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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
The premise of this book is fascinating, and exactly the type of story I love to seek out: a computer game that knows things about the player, that starts to affect the player's real life. And I really enjoyed the parts of the story that focused on that--while I was at first skeptical about the realism of such a program, the slowly discovered clues that revealed the game's history drew me in. Unfortunately, the book's protagonist is an arrogant bully and the worst type of gamer stereotype; not only does the book barely call him on his terrible behavior, it also includes extremely problematic plot points that made me only finish the book because it was an ARC.
Even worse than this, though, was the fact that a girl falsely accusing a boy of rape was made a plot point in order that readers could all feel very sorry for the boy and his ruined reputation. There is a reason many, many women don't come forward when they have been raped, and that's because they're rightly afraid they won't be believed. People who know the man accused of rape will often rally around him--he's such a nice guy! He would never do that! She was asking for it!--and the only one whose reputation will be ruined is the woman's. It is dangerously irresponsible to blithely introduce a rape accusation only to show how injured the poor, innocent man is. It's not even that there's a question the rape did happen in this book; it clearly didn't, and he's clearly innocent. It's the fact that this perpetuates the idea that women regularly lie about rape, that it's unthinkable that a guy who seems fine to you would never rape anyone, that it's more important to prove the innocence of the man than to help a woman who's been assaulted and violated. This is even worse in a YA book--in a judgmental high-school setting, girls who have been raped are even less likely to come forward, and attitudes that this book treats as normal and valid will not make it any easier.
Spoiler
When a novel introducs the protagonist by having him call his nerdy classmates "freaks"--they dared to have unattractive physical characteristics and enjoy geeky things!--and hope that his friend assaults them, I do not want to read the rest of his story. The things that are supposed to endear us to him--not bullying an overweight classmate to her face (but he glared at his friend when he did it, which is like standing up for her!) and not poisoning his teacher--basically make him the bare minimum of a decent human being. His screaming tantrums and rages within the game remind me of the stereotypical 13-year-old boy screaming slurs at opponents in multiplayer games. It may be realistic, particularly with the addictiveness of this particular game, but I do not want to spend time with him and I certainly do not want to cheer him on as he triumphs and wins the girl and everyone's affection. He does get better, but the damage was done. And the revelation that those freakish nerds really, really look up to him and want to be his friend, along with his gracious acceptance of their affection? Ugh. Pretty much everyone he disliked and/or bullied turned out to actually be pathetic and/or evil, so it all turned out all right!Even worse than this, though, was the fact that a girl falsely accusing a boy of rape was made a plot point in order that readers could all feel very sorry for the boy and his ruined reputation. There is a reason many, many women don't come forward when they have been raped, and that's because they're rightly afraid they won't be believed. People who know the man accused of rape will often rally around him--he's such a nice guy! He would never do that! She was asking for it!--and the only one whose reputation will be ruined is the woman's. It is dangerously irresponsible to blithely introduce a rape accusation only to show how injured the poor, innocent man is. It's not even that there's a question the rape did happen in this book; it clearly didn't, and he's clearly innocent. It's the fact that this perpetuates the idea that women regularly lie about rape, that it's unthinkable that a guy who seems fine to you would never rape anyone, that it's more important to prove the innocence of the man than to help a woman who's been assaulted and violated. This is even worse in a YA book--in a judgmental high-school setting, girls who have been raped are even less likely to come forward, and attitudes that this book treats as normal and valid will not make it any easier.
2 1/2 stars
“A game you can’t buy. A game that talks to you. A game that watches you, that rewards you, threatens you, gives you tasks.
'Sometimes I think it’s alive…’”
To anyone who’s ever been a MMPORG addict/widow(er) I think this book will be particularly frightening. And to everyone else, who’s sitting there right now, saying…really? Could a game really consume your life like that? I invite you to visit this website, where level 85 World of Warcraft characters are frequently sold for upwards of $1,000. In real currency! I also invite you to consider just how many hours you yourself have devoted to reading book reviews…twitter…random/amazing tumblrs…. I know I’ve definitely been there – sitting in front my computer at midnight thinking…I’ll just do this one more thing…and the next thing I know it’s 3:42 am. I’ve lost so many hours of my life to the internet! It’s all-consuming!
