Podric Moon by Barney Broom (Young Adult book sent by The Book Guild for review).

Podric Moon And The Corsican Tyrant is the first Young Adult fantasy book release from respected screenwriter and director Barney Broom. The book's main focus is young Podric, who is a computer games champion with ambition to be a jet pilot like his father, and his relationship with eccentric local games developer Archie.

Podric Moon is suitable for older teenage and young adult readers. There are some mature themes including mild sexual references and scenes, and a trigger warning as two of the female characters are assaulted.

The book opens with the death on duty of Podric's father, an RAF Pilot. Podric decides not to return to his boarding school in Ireland and the whole family move away from their RAF housing into a small rural UK village. It is there that Podric meets Archie, a games developer who has had major success in the past, but is struggling to spark interest in his games now.

Together Podric and Archie work on a new and far more immersive version of VR, called Ultimate Alternative Reality (UAR) and they use Archie's game based on the Napoleonic Wars as their world. The realism is hard to ignore and life in Napoleon's time isn't quite as romantic and fun as it first appears, although it definitely has it's moments.

There are plenty of scrapes, the odd battle and lots of 'finding out who you really are'. It's a good coming-of-age tale for Podric in many ways. It also postulates the question, 'How much of life is all in our heads?'. The UVR and real worlds collide and cross over in very surprising ways.

The writing style is fluid and easy to read, and you are drawn into the storyline, wondering how on Earth they will ever come out a winner, even if it is just a game. You have sympathy and emotional investment in the characters, in both realities. You worry that Podric isn't dealing with the loss of his father, and that Archie is really a very broken man. You feel for their friends and family members, and also the game characters. You frequently consider if UAR is a step too close to reality.

As the story continues, the experiences in the alternative reality have an effect on the personalities and movements of Archie and Podric in the real world, and although at first they both really wanted just to escape, they realise there is something very valuable to real life.

Podric Moon And The Corsican Tyrant is written by Barney Broom and independently published by The Book Guild Publishing. An epic tome at 386 pages and the first in a series of books featuring Podric and Archie and Ultimate Alternative Reality - UAR. Available to buy now priced £8.99rrp from all good bookshops, including online at Amazon*.  Below is my handy Amazon Affiliate link with latest price.

We were sent our copy of Podric Moon And The Corsican Tyrant by Barney Broom for review. *Amazon links are affiliate, which means I earn a few pennies as a thank you for my time if you order through my link, but you don't pay any extra.