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debdebtig's review against another edition
3.0
Gamers by Thomas K Carpenter is a book that truly catches your interest. I am both a gamer and into science fiction books so this was a perfect fit for me. The game is based in a future society where in order to get the good jobs and move up the ladder in life you have to gain points in the game that is life. Completing puzzles and games helps you along the path.
The book had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was going to happen next. The only thing that keeps me from giving this at least a 4 star review is the high number of grammatical errors and typos. If you can get past those you'll love this book.
Disclaimer: This book was received in a LibraryThing giveaway.
The book had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was going to happen next. The only thing that keeps me from giving this at least a 4 star review is the high number of grammatical errors and typos. If you can get past those you'll love this book.
Disclaimer: This book was received in a LibraryThing giveaway.
tartbarbie's review against another edition
4.0
I received Gamers in return for an honest review as part of a giveaway from Librarything. Gabby lives in a world where her whole future hinges on her LifeScore. Society has advanced to the point that everyone can manipulate what the world looks like, example what they wear, what happens like falling pigs. Students who score high in the LifeGame move on to the University where they get the best jobs. While those who don't are sent to lesser jobs, but are really never heard from again. Gabby is a wiz when it comes to hacking into the system she helps boost her friend's score so she can hopefully move on to University.
When Gabby learns that the Frags a rogue group who don't support the ways of the LifeGame. Gabby also learns that her TPS (thoughts per second) are ranked among the highest in the LifeGame. When she is confronted by the Frags who tell her they know what's really happening to those who don't pass the LifeGame and it's not lesser jobs. When Gabby is sent off on a final Raid teaming up with her former friend and now archenemy as well as three other students. The five of them head off into the cyber world to compete with the other teams and defeat the final raid boss. The challenges that her team faces will test every member as well as cause Gabby to question her loyalties. Will she defeat the raid boss and move on to the University or will be doomed to the life the Frags have hinted about.
Gamers is a fast paced, cyber adventure in a world unlike any other I've read about. I found the concept for LifeGame exciting and reminded me of my World of Warcraft raiding days. I really liked the idea of being able to change the way objects like by using a different skin, it's very futuristic which I really enjoyed. Gabby is a great character she's easy to connect with and her friendship with Zaela brings out the humanity in here that many of her fellow students don't seem to have which makes it easy to like her. I found Gamers well written the story-line flows smooth making it an easy read for anyone teen to adult to enjoy. I overall really love the concept of the story, it's something I could see happening as more and more people are getting into computers, games who knows maybe one day I'll be able to change the skin on my fun car anytime soon. I had a hard time putting the book down it's such an interesting story and I'm still new to the whole Sci Fi genre so I stayed up super late reading just to know how it would end. I can't wait to read the next one because I really want to know what happens next to Gabby.
When Gabby learns that the Frags a rogue group who don't support the ways of the LifeGame. Gabby also learns that her TPS (thoughts per second) are ranked among the highest in the LifeGame. When she is confronted by the Frags who tell her they know what's really happening to those who don't pass the LifeGame and it's not lesser jobs. When Gabby is sent off on a final Raid teaming up with her former friend and now archenemy as well as three other students. The five of them head off into the cyber world to compete with the other teams and defeat the final raid boss. The challenges that her team faces will test every member as well as cause Gabby to question her loyalties. Will she defeat the raid boss and move on to the University or will be doomed to the life the Frags have hinted about.
