If you’re looking for a great book to read for pleasure, I suggest checking out Inter Active by William T. Mohn.  It was a page turner, I finished it in two days.  In fact I MAY have neglected the dishes so I could keep reading.

Inter Active is an awesome book that I highly recommend.  It might be a little dark for elementary readers (see the spoiler alert for my reasoning) but perfect for middle school on up.  If you have kids that are into video games, they’ll especially like this one!

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Epic Battle of Good vs. Evil

Inter Active follows the story of Josh.  Josh is a teenage boy who is struggling with fitting in.  Feeling like he doesn’t really belong anywhere, he often escapes into the world of virtual reality.  Getting lost in his video games for hours at a time usually provides a way for him to run from his problems in the real world.  That is until he is transported INTO his video game!

Josh suddenly finds himself inside the game itself.  Once he’s there however, the game changes as well.  His body armor and weapons from the game are gone.  It’s as if he’s been transported to another world.  This new world is fighting a different kind of battle.  It’s a battle that is going mostly unseen by its citizens.  It’s not a battle of strength and gun power, but a spiritual battle of good vs. evil.

In this good vs. evil battle, the followers of Jahlel are viewed as being old fashioned, archaic, and out of touch.  Many even think they are crazy for believing in and choosing to follow the teachings of Jahlel.  Meanwhile, the followers of Gast live their lives with the theory of what’s good or true for me is good for me, and what’s good or true for you is good for you.

I won’t give away too much of the story line, but it is believed that Josh is the one to stop Gast from bringing an end to the followers of Jahlel. Josh is no longer just playing a video game.  Everything about his new reality, including the possibility of death, are very real.  Suddenly he finds himself engaged in a new mission, one with real consequences.

Christian Parallels

As a Christian reader, I saw many parallels throughout the book to the Bible.  That being said, this book would be enjoyed just as much by a non-christian reader.

Some of the parallels were of course in the Battle between good and evil.  Each side is represented by its leader.  In the Bible, it’s God vs. Satan in the book they are represented by Jahlel and Gast.

Inter Active adds a modern twist in these Christian parallels as well.  You can see in the story how young teenage love can steerr a person off course and make compromises in their convictions (don’t worry no inappropriate story lines of a physical relationship).  The dangers of a post modernism worldview are thrown in as well.

Spoiler Alert!

I’m not one to give away endings to a book, and for the most part I’m really not.  However, if you are considering this book for a younger reader I feel I need to inform you of one part that might be a little dark for them.  At the end of the book, one of the characters (I’ll leave them unnamed) is revealed to be a host to Gast (representative of Satan as mentioned above).  In this short scene, the host’s body is transformed to reveal his true identity.  The scene is short and to the point, but it might be a little much for younger readers.  For this reason I would probably recommend the book for a middle school age on up, but use your discretion.

How to Get Inter Active

If you want to read this book for yourself (I highly recommend it) you can order it through Amazon.  Or, if you would like an autographed copy (at no additional cost), you can order directly from William T. Mohn by emailing him at [email protected].  The cost of the book with shipping (for US orders) is $21.00.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!  When you get a chance to read it let me know what you think!