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vikingwolf's review
3.0
The planet is beyond saving but the virtual reality game Chimera lets players use the enhancements they earn in the game in real life, upgrading your sight, vision, even your skin, to help you survive on the poisoned planet for longer. Game Cube buildings are everywhere-book some time in a gaming room and perfect your skills, win points for enhancements of your own body, operations carried out by the world's best medical people. Miguel fears his defective heart might fail before he can get to the level he needs to gain a new heart, but he plays on anyway, oblivious like everyone else to the real reason that Chimera has been invented.
A special two month competition to beta test a new version of Chimera is the answer Miguel needs. Win the competition and any prize is yours. This time, his fate would also lie in the hands of the other four team members and whatever agenda they have. Harness your team skills to win big but injuries you sustain in the game will follow you back to real life just as the enhancements will. The game is more dangerous and devious than ever but Miguel feels he has little choice but to try, if there is even a slight chance that he could win.
I went into this book thinking it was going to be more like a Hunger Games, The Testing kind of thing with a dangerous game killing off the competitors in the teams at regular intervals. In fact the death and injury count is fairly low for the most part, as the challenges seem to be more about solving puzzles and riddles, along with long spells where they are walking and exploring, looking for clues and objects. I'm not saying it's boring as I enjoyed the book, just don't go into it expecting all out action & death, as you won't find that. These tests are specific to test character as much as intelligence and skill.
There are several hints about who the two Gamerunners are and I clicked on that in decent time. I also knew instantly who their creations were the first time they were mentioned but it doesn't in any way spoil the plot. I was wondering all the time what the purpose of this new game was, and that is revealed towards the end of the book, making an interesting twist from where you thought the book was going to go. The game is merely the start of something much bigger. These two characters were interesting in a don't-like-you-guys-at-all way.
I liked the characters for the most part. Miguel's friend Nick and on-off girlfriend Anna are introduced in the early stages and established before the game begins. I also liked Leah, and mostly liked Jake. I never liked Grace but she isn't really there to be liked, just like Zach. I did still find them interesting in their roles. We spend our whole time with Group 18...might have been interesting to see a bit more of Zach's group in the competition or hear a few more updates on what everyone else was doing.
This book had mixed reviews but I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and it was a fairly quick read for 4oo pages. The writing style was good, you cared about the characters and it has good plot twists. I'm used to more action, death and tension in my books but I still found this a good read as the characters were all interesting and not childish morons for a change. It's a solid dystopian book and the way it finished left me curious about the sequel. Sadly, it's not available on Amazon so whether I ever get to read it remains to be seen.
3.5 stars.
A special two month competition to beta test a new version of Chimera is the answer Miguel needs. Win the competition and any prize is yours. This time, his fate would also lie in the hands of the other four team members and whatever agenda they have. Harness your team skills to win big but injuries you sustain in the game will follow you back to real life just as the enhancements will. The game is more dangerous and devious than ever but Miguel feels he has little choice but to try, if there is even a slight chance that he could win.
I went into this book thinking it was going to be more like a Hunger Games, The Testing kind of thing with a dangerous game killing off the competitors in the teams at regular intervals. In fact the death and injury count is fairly low for the most part, as the challenges seem to be more about solving puzzles and riddles, along with long spells where they are walking and exploring, looking for clues and objects. I'm not saying it's boring as I enjoyed the book, just don't go into it expecting all out action & death, as you won't find that. These tests are specific to test character as much as intelligence and skill.
There are several hints about who the two Gamerunners are and I clicked on that in decent time. I also knew instantly who their creations were the first time they were mentioned but it doesn't in any way spoil the plot. I was wondering all the time what the purpose of this new game was, and that is revealed towards the end of the book, making an interesting twist from where you thought the book was going to go. The game is merely the start of something much bigger. These two characters were interesting in a don't-like-you-guys-at-all way.