Gamers is a fast paced, cyber adventure in a world unlike any other I've read about. I found the concept for LifeGame exciting and reminded me of my World of Warcraft raiding days. I really liked the idea of being able to change the way objects like by using a different skin, it's very futuristic which I really enjoyed. Gabby is a great character she's easy to connect with and her friendship with Zaela brings out the humanity in here that many of her fellow students don't seem to have which makes it easy to like her. I found Gamers well written the story-line flows smooth making it an easy read for anyone teen to adult to enjoy. I overall really love the concept of the story, it's something I could see happening as more and more people are getting into computers, games who knows maybe one day I'll be able to change the skin on my fun car anytime soon. I had a hard time putting the book down it's such an interesting story and I'm still new to the whole Sci Fi genre so I stayed up super late reading just to know how it would end. I can't wait to read the next one because I really want to know what happens next to Gabby.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
4.0
**This book was received as a Free Advanced Reader's Copy**
Gamers is a book about, well, Gamers. Running with the dystopian theme that is so popular right now, Gamers provides a look at a future where people have shifted over to a very technological reality. I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit, and thought that it offered an interesting approach to the genre. I'd probably give it 3.5 stars because of some things I'd like to see improved, but even so, it had a way of drawing you into the story.
Gabby is a somewhat hacker and gifted student that is preparing for her Final Raid. In Gabby's world, people are ranked by points that will tell whether they get into a job by university or be regulated into the lower class jobs offered to those who don't score high enough. These points are built up by performing regular tasks, playing games at school, and in general succeeding at life. When Gabby's reality is disrupted by a group dubbing themselves the Frags, she learns that her world is not quite what it seems. LifeGame is more real than one could imagine, and the consequences for not scoring high are dire. Especially in the Final Raid, which will determine her and her classmates fates.
Gabby is an ok character. She seems to genuinely care for her friend. Her parents are a different story but we don't see much of them so it doesn't seem to matter if Gabby likes them or not. The Frags as a group were interesting, but we only had a limited time with them so I couldn't really feel connected to them or their plight. I would have liked to know more about this and why Gabby trusted them so much, but I suspect that is reserved for the next book in the series. Gabby's friend also had a limited time in the book but Zaela is a character I connected with. She's an artist, and while that's not highly valued in Gabby's worl, I value it. By contrast, Gabby spends more time with her arch-nemesis, the leader of a group called the Evil Dolls during the final raid. Which don't get me wrong, she was a complex character, I just don't think she should have had more time than Zaela since she's so integral to Gabby's life.
The plot was interesting. Being a past gamer myself I was able to appreciate the Dungeons and Dragons type setting of the last raid. In fact, it may have even brought back some memories for me. That being said, people who aren't gamers might not understand some of the lingo that was used, but I don't think it was greatly devastate their enjoyment of the book. I also didn't really understand the role of the government in the book and why precisely they were fighting a war. There were hints at it all over, but nothing was ever really explained about why such an entity came into the power it had. I also realize this could come in the later books, but it would have been nice to have a little more background to understand Gabby's world together. As it is, it's almost alien. The actual running of the games and the points system was well done. I could see the concept being used efficiently to rank people, and while I may not understand why the games are so important compared to reality type life skills, it made the book interesting to read about the different types of games. I also liked the descriptions of how they could change their rooms and appearances. It just added to the total effect of Gabby's world. The book is descriptive which helps because there is a lot of detail in it. It may end somewhat abruptly, but that just gives a good reason to read the next book in the series.
An interesting take on a dystopian book. I can definitely see myself reading the rest of the books in the series at some point.
Gamers
Copyright 2011
313 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Gamers is a book about, well, Gamers. Running with the dystopian theme that is so popular right now, Gamers provides a look at a future where people have shifted over to a very technological reality. I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit, and thought that it offered an interesting approach to the genre. I'd probably give it 3.5 stars because of some things I'd like to see improved, but even so, it had a way of drawing you into the story.
Gabby is a somewhat hacker and gifted student that is preparing for her Final Raid. In Gabby's world, people are ranked by points that will tell whether they get into a job by university or be regulated into the lower class jobs offered to those who don't score high enough. These points are built up by performing regular tasks, playing games at school, and in general succeeding at life. When Gabby's reality is disrupted by a group dubbing themselves the Frags, she learns that her world is not quite what it seems. LifeGame is more real than one could imagine, and the consequences for not scoring high are dire. Especially in the Final Raid, which will determine her and her classmates fates.
