Dave Barrett has an amazing imagination. I jumped into his first book, It’s All Fun And Games, with enthusiasm based on the remarks of others on the back cover. For example, Shannon Mayer wrote, “around every corner magic and adventure await.”
That was an understatement. A group of young people enter the woods for a game of LARP (live-action roleplaying). But something goes terribly wrong, and the kids find themselves in the midst of a bunch of real killers and very strange characters including something called kobalds.
The kids gather magical powers and take on those killers with a great deal of success which leads them on to similar chaotic episodes as they wander through the woods.
Trust me, this is a book you won’t want to put down as the kids plow through one horrific situation after another.
And as soon as I finished the book I had to move on to Dave’s next book, More Fun And Games. In this book, the kids’ chaotic and dangerous adventures continue.
I’m not sure I would categorize these frightening and lethal challenges as fun and games, but they sure are riveting. From the nasty wizard King Magnus, to a lizard that saves the kids’ lives, these books are unique and memorable. Dan Casey got it right when he called them “tremendously fun!”
Dave Barrett lives in Hampden, Maine and teaches financial accounting at the University of Maine. I can only wonder if some of his students inspired these stories!