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madmooney's review against another edition
Quick thoughts: very distinct from his other book- Soon I will Be invincible, really enjoyed the inner look at the development of a video game, even if it is outdated by a decade or two. Fans of Ready Player One will definetly delight in this one
jennabeelack's review against another edition
1.0
This whole book felt like Grossman was a kid in English class writing an essay and desperately trying to meet a word limit. The writing style was confusing at times, and the characters were uninteresting and, quite frankly, boring.
zmull's review against another edition
2.0
A so-so book with a few interesting ideas that's hurt by large sections that just don't work at all. The main plot is ridiculous, the bits with the imaginary game characters in the real world were baffling and lead nowhere, and the endless sections describing the games were boring. Oof, read Ready Player One instead.
megadeathvsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Although I'm only a casual gamer, I still found the plot and characters interesting and it appealed to the little knowledge I have of the industry. Nicely done.
hivequeen's review against another edition
2.0
This book was weird and only entertaining at times. It was nothing like what I imagined when I read the summary... and that is not a good thing. The summary made it sound much more exciting than it was.
Also, now I kinda want to play all the games that are described in this book. And while it had very little resemblance to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, I still have a very strong urge to re-read RP1 because of this book.
I found out after reading that Lev Grossman, author of [b:The Magicians|6101718|The Magicians (The Magicians, #1)|Lev Grossman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1313772941s/6101718.jpg|6278977] is Austin Grossman's twin brother. I have to say I disliked both of these books for similar reasons, so I was not surprised to find the authors are related.
Also, now I kinda want to play all the games that are described in this book. And while it had very little resemblance to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, I still have a very strong urge to re-read RP1 because of this book.
I found out after reading that Lev Grossman, author of [b:The Magicians|6101718|The Magicians (The Magicians, #1)|Lev Grossman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1313772941s/6101718.jpg|6278977] is Austin Grossman's twin brother. I have to say I disliked both of these books for similar reasons, so I was not surprised to find the authors are related.
rjbs's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. I'm sure it's often compared to "Ready Player One," so I'll make that comparison. "You" is better in many ways. It is a story about people and the way we make sense of of our lives, while Ready Player One is largely a thriller. The narrative structure of "You" is unusual, flowing between time frames and levels of reality without warning. Sometimes this doesn't work, but often it does, and the effect is delightful in the way that it blurs the line between the characters in the story and characters they create and play with. I am pleased to have read this, especially because I started reading it with no idea what it was going to be about. It was a pleasant surprise.
dodgson's review against another edition
1.0
This was an absolute slog, and I would've abandoned it many times, but there was a really interesting core idea I kept hoping would break out, and I was so pleased by Grossman's first bookâbut alas. This was meandering, navel-gazing drivel.
kyledhebert's review against another edition
2.0
I forced myself to finish this one based on its subject matter alone. The plot is a mess and most I the gaming bits are stereotypical at best.
dynila's review against another edition
Just can't get into this. It may be a great book, but I've been avoiding it since the first day because it bored me. Decided to DNF and get back to things I ~do~ want to read.
scheu's review against another edition
3.0
Austin Grossman played a lot of Nethack.
The game is not mentioned explicitly in the book, nor is this fact mentioned in any of the blurbs, but it is nevertheless really obvious. Especially when he mentions the phrase 'you suddenly yearn for your distant homeland' which is a random Nethack effect description.
I don't have any problem with this Nethack love as I also have played A LOT of Nethack. In some ways it is the 'ultimate game' - relentlessly difficult, rewarding to the clever, timeless. As a gamer, I have spent copious amounts of time playing it and the other inspirations for Realms of Gold (Ultima chief among them) in my (mis)spent youth (and adulthood). I caught all the references. It was a fun time.
Ultimately, though, I never attached to any of the characters. I couldn't figure out what Russell's deal was. I also thought the ending was pretty flat. I am probably not the only reader who felt that in the end, somehow, we would be told that THIS IS THE ULTIMATE GAME - THE GAME OF LIFE! or something, hoping otherwise, of course. Maybe there was no other reasonable ending. I don't know. I hope not.
The game is not mentioned explicitly in the book, nor is this fact mentioned in any of the blurbs, but it is nevertheless really obvious. Especially when he mentions the phrase 'you suddenly yearn for your distant homeland' which is a random Nethack effect description.
I don't have any problem with this Nethack love as I also have played A LOT of Nethack. In some ways it is the 'ultimate game' - relentlessly difficult, rewarding to the clever, timeless. As a gamer, I have spent copious amounts of time playing it and the other inspirations for Realms of Gold (Ultima chief among them) in my (mis)spent youth (and adulthood). I caught all the references. It was a fun time.
Ultimately, though, I never attached to any of the characters. I couldn't figure out what Russell's deal was. I also thought the ending was pretty flat. I am probably not the only reader who felt that in the end, somehow, we would be told that THIS IS THE ULTIMATE GAME - THE GAME OF LIFE! or something, hoping otherwise, of course. Maybe there was no other reasonable ending. I don't know. I hope not.