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by SwiftC - The Nature of Reality 15 Dec 2009
What began its life as a short story in Ford Street’s best-selling anthology, Trust Me! has metamorphosed into an action-packed adventure that not unlike The Matrix shines light on all the big questions regarding the nature of reality and the meaning of life.

Thieves Tark and Zyra are surviving on their wits in a world of science and sorcery. Their goal is to acquire enough money to buy them access to Designers Paradise, a place where, for a short while at least, they can escape into another world. After stealing a sword o’ light from Princeling Galbrath, Tark heads for the nearest dragon intent on liberating the creature from its gold. He succeeds, but little does he know that the dragon’s wife Vera, a humanoid robot with appalling dress sense and the tracking ability of a blood hound, is hot on his and Zyra’s trail. Zyra, too, has managed to get fellow thief Cracker, and The Fat Man off-side and so it is with pursuers aplenty the pair head for Paradise.

When Paradise is at last theirs, Tark and Zyra take on new forms that fit their world of choice—a world that’s eerily similar to our own with school, friends, family and everything else that we take for granted. Once there, however, it becomes apparent that something is very wrong.

It’s a well-known fact that electronic games with their never-ending quests and blood pressure raising adventures have lured away many a potential book-loving kid. But now one canny author has found the ideal way to snatch them back with a story that is every bit as riveting as a computer game.

Ivanoff has managed to raise some of the most intriguing and essential questions about what it means to be human while delivering a thrilling adventure story that resonates on many levels.

From the outset it seems to be a foregone conclusion that these larger than life characters are nothing more than game constructs. But are they? And if so, with their loves, hates and dreams, are they any less human than us?

Gamers’ Quest has all the makings of a cult classic. Highly recommended for its enjoyment value alone, this book would be a powerful tool in a classroom environment, sparking all manner of thought-provoking debates.

(Review by Jenny Mounfield, posted with permission.)

Author Biography: George Ivanoff
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