Gabby is an ok character. She seems to genuinely care for her friend. Her parents are a different story but we don't see much of them so it doesn't seem to matter if Gabby likes them or not. The Frags as a group were interesting, but we only had a limited time with them so I couldn't really feel connected to them or their plight. I would have liked to know more about this and why Gabby trusted them so much, but I suspect that is reserved for the next book in the series. Gabby's friend also had a limited time in the book but Zaela is a character I connected with. She's an artist, and while that's not highly valued in Gabby's worl, I value it. By contrast, Gabby spends more time with her arch-nemesis, the leader of a group called the Evil Dolls during the final raid. Which don't get me wrong, she was a complex character, I just don't think she should have had more time than Zaela since she's so integral to Gabby's life.
The plot was interesting. Being a past gamer myself I was able to appreciate the Dungeons and Dragons type setting of the last raid. In fact, it may have even brought back some memories for me. That being said, people who aren't gamers might not understand some of the lingo that was used, but I don't think it was greatly devastate their enjoyment of the book. I also didn't really understand the role of the government in the book and why precisely they were fighting a war. There were hints at it all over, but nothing was ever really explained about why such an entity came into the power it had. I also realize this could come in the later books, but it would have been nice to have a little more background to understand Gabby's world together. As it is, it's almost alien. The actual running of the games and the points system was well done. I could see the concept being used efficiently to rank people, and while I may not understand why the games are so important compared to reality type life skills, it made the book interesting to read about the different types of games. I also liked the descriptions of how they could change their rooms and appearances. It just added to the total effect of Gabby's world. The book is descriptive which helps because there is a lot of detail in it. It may end somewhat abruptly, but that just gives a good reason to read the next book in the series.
An interesting take on a dystopian book. I can definitely see myself reading the rest of the books in the series at some point.
Gamers
Copyright 2011
313 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
djotaku's review
3.0
For some reason, I've found myself reading a lot of YA fiction over the last couple years. On the negative side, it appears that Dystopias are the genre du jour. Nothing wrong with them, and I think something about them speaks to teens. When I was a teen, that was my favorite genre - 1984, A Brave New World, and many others. But I think there can definitely end up being a bit of fatigue from reading books where the conflict is with the evil government rather than internal or with other peers.
But there have also been quite positive trends like an increase in female protagonists. In this case, Gabby was even likable, unlike Katniss. As I commented in a status update, she seemed to be a pretty authentically written girl. Sure, just like pretty much every bit of YA fiction for the past couple decades (or more) there's the mean girl clique trope and the I used to be one of them trope. But Carpenter appears to rely on less stereotypes and the friendships and fights seem to be realistically portrayed. Another good trend, while no one appears to be explicitly gay or lesbian, in a scene I'd rather not spoil, the main character mentions she wouldn't be grossed out by another female character kissing her. It's not what she'd want, but it wouldn't be any different from a guy she didn't like kissing her.
As you can currently read on the Goodreads description of this book, the entire world has been gamified; this is what led me to decide to read this book (I'd gotten it as part of a Storybundle collection). I've seen a huge increase and intrusion of gamification into our world. Once people realized how much we loved Xbox, PS3, and Steam trophies/achievements, they started incorporating them into everything. Fitocracy, which I used to use to log my exercises, has trophies for doing random amounts of exercise. The Fedora Project (governing body of the Fedora distribution of Linux) has badges for various achievements. Even my Marriott frequent stay program has badges for various things - stays of certain lengths, writing reviews, etc. So the idea of an entire world in which this was true sounded pretty neat. Carpenter even has fun with the idea by having the culture revolve around video games. Just as the citizens of Brave New World used Ford as an invocation, in this world "that's so cool/rad/awesome" becomes "That's so Mario!" and the opposite is, naturally, "that's so Bowser!" I went back and forth with finding it cute and groan-worthy.
