Saga by Conor Kostick - ADVISABLE

Kostick, Conor Saga, 367 p. Viking (Penguin), 2008. 

MS, HS – ADVISABLE 

Welcome back to the world of Epic. The game has been shut down on Erik’s world, but a new game has taken its place. What Erik and his friends don’t know, however, is that this new gaming world is populated by self-actualized electronic intelligences, controlled by a Dark Queen who is determined to enslaved a world of fleshy bodies to do her bidding. To her surprise, however, the character Cindella, left over from Epic, is more than happy to thwart her plans. 

Most of the point of view is from the computerized characters’ perspective, especially Ghost, a young street punk who survives by breaking rules. She and her gang of friends are key to the solution of Saga. You can tell that Kostick knows video games, especially role-playing games, whether medieval or modern. Gaming fans will have a great time, but so will others.

Cindy, Library-Teacher