Otherworld

Actor (and author) Segel (How I Met Your Mother) enlivens this middle grade techno-thriller, the fifth in the Nightmares! series that he has been cowriting with Miller (How to Lead a Life of Crime), with an impressive variety of colorful character voices. The story revolves around a game that merges virtual and actual reality so well that players don’t want to unplug. Simon becomes concerned when his friend Kat is injured in a suspicious accident, falls into a coma, and gets hooked up to a new, experimental version of the game. As he investigates, he discovers clues to a sinister conspiracy involving the executives of the video game company and decides to enter the game himself to find Kat. Segel reads the first-person narrative in a serious, determined tone, which matches Simon’s demeanor as he risks his life to save his friend, but it’s surprisingly straitlaced compared to Segel’s comedic television and movie appearances. His playfulness comes through in the multitude of voices he adopts for the video game characters Simon encounters, giants, trolls, and a malevolent monkey creature among them. The fun, goofy voices add much-needed levity to a plot heavy with ethical undertones about the effects of technology and society. Ages 12–up. A Delacorte hardcover. (Nov.)