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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
It's always fun to pick up a book that I haven't heard of before. I don't have any preconceived notions and I don't have buzz building up my expectations; I don't know anything about the author's writing and it means that I can discover a new favorite. In this case, I got to pick up something different from Germany, a YA novel from Ursula Poznanski (who appears to have written two other novels that have not been translated from German yet).
It starts out with sixteen-year-old Nick seeing his friends fall under the sway of something very secretive; he's dying to know what it is and soon enough he is inducted into the secret. It turns out it's a game called Erebos. Erebos has some unusual rules: you must always play alone, you must never talk about the game, and you must never tell anyone your real-name in the game nor your nickname to any one in real life. Those who play are drawn in, playing to the point of distraction. Until one day when Nick is kicked out after refusing to participate in something wrong. That sparks his quest to figure out who is behind Erebos and for what purpose.
On the surface, the book doesn't seem to have many thrills just as the game doesn't sound all that exciting to me. Admittedly I'm not a gamer as I've always found books more enthralling so I don't really get the obsession with Call of Duty and the like. Still the descriptions in this book captured me. I mean, sometimes they were just walking around in the game and yet I could barely put it down! It helped me to understand a little bit how addictive games can be.
Then Nick gets kicked out, which is mentioned in the synopsis but which I had forgotten making it surprising, and the tension really ratchets up. He tries to find others who have been kicked out so that they can join together to figure out who is behind this game. This also led to the introduction of my favorite character Victor, a gamer and very intelligent guy whose knowledge helps focus their research. I had no idea what was behind everything and I'm not sure there were entirely enough clues for people to figure out although since this is more of a thriller than a mystery, I think that's okay.
Overall: A surprisingly enthralling read that was difficult to put down.
It starts out with sixteen-year-old Nick seeing his friends fall under the sway of something very secretive; he's dying to know what it is and soon enough he is inducted into the secret. It turns out it's a game called Erebos. Erebos has some unusual rules: you must always play alone, you must never talk about the game, and you must never tell anyone your real-name in the game nor your nickname to any one in real life. Those who play are drawn in, playing to the point of distraction. Until one day when Nick is kicked out after refusing to participate in something wrong. That sparks his quest to figure out who is behind Erebos and for what purpose.
On the surface, the book doesn't seem to have many thrills just as the game doesn't sound all that exciting to me. Admittedly I'm not a gamer as I've always found books more enthralling so I don't really get the obsession with Call of Duty and the like. Still the descriptions in this book captured me. I mean, sometimes they were just walking around in the game and yet I could barely put it down! It helped me to understand a little bit how addictive games can be.
Then Nick gets kicked out, which is mentioned in the synopsis but which I had forgotten making it surprising, and the tension really ratchets up. He tries to find others who have been kicked out so that they can join together to figure out who is behind this game. This also led to the introduction of my favorite character Victor, a gamer and very intelligent guy whose knowledge helps focus their research. I had no idea what was behind everything and I'm not sure there were entirely enough clues for people to figure out although since this is more of a thriller than a mystery, I think that's okay.
Overall: A surprisingly enthralling read that was difficult to put down.
Wah! Seru juga ternyata.
Aku suka ide tentang sebuah game bernama Erebos yang ternyata bukan game biasa.
Aku suka bagaimana game ini mempengaruhi para pemainnya dan bagaimana para pemain melakukan sebuah misi di dunia nyata.
Aku pun suka bagaimana rasa penasaran, rasa penuh petualangan, pertempuran, kebahagiaan, ataupun rasa frustrasi dalam bermain game. Sebagai pembaca aku merasa penasaran dengan game Erebos ini dan ingin bermain juga.
Sepertinya sangat menyenangkan.
Overall suka juga dengan cara bercerita penulis. Bagus.
Aku suka ide tentang sebuah game bernama Erebos yang ternyata bukan game biasa.
Aku suka bagaimana game ini mempengaruhi para pemainnya dan bagaimana para pemain melakukan sebuah misi di dunia nyata.
Aku pun suka bagaimana rasa penasaran, rasa penuh petualangan, pertempuran, kebahagiaan, ataupun rasa frustrasi dalam bermain game. Sebagai pembaca aku merasa penasaran dengan game Erebos ini dan ingin bermain juga.
Sepertinya sangat menyenangkan.
Overall suka juga dengan cara bercerita penulis. Bagus.
