Two young computer gamers experience some all-too-realistic on-line effects in this irreverent series opener. Tired of being “killed” every 20 minutes playing “Gopher,” Jessica takes her friend Matthew’s advice and logs on to a new web game dubbed “Medieval Madness.” Suddenly she and Matthew are actually in the game, squired through a medieval forest by Dennis, a surfer-dude centaur who shows them the ropes, gives Matthew a magic wand (“ ‘Got it on my last job. I rode around with Harry, this English kid. I forget his last name: Trotter, Rotter. Something like that . . . Bit of a noo-noo, if you know what I mean.’ ”), and sends the young folk racing off to visit Heaven (“ ‘Hey! That looks like Elvis!’ ”), the Other Place (which turns out to be a shopping mall), a dungeon, and finally the Chamber of Secrets, where Merlin the Magician’s evil clone Merlon lurks, plotting to take over the real world by turning it into a global consumer economy. Intrepidly challenging Merlon to a round of “Gopher,” Jessica not only racks up a monumental score, but hacks into her opponent’s character files and dumps them into the Trash. Goodbye bad guy. Shelly adds an occasional lighthearted illustration. Steering clear of both jargon and explicit gore, Kimmel dishes up a fast-paced caper that even clueless adults will enjoy. (Fiction. 9-11)
