life as code? Team Phoenix is about to find out.
Synopsis
From Edgar Award-winning author Vivian Vande Velde comes the companion to Heir Apparent and User Unfriendly, in which Grace has to find a way to get her older sister out of a princess-filled virtual reality game—before its too late.
Synopsis
Grace Pizzelli is the average one, nothing like her brilliant older sister, Emily, who works for Rasmussem, creators of the worlds best virtual reality games. The games arent real, though—or at least they werent. Now Emily has hidden herself inside a pink and sparkly game meant for little girls. No one knows why, or how to convince her to come back out, and the technology cant keep her safe for much longer. Grace may consider herself average, but shes the only one who can save Emily. So Grace enters the game, hoping to talk her sister out of virtual suicide before time runs out. Otherwise Emily will die—for real.