In the first half of the next century, a band of warriors is raised from infancy in ignorance of the real world, raised in a virtual-reality environment of endless battle where they grow into superb soldiers. But, as war breaks out in the real world between Japan and China, the puppet masters who control their lives tighten the leash. Their virtual scenarios become maps of reality, and their strategies are acted out by real battle units. But Cat, Trickster, Dreamer, Snake, and the others don't know it. All they have ever known is the endless settings of the virtual world.
And then, they discover the real world, their real bodies held prisoner in a secret military facility on an island in the pacific. They decide to reclaim themselves and enter the real war. And, the first thing they discover is pain.
"Commander Cool brings a ring of obvious authenticity to scene that others can only describe from the outside. He's been there!"
David Drake
"As plausible a rendering of the 'virtual reality' cyberspace paradigm as I've ever seen, made all the more striking by its cast of strong, sympathetic characters, who led me through the story in one sitting."
William Barton
"Secret Realms is indeed a crackerjack....A very satisfying adventure."
