Serpents of
Arakesh by V. M. Jones
Appearances
can be deceptive. The four people around
the table look like a businesswoman (Veronica Sherwood); a tramp (Quentin
Quested); a bodybuilder (Shaw; and a bank manager (Withers). You would neverguess that Quentin is actually
one of the wealthiest men in the world, the world’s most wizardly computer
genius and the man behind the best-selling Quest
computer games.
The most
recent game—Quest for the Golden Goblet—is
being marketed with a special promotion sweepstakes. People who register the game get to enter a
contest to win a complete computer system, a complete set of the Quest games and … a two-day gaming
workshop with Q himself. Faster than you can say “golden ticket,” thousands of
entries pour in, and salfes have jumped two hundred percent.
Q has a very
personal agenda behind the contest, though. He wants to find five children who
can enter the magical world of his creation and find a healing potion that will
save the life of his daughter Hannah.
It’s clear
the author has seen Willy Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory a few times, but
that’s okay. Jones has taken the basic
“golden ticket” premise and given it an interesting Harry Potte-ish gloss. (Like Harry, protagonist Adam is an orphan
who has to deal with bullies.)
