TEST
Ah, the power of a poster featuring a sumptuous male. Makes you dream, doesn’t it? Maggie O’Brien can’t stop herself from staring at the hero of the virtual reality game Tolemac Wars. When trying the game for the first time, she finds herself tossed into the game and ends up in the hands of Kered, the warrior of the poster. Since she does not wear any arm rings, she must be a slave and is treated as such. Together, Maggie and Kered set out on a quest to stop the war.
But succeeding with a quest does not mean instant happiness for all involved. Kered and Maggie are troubled by her lack of citizenship, and find no easy way to solve the situation, especially while trying to keep the peace process from capsizing. Eventually Maggie prefers to return to her own world, but her time within the game has changed her. She decides to track down the creator of the game, in order to learn more and to meet the model for the poster.
The focus of Virtual Heaven shifts once Maggie leaves the game. Kered’s place is quickly filled by Derek, his real-life counterpart. The reader is meant to believe in the interchangeability of the two heroes. Personally, I felt the transfer was so swift that the effect was to make Maggie appear less than mentally stable. If Maggie had remained in Tolemac and the relationship had matured before she met Derek, the switch would have been more credible.
Many of the secondary characters are very two-dimensional, which is a consequence of Tolemac being a virtual reality game. Kered’s best friend Vad had an amusing difficulty with women, but his connection to Kered/Derek felt like it was lifted straight from the movie Flatliners. Borrowed inspiration is all very well, but a little more polishing could have made the plot twist feel more natural, instead of just appearing out of the blue.
When all is said and done, Virtual Heaven is a nice read and a fun twist on the paranormal travel stories, in spite of the Xeroxing of the hero. It is a romance with charm and potential, although not all that potential is realized. Ms. Lawrence’s work shows creativity and talent. If or when tempered by experience or a disciplined editor, it will really shine.
Grade: C
Book Type: Fantasy Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 05/09/99
Publication Date: 1999
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.