Der Plot der Geschichte hat wirklich riesiges Potential in meinen Augen und ich habe das Buch tatsächlich in nur 2 Tagen verschlungen, weil ich unbedingt wissen musste, wie es endet. Und ich war vom Ende nicht enttäuscht. Die Spannung hob und senkte sich immer wieder während des Buches, was zum Teil negativ, als auch positiv war.
Dennoch habe ich dem Buch nur 3 Sterne geben können. Das liegt viel mehr jedoch daran, dass sich an einigen Stellen die Story zu lang zieht und nicht voran kommt, wobei man gerade mittendrin steckt und auch mit dem Schreibstil der Autorin bin ich einfach nicht ganz warm geworden.
Den zweiten Teil werde ich nicht lesen, da der erste Teil abgeschlossen ist und ich nicht glaube, dass der zweite Teil mir besser gefallen wird, als der erste.
Ich habe das Buch dennoch an einige Bekannte weiter empfohlen. Mein kleiner Bruder (13) hat das Buch sehr gefallen und ich denke, dass dies mir einfach zeigt, dass das Buch wirklich mehr für eine jüngere Gruppe gedacht ist.
Dennoch habe ich dem Buch nur 3 Sterne geben können. Das liegt viel mehr jedoch daran, dass sich an einigen Stellen die Story zu lang zieht und nicht voran kommt, wobei man gerade mittendrin steckt und auch mit dem Schreibstil der Autorin bin ich einfach nicht ganz warm geworden.
Den zweiten Teil werde ich nicht lesen, da der erste Teil abgeschlossen ist und ich nicht glaube, dass der zweite Teil mir besser gefallen wird, als der erste.
Ich habe das Buch dennoch an einige Bekannte weiter empfohlen. Mein kleiner Bruder (13) hat das Buch sehr gefallen und ich denke, dass dies mir einfach zeigt, dass das Buch wirklich mehr für eine jüngere Gruppe gedacht ist.
I first read Erebos when I was in 8th or 9th grade. Despite not being into thriller, I love this book because of its realistic als fantasy aspects.
While artificial intelligence, a huge topic in the novel, never raised my interest outside philosophy class, I felt very intrigued by the topic.
The novel being set in both the real world and inside a game and being narrated na the figure in the game as well as the player felt special, too. It also felt a lot like a fantasy novel. Plus, the reader approaches the game the same way the player does, and also is intrigued and sucked into it.
The human mind is easily convinced and human actions, when rewarded, easily brutal. The novel explores boundaries and courage in the form of stopping their own actions. Like Dumbledore said, it's easy to stand im against enemies but standing up against friends or desires when distinguishing right from wrong can be difficult.
Interesting topics are discussed in a scientific and fantastic world and way and make the novel stand out.
While artificial intelligence, a huge topic in the novel, never raised my interest outside philosophy class, I felt very intrigued by the topic.
The novel being set in both the real world and inside a game and being narrated na the figure in the game as well as the player felt special, too. It also felt a lot like a fantasy novel. Plus, the reader approaches the game the same way the player does, and also is intrigued and sucked into it.
The human mind is easily convinced and human actions, when rewarded, easily brutal. The novel explores boundaries and courage in the form of stopping their own actions. Like Dumbledore said, it's easy to stand im against enemies but standing up against friends or desires when distinguishing right from wrong can be difficult.
Interesting topics are discussed in a scientific and fantastic world and way and make the novel stand out.
Was pretty good, I quite enjoyed it. There were parts that I could have done without though, which gets it one star less.
Why is everyone at school acting so secretive and strange and what is that package they seem to be passing around? When Nick is finally offered the package he finds out it is a computer game called Erebos, with very strict rules that explain everyones strange behavior. You can only play this game if you follow these rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname. Quickly Nick is addicted to Erebos and finds that the game knows a lot about him and it starts to manipulate him to do things in real life. After his best friend is seriously injured because of the game and he is kicked out because he refuses to perform a deadly task, he goes on a mission and convinces a friend to help him uncover who is behind it all. As you read this book you find yourself wanting to play this game and wondering who is which character in the game. The person behind it all is a big surprise. You will find it hard to put this book down until the very end.
Maybe it was just the copy I got from NetGalley, but I found Erebos to be very difficult to follow and eventually gave up. The author would change scenes with no transition at all. In one paragraph the main character would be in the locker room and in the next paragraph he would be at home talking to his mom. A few pages later he was in his room on his computer and in the next paragraph he was in chemistry class.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Gostei bastante do livro. Deixa-nos sempre na curiosidade de perceber de onde surgiu Erebos.