Fifteen-year-old Zeb can’t wait to try out the new virtual reality console, The Plush, and in particular, the game EleMental. With its ability to tap into the player’s own mind and incorporate reality into the action, this is no ordinary game. Soon Zeb can think of little else but winning the ga... more

Fifteen-year-old Zeb can’t wait to try out the new virtual reality console, The Plush, and in particular, the game EleMental. With its ability to tap into the player’s own mind and incorporate reality into the action, this is no ordinary game. Soon Zeb can think of little else but winning the game and unlocking its secrets. However, his addiction turns deadly when he becomes trapped in the virtual world. To save Zeb, his friends Willis and Arizona must join him in EleMental and battle its creator, Grimble Downer. But how do you defeat someone in a world of their own design? This rare entry into the teenage market by Murdoch’s Pier 9 imprint is a fantastic and exciting debut novel by Steven O’Connor. With its simple writing style and entertaining mix of futuristic sci-fi, horror, action and angst, this is a great book for reluctant readers and, in particular, teenage boys. There’s nothing babyish that might put off older readers—rather, this reads like Philip K Dick for teenagers. With the narrative sneakily shifting between the real and virtual worlds, O’Connor explores some fairly complex and sophisticated issues in a thrilling and accessible way. This article from Bookseller+Publisher magazine is reproduced under licence from Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2010, Thorpe-Bowker. EleMental is currently only available in Australia. It can be ordered through Boomerang Books: http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/EleMental/Steven-OConnor/book_9781741967135.htm