RIP: A Gamelit Fantasy

by M.J. Lau

Don’t you hate it when you try to kill a guy, but he just doesn’t die? Everett Starner, known in-game as Everstarr, permanently eliminated his rival Jake da Rippa from the VR sensation, Realms of Glory . Everstarr’s victory saved his friends from being trapped in the game forever. He ended up with the top rank in the leading clan, The Lordz. He even got a girlfriend. He was king of the virtual world. A few months later, Everstarr gets an invite to a challenge in the new pirate-themed Realms o’ Plunder . It’s a single-elimination death match where the winner gets first dibs on everything, and the losers might never play the game again. Oh, and the invite was from Jake. Why would he accept? How could he say “No”? Meanwhile, Everett’s clan has to hold down the fort in a Realm-wide Tourney. Everett is torn between his allegiance to his friends and his desire to settle the score with Jake once and for all. Sometimes being the best leads to the worst …

412 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 18, 2018

About the author

M. J. Lau is an English teacher by day and an author by night... or rather, a teacher day and night, and an author whenever he gets a free minute in between. His first novel, The Buried Few, is a work of near-future speculative fiction influenced in equal parts by dystopian classics, fatherhood, and Wired Magazine.

Lau is currently working on his video game fantasy series, The Virtual Realms. The first installment, Locked In, was released in March 2018, and the sequel, RIP, came out in December of 2018.

Reviews

[C.S. Wachter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mix of virtual and real world make RIP a quick and enjoyable read. Everett (Everstarr) has left RoG (Realms of Glory) for the new game RoP (Realms of Plunder), a world where pirates and all thing nautical (or jungle island) rule.

While the rest of his friends remain behind preparing for a grand tournament, Zero joins Everett in his quest to become the strongest player in RoP and defeat Jake once and for all. New friends are made in both worlds, but the distance created by playing separate games makes for strained interpersonal relationships among the old friends. Unexpected twists do a good job of drawing readers into the story.

Middle school/high school age youth (especially gamers) will find this series entertaining and fun. Lau understands his audience and really tailors his books for that niche. Though this is a clean read, there are some activities in the virtual world that parents might find questionable (the use of Voodoo and a certain amount of violence.) Setting those things aside, this series is a good way to get your young person to turn off the games for a bit and read instead.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I enjoyed the first book, this one is even better. I loved the pirate theme and the Hunger Games feel. Very intense, especially as the story builds to the ending(s)!