The Missing
When his older brother vanishes, the game starts hunting back.
Bryce would never have just left. Thirteen-year-old Zach knows that deep in his bones. Something terrible must have happened to his older brother. So when the green-eyed fox leads him to a hidden message from Bryce deep within their favorite game’s virtual universe, Zach knows he must act quickly.
Inside The Missing.
Bryce would never have just left. Thirteen-year-old Zach knows that deep in his bones. Something terrible must have happened to his older brother. So when the green-eyed fox leads him to a hidden message from Bryce deep within their favorite game’s virtual universe, Zach knows he must act quickly.
Teaming up with his best friend, a skillful classmate, and Bryce’s girlfriend, Zach races into a real-world mission to decode his brother’s mysterious warning. But when a deadly Ranger leaves the computer-generated landscape to come after Zach and his friends, they may run out of lives before finding the truth.
The Missing opens the Final Kingdom trilogy — a sci-fi thriller for older middle grade readers. Stranger Things energy meets Ready Player One. Brothers, virtual worlds, and stakes that follow you out of the game.
A note for parents and older readers.
Final Kingdom is written for middle-school readers ages 10 and up. It has slightly more mature themes and tension than The Virginia Mysteries — closer in tone to Stranger Things or Ready Player One. The brothers at the heart of the story carry it, but the stakes are higher.
If your reader has graduated from Percy Jackson or worked through the Wimpy Kid years and is looking for something with more weight, the Final Kingdom trilogy is built for exactly that next step.
What readers are saying
“An excellent combination of industrial spy thriller, a hometown mystery with elements of a computer MMORPG and cyberpunk sci-fi! My eight year old… could not put it down.”
— Parent
“I was hooked by the first chapter and was dying to read the second book by the time I finished. I finished this book in two days because I couldn’t put it down.”
— Reader review
“What holds this entire book together is the loyalty and love 13-year-old Zach has for his older brother Bryce, who has disappeared without a trace.”
— Reader review
“If you like Margaret Peterson Haddix and/or video games, you’ll love this book.”
— Reader review
All 3 Final Kingdom books
Start the adventure.
Available in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook everywhere books are sold — or order a signed copy direct from Steven.