I am not going to accuse Carpenter of stealing any ideas because the ideas really seem to be in the zeitgeist right now - the general idea follows that of The Hunger Games, Mars Rising, and Battle Royale - there's a competition in which the stakes are more or less life or death at the climax of this book. The main difference is that, unlike those other books - the kids are in the dark about the stakes at hand. They just think it's the difference between a good university and a crappy job. It shares more with Mars Rising and Devil on my Back in that sense. And Carpenter does a good job of presenting the challenge in the form of a Raid, in keeping with the culture of this world.
Really there's just one thing I don't like about this book when compared to its brethren. If you look at The Hunger Games, Mars Rising, or (in the movie world) The Matrix - each of those has a first book that works on its own. If you never read books 2 and 3 you'll still come away having had a full story arc. I don't know how the Mars Rising Sequels will work, but for both Hunger Games and The Matrix - part 2 does not end nice and neat like the first entry. If you experience 2, you need 3. But Gamers does not work well on its own. And, frankly, if it's going to end that way, I'd rather just have a bigger book instead of a trilogy. For another analogy, if you look at the world of comics - many of them have long-running stories going on. But each arc (usually published as a trade) tends to be self-sufficient. You can read the trade and feel that you got a beginning, middle, and end - even if it's dropping hints of various levels of subtlety about what's coming next.
Overall, it's a good setup in a neat world with a female protagonist. Things could have been a lot worse. But I wish we could have had a bit more closure in this first entry into the trilogy.
But there have also been quite positive trends like an increase in female protagonists. In this case, Gabby was even likable, unlike Katniss. As I commented in a status update, she seemed to be a pretty authentically written girl. Sure, just like pretty much every bit of YA fiction for the past couple decades (or more) there's the mean girl clique trope and the I used to be one of them trope. But Carpenter appears to rely on less stereotypes and the friendships and fights seem to be realistically portrayed. Another good trend, while no one appears to be explicitly gay or lesbian, in a scene I'd rather not spoil, the main character mentions she wouldn't be grossed out by another female character kissing her. It's not what she'd want, but it wouldn't be any different from a guy she didn't like kissing her.
As you can currently read on the Goodreads description of this book, the entire world has been gamified; this is what led me to decide to read this book (I'd gotten it as part of a Storybundle collection). I've seen a huge increase and intrusion of gamification into our world. Once people realized how much we loved Xbox, PS3, and Steam trophies/achievements, they started incorporating them into everything. Fitocracy, which I used to use to log my exercises, has trophies for doing random amounts of exercise. The Fedora Project (governing body of the Fedora distribution of Linux) has badges for various achievements. Even my Marriott frequent stay program has badges for various things - stays of certain lengths, writing reviews, etc. So the idea of an entire world in which this was true sounded pretty neat. Carpenter even has fun with the idea by having the culture revolve around video games. Just as the citizens of Brave New World used Ford as an invocation, in this world "that's so cool/rad/awesome" becomes "That's so Mario!" and the opposite is, naturally, "that's so Bowser!" I went back and forth with finding it cute and groan-worthy.
I am not going to accuse Carpenter of stealing any ideas because the ideas really seem to be in the zeitgeist right now - the general idea follows that of The Hunger Games, Mars Rising, and Battle Royale - there's a competition in which the stakes are more or less life or death at the climax of this book. The main difference is that, unlike those other books - the kids are in the dark about the stakes at hand. They just think it's the difference between a good university and a crappy job. It shares more with Mars Rising and Devil on my Back in that sense. And Carpenter does a good job of presenting the challenge in the form of a Raid, in keeping with the culture of this world.