And I actually felt pretty darn consumed by this book for the majority of it. It’s a fast-paced, highly engrossing read that I couldn’t put down. It reads quite a bit like a horror movie, which I loved. The scenes in the game are truly creepy, all the more so because they’re one small step away from a realistic gaming addiction. The main character Nick is a popular, good-looking (…with a ponytail…), entitled jock guy, of the sort that’s common in horror movies. He’s that everyguy who’s realistic and sympathetic, but just arrogant and closed-minded enough that you will really enjoy anticipating his downfall. Plus, he has a thing for the broody artist/poet girl (always a good choice) so that earns him a few more points.
Most of the characters in this book feel realistically young; however, there are a few really incongruous elements and I think that’s where the translation may have gone awry. This book takes place in London supposedly, but just check out some of this dialogue:
“’Get lost!’ Nick bellowed after him. He wanted to run after him, grab him by the collar, and punch his lights out.”
“Just wait – one of these days someone will thump you so hard you won’t know which way is up.”
“Shut your trap, kid.”
“Beat it, sister.”
“And how!”
“Please don’t start with the whys and what-fors.”
It’s as if this version of 2012 London were somehow cast with actors from a 1950’s gangster film. There are also a ton of really abrupt, almost jarring transitions between scenes. One moment Nick is in class, and the next he’s at home with no transition at all. And, there’s an interesting quirk with the narration: when Nick is in Erebos, the book is written in present tense, but when he’s in the real world everything shifts to past tense. I think that was meant to give the world of Erebos more immediacy, but it didn’t really work for me. It just felt odd, like his virtual life was happening in the moment but his real life was a memory. I can’t count how many times I got through a passage in Erebos, only to have my brain stumble over the sudden change to past tense. It was irritating.
This book was sitting at three or four stars until I got to about 80% of the way through. Once the mystery started to become clear…once the man behind the er…monitor… was revealed…I lost interest pretty quickly. There were also several major plot holes (Nicks parents are annoyingly present one moment and conveniently absent the next; Nick goes from broadcasting his search for other Erebos members to a sudden and convenient concern of discovery) that probably wouldn’t have bothered me as much if I had been more engaged.
But what really killed this book for me was the unadulterated cheesiness of the ending. That was a complete "Scooby Doo" ending if ever I've seen one. The only thing missing was the villain shaking his fist and saying, “And I would have gotten away with it too! If it weren’t for you meddling kids!” One of the main characters actually buys a swiss-cheese shaped mug in the final pages, which I can only assume she will use to give a toast to that ending.
Perfect Musical Pairing
Slow Runner – Strange Days
I love that the beginning of this song sounds so much like a video game theme and I think that the line, "put this armor on and say my name" could be a direct quote from that creepy yellow eyed Messenger guy. Only, I guess he'd probably say, "put this armor on and DON'T say my name"...because he's secretive like that.
Also seen on The Readventurer.
“A game you can’t buy. A game that talks to you. A game that watches you, that rewards you, threatens you, gives you tasks.
'Sometimes I think it’s alive…’”
To anyone who’s ever been a MMPORG addict/widow(er) I think this book will be particularly frightening. And to everyone else, who’s sitting there right now, saying…really? Could a game really consume your life like that? I invite you to visit this website, where level 85 World of Warcraft characters are frequently sold for upwards of $1,000. In real currency! I also invite you to consider just how many hours you yourself have devoted to reading book reviews…twitter…random/amazing tumblrs…. I know I’ve definitely been there – sitting in front my computer at midnight thinking…I’ll just do this one more thing…and the next thing I know it’s 3:42 am. I’ve lost so many hours of my life to the internet! It’s all-consuming!
