High Stakes

Photon #2

by David Peters, Peter David

On Earth, Photon is a game ... and Christopher Jarvis is one of its best players - wielding his laser gun with high-scoring precision and razor-sharp skill.

But in space, Photon is for real ... and Christopher Jarvis becomes Bhodi Li - Photon Warrior - the newest recruit in the elite fighting corp. Their mission: to stop the dark Warlord of Arr in his savage conquest of the universe.

High Stakes
They call him the Gambler. The newest recruit in the Photon Force. A warrior of natural talent. Charming as well as cunning, but dangerously irresponsible, he leads the Guardians into one perilous jam after another. Until his fun-seeking exploits jeopardize the lives of his friends Bhodi Li and Parcival, and put the entire planet of Dekka at the mery of the Dark Warlord ...

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

150 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

A pseudonym of Peter David

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read the first book in this series, I knew it was based on a chain of laser tag game centers that existed back in the 1980s, but I hadn't realized that there was also a television show involved. So these books are based on the characters from that show and not original creations of writer Peter David (using the pen name of David Peters). These books do seem to be original adventures though, and not just adaptations of the television episodes (but I could be wrong about that as I did not watch the show).

Still, David manages to toss off a good work-for-hire tale this time around, giving us a morality tale about the travails of dealing with a friend who is reckless and self-centered. Teen Christopher Jarvis is worried about his friend drinking and borrowing his father's expensive sportscar without permission. And when he is whisked into space to take on his role of Photon Warrior Bhodi Li, he finds that the new recruit to the team, Gambler, acts like his friend but is not a team player when push comes to shove.

It's a proper space adventure with spaceship dogfights, force fields, alien princesses, and a gladiatorial arena.

[Timothy Kessler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little on the cheesy side but fun if you are reliving childhood like I am.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 2nd Photon novel, "High Stakes" by David Peters is a fast-moving adventure that as someone who is not familiar with this series picked up on very quickly. The story itself is a sci-fi story based on a game called "Photon" that is played on various worlds; however, there are off world observers who recruit people to their starship and cause to fight battles in outer space. While away from the game on their home planet time will essentially stand still. With "High Stakes" a person known as the Gambler is recruited by the crew, but he has ulterior motives that cause issues. The book itself is a fast read and at times reminds me a bit of Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series. Published originally in 1987, this book is still a joy to read & would be for any reader as this one may look into finding the other books in this series.

[Derek Cole]

Lol, I think I read this in elementary school... Brings back memories just seeing the cover and the description.