The year is 2085, and humanity has spread throughout the solar system, a stable lunar colony is agitating for independence, and lunar tourism is on the rise…
Against this background, professional “Close Protection” specialist Scotty Griffin, fresh off a disastrous assignment, is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to shepherd the teenaged heir to the Republic of Kikaya on a fabulous vacation. Ali Kikaya will participate in the first live action role-playing game conducted on the Moon itself. Having left Luna—and a treasured marriage—years ago due to a near-tragic accident, Scotty leaps at the opportunity.
Live action role-playing attracts a very special sort of individual: brilliant, unpredictable, resourceful, and addicted to problem solving. By kidnapping a dozen gamers in the middle of the ultimate game, watched by more people than any other sporting event in history, they have thrown down an irresistible gauntlet: to “win” the first game that ever became “real.” Pursued by armed and murderous terrorists, forced to solve gaming puzzles to stay a jump ahead, forced to juggle multiple psychological realities as they do … this is the game for which they’ve prepared their entire lives, and they are going to play it for all it’s worth.
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“A clever twist on the game-within-a-game trope is at the heart of this well-plotted romp that combines live-action role playing with political intrigue while paying homage to H.G. Wells. The authors emphasize the plotting and gaming aspects with great success while juggling an enormous cast of characters…A well-written story with plenty of plot twists in return.”
— RT Book Reviews
“A cat-and-mouse chase in which role-playing serves as perfect training for heroics and survival.”
— Publishers Weekly“A solidly satisfying story. Series fans and lovers of gaming fiction should enjoy this action-filled collaboration.”
— Library JournalBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Larry Niven is the multiple Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award–winning author of science fiction short stories and novels, including the Ringworld series, as well as many other science fiction masterpieces. His Footfall, coauthored with Jerry Pournelle, was a New York Times bestseller.
Steven Barnes is a prolific author and scriptwriter who has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Cable ACE, and Endeavour awards. His work for television includes episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1, and Andromeda. A lifelong student of human-performance technologies, he holds black belts in judo and karate, has an instructor certificate in Circular Strength Training, and is a trained hypnotherapist.
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.