And I actually felt pretty darn consumed by this book for the majority of it. It’s a fast-paced, highly engrossing read that I couldn’t put down. It reads quite a bit like a horror movie, which I loved. The scenes in the game are truly creepy, all the more so because they’re one small step away from a realistic gaming addiction. The main character Nick is a popular, good-looking (…with a ponytail…), entitled jock guy, of the sort that’s common in horror movies. He’s that everyguy who’s realistic and sympathetic, but just arrogant and closed-minded enough that you will really enjoy anticipating his downfall. Plus, he has a thing for the broody artist/poet girl (always a good choice) so that earns him a few more points.
Most of the characters in this book feel realistically young; however, there are a few really incongruous elements and I think that’s where the translation may have gone awry. This book takes place in London supposedly, but just check out some of this dialogue:
“’Get lost!’ Nick bellowed after him. He wanted to run after him, grab him by the collar, and punch his lights out.”
“Just wait – one of these days someone will thump you so hard you won’t know which way is up.”
“Shut your trap, kid.”
“Beat it, sister.”
“And how!”
“Please don’t start with the whys and what-fors.”
It’s as if this version of 2012 London were somehow cast with actors from a 1950’s gangster film. There are also a ton of really abrupt, almost jarring transitions between scenes. One moment Nick is in class, and the next he’s at home with no transition at all. And, there’s an interesting quirk with the narration: when Nick is in Erebos, the book is written in present tense, but when he’s in the real world everything shifts to past tense. I think that was meant to give the world of Erebos more immediacy, but it didn’t really work for me. It just felt odd, like his virtual life was happening in the moment but his real life was a memory. I can’t count how many times I got through a passage in Erebos, only to have my brain stumble over the sudden change to past tense. It was irritating.
This book was sitting at three or four stars until I got to about 80% of the way through. Once the mystery started to become clear…once the man behind the er…monitor… was revealed…I lost interest pretty quickly. There were also several major plot holes (Nicks parents are annoyingly present one moment and conveniently absent the next; Nick goes from broadcasting his search for other Erebos members to a sudden and convenient concern of discovery) that probably wouldn’t have bothered me as much if I had been more engaged.
But what really killed this book for me was the unadulterated cheesiness of the ending. That was a complete "Scooby Doo" ending if ever I've seen one. The only thing missing was the villain shaking his fist and saying, “And I would have gotten away with it too! If it weren’t for you meddling kids!” One of the main characters actually buys a swiss-cheese shaped mug in the final pages, which I can only assume she will use to give a toast to that ending.
Perfect Musical Pairing
Slow Runner – Strange Days
I love that the beginning of this song sounds so much like a video game theme and I think that the line, "put this armor on and say my name" could be a direct quote from that creepy yellow eyed Messenger guy. Only, I guess he'd probably say, "put this armor on and DON'T say my name"...because he's secretive like that.
Also seen on The Readventurer.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Pero solo porque el principio llevaba un ritmo que no ha terminado de gustarme
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Packender Jugendthriller mit nach wie vor aktueller Medien-Thematik: Wenn Fiktion & Realität verschwimmen, wem kann man noch vertrauen?
Perfekt erzählter Jugendthriller
Erebos war das erste Buch von Ursula Poznanski, das ich gelesen habe, und da im August (2019) ein zweiter Band erscheinen sollte, bin ich über den Sommer nochmal in die Geschichte über Nick und dieses mysteriöse Spiel namens EREBOS abgetaucht. Auch nach dem zweiten Lesen kann ich sagen: Dieses Buch ist ein perfekt erzählter Jugendthriller voller Spannung und Tiefe. Die Autorin greift hier ein Thema aus der direkten Lebenswirklichkeit von Jugendlichen auf - Medienkonsum, das heute noch viel prägnanter ist als zur damaligen Veröffentlichung. Der Alltag an Nicks Schule steht Kopf, als geheimnisvolle Päckchen die Runde machen. Nur die Eingeweihten, die Zombies gleich durch die Korridore schleichen, kennen ihren Inhalt. Unser Protagonist Nick kann darüber nur den Kopf schütteln, bis ihm selbst ein Päckchen zugesteckt wird und er in den Sog des Computerspiels EREBOS gerät. Bald muss er sich fragen: Wie weit ist er bereit zu gehen, um weiter zu spielen?
