Erebos

While I was reading this book, I made a decision: NO MMORPGS. I can totally see after reading this book how someone could be sucked into an alternate reality world like Erebos. Of course, Erebos is no ordinary RPG, but still any MMORPG gives you the ability to basically recreate yourself. In Erebos, you can become a new species, choose a new name, get a new skill set and turn yourself into the best warrior out there. That is, you can do all these things if you obey the messenger's orders, and the messenger wants you to do things in the real world. Outside of the game. And the game is always watching...

Nick is a normal, basketball-playing, completely-average student when he begins to notice strange things happening to his best friend. His buddy isn't coming to basketball practice anymore, he won't answer Nick's calls, and he's actually talking to some of the kids that he and Nick consider nerds. Other people in the school are acting weird, too, and Nick is eventually invited to join the thing that's sucked them all in: Erebos, an extremely addictive computer game that seems better than real life. Soon the game is all that matters, and as it pushes Nick to do things in the real world, he begins to question just how far he'll go for a level up. Running errands? Taking pictures? Spying? Or something more sinister?

The difference between the bland, boring real world versus the vibrant, tantalizing unreality of the world of Erebos is highlighted in the novel. Even as a reader, I wanted to get through the parts in the real world and back to the parts about Erebos. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing about the book since I wasn't fully engaged with the whole story, but maybe it's a good thing since it did make me more sympathetic toward Nick.

Nick was a decent protagonist; I wouldn't say that he was particularly memorable but he was solid and had a very male voice. Sometimes a male protagonist can sound sort of not very guyish, but Poznanski does a great job with Nick. Victor rocked as a character, and I loved his little quirks, his obsessions and his mannerisms. He was fantastic, and ultimately my favorite character in the book. The other characters were somewhat flat and a little forgettable, even the main love interest.

The ending was a bit of a let-down and a somewhat predictable, but overall, this is a pretty enjoyable book. Gamers especially might like it since a lot of gaming goes in in the novel, and you could also consider giving it to a gamer who gets a little too entranced by the game world!

I would like to thank NetGalley.com and Annick Press for letting me read the galley for this book!

In Soviet Russia, game plays you. Okay, so this novel is set in Britain, not the Soviet Union, but I couldn't resist the joke. Because this game really does play you. For those of you who are frustrated by a friend or loved one who neglects you for video games, be grateful that they don't have this one. This is one computer parents really should be afraid of their kids playing.

It's funny reading this book, because I know that I would probably have accepted the disk (assuming someone tried to give me one anyway, which would have been doubtful in high school), totally without intention of keeping its secrets, out of desperation to know what the heck was going on. Unlike the people in the book, I doubt I would have been sucked in. Likely, because I would have died immediately. I am not skilled at this kind of game. Or, I would have wanted some food or to go to the bathroom, pissing off (punned) the Messenger, the guy in control of the game world.

At first, I wasn't particularly into this book. I considered stopping, but persisted because of the amazing reviews I saw of it. Turns out I'm glad I stuck with it, although this isn't a book I would ever reread. It was still good, and dealt with some really fascinating concepts.

As much as I said that I would not enjoy playing the game, I can still appreciate how freaking cool the game itself is. If you are a gamer and do not desperately wish you could play Erebos, something is wrong with you. Just kidding...mostly. The game has so many possibilities, because of the AI in it. Wow.

The characterization wasn't all that great, at least not in the real world. Nick and Emily, who get the most screen time, never really felt like real people to me. The others, of course, were incredibly one dimensional, like Colin, for example. He and Nick were best friends, but the reader never learns a single good thing about Colin. He's almost the villain of the piece. Actually, the two characters who seem most realistic are Victor and Adrian, who have smaller parts.

On the other hand, everything and everyone in the world of Erebos seems so much more real. This was likely done intentionally. The reason people could not escape from the game, and, often, had mental breakdowns when they couldn't play anymore, was because the artifice felt more real than reality.

So yeah, this was pretty cool. If you have gamer friends who also like to read, they might love this. Present idea!