I liked the characters for the most part. Miguel's friend Nick and on-off girlfriend Anna are introduced in the early stages and established before the game begins. I also liked Leah, and mostly liked Jake. I never liked Grace but she isn't really there to be liked, just like Zach. I did still find them interesting in their roles. We spend our whole time with Group 18...might have been interesting to see a bit more of Zach's group in the competition or hear a few more updates on what everyone else was doing.
This book had mixed reviews but I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and it was a fairly quick read for 4oo pages. The writing style was good, you cared about the characters and it has good plot twists. I'm used to more action, death and tension in my books but I still found this a good read as the characters were all interesting and not childish morons for a change. It's a solid dystopian book and the way it finished left me curious about the sequel. Sadly, it's not available on Amazon so whether I ever get to read it remains to be seen.
3.5 stars.
amarylissw's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
Had a very promising start, if the writing was a bit odd and disjointed. But the characters failed to draw me in and the ending seemed kind of . . . out there? Not what I was expecting at all — and not necessarily in a good way.
Had a very promising start, if the writing was a bit odd and disjointed. But the characters failed to draw me in and the ending seemed kind of . . . out there? Not what I was expecting at all — and not necessarily in a good way.
g_newton98's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt
thistlechaser's review against another edition
5.0
Set on a just-barely-future Earth, where the problems have progressed further in the direction they're already headed (the air is a lot more polluted, the ozone layer mostly gone so the sun is more dangerous, etc), a company created a VR game. It's an escape from all the problems that people have, so "everyone" plays it, from teens to adults. (There's a minimum age, 12 I think it was, before you could play. But everyone over that spends much to most of their free time in the game.) It's the most popular thing on the planet, in part because you can earn "real life" rewards from it -- non-game item rewards.
And what prizes those are! The rewards are basically cyborg upgrades, everything from a mechanical finger to eyes that can function as cameras to engineered replacement organs. That last prize is the important one to our teenage main character, because he was born with a bad heart and is dying.
Luckily he's very good at the game, and on track to win the prize he needs...if he lives that long. Then he's tapped on the shoulder by the gamemakers to enter a special beta version of a better version of the game, one with even greater prizes, and thus an even higher chance of him living.
What made this book especially interesting were the "cutscenes" -- very short chapters about the gamemakers. Twice in the course of this book I questioned the author's decisions. The first time was during one of these cutscenes. She described the gamemakers as "basically psychopaths" and I rolled my eyes and got frowny at that. Where's the sense in that? Why would psychopaths make a game for the whole world to enjoy? But not only was that explained, the cutscenes/reasons behind the game were the best element of the whole story. They kept me guessing until the end, and I loved the twist about it!
The second time I second-guessed the author was near the end of the book. The main character and his two teenage friends successfully hacked into the computer system of the biggest company on the planet. The kids had never once hacked before. I'm SO glad I didn't stop reading at that point, because like the first example of me doubting the author, this was fully and completely explained in a 100% believable way.
It's so rare to find an author I can trust. I've read so many books where the characters do utterly unbelievable things, it's wonderful that everything in this book made sense and was realistic.
This was one of those rare times when I went offline earlier than usual at night, just so I'd have more reading time before I had to sleep.
I can't wait to find more books by her to read!
And what prizes those are! The rewards are basically cyborg upgrades, everything from a mechanical finger to eyes that can function as cameras to engineered replacement organs. That last prize is the important one to our teenage main character, because he was born with a bad heart and is dying.
Luckily he's very good at the game, and on track to win the prize he needs...if he lives that long. Then he's tapped on the shoulder by the gamemakers to enter a special beta version of a better version of the game, one with even greater prizes, and thus an even higher chance of him living.
What made this book especially interesting were the "cutscenes" -- very short chapters about the gamemakers. Twice in the course of this book I questioned the author's decisions. The first time was during one of these cutscenes. She described the gamemakers as "basically psychopaths" and I rolled my eyes and got frowny at that. Where's the sense in that? Why would psychopaths make a game for the whole world to enjoy? But not only was that explained, the cutscenes/reasons behind the game were the best element of the whole story. They kept me guessing until the end, and I loved the twist about it!
