Overview

"Thirteen-year-old Oliver has moved to a new town and school with his mom after his dad disappeared two years earlier. Leaving his best friend David behind, he's begun a tentative friendship with his classmate Logan, who spend time together playing the world's most popular video game series, Razer. But when fellow gamers start falling into ""Gamer Comas""-more than sixty million worldwide-they learn that the artificial intelligence of the game has become massively powerful and impossible to control. The AI has gone rogue and is harnessing the neural brain power of gamers through their headsets, launching an attack to take over the world's infrastructure and holding everyone hostage in its wake. Their only hope to save humanity is to eradicate the AI by beating it at its own game. And who better to accomplish that than the teen gamers obsessed with Razer. A secret agency of the government has been aware of the AI war, such as it is, and has launched an offensive by using the very segment of the population that the AI is targeting, teens, and recruiting them to fight on a virtual video game battlefield with an enemy consisting of cyborgs led by a ruthless and ganglike AI leader of the same name, Razer. Now Oliver and Logan are part of those teens recruited into gaming assault troops, launching a coordinated global strike to force their way into the AI's mainframe and take it down...before it's too late. A thought-provoking and intellectual story about our existence among and reliance on computers, technology, and the rising use of artificial intelligence."

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9781399977708

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Reviews

Reedsy Discovery ReviewLoved it! Final Video Game is current, exciting, funny, serious, and so well put together that I couldn't put it down. I think Craig Speakes did a fantastic job; Final Video Game is current, exciting, funny, serious, and so well put together that I couldn't put it down. From the first page, my interest was piqued - news channels are saying that more kids are in a state of coma every second because of playing a game, Razer - and the events that followed, an intense battle included, kept intrigue high. I particularly loved the banter between the characters, especially between Oliver and Sparky; it was laugh-out-loud funny, and I probably had a smile on my face most of the time. If my five stars weren't clear enough, I recommend this book. I believe anyone from age ten will thoroughly enjoy this read; yes, that includes adults. Reviewed by Claudia Trindade Blueink Starred Review In Craig Speakes's science fiction novel, a 13-year-old boy must save humanity by stopping a powerful Al figure gone rogue. The plot unfolds smoothly, and the narrative and game-world descriptions are so detailed and drama-filled that readers may forget they're turning pages. Interspersed between tense battle scenes are unnerving moments during walks through alleys, shops, etc., when varied non-playable characters may or may not-suddenly morph into creatures. Speakes's characters are well-drawn, especially Oliver with his endearing charm, insecurities, and vulnerabilities, and Sparky, with her warmth and unapologetic chutzpah. Additionally, there's quirky humor, twists, and revelations that keep readers rapt. Given the current global disquietude about Al's increasing popularity and power, Final Video Game is timely, smart, and feels chillingly prophetic Love Reading 4 Kids Indie Books We Love ReviewA thrilling sci-fi, action adventure with a gamer twist. This book has a really clever premise, it has Age of Ultron vibes and there's plenty of close scrapes and high tension as Oliver and the other teens fight to stop Razer. On the surface this is a thrilling and gripping sci-fi, action story that middle grade and teen readers would enjoy. As we see the havoc wrought by Razer in the real world it raises issues of our dependence on computers and technology, as well as more bluntly exploring the threat of Artificial Intelligence and cyber warfare. The recruitment of young children and teens to essentially fight a war was a concept I found really powerfully sinister. It added to the tension and the feeling of pressure on Oliver and the other recruits to succeed, undercutting some of the characters as they treated it like just another video game. Sci-fi and video game fans will also enjoy the references dotted throughout this entertaining, interesting and multi-faceted story. BOOK LIFE REVIEW by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY In this action-packed middle grade sci-fi adventure from Speakes (author of the Keeper series), rogue AI manifests as the video game character Razer and traps the minds of children gamers within the program. As a result, kids are stuck in gaming comas with no hope of release. To fight the nefarious AI, the government recruits the best young gamers and hackers with hopes of finding a savior capable of shutting down the dangerous program from within the game. Young readers interested in video games, AI, and sci-fi will plug into this thrilling adventure. Takeaway: Thrilling middle grade sci-fi with rogue AI, cyborgs, and memorable characters.

Author Information

Craig Speakes had dreamed of being an author since he was a teen. An early fantasy adventure novel penned after university was put aside until later in life when he wanted to leave a legacy for his son, an avid gamer. It was this inspiration that motivated Craig to write his newest novel, Final Video Game in which a teen gamer is thrust into an actual virtual video game battle in order to save humanity from artificial intelligence gone rogue.Craig believes a great book is one that keeps you guessing. He hopes his young readers come away from his story knowing that even when things look bleak, there is always hope, and that this stays with them long after the book is closed.When he isn't writing fast-paced adventures for middle grade readers, Craig enjoys photography, Scandinavian walking, and teaching conversational English to a non-native English speaker. He is also the published author of a two part middle grade book series called The Keeper.

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