Heir Apparent

In Heir Apparent there are as many ways to win as there are to get killed. "A stylish tale [that] addresses both fantasy gaming and censorship." (New York Times Book Review)

From Edgar Award–winning author Vivian Vande Velde comes a rollicking story that puts a high-tech twist on the classic medieval fantasy-adventure.

In the virtual reality game Heir Apparent, there are way too many ways to get killed—and Giannine seems to be finding them all. Which is a shame, because unless she can get the magic ring, locate the stolen treasure, answer the dwarf's dumb riddles, impress the head-chopping statue, charm the army of ghosts, fend off the barbarians, and defeat the man-eating dragon, she'll never win.

And she has to, because losing means she'll die—for real this time.

Junior Library Guild Selection * New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

"Consistently entertaining."—Publishers Weekly

"A testament to Vande Velde's storytelling magic."—The Horn Book

"A stylish tale [that] addresses both fantasy gaming and censorship."
—The New York Times Book Review 

"Plausible, suspenseful. . . . Hilarious. . . . It's riveting reading for
experienced gamers and tyros alike."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A Junior Library Guild Selection
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age