Erebos (edition 2012)

A videogame with repercussions in real life. Not my usual cup of tea, but it certainly made you think. ( )

Well, this was kind of a creepy book, but I couldn't put it down. ( )

In Soviet Russia, game plays you. Okay, so this novel is set in Britain, not the Soviet Union, but I couldn't resist the joke. Because this game really does play you. For those of you who are frustrated by a friend or loved one who neglects you for video games, be grateful that they don't have this one. This is one computer parents really should be afraid of their kids playing.

It's funny reading this book, because I know that I would probably have accepted the disk (assuming someone tried to give me one anyway, which would have been doubtful in high school), totally without intention of keeping its secrets, out of desperation to know what the heck was going on. Unlike the people in the book, I doubt I would have been sucked in. Likely, because I would have died immediately. I am not skilled at this kind of game. Or, I would have wanted some food or to go to the bathroom, pissing off (punned) the Messenger, the guy in control of the game world.

At first, I wasn't particularly into this book. I considered stopping, but persisted because of the amazing reviews I saw of it. Turns out I'm glad I stuck with it, although this isn't a book I would ever reread. It was still good, and dealt with some really fascinating concepts.

As much as I said that I would not enjoy playing the game, I can still appreciate how freaking cool the game itself is. If you are a gamer and do not desperately wish you could play Erebos, something is wrong with you. Just kidding...mostly. The game has so many possibilities, because of the AI in it. Wow.

The characterization wasn't all that great, at least not in the real world. Nick and Emily, who get the most screen time, never really felt like real people to me. The others, of course, were incredibly one dimensional, like Colin, for example. He and Nick were best friends, but the reader never learns a single good thing about Colin. He's almost the villain of the piece. Actually, the two characters who seem most realistic are Victor and Adrian, who have smaller parts.

On the other hand, everything and everyone in the world of Erebos seems so much more real. This was likely done intentionally. The reason people could not escape from the game, and, often, had mental breakdowns when they couldn't play anymore, was because the artifice felt more real than reality.

So yeah, this was pretty cool. If you have gamer friends who also like to read, they might love this. Present idea! ( )

A nice book but it's not becoming clear what keeps the kids hooked on the game.

Neither is the game's storyline very captivating 'cause exciting events are a rarity, nor are the players emotionally attached to each other 'cause they mostly aren't allowed to chat and when it happens it's rather driven by competitiveness.

The whole story behind the game was kind of meh too.

I loved the narrator though. It's the same guy who narrated the stories I listened to when I was a kid (I wonder how old he is now and why his voice still sounds like a teenager's). ( )

I compagni di scuola di Nick si comportano in modo strano: sono diventati schivi, saltano spesso le lezioni e sembra che si passino un oggetto di cui non vogliono parlare a nessuno.
Nick, irritato e incuriosito riuscirà a scoprire il segreto; Erebos, un videogioco dalle regole molto chiare: giocare da soli, non parlare di Erebos con nessuno e una volta morti è impossibile rientrare; rispettate queste si apre un mondo fantastico, un gioco di ruolo dalla grafica invidiabile in cui si combatte contro nemici mostruosi e ci si può sfidare nelle arene.
E' un videogioco strano, sembra che conosca la vita di Nick e i suoi desideri, inoltre le missioni si svolgono anche nella vita reale, azioni spesso inspiegabili e innocue.
Per il lettore è chiaro che di innocuo Erebos non abbia nulla, però se si conosce il mondo dei videogames si capisce anche che i giocatori si autoconvincano del fatto che sia un gioco come tanti, solo più appassionante.
Un gioco come Erebos non esiste, però ne esistono molti altri che rendono dipendenti molti giocatori, in questo senso il tema del libro è piuttosto attuale, ovviamente il tutto nel romanzo è stressato e ingigantito viste le peculiarità del gioco.
Lo stile di scrittura si alterna tra il tempo presente in cui vengono narrate le avventure di Sarius (personaggio di Nicv) e quello passato usato per narrare gli eventi nella vita reale dei protagonisti; il romanzo è inoltre avvincente, si alternano infatti gli avvenimenti reali e virtuali e i nodi cruciali nella trama sono collocati in modo da tenere vivo l'interesse del lettore.
Decisamente consigliato. (4.5/5) ( )