The Lazarus Game ~ Review

The Lazarus Game
By Stephen J. Valentine

The perfect game.

The key to immortality.

The ultimate price.

It all started with trying to impress Sidney Locke by capturing the Russian gangster who shot her father.  After all Carter Chance is a genius (which he's more than happy to tell you) and when Carter decides to do something it gets done (usually).

But what Carter and his friends saw that night was just the beginning. This was the first time they were aware of the Lazarus Game Shop.  A game shop that was about to have an unexpected impact on not only Carter's life but the lives of everyone in Merewether.

When Carter is offered the chance of a lifetime to work for Geoffrey Chaucer, owner of Lazarus Game Shop - he does what every 15 year old teenage guy would do - he uses the opportunity to try yet again to impress Sidney (his girlfriend, he hopes).  But there's just one problem - some Hobo Warrior with a big axe thingy! And Hobo Warrior (Carter's name for this guy) isn't afraid to use his axe thingy.

Can Carter determine the truth before it is too late?  Dealing with a family life that is barely there Carter is more than eager to help Chaucer bring about a new world and he knows he possess the skills and genius know-how to bring The Lazarus Game to the next level.

The Lazarus Game is told from Carter's point-of-view and his opinion of himself is anything but humble.  This book will appeal to both tween and teen boys and at just over 300 pages would be a perfect choice for a book report (free choice, science fiction, or thriller).  This is clean reading so parents and grandparents don't need to worry about what horrors lurk between the covers.

I was provided a copy of this book by Cedar Fort in exchange for my honest review and tour participation.


About the book:An amazing new video game has the power to resurrect the brightest minds of the past and see what they’d create in the modern world. There’s just one catch—it requires another person’s soul. Carter Chance, who is a teenage genius, must find a way to stop his generation from exchanging their souls for a computer-generated fantasy. This action-packed thriller delves into the enticement and dangers of virtual reality.

About the author:
Stephen J. Valentine received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Utah State University. He is Senior Program Manager for Family Search International, responsible for the online publication of billions of historical records. Stephen loves history, hiking, cooking, reading, and traveling, especially to Disneyland. Stephen resides in Utah with his beautiful wife, talented children, brilliant Schnauzer, and massive J.R.R. Tolkien collection.