The second time I second-guessed the author was near the end of the book. The main character and his two teenage friends successfully hacked into the computer system of the biggest company on the planet. The kids had never once hacked before. I'm SO glad I didn't stop reading at that point, because like the first example of me doubting the author, this was fully and completely explained in a 100% believable way.
It's so rare to find an author I can trust. I've read so many books where the characters do utterly unbelievable things, it's wonderful that everything in this book made sense and was realistic.
This was one of those rare times when I went offline earlier than usual at night, just so I'd have more reading time before I had to sleep.
I can't wait to find more books by her to read!
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so great! I loved the game and what its purpose was! So great, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here!
writetoexpress's review
2.0
I’ve been searching for a game based book for a while now. I thought for sure Gamescape would be the book that I was looking for. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Gamescape revolves around a boy and his friends who play a video game to earn new and improved limbs. Though I liked the idea, I just wasn’t looking for that kind of a book.
I was very intrigued by the interface and the Storyteller. This isn’t the first video game based book that I have read. So far, from what I’ve read, the takes on the actual game were very different.
The video game world building was fantastic. I wish that was all there was. I wasn’t interested in the outside world. The reason why I picked up the book was the video game concept. As odd as it may seem, the outside world annoyed me. I didn’t care for it and nothing worthwhile ever happened.
I wish I could’ve gotten to know the characters a little bit more. Honestly, if they were a little bit more interesting or developed I likely read the next book. Miguel is the main character, and even then we don’t know a whole lot about him besides his heart condition. I disagreed with his actions and choices quite often, which could be another reason why I’m no interested in continuing to follow their journey.
Gamescape revolves around a boy and his friends who play a video game to earn new and improved limbs. Though I liked the idea, I just wasn’t looking for that kind of a book.
I was very intrigued by the interface and the Storyteller. This isn’t the first video game based book that I have read. So far, from what I’ve read, the takes on the actual game were very different.
The video game world building was fantastic. I wish that was all there was. I wasn’t interested in the outside world. The reason why I picked up the book was the video game concept. As odd as it may seem, the outside world annoyed me. I didn’t care for it and nothing worthwhile ever happened.
I wish I could’ve gotten to know the characters a little bit more. Honestly, if they were a little bit more interesting or developed I likely read the next book. Miguel is the main character, and even then we don’t know a whole lot about him besides his heart condition. I disagreed with his actions and choices quite often, which could be another reason why I’m no interested in continuing to follow their journey.
fadingsilence's review
4.0
Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review
**Gamescape: Overworld comes out September 13, 2016**
I'm not an avid fan of gaming like others may be, and not all stories based on virtual gaming works, but Gamescape: Overworld most definitely doesn't fit in that category and surpassed all of my expectations.
Miguel needs a heart and this game that's taken over the world seems to present that wondrous prize that just may help him live. And he's good at it. Of course, everything has its own twists. It took a while for the story to get going as the gamemakers decided on this new team-play competition with the craziest prizes. The slow pacing here bugged me a bit but Trevayne kept me very much entertained with her imaginative descriptions of each level that Miguel fought to beat. The different ways you can die and the tools collected along the way, not to mention the whole idea of gaming in these giant cube-like buildings around the city, her world building was on point.
The storyline continued to be action-packed as Miguel battled his way to team leader and gained a new team to look after. Each individual member on his team was different, with their own fears to face and baggage they carried. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions, whether it be positive ones or arguments that arose during the stressful game play.
Emotionally, Trevayne was pretty good at bringing out the vulnerabilities in her characters. This isn't just a story about gaming or high-tech equipment. Miguel obviously dealt with a lot of stress and emotional baggage. At any moment, his heart could stop. But there was this one moment in the first half of the book that made me pause. It was beautifully sad. Our hero wasn't a shining one on some white horse. He was a broken boy that just wanted to breathe his first breath of LIFE. Without the fear of dying on his back so constantly.