Really there's just one thing I don't like about this book when compared to its brethren. If you look at The Hunger Games, Mars Rising, or (in the movie world) The Matrix - each of those has a first book that works on its own. If you never read books 2 and 3 you'll still come away having had a full story arc. I don't know how the Mars Rising Sequels will work, but for both Hunger Games and The Matrix - part 2 does not end nice and neat like the first entry. If you experience 2, you need 3. But Gamers does not work well on its own. And, frankly, if it's going to end that way, I'd rather just have a bigger book instead of a trilogy. For another analogy, if you look at the world of comics - many of them have long-running stories going on. But each arc (usually published as a trade) tends to be self-sufficient. You can read the trade and feel that you got a beginning, middle, and end - even if it's dropping hints of various levels of subtlety about what's coming next.
Overall, it's a good setup in a neat world with a female protagonist. Things could have been a lot worse. But I wish we could have had a bit more closure in this first entry into the trilogy.
kesnit's review against another edition
3.0
The setting is interesting, though it could be better developed. The first part of the book is pretty good, and I really liked where the author was going.
Then we got to the Final Raid, and the book went downhill. The new characters that were added were stereotypes and poorly developed. The idea behind the Final Raid (think an MMO raid, except instead of sitting at a keyboard, you are in the game) is interesting, but the way the Raid was rigged was rather dumb. (Avoiding spoilers, so no more details.) Plus, it went on too long (about 30% of the book, give or take).
Finally, we get to the ending. Or rather, what passes for an ending, as the book just ends and almost nothing is resolved. I want to know what happens, but don't want to have to read the next book in order to find out.
Then we got to the Final Raid, and the book went downhill. The new characters that were added were stereotypes and poorly developed. The idea behind the Final Raid (think an MMO raid, except instead of sitting at a keyboard, you are in the game) is interesting, but the way the Raid was rigged was rather dumb. (Avoiding spoilers, so no more details.) Plus, it went on too long (about 30% of the book, give or take).
Finally, we get to the ending. Or rather, what passes for an ending, as the book just ends and almost nothing is resolved. I want to know what happens, but don't want to have to read the next book in order to find out.
brixdan's review against another edition
3.0
This book was great. A nice easy read and really captivating content. Probably need to understand MMORPG language to get the finer points of this book, but that made it SO much more fun to read.
princess_starr's review against another edition
2.0
Is there anything more disappointing as reading a book with an interesting premise and realizing in the first chunk how bland it is? There were several points while I was reading this and thinking back to Sword Art Online and that I should really ought to just find the translations of those books. Gamers isn’t as horrible that I was tempted to chuck my Kindle at the wall, but it’s so by the numbers.
Starting with the world-building, which is easily the worst part of the book. I feel like the whole mantra of “The real world isn’t real!” is just a lazy cop-out to avoid any real description of the setting. There is no clear distinction between the real world and what Gabby is seeing when she’s online. And for the record, how is the online overlaid onto the real world in here? I’m assuming ocular implants, but Carpenter never takes the time to make this distinction. Also, the time-frame of the world-building. If this form of society where gaming is your life and if you don’t have enough points, you literally lose…wouldn’t people start catching on that their children and loved ones are disappearing? Also, apparently there’s no medical advancement in this future, because if you get sick and miss one day of gaming, you’re screwed! I hate to be the cynic here, but it feels like the author read Extras and Ready Player One and decided he’s going to write a book just like those! And then missed the points of both.
The characters and plot are so boring and cookie-cutter. ‘Ordinary’ high school girl with a special talent sees mysterious boy at school. She wants to learn more about mysterious boy, and instead learns about grand conspiracy, which—DUN DUN!—she is a target of, despite being oh-so normal! It also doesn’t particularly help that half of the book is taken up by this “Final Raid” Gabby has to navigate. Apparently, there are high stakes involved, but I never got that she was playing for her life. Nor did I get any inkling that Gabby was willing to die for her friend Zaela, since the latter only appears for a handful of pages. The pacing is terrible, so much of the first half is info-dumping this grand conspiracy, and the second half is the Final Raid, which just reads like a transcript of WoW quest (with occasional interlude to remind you of the plot).
