By Jennifer Bell (Walker Books)
She swallowed and marched up to a crewwoman polishing one of the brass telescopes. Arthur noticed a glowing V tattooed on her chin, instead of a T, like the male crew members. “Excuse me, can we please leave this Wonderscape game? We don’t want to take part; we just want to go home.”
When you’re running late for school, the last thing you need is an explosion – but that’s exactly what Arthur, Ren and Cecily get.
Although they barely know each other, that soon changes when they find themselves trapped in an In-Reality Adventure Game (or I-RAG) far in the future.
In the 25th century, I-RAGs are the latest and hottest form of entertainment, and HXPERION’s ‘Wonderscape’, in which “wanderers” (i.e. players) complete challenges to win currency, skills and realm-keys, is the most popular of them all.
Arthur, Ren and Cecily come from the 21st century however, and just want to get back there. But this isn’t going to be as easy and straightforward as the video games from their own time…
I thought this was a brilliant concept that grabbed me right from the start.
The fact that the main characters hardly know each other and know nothing about Wonderscape, unlike in titles such as ‘Ready Player One’, means that you all start on a level playing field and learn about it together, and can enjoy seeing their friendship grow as they become a determined and formidable team.
The realms are cleverly crafted, with each themed around a different hero from human history. Although I wish I could explore the world more, I’m not entirely sure I would be up to the challenges!
The tension builds as they deal with not only the trials that they must complete to progress, but also with their confusion and frustration navigating these unknown and unusual realms. On top of this, they must contend with the different aspirations of the siblings who run HXPERION and their desire to do whatever necessary to keep Wonderscape at the top…
Finally, I must say that the cover of the book (expertly produced by Paddy Donnelly) really captures the feel of the adventure within, with its bright colours and depictions of the different realms the trio might find themselves in. The motto of Wonderscape is ‘TRAVEL WITH WONDER’ – I certainly did, and would love to do it all again.
Looking for some similarly gripping books to read during lockdown? Why not have a look at the selection we reviewed for our second Lockdown Library!
