Skymaze [Hardcover]

Gillian Rubinstein (Author), Mina Greenstein (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1991 | Age Level: 10 and up

A group of children explore a video-game maze that suddenly becomes dangerously real and forces them to face their personal problems.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 183 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; 1ST edition (April 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531059294
• ISBN-13: 978-0531059296
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,292,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, June 11, 2001

By 

"child_of_light" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SKYMAZE (Paperback)

Okay, after I read Space Demons I gave up hope of ever finding a book half as good as it. I was so lucky I'd happened to grab Skymaze off the library shelf too.

It was even better than Space Demons. Maybe because there was a bit more romance. *Snicker* Actually, it was because it moved fast, moved smoothly, and was handled very well. It also kept me up until 3:00 in the morning.

The way Skymaze affects the characters' actual lives is (in my opinion) a little more realistic than in Space Demons.

It's a wonderful book, and there is no one I would tell not to read it. (Except the die-hard Harry Potter fans who don't WANT to get over their obsession.) However, as you ought not to play Skymaze until you've mastered Space Demons, you shouldn't read Skymaze until you've finished Space Demons.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The sequel to space demons, June 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: SKYMAZE (Paperback)

Can there possibly be another computer game as enthralling as Space Demons? A year later from their adventure with space demons, Andrew Hayford is bored and orders the next game. It reunites the former players Ben Challis, Mario Fellone and Elaine Taylor, as they are drawn into the next adventure. Danger arrives as Andrew's new step brother enters the game. Mario loses his last life and the only way for him to recover is for the other three to make their way past Andrew's brother and get to the centre of the maze.

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic for me, October 10, 2003

By 

Joseph Schmitz (Everett, wa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skymaze (Hardcover)

I was first introduced tt "Space Demons", the prequal to this book on a field trip to the public library when I was young. Cannot remember how I found it, but Im glad I did. Both it and this book have remained personal favorites of mine. It was also the first book I ever read where the author shifted from one persons point of view to another. Todays younger readers might find some of the technology terms outdated because this book is straight up 80's style, but its overall universal.