At best? This reads like a very, very early draft of a Nanowrimo book that just got a rough polish and then put online. (Speaking as an experienced Nano veteran who did self e-pub, that is a huge no-no.) The whole “Life as a game” has been done before, but it’s still an interesting concept that, in the right hands, could be really well-done. This is just feels like a rip-off of much better works, and I could find better things to recommend.
Starting with the world-building, which is easily the worst part of the book. I feel like the whole mantra of “The real world isn’t real!” is just a lazy cop-out to avoid any real description of the setting. There is no clear distinction between the real world and what Gabby is seeing when she’s online. And for the record, how is the online overlaid onto the real world in here? I’m assuming ocular implants, but Carpenter never takes the time to make this distinction. Also, the time-frame of the world-building. If this form of society where gaming is your life and if you don’t have enough points, you literally lose…wouldn’t people start catching on that their children and loved ones are disappearing? Also, apparently there’s no medical advancement in this future, because if you get sick and miss one day of gaming, you’re screwed! I hate to be the cynic here, but it feels like the author read Extras and Ready Player One and decided he’s going to write a book just like those! And then missed the points of both.
The characters and plot are so boring and cookie-cutter. ‘Ordinary’ high school girl with a special talent sees mysterious boy at school. She wants to learn more about mysterious boy, and instead learns about grand conspiracy, which—DUN DUN!—she is a target of, despite being oh-so normal! It also doesn’t particularly help that half of the book is taken up by this “Final Raid” Gabby has to navigate. Apparently, there are high stakes involved, but I never got that she was playing for her life. Nor did I get any inkling that Gabby was willing to die for her friend Zaela, since the latter only appears for a handful of pages. The pacing is terrible, so much of the first half is info-dumping this grand conspiracy, and the second half is the Final Raid, which just reads like a transcript of WoW quest (with occasional interlude to remind you of the plot).
At best? This reads like a very, very early draft of a Nanowrimo book that just got a rough polish and then put online. (Speaking as an experienced Nano veteran who did self e-pub, that is a huge no-no.) The whole “Life as a game” has been done before, but it’s still an interesting concept that, in the right hands, could be really well-done. This is just feels like a rip-off of much better works, and I could find better things to recommend.
chaosqueen's review against another edition
2.0
I thought I would love this book. The synopsis intrigued me deeply. I mean come on, a dystopian society based in videogames? Come on that is so freaking cool! But alas, it didn't live up to the awesomeness.
The prose was too hard for me to follow. I mean I play games, but mostly on my DS Lite, not a hardcore gamer. With this in mind, I didn't get half the things our main protagonist was saying. Plus there were made up slang words that I had no idea what they meant. *Facepalm*
Also the page numbering threw me off. That really doesn't have anything to do with this book, but it bothered me. It was supposed to be 900 pages, but wasn't. It skipped from 71 to 74 and so on and so forth. I just didn't like that. I was looking forward to seeing how Carpenter would make a 900 page book with this synopsis work, sadly that didn't happen.
It's such a shame, because this book could have been fantasmagorical. If only.....
The prose was too hard for me to follow. I mean I play games, but mostly on my DS Lite, not a hardcore gamer. With this in mind, I didn't get half the things our main protagonist was saying. Plus there were made up slang words that I had no idea what they meant. *Facepalm*
Also the page numbering threw me off. That really doesn't have anything to do with this book, but it bothered me. It was supposed to be 900 pages, but wasn't. It skipped from 71 to 74 and so on and so forth. I just didn't like that. I was looking forward to seeing how Carpenter would make a 900 page book with this synopsis work, sadly that didn't happen.
It's such a shame, because this book could have been fantasmagorical. If only.....
daelly's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it for the world, the concept of it all and the mysteries. The persons were engaging, but not entirely enough for me to give it 4. I felt something was missing at the end, I did not feel as relieved as I would like to.