Skymaze (Puffin story books)

Product Description
A group of children explore a video-game maze that suddenly becomes dangerously real and forces them to face their personal problems.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-- A sequel to Space Demons (Dial, 1988), this is a complicated science fiction story in which a computer game comes to life. Andrew, Elaine, Mario, and Ben are Australian adolescents who find themselves caught up in a dangerous maze. The large cast of main characters makes the beginning of the book particularly confusing and tends to weaken Rubinstein's ability to delineate everyone clearly. The problem is most obvious in the depiction of Mario, a stereotypical tough kid, and of Andrew, whom readers are repeatedly told is unusually charming and ingratiating, but are never shown. The busy plot gains momentum after the characters are introduced and Andrew has received a mysterious computer game, Skymaze, meant to be played only by those familiar with Space Demons. (This caveat also applies to the book, for while it may be enjoyed by those who haven't read the first book, it is sure to be more accessible and appealing to those who have.) Complications ensue when new players join in without understanding the dimensions of the game, leading first to thrilling, and then terrifying, experiences. Unfortunately, Rubinstein's description of the game is occasionally vague, thus failing to involve readers deeply. Despite some weaknesses in characterization and setting, however, the book is both a fast-paced adventure and an engrossing study of family relationships. --Lisa Dennis, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Publishers Weekly
This fast-paced sequel to Space Demons offers renewed thrills and challenges for 13-year-old Ben when his pal Andrew talks him into playing yet another computer game. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Another computer game becomes as real as life--and death. Ben and Andrew, two of the winners of Space Demons (1989), order the next Japanese game: Skymaze. Linda and cool Mario, their former partners, also become involved again. So, unfortunately, do two uninvited new players: Darren, Ben's older brother, and Paul, son of Andrew's new stepfather. The six play out their antagonisms and shifting loyalties in a game that becomes so real that Mario nearly dies. In the end, fraternal rivalries are muted, if not resolved, while Mario has learned how much he means to his family. The strengths and weaknesses of Space Demons are also here: well-drawn characters exhibit realistically exasperating flashes of maturity and childishness; Linda and Mario's emerging sensuality becomes a bit more explicit but remains tentative; the game's similarity to life and the shadow it throws into the real world are still convincing. It does all seem familiar, still no more explanations (why Japan?) and no more resolution than offered earlier. Still, though not so fine or intriguing as Rubinstein's Beyond the Labyrinth (1990), a skillfully written, fast-moving story. (Fiction. 12+) --
Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.