Space Demons

Space Demons

Author	Gillian Rubinstein
Country	Australia
Language	English
Genre	Young adult
Publisher	Scholastic
Publication date	1985
ISBN	978-1-86291-287-8
OCLC	38379783

Space Demons is a book by Australian author Gillian Rubinstein. First released in 1985, the young adult science fiction novel is the first of the 'Space Demons' trilogy. The book was awarded the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers in 1987.^[1] The book is often studied in Australian high schools as a text, and was used by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority as a reference text for VCE Drama.^[2] The book is centered on a group of four school children who enter a video game world through a Japanese prototype video game cartridge.^[3] The two subsequent books in the trilogy are Skymaze and Shinkei.^[4]

Summary

The main four characters in the book are Andrew Hayford, Ben Challis, Elaine Taylor and Mario Ferrone. The plot starts when Andrew's dad brings him an exciting prototype video game from Japan. Andrew, who is a video game enthusiast, shows it to his best friend Ben Challis, who agrees to play the game with him. Later, two other players are introduced to the game: Mario Ferrone and Elaine Taylor. It is later revealed that it is possible to get transported into the game by means of a special gun, which only works when a strong beam of hate is directed at someone. Later on, the four get trapped inside the game and gradually work out the only way to escape and thus win the game is if they conquer their hate.^[5]

References