Buried in Silicon Book One: The Joining
Everyone in the world is waiting to play the Game, and Magnus Grey just won his ticket. The Game transforms Magnus into the Swordsman and takes him to the planet Evo, a world filled with incredible beauty and terrible danger. A magical land where monsters infest the wilds and demons rule the night. A world where people need him, where his choices make a difference, unlike the tepid utopia he has known on Earth. Layla Veren hates her family, especially her father. She plays the Game to wear a new face. To walk down the street without every eye in the crowd staring at her with naked greed.
Their early days are filled with adventure, but one month after the Game’s launch, the Joining transpires. The Game’s creator appears in the city of Serenity to address the assembled players, who she calls Travelers. She tells them that Evo is real, and the Game is a lie. That they are trapped on this world and can no longer go home with the press of a button. That if the die, they die for real. A way back to Earth exists, but to find it, the Travelers will have to survive long enough to unravel Evo’s mysteries.
They were born into a world without strife, where every need was met by advanced technology and fear and death were distant concepts. Imprisoned on an alien planet, bereft of their friends and family. Suffering from technology deprivation and forced to live by their wits for the first time in their lives, the Travelers are consumed by panic and chaos. Just as the tension simmering in the city begins to boil, a messenger arrives with the news that twenty Travelers are trapped within the Deepmist Jungle, besieged by monstrous insects.
Granted bodies capable of remarkable feats and senses sharper than any on Earth, Layla and Magnus volunteer to join the rescue attempt. Risking their lives exploring an uncharted frontier while learning the laws of magic, gambling that it can fill the void that technology has left behind before they come face to face with the monsters of Evo, malign beings beyond their comprehension.