Dragon Ops: Dragons vs. Robots

by Mari Mancusi Narrated by Gary Tiedemann

Overview

In this sci-fi adventure, the beloved author of Dragon Ops takes listeners on a thrilling and heart-pounding journey through a high-stakes video game world.

Now safely back at home, Ian and Lilli are free to return to normal life. Except there's a major problem: Ian keeps seeing the big bad boss dragon Atreus everywhere, and he can't tell whether it's real or in his imagination. So the internet is no longer an option. That's right, Ian, king of online gaming, is out on the soccer court instead. When Atreus shows up ... everywhere, Ian knows he needs his sister. But he's legally obligated to never say Dra-er, the name of the game, so how is he supposed to ask for help?

When Ian and Lilli finally sign back online, it's clear that Atreus has truly been released on the open web-and even worse, Ikumi has been kidnapped and imprisoned in a video game. It's back into virtual reality, but this time it's to Mech Ops, a futuristic world of zombies and evil robots-and the game's not even finished.

Will Ian and Lilli have what it takes to jump through unfinished levels undetected? Or will they get booted ... and even worse, are there do-overs in a VR game that isn't even built yet?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Dragon Ops: Dragons Vs. Robots

"Fast pacing and one dangerous situation after another build an exciting genre introduction for fans of sci-fi VR games."—School Library Journal

Praise for Dragon Ops:
 "Even reluctant readers are likely to find something to keep them engaged. . . . A fun, fast-paced read for video game fans, adventurers, and fantasy readers. Highly recommended."—School Library Journal

"With this adventure, Mancusi (Geeks and the Holy Grail) employs common gaming tropes, interweaving fantasy and mundane elements to create a world that feels familiar and yet enjoyably dangerous. The concepts—rogue AIs, theme parks gone haywire—may be well visited, but Mancusi successfully delivers a sense of urgency to her entertaining tale."—Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Once and Future Geek:

"A highly imaginative twist on the legend of King Arthur, complete with time travel, programming, and fierce friendships, The Camelot Code is the perfect pick for tweens who love medieval lore and geek culture in equal measure!"—Christina Soontornvat, author of The Changelings series

"Parents of gamers, Austin author Mari Mancusi's newest may just lure your screenager away from the headset...It's a twisty, fast-paced adventure that melds the real-life consequences of Jumanji with a mashup of the best medieval and high-tech details."—The Austin American-Statesman

Kirkus Reviews

2021-04-27
An avid gamer and his sister enter an apocalyptic virtual reality world to rescue their imprisoned friend.

After getting trapped and nearly killed in Dragon Ops, a fantasy augmented-reality theme park, Ian Rivera has sworn off the internet. He’s haunted by visions of Atreus, a vicious AI dragon who escaped from the game. When Ian and his sister receive a plea for help from their friend Ikumi, a digitized copy of the Dragon Ops creator’s deceased daughter, Ian must face his worst fears to set her free from Mech Ops, a virtual reality game about robots and zombies. A troubling theme touting video games as a glorious “equalizer” runs throughout, clearly positioning disability as negative and its elimination in the virtual environment as a positive. Starr, a Black woman whose role seems to be to teach Ian about coping with trauma, uses a wheelchair but plays the most physically mobile character (without a wheelchair) in the game, stating, “We may not be able to run in real life. But we can fly in his games.” When Ian learns that the Mech Ops chimpanzee beta tester uses sign language in real life but is able—and prefers—to speak inside the game, he thinks, “This was so awesome. It was really hard to see it as a castle of evil.” The book follows a White default; the Riveras’ surname may be intended to cue them as Latinx.

A fast-paced adventure that promotes harmful messages around disability. (Science fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176679045
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Series:	The Dragon Ops Series , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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