So, this is INSANE, can we all agree on that????
So there's an obscure long out of print sci fi Young Adult book series called Photon which is basically about a teenager who is really REALLY fuckin good at laser tag finding out that laser tag is actually a training program run by space aliens to recruit mighty warriors to fight a war against a fascist empire
Which isn't the insane part, I want to clarify
This isn't even the only sci fi franchise from the 80's or 90's with this exact plot
The people writing these books knew their audience
"What are the people we're marketing these toward into? Video games? Laser tag? OKAY...so what if our reader surrogate is a character who gets to become the CHOSEN ONE and save the universe from space fascism by being REALLY GOOD at laser tag and/or video games????"
That's wish fulfillment 101
The INSANE part comes in the very FIRST BOOK of this series
Now I want you all to remember this was a YA series. And a pre-Hunger Games YA series at that
So like...not aimed at KID kids but like...still marketed toward the teen readership. So it can be a little bit darker than stuff aimed at REALLY young kids but it's going to be going for that PG rating...maybe PG-13 at a real stretch
Here's the synopsis for this book
Which again...this is how the series STARTS
On Earth, Photon is a game ... and Christopher Jarvis is one of its best players - wielding his laser gun with high-scoring precision and razor-sharp skill.
But in space, Photon is for real ... and Christopher Jarvis becomes Bhodi Li - Photon Warrior - the newest recruit in the elite fighting corp. Their mission: to stop the dark Warlord of Arr in his savage conquest of the universe.
Just some good old fashioned peak 80's cheese right here
Silly, goofy, a little bit campy
Just a really wacky good time
Like Josh Kirby: Time Warrior or an episode of Mighty Max or...
For the Glory
Crossing the barriers of time, the Warlord plans to enlist Adolf Hitler in his evil ranks.
I think I had something INSANE in my eye, because for a second there I thought you said...
And Christopher, now Bhodi Li, must face the brutal treacheries of World War II to fight these two deadly foes ... or surrender forever to ultimate darkness!
..................................
WHAT IN THE GOOD LOVE OF FUCK DID I JUST READ
This young adult goofy ass sci fi adventure series about laser tag making you a space warrior has the hero going up against a saturday morning cartoon villain called the "Dark Warlord of Arr"...and also has him going up against....FUCKING ADOLF HITLER
This is essentially like if He-Man had to stop Skeletor teaming up with Chairman Mao
Or if an episode of Scooby Doo, Where Are You had the ghost clown haunting a funfair turn out to be John Wayne Gacy behind the mask
I have not read this book but
I have a kind of TERRIFIED CURIOSITY to do so
It's how I imagine people who slow down when passing a car crash must feel
You know that what you're going to see is going to be awful...you know it's going to be horrific....but you just feel this need to see just HOW BAD it really is....