Skallagrigg

Skallagrigg by William Horwood. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780670801329.

The story concerns Arthur, a young boy suffering from cerebral palsy, abandoned in a grim hospital in the north of England and subject to extreme cruelty and neglect; Esther, a keenly intelligent teenager who also suffers from CP but whose talents are recognised in these enlightened days; and Daniel, an American computer-gaming genius. They are linked by the Skallagrigg; whatever or whoever it is will transform their lives. Esther sets out on a quest to find the truth of the Skallagrigg, founded in the life and experiences of Arthur. She encapsulates what she finds in a tortuously complex computer game, knowing that the truth is never likely to be uncovered. A man named Martin has heard the word Skallagrigg from his senile grandmother and when he hears of Skallagrigg the game, he is determined to solve it and discover what it means...