With the advent of widespread online multi-player games like World of Warcraft and Everquest, this novel really seems ahead of its time. Especially when you consider that Anthony had the idea to write this novel in 1981. Granted, some old technology is involved (i.e. dial-up modems) but you can't really fault the author for referencing the knowable communication medium at the time.

Anthony also gives us a couple of different lessons:

1. Diabetes, of which I was woefully ignorant of the details. Yeah, I've heard the term "blood sugar" used before, but I never really knew what it meant because it doesn't concern me. Anthony has given me an amount of sympathy to those that suffer from this disease, especially Type 1.

2. Lebanon during a time of civil war. You gain a good baseline of knowledge on the different state and non-state actors involved. Still very relevant to current times.

If you're a fan of video games and Piers Anthony, despite a few characterization flaws, you'll definitely enjoy reading this. ( )