Trying to find a particular book

My desciptions are vague, as its been a LONG time since i read this book
i've searched endlessly, and have produced nothing but dead ends.

here's what i can remmeber of the book

It's science fiction
its about a boy who struggles in real life, but plays a computer game in his spare time

the computer game, i believe, was set with mytical creatures

eventually he becomes part of the video game to help out his friends in the game.

The characters in the game make NUMEROUS references to the "real world" by calling it "the mundane world"

any ideas?

reply to post by Andrew E. Wiggin


sounds like an anime i know called .hack, that it?

nope

i read this book wayyy back in the early to mid 90's

its definatley not anime.

My memory sucks (as you can tell...)

but i remember it to be a rather thick book, but the print wasnt small...though it also wasnt large, and there were no pictures

probably an older book than when i originally read it too

Something about the cover of the book (could be the color, but could be the title) speaks "red" to my mind.

The first author names that pop into my mind are
Arthur Conan Doyle
Orson Scott card

but i've done extensive searches on the works of both, and definately cannot find this book.

it's either the name of the author, or the name of the book, that takes up a BIG amount of space on the front cover

i know these details are absolutely horendous

now you know why i've searched for so long

i think i remember his computer game being about magical animals or something, he interacts with the characters, and when they are in big time trouble, he actually becomes part of the game (though he doesnt know how) and he fights along side them

not lion witch and wardrobe for sure

i'll keep googling

anyone who has any idea, no matter how "bad" you may think it is, im all up for any suggestions

[edit on 12-6-2008 by Andrew E. Wiggin]

It *might* be "Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card. There was a kid in there that was pretty weird, and played a computer game a lot, and depending on how you'd describe it, could be said to have become part of the game. There were other kids in the game that he interacted with, but no animals that I remember. I don't think it quite fits exactly your description, but then it's been awhile since I read that one, too. It's closer than any of his other books, and I've read most of them.

I think he also had a short story called 'chip runner' or something like that, which was very similar to this idea, but you describe a novel, so that isn't it.

I haven't read anything by Conan Doyle except for his Sherlock Holmes stuff, but I'm pretty sure based on the time that he lived that he couldn't have written the book you describe.

The only book that springs to mind is Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett. Its been a long time since I read it but it has most of what you describe, except I think it was more of a space invaders type game rather than a mythical one

No, its not lost boys
Though that is a GREAT book (anything by orson scott card is golden)

the search continues!

It is as someone said earlier .hack however there are severl different .hack spin offs. They had anime as far back as in the 80's. And most anime are bassed off of japanese comic books called manga. I have seen the story you talked about and even own a few of the .hack spin off games. here is a link and a breif discription of the story that I think that you are looking for.
en.wikipedia.org...

Tsukasa is the protagonist character of the story and plays a Wavemaster. At the start of the series he is seen waking up to find himself trapped in The World, unable to log out. He is initially depicted as a cynical loner who tends to avoid others as much as possible, but his character development shows him growing to realize there are people who care about him.[19] One of these people is Subaru, a female Heavy Axeman introduced as the leader of the Crimson Knights, a player organization designed to fight injustice (such as player killing) in The World. Most of the time Subaru is the only character preventing the Crimson Knights from running wild; she knows that they must restrain from abusing their power. She eventually joins in the search of a way to help Tsukasa, and builds a close relationship with him.[12]

Also close to Tsukasa is Mimiru, a Heavy Blade who is poor at planning things out and following through on them. She is the first player to meet Tsukasa, and later forms a bond with him and vows to protect him. She usually hangs out with Bear, trying to solve the mystery of Tsukasa's inability to log out. Bear is an older player of the game and plays a Blademaster. He appears as cool and collected, always willing to help out newbies. He also conducts research in the real world on Tsukasa. One of Bear's acquaintances is BT, a plotting and scheming Wavemaster.[citation needed]

BT teams up with Crim and Sora to find the Key of the Twilight. Crim is a powerful Long Arm, friend of Subaru who founded the Crimson Knights organization with her, but afterwards left it as he found it did not match his personality. Amiable, easygoing and sociable; he prefers to keep the real world and the game separate. Crim's stated goal when playing is simply to have fun,[20] although he never turns down a chance to help somebody in need. Sora is a Twin Blade player killer who enjoys hunting players down, especially attractive female ones, and demanding their Member Addresses in exchange for their lives. He sees Tsukasa as the strongest link to the Key of the Twilight, and starts working with BT in the quest for it.

"Keeper of the Kingdom" by HJ Ralles?
www.amazon.com...
"In 2540AD, the Kingdom of Zaul is a terrifying world controlled by Cybergon ‘Protectors’ and ruled by ‘The Keeper’. Humans are ‘Worker’ slaves, eliminated without thought. Thank goodness this is just a computer game – or is it? For Matt, Zaul suddenly becomes too real when his computer jams and he is sucked into the game. Now he is trapped, hunted by the Protectors and hiding among the Workers to survive. Matt must use his knowledge of computers and technology to free the people of Zaul and return to his own world. Can Matt elude the Protectors? Will Matt ever get home? Keeper of the Kingdom is a gripping tale for today’s computer literate young adults."

[edit on 24-12-2009 by Gazrok]