As for romance, it's not such a huge part of the story. There is a love interest and she was part of Miguel's new team, but I honestly wasn't so interested in that whole aspect at all, which is pretty crazy for me to say. The story was so steeped in gaming intrigue, with the crazy "worlds" built for each level and the suspense of being the first team to win it all, that anything as trivial as a budding romance didn't register as important with me. But if you like a taste of romance in your stories (as I normally do), there's still a bit of that present.
I will conclude that what brought this whole story a higher rating was how it all tied in with the mystery of who the gamemakers were and why they created Chimera in the first place. What was its purpose? Why build a game when the world was falling apart when there could be a number of better things to do? Who were they working for?
Snippets of conversations in both the gamemakers' perspectives in between chapters were the highlight of this novel, in my opinion. As the story continued, pieces were dropping into place until everything just CLICKED. This whole thing was so much bigger than you could ever imagine. The whole GAME was more than it just looked on the surface. The ending was absolutely fantastic. It had my heart racing and wondering how they would get out of this mess. I can't give much more away, but know that it all goes way beyond the clichéd gaming storyline trope that's more commonly used in a story like this. Trust me on this, you're in for a surprise.
Overall Recommendation:
Gamescape: Overworld is levels more than what you may expect from a book about gamers. Yes, it's full of action as Miguel fights his way for the most important prize of all, but it's also about facing your fears and making the right calls in the heat of the moment. The suspense builds as Trevayne teases us with little bits about the mysterious gamemakers that started it all in between certain chapters. Who are they and what big plans did they have in store for the gamers beyond the surface level of more prizes? Even if you're not a fan of gaming, this story has something for everyone. At the heart of it, this story is about choices. Follow Miguel and you will find out just what kind of an emotional ride this will take you on.
-----------------------------------------------------
For more of my reviews, check out Down the Rabbit Hole:
**Gamescape: Overworld comes out September 13, 2016**
I'm not an avid fan of gaming like others may be, and not all stories based on virtual gaming works, but Gamescape: Overworld most definitely doesn't fit in that category and surpassed all of my expectations.
Miguel needs a heart and this game that's taken over the world seems to present that wondrous prize that just may help him live. And he's good at it. Of course, everything has its own twists. It took a while for the story to get going as the gamemakers decided on this new team-play competition with the craziest prizes. The slow pacing here bugged me a bit but Trevayne kept me very much entertained with her imaginative descriptions of each level that Miguel fought to beat. The different ways you can die and the tools collected along the way, not to mention the whole idea of gaming in these giant cube-like buildings around the city, her world building was on point.
The storyline continued to be action-packed as Miguel battled his way to team leader and gained a new team to look after. Each individual member on his team was different, with their own fears to face and baggage they carried. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions, whether it be positive ones or arguments that arose during the stressful game play.
Emotionally, Trevayne was pretty good at bringing out the vulnerabilities in her characters. This isn't just a story about gaming or high-tech equipment. Miguel obviously dealt with a lot of stress and emotional baggage. At any moment, his heart could stop. But there was this one moment in the first half of the book that made me pause. It was beautifully sad. Our hero wasn't a shining one on some white horse. He was a broken boy that just wanted to breathe his first breath of LIFE. Without the fear of dying on his back so constantly.
As for romance, it's not such a huge part of the story. There is a love interest and she was part of Miguel's new team, but I honestly wasn't so interested in that whole aspect at all, which is pretty crazy for me to say. The story was so steeped in gaming intrigue, with the crazy "worlds" built for each level and the suspense of being the first team to win it all, that anything as trivial as a budding romance didn't register as important with me. But if you like a taste of romance in your stories (as I normally do), there's still a bit of that present.
I will conclude that what brought this whole story a higher rating was how it all tied in with the mystery of who the gamemakers were and why they created Chimera in the first place. What was its purpose? Why build a game when the world was falling apart when there could be a number of better things to do? Who were they working for?
