Denver Public Library: Teens: Entertainment/media - Teen Tech Week 2012: Books for Gamers

IF YOU ENJOY EPIC FANTASY OR HISTORICAL WAR GAMES - like Everquest, Runescape, World of Warcraft, Ultima, Lineage - THEN TRY THESE BOOKS:

THE STERKARM HANDSHAKE
by Susan Price
Having traveled to a sixteenth century border clan in England through a tunnel created by a twenty-first century company, Andrea must decide in which era she will live.

THE HUNTING OF THE LAST DRAGON
by Sherryl Jordon
In England in 1356, as a monk records his every word, a young peasant tells of his journey with a young Chinese noblewoman to St. Alfric's Cove and the lair of a dragon.

DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES
BOOK ONE: DRAGONS OF AUTUMN TWILIGHT
by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickam
After five years, a group of friends reunites as the shadow of war hangs over the land. When an artifact of incredible power falls into their hands, they must flee the forces of darkness, for they have learned the terrible truth: the dragons have returned to Krynn!

FORGOTTEN REALMS SERIES
BOOK ONE: THE CRYSTAL SHARD
by R.A. Salvatore
Can an unorthodox dwarf and renegade dark elf persuade the people of Ten-Towns to put aside their petty differences in time to stave off the forces of the crystal shard?

THE INHERITANCE CYCLE
BOOK ONE: ERAGON
by Christopher Paolini
In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters.

OTHER SUGGESTED AUTHORS:
T.A. Barron, Robert Jordan, C.S. Lewis, Garth Nix, Philip Pullman

IF YOU ENJOY HISTORICAL SIMULATIONS - like Civilization 3, Caesar, Pharoah - THEN TRY THESE BOOKS:

TROY
by Adèle Geras
Told from the point of view of the women of Troy, portrays the last weeks of the Trojan War, when women are sick of tending the wounded, men are tired of fighting, and bored gods and goddesses find ways to stir things up.

LONDON
by Edward Rutherfurd
London presents the sweeping saga of one of the greatest cities on earth – from the days of the Romans through two thousand years of history – as seen through the eyes of generations of the same six families.

OTHER SUGGESTED AUTHORS:
Gary Blackwood, Peter Dickinson, Donna Jo Napoli, Julius Lester, Rosemary Sutcliff

IF YOU ENJOY SPORTS GAMES - like Madden Football, NBA Street, Need for Speed, WWF, Golf Tiger Woods - THEN TRY THESE BOOKS:

INTO THIN AIR
by Jon Krakauer
A history of Mount Everest expedition is intertwined with the disastrous expedition the author was a part of, during which five members were killed by a hurricane-strength blizzard.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
by H.G. Bissinger
The timeless account of the Permian Panthers of Odessa – the winningest high-school football team in Texas history. Socially and racially divided, Odessa's fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true.

THE BEST AMERICAN SPORTS WRITING
A hit with both sports fans and those who are simply fans of good nonfiction.

OTHER SUGGESTED AUTHORS:
Chris Crutcher, Thomas Dygard, Will Hobbs, Rich Wallace

IF YOU ENJOY PUZZLE GAMES - like Myst, Tetris, Sudoko, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Brain Age - THEN TRY THESE BOOKS:

CHASING VERMEER
by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

THE DA VINCI CODE
by Dan Brown
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci.

BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE: THE INSIDE STORY OF SIX MIT STUDENTS WHO TOOK VEGAS FOR MILLIONS
by Ben Mezrich
It's Friday night and you're on a red-eye to the city of sin. Strapped to your chest is half a million dollars; in your overnight bag is another twenty-five thousand in blackjack chips; and your wallet holds ten fake IDs. As soon as you land in Las Vegas, you are positive you are being investigated and followed. To top it all off, the IRS is auditing you, someone has been going through your mail – and you have a multivariable calculus exam on Monday morning. Welcome to the world of an exclusive group of audacious MIT math geniuses who legally took the casinos for over three million dollars.

THE WESTING GAME
by Ellen Raskin
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

OTHER SUGGESTED AUTHORS:
William E. Coles, Vivian Vande Velde, Michael Crichton

IF YOU ENJOY FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS - like America's Army, Quake, Halo, Doom, Counterstrike - THEN TRY THESE BOOKS:

BLACK HORSES FOR THE KING
by Anne McCaffrey
Galwyn, son of a Roman Celt, escapes from his tyrannical uncle and joins Lord Artos, later know as King Arthur, using his talent with languages and way with horses to help secure and care for the Libyan horses that Artos hopes to use in battle against the Saxons.

SOLDIER BOYS
by Dean Hughes
Two boys, one German and one American, are eager to join their respective armies during World War II, and their paths cross at the Battle of the Bulge.

OTHER SUGGESTED AUTHORS:
John Marsden, Harry Mazer, James Collier, Tom Clancy, Robert Westall

IF YOU ENJOY SOCIAL SIMULATIONS - like The Sims, Teen Second Life - THEN TRY THESE BOOKS:

CLAWS
by Will Weaver
Jed and Laura, two popular Minnesota high school students, find their seemingly perfect lives suddenly in chaos when they discover that each has a parent who is having an affair with the other.

FLIP
by David Lubar
Eighth-graders Ryan and Taylor are twins, but that's where the similarities end. But they share at least one thing in common: nothing is turning out as they planned.

AVATAR CHRONICLES TRILOGY
BOOK ONE: EPIC
by Conor Kostick
On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game, fourteen-year-old Erik persuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families.