ALA Booklist

After recent high-school grad Rick is so seriously injured in a car accident that he will likely never again be a football star, he's consumed with so much bitterness, particularly about his absent father, that his life has spiraled into days and nights spent playing video games alone in his room and snapping at his adoring younger brother and caring mother. As he drifts ever closer to permanent, alienating self-centeredness, he's kidnapped by a team of secret agents who find him through his prowess in his favorite video game, Mindwar. They offer him an opportunity to use his athletic talents again, this time in a virtual environment, to combat a foreign threat. But is there something more sinister at work? Edgar Award winning Klavan's well-orchestrated fantasy thriller features brisk but compelling character development, a touch of wry humor, Christian sensitivity that doesn't proselytize, and an imaginative mix of gaming action with real-life stakes. With just the right cliff-hanger ending, this trilogy opener shows promise.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Klavan (the Homelanders series) kicks off a trilogy with this fast-paced cyberthriller involving a teenager tapped by a secret agency to fight evil inside a form of virtual reality. Former football star Rick Dial has been living in a funk ever since his father walked out on his family and Rick himself was injured in a car accident. A self-described -useless cripple,- Rick has taken to playing video games nonstop. His exemplary skills lead him to be recruited by the MindWar Project, where he-s charged with a vital mission: go into the digital -Realm- to investigate, spy on, and possibly combat the terrorist Kurodar. Inside the Realm, Rick fights code disguised as monsters as he learns how to achieve his full potential. While Rick starts out as depressed and surly, his self-image and confidence are gradually restored. The story, while interesting, suffers from a lack of focus-both an awkward romantic subplot and religious undertones involving the power of spirit feel tacked on, rather than an organic part of the novel. Ages 12-up. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (July)

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-High School football star Rick Dial becomes depressed and immerses himself in video games after a car accident leaves his legs painfully useless. After racking up world-class high scores, the teen is recruited to fight real life baddies in The Realma virtual reality world created by Kurodar, a terrorist out to destroy the free world. Rick enters The Realm on several occasions, and each time the missions get more dangerous. He must fight for his life, because what happens to you in this virtual world affects your body in real life. Can Rick defeat Kurodar's evil Axis Assembly and save not only the country, but his family as well? The novel's overarching conservative and nationalistic themes turn this seemingly gamer-centric sci-fi novel into an exposition on forgiveness, faith, family, and patriotism. With quoted Bible passages and casual conversations with God, the author brings to the forefront the importance of religion in the protagonist's life. Sports commentary and video-game jargon are awkwardly integrated into the narrative. Recommended for athletes, young gamers, and readers looking for YA books with a Christian outlook. Eden Rassette, Kenton County Public Library, KY

Voice of Youth Advocates

Rick Dial had it all; he was a popular football star with a devoted girlfriend and a little brother who idolized him. Then, as if all at once, his life began to unravel. Without warning, his father abandoned the family and Rick was severely injured in a car accident which sent him spiraling into endless video games and self pity. Guilted by his mother into leaving the house one day, Rick is kidnapped and recruited by Commander Jonathan Mars, director of the MindWar Project. A group of Russian cyberterrorists, under the guidance of a man named Kurodar, are planning to attack the United States and it is up to Rick to find and outwit any potential attacks.Through the course of the book, Rick is able to finally uncover and make peace with his father's "disappearance," resolve his relationship with his girlfriend, and work past his self-pity to reclaim his sense of self. áWith short chapters and a plot that is action-packed, this book leaves itself open for a next volume, and will engage even reluctant readers.Shana Morales.