Das Konzept eines Spiels als zentralen Handlungsort in Kombination mit den Thriller-Elementen ist sehr gut umgesetzt. Geeks und Nerds, die Fantasy-RPG-Spiele mögen, kommen hier voll auf ihre Kosten, da zum größten Teil die Handlung und die Charaktere im Spiel im Fokus stehen. An Quests, epischen Kämpfen und der Jagd nach Punkten wie Artefakten mangelt es nicht. Ich habe auch so eine Vermutung, welches beliebte Spiel da als Inspiration gedient hat. Daneben bietet EREBOS eine zusätzliche Ebene, die zunächst Spannung in das Geschehen bringt, indem man zusammen mit Nick rätselt welche (Buch)Figur welchen Spielcharakter verkörpert.
Nick selbst erweist sich als sehr besonnener und fokussierter Jugendlicher, dem Freundschaft und (schulischer) Erfolg sehr wichtig sind. Aber gerade in EREBOS wird ihm Letzteres zum Verhängnis, als ihn das Spielfieber packt und der Wunsch nach Anerkennung unter den anderen Spieler:innen ihn auf falsche Pfade führt. Dennoch lässt sich Nick nicht blind auf das Spiel ein. Er behält weitestgehend den Kontakt zur Realität, reflektiert und hinterfragt seine eigenen Handlungen sowie die Aufgaben des Spiels immer mehr. Detaillierter möchte ich Handlung und Figuren gar nicht schildern, denn gerade bei einem Thriller ist der Überraschungsmoment entscheidend.
Auf die Thematik von Erebos möchte ich dagegen noch einmal genauer eingehen. Ursula Poznanski verbindet durch das Computerspiel geschickt Realität mit Fiktion und zeigt insbesondere am Anfang, wie aufgrund des Spiels die Sozialstrukturen des Schulalltags aufgeweicht werden. Es entstehen ganz neue Dynamiken zwischen den Schüler:innen, die eindrucksvoll verdeutlichen, welche Macht und welchen Einfluss ein Fandom auf das Zugehörigkeitsgefühl und die Identität haben kann. Auch wenn dies grundlegend ein positiver Effekt sein kann, rücken gemäß des Genres die Schattenseiten in den Fokus: Der Sog und die Suchtgefahr, die EREBOS auslöst und durch die die Spieler teilweise den Kontakt zur Realität verlieren. Die Thematik ist nach wie vor aktuell und die Ereignisse des Buches lassen sich auch gut auf unsere heutige digitalisierte Welt und unseren Medienkonsum übertragen. Wir sind gleichermaßen anfällig für Manipulation durch (soziale) Medien wie die Jugendlichen es in Erebos sind. Die reale Welt wird virtuell, die virtuelle real: Wo ist die Grenze und welchen Informationen können wir vertrauen? Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie Ursula Poznanski diese Thematik im zweiten Band angehen wird.
Woah. Unendlich viel besser als Ready Player One oder Epic. Richtig richtig gute und gruselige Fassung eines KI-gesteuerten RPGs, das Auswirkungen auf die echte Welt hat. Hnnng.
Thank you to Annick Press (via NetGalley) for the ARC e-book of Erebos.
This book was the first of it's kind that I have read. It describes life for computer gamers and the game that they play. The excitement comes when the game takes on a life of its own and players start doing tasks requested by the game in real life as well as while playing.
I read an English translation of the German book. I suspect that the original version of the book was probably more captivating than this version. At times, the writing seemed stilted.
The last half of the book was fantastic - probably just because I prefer mysteries and adventure to "pretend" gaming. The details of the game were necessary, however, so we would understand the rest of the book.
This book was the first of it's kind that I have read. It describes life for computer gamers and the game that they play. The excitement comes when the game takes on a life of its own and players start doing tasks requested by the game in real life as well as while playing.
I read an English translation of the German book. I suspect that the original version of the book was probably more captivating than this version. At times, the writing seemed stilted.
The last half of the book was fantastic - probably just because I prefer mysteries and adventure to "pretend" gaming. The details of the game were necessary, however, so we would understand the rest of the book.