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A review by glimnore
New Arcadia: Stage One by Eric Jason Martin
5.0
Completely and utterly fantastic.
New Arcadia is everything I wish Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) and Rabbits (Terry Miles) was. The references range from the late 80's to the late 90's. Being my age, I connect to them on a deep and profound level. I find myself recalling the fondest memories of my childhood with every movie and videogame reference that is loaded into this book.
The story is deeper than the summary lets on. Set in an alternate world where the 2020 COVID pandemic has raged for 3 whole years and fundamentally changed society as we know it, New Arcadia: Stage One strikes at the deep psychosocial ramifications of isolation and brings together the importance of human interactions in a blissful and poignant way.
And its all masked in a fun, 90's style beat'em'up virtual reality game. It is both exciting and philosophical. It is both profound and quirky. The main characters are deep and varied. The Chum corporation has uncomfortable echoes of an unregulated Amazon. The story and the plot are both Retro and Modern at the same time. I am incredibly motivated to see where how this progresses and what Stage Two will be like.
If interested in this book, I highly recommend the Audible version as a listen-along while reading, as it has a full cast, fun sound-effects, and a thrilling set-up, that really bring the story to life.
My hats off to you Eric Jason Martin. You did a wonderful job crafting this treat.
New Arcadia is everything I wish Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) and Rabbits (Terry Miles) was. The references range from the late 80's to the late 90's. Being my age, I connect to them on a deep and profound level. I find myself recalling the fondest memories of my childhood with every movie and videogame reference that is loaded into this book.
The story is deeper than the summary lets on. Set in an alternate world where the 2020 COVID pandemic has raged for 3 whole years and fundamentally changed society as we know it, New Arcadia: Stage One strikes at the deep psychosocial ramifications of isolation and brings together the importance of human interactions in a blissful and poignant way.
And its all masked in a fun, 90's style beat'em'up virtual reality game. It is both exciting and philosophical. It is both profound and quirky. The main characters are deep and varied. The Chum corporation has uncomfortable echoes of an unregulated Amazon. The story and the plot are both Retro and Modern at the same time. I am incredibly motivated to see where how this progresses and what Stage Two will be like.
If interested in this book, I highly recommend the Audible version as a listen-along while reading, as it has a full cast, fun sound-effects, and a thrilling set-up, that really bring the story to life.
My hats off to you Eric Jason Martin. You did a wonderful job crafting this treat.