At first her goal was winning. Now it’s surviving . . . .“A stylish tale [that] addresses both fantasy gaming and censorship.” —TheNew York Times Book Review The Edgar Award–winning author presents a rollicking story that puts a high-tech twist on the classic medieval fantasy-adventure . . . Giannine has made it through the crowd of demonstrators outside the arcade to use the gift certificate from her dad. In the virtual reality game Heir Apparent, there are way too many ways to get killed—and Giannine seems to be finding them all. Which is a shame, because unless she can get the magic ring, locate the stolen treasure, answer the dwarf’s dumb riddles, impress the head-chopping statue, charm the army of ghosts, fend off the barbarians, and defeat the man-eating dragon, she’ll never win. And she has to, because the protesters have broken into the system, and losing means she’ll die—for real this time . . . “Consistently entertaining.” —Publishers Weekly “Thrilling sf drama [and] a tough girl protagonist.” —Booklist  “Suspenseful. . . . hilarious. . . . riveting reading for experienced gamers and tyros alike.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)A Junior Library Guild Selection and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age