Sam Iver: Imminent Threat: A Video Game Inspired Novella for Teens

Teased at school and ignored at home, unpopular sixteen-year-old Sam Iver feels utterly alone. That is, until he logs on to the Internet to play video games against people from all over the world. Using the alias Henry Ruff, Sam is one of the most feared players in a game called Imminent Threat. This fast-paced, true-to-life tactical battle is Henry Ruff’s digital playground, where the winners have elite skills and reflexes. Sam is on his way to becoming the best player ever, but his video game skills soon translate to the real world. Jun Sung, one of his online playing partners known as Jade, is kidnapped from her home in Chicago because of her father’s past affiliation with the tightly controlled North Korean nuclear program. When Sam spots Jun at the largest computer gaming tournament in the world at a Chicago hotel, the two teens are thrust into the middle of an international incident. Their survival hinges on Sam’s decision-making abilities. But will he make the right choices when it could mean more than losing a game—when it could be the difference between life and death? Filled with problem solving, life lessons, and golden messages, Sam Imminent Threat follows a talented young gamer who employs all of his gaming skills in an attempt to save the life of a fellow player.

At thirty years old, Alexander McNeece holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Michigan State University and teaches English in suburban Detroit.