In a game of life or death, the seniors at Pondside Manor risk it all.
With help from Pondside Manor's quirky, twentysomething kitchen worker Foster Kresowik, resident Robert Kallman creates The World of Pondside, a video game that delights the nursing home's residents by allowing them to virtually relive blissful moments from days long pastor even create new ones.
One-legged Duane Lotspeich is overjoyed when he can dance the tango again. Octogenarian Laverne Slatchek cheers on her favorite baseball team from the stands at Candlestick Park with her beloved husbandwho died years ago. Even the overwhelmed Pondside administrator escapes her job by logging into a much more luxurious virtual world.
Robert's game enlivens the halls of Pondside Manor, but chaos ensues when he is found dead, submerged in the pond, still strapped into his wheelchair. If any resident witnessed his death, they're not tellingeither covering up or, quite possibly, forgetting. And it's far from clear to anyoneincluding the policeif the death of this brilliant man, who suffered from ALS, was suicide or murder.
When Robert's video game goes dark, its players grow desperate. The task of getting it back online falls to young Foster, who enlists help from a raucous group of residents and staff. Their pursuitvirtual and realhas unintended consequences, uncovering both criminal activities and the secret plans of Foster's friend Robert. From Pondside Manor, this unlikely bunch of gamers embarks upon an astonishing journeyblissful, treacherous, and unforgettable.
Packed with sharp wit and compassion, The World of Pondside is a rousing, perceptive, and utterly unique novel.