Snippets of conversations in both the gamemakers' perspectives in between chapters were the highlight of this novel, in my opinion. As the story continued, pieces were dropping into place until everything just CLICKED. This whole thing was so much bigger than you could ever imagine. The whole GAME was more than it just looked on the surface. The ending was absolutely fantastic. It had my heart racing and wondering how they would get out of this mess. I can't give much more away, but know that it all goes way beyond the clichéd gaming storyline trope that's more commonly used in a story like this. Trust me on this, you're in for a surprise.
Overall Recommendation:
Gamescape: Overworld is levels more than what you may expect from a book about gamers. Yes, it's full of action as Miguel fights his way for the most important prize of all, but it's also about facing your fears and making the right calls in the heat of the moment. The suspense builds as Trevayne teases us with little bits about the mysterious gamemakers that started it all in between certain chapters. Who are they and what big plans did they have in store for the gamers beyond the surface level of more prizes? Even if you're not a fan of gaming, this story has something for everyone. At the heart of it, this story is about choices. Follow Miguel and you will find out just what kind of an emotional ride this will take you on.
-----------------------------------------------------
For more of my reviews, check out Down the Rabbit Hole:
ruthsic's review against another edition
4.0
The major part of Gamescape:Overworld is a sci-fi adventure, but it's ending is a bit of a genre changer. The book is set in a futuristic world that is on the brink of death and humanity has abandoned all efforts to save the Earth - they are only concerned with making the ride smooth. So, in Miguel's world, humans are more focused on bio-engineering to augment their now weak bodies, to make them stronger to survive the harsh conditions as long as possible. Everything looks the same, but it is not. People are mostly cyborg, some for function, some for necessity, but all of it is carefully controlled by the makers of Overworld, as they have the best scientists. So, Miguel's primary incentive for playing the game is to gain enough levels to be able to afford a new heart. When the makers announce a new competition, he joins up despite his body not being strong enough for the challenge.
While a lot of the book takes place inside the game, the core matter of the story is about real-world consequences. Living a virtual life may be easy, but if those consequences are transferred to reality, it changes how we do things. When Miguel would play the game before, he would play to win - morality inside a game is practically non-existent when you know it is not real. But when it becomes real enough, the question is what kind of person we want to be. And continuing from this thread, is where the story flows from one genre to next, towards the ending. Because while the story was about the mystery of the Gamerunners and their objective to creating the game and the competition, it was also about human nature in part.
The writing beautifully complemented the story path, and the descriptions inside the game were rendered quite realistically. The world-building was not so strong, I feel, because the practicalities of the ideas suggested seem far-fetched; I particularly can't believe that the creators of the game had so much power that they could regulate the economics of the world. The ethical ramifications alone mean it would be a slight impossibility - people wouldn't stand for it. And while the genre changed subtly, I still feel it was added too late into the game (pun intended) and just crashed forward to an abrupt cliffhanger. Even so, I still think this was a good book in totality, and am eager for the next installment.
Received a free galley from Greenwillow Books, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
While a lot of the book takes place inside the game, the core matter of the story is about real-world consequences. Living a virtual life may be easy, but if those consequences are transferred to reality, it changes how we do things. When Miguel would play the game before, he would play to win - morality inside a game is practically non-existent when you know it is not real. But when it becomes real enough, the question is what kind of person we want to be. And continuing from this thread, is where the story flows from one genre to next, towards the ending. Because while the story was about the mystery of the Gamerunners and their objective to creating the game and the competition, it was also about human nature in part.
The writing beautifully complemented the story path, and the descriptions inside the game were rendered quite realistically. The world-building was not so strong, I feel, because the practicalities of the ideas suggested seem far-fetched; I particularly can't believe that the creators of the game had so much power that they could regulate the economics of the world. The ethical ramifications alone mean it would be a slight impossibility - people wouldn't stand for it. And while the genre changed subtly, I still feel it was added too late into the game (pun intended) and just crashed forward to an abrupt cliffhanger. Even so, I still think this was a good book in totality, and am eager for the next installment.
Received a free galley from Greenwillow Books, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
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