80 AD
5 primary works
Book 1
Seven lives will not be enough.
Take a very ordinary, very unhappy 14 year old boy, Phoenix. He's bored by school, hates his step-father, feels like he has no control over his life. In fact, the only things he does like are computer games and martial arts.
Add a smart, miserable 14 year old girl, Jade. She's the youngest of seven girls; teased and picked on; a misfit; her own mother doesn't get her. All she likes is books and botany.
Throw both these kids into a computer game - 80AD - AND into their avatar's bodies. Phoenix and Jade aren't 14 year old kids any longer. They're 17 year old warriors, confused and trapped in an ancient world of warfare, magic and death. They're stuck in 80AD Britain To Phoenix, it's fun - a gamer's dream come true. To Jade, it's a nightmare.
In order to get home, they have to play out Level One of 80AD. They have to find the Jewel of Asgard.
To do that, they must face murderous thieves, creatures of the Dywyllwch Brennau, uncanny powers of the Druids and the might of the invading Roman army.
Can they master their new bodies and survive in Iron Age Britain?
Can they beat the Romans to the Jewel and win Level One?
Will they make it home or will they be defeated by their arch-enemy, Feng Zhudai?
If he wins, they are stuck in 80AD forever - but is that so bad?
Book 2
Book 2 of the 80AD series sees Jade, Phoenix and their companions flung into the frozen wastes of northern Europe.
Here they must somehow reach Asgard, home of the Norse Gods, in order to steal the Hammer of Thor.
They are far from civilisation, snowbound, hunted, lost and on a deadline. If they don't reach Asgard in time, bad things will happen: Ragnarok - the end of the world. Unending winter, followed by hellfire and an almighty battle between the gods and giants.
If this world is destroyed, Phoenix and Jade die with it and their bodies, back in their own world, die as well.
Standing in their way are trolls, wolves, their old enemy Feng Zhudai and a new one - Loki, god of mischief and chaos.
To save this world and themselves, they must get to Asgard in time. Of course, it would help if they knew where it was. Then, somehow, when they do find it, they have to steal Thor's Hammer - and everyone knows that stealing things from Gods is a bad idea.
Book 3
80AD Book 3 finds Phoenix, Jade, Marcus and Brynn trapped inside a pyramid in ancient Egypt. No pharoahs here, this is Egypt as you've never see it. Rome has taken over and the country is far from peaceful.
This adventure is the most insane yet. It has everything you'd expect and more: mummies, secret passages, treasure, an evil high priest, human sacrifice, walking undead and more.
Together they must escape the clutches of the high priest of the Egyptian god, Set and release the imprisoned goddess of the Nile, Anuket.
Without Anuket, Egypt suffers endless drought and the country will die. An ancient prophecy predicts 'the Phoenix' to be the savior of Egypt, but our Phoenix doesn't think he's up for it.
To make matters worse, Phoenix and Jade's old enemy, Feng Zhudai, is manipulating the Roman leader of Egypt, weaselling his way into things, trying again to upset the balance of this world by causing chaos.
If they fail to release Anuket and the Nile, Feng Zhudai will win this round and trap them in Level 3 of the game forever.
Book 4
Ever wondered what India was like in 80AD? Well neither had Jade and Phoenix - until they end up there for Level 4 of the game, 80AD.
Transported from the deserts of Egypt into the tropical heat of India, they have to face a whole new range of enemies. Snake-gods, invading armies, assassins and war-elephants are all on the list.
To complicate matters, the Game is now open to internet gamers in their world - adding a whole new level of difficulty. When they meet a fellow-gamer, they are in for the ride of their lives.
All they want to do is complete their next quest, yet somehow, they end up involved in a full-scale war between Indian rival kings. Each army is over 100 000 strong and prepared to fight to the bloody death to hold the town of Pune.
Unfortunately, it's also the town Phoenix and Jade must get to, to complete Level 4. They must return The Sudarshana to the statue of Vishnu in Pune, before the death of the moon. With two armies in the way and assassins sent by Feng Zhudai hot on their tail, the task seems impossible.
Zhudai's minions will do everything they can can to stop Phoenix and Jade. They have to outwit the enemy and stop a war to get the Quest finished in time. If they fail, all hope of ever getting home is gone.
Book 5
This is it. The final Level of the Game.
China in 80AD is the stage for the final showdown between Phoenix and Jade and their arch-enemy, Feng Zhudai.
Things don't start off so well, though. Jade is a prisoner, separated by vast distances from her companions; in the hands of Feng Zhudai himself. Phoenix and the others have to find her before they can even think of freeing her. What have they got to work with? How can they fight Feng Zhudai's incredible magical powers on his own home ground? How can they fulfill their quest to master the Yu Dragon, when they don't even know where to find it or what it looks like - or how to go about mastering a dragon?
To top it all off, they must stop Feng Zhudai from taking control of the Han Empire and the world. If he wins this round, it's all over. Everything and everyone they know and love will be destroyed - in both worlds.
With the fate of this world and their own in the balance, Phoenix and Jade have insurmountable odds stacked against them - and they keep getting worse. Feng Zhudai unleashes everything he has at them. Phoenix and Jade must make some tough decisions just to survive. Can they make the sacrifices required to win the game?
There's a twist at the end no-one will expect.....