Otherworld

I think I need to come to terms with the fact that gaming books are not going to be a great genre for me.

And that kills me because I LOVE IT when it's done right. But when it's not... I feel like I spend a lot of time going "you imbecile, NOBODY calls them 'non-player characters'!!!" or flailing that nobody has a gorram health potion and OMG do writers not research MMORPGs before writing about them please just stop.

Otherworld was super frustrating for me. First of all, I wanted to like it because I like Jason Segel as an actor. Obviously this is the WORST reason to decide a book will be good - I am an excellent maker of cookies but not a trustworthy sports correspondent, so not all skills are equal even in talented people. Secondly, I show more am still looking for something that pulls me in like Ready Player One and the comparisons are endless.

One small good thing - the transitions in writing were flawless. I have no idea what will written by Miller, and what was written by Segel. They flow perfectly together.

That's all I've got on the "I liked it" scale. So lets talk about what didn't work.

The characters. I hated Simon. I was not for one moment invested in his success or happiness. People dying for him? People helping him? I DO NOT CARE. He was a self-absorbed asshole completely obsessed with his gangster grandfather who treated other people like they were trash (especially his parents) and talked about his nose a lot. And Kat? Kat was barely introduced and wasn't that likable either, so I wasn't invested in that odd love story. I got to like Busara a bit, and Marlow as well. I would have been so much more invested if Busara and Marlow were the MCs. They had motive and were better rounded characters. Simon and Kat made very little sense (especially Simon) but Busara and Marlow? Yes. I love them, they belong, I even ship them a little.

Then, as someone who has played MMORPGs for most her life, Otherworld itself is just wrong. The lingo is wrong, the gameplay is wrong, the in-game character behavior is wrong. For example - how in the WORLD could a handful of total n00bs cross a PVP sandbox without getting mugged by level 60s? There were no potions, no leveling... there was literally NO in-game motivation for these characters. No skills to train. People don't run around killing things for lols - they do it for loot and leveling. The complete lack of structure, even in a sandbox world, made the setting totally unbelievable for me.

The story, at the bottom of it all, was about a bunch of evil people uprooting a corporation to leverage a new technology for the sake of progress and money. Nothing new, not really. The foundation for an interesting (if not entirely original) story is all there, but I couldn't appreciate it because of the cartoon-like villains, shallow characters, and poorly researched world. I think that people with a little less time spent in a traditional MMORPG could enjoy this book. If you like high action, or conspiracies, you'll probably enjoy it.

Otherworld just didn't do it for me. show less

Intense. And with serious shadings of Dante. Also: am I supposed to want to bring violent death to every single villain in the story? Not just defeat them, but actually take them apart piece by piece until they understand viscerally why they should value every single human life?

We'll see if I'm up for the sequel when it hits the shelves....

Simon thought Otherworld was a game. Turns out he knew nothing. Otherworld is the next phase of reality. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.

And it’s about to change humanity forever.

Jason Segel and Kristen Miller created a wonderful realistic world.

The story is told from the perspective of 18-year-old Simon who arrives in Otherworld for the sole objective of getting his best friend, and his childhood sweetheart Kat to talk to him! His first expedition into this new virtual reality game world is facilitated via a VR headset and app and it is just that, A game. If you die you get re set and sent back to the beginning, no harm done. But it soon becomes apparent that not all is as it seems in Otherworld or even in the Real World for show more Simon.

After a tragic accident leaves Kat with very rare Locked In Syndrome she is selected to take part in a trial for a new software that is believed will help people with this type of illness or disability to lead a better type of life. The creators of Otherworld have made a new world, The White City, that can be accessed via a VR visor and a disk that attach’s to the back of the head. Once attached it transports you into The White City and allows the wearer to freely walk around and make the life you have always wanted whist your body is stored in the real world, broken and on a similar set up to Life Support.

There is however 1 big difference, players wearing a headset are visitors to this new virtual world and can choose to leave, the players wearing the disk are there in a more real way. If they die in Otherworld they also die in the real world.

As others living close to Simon and Kat become involved in “accidents” and are also diagnosed with Locked In Syndrome, Simon begins to suspect The Company and Otherworld isn’t what he once believed. He manages to acquire a disk and enter Otherworld to save Kat in both the real world and the Otherworld.

This is a really enjoyable, fast paced read and even though it is advertised as a Young Adult book, I am quite considerably older and I loved it!! Even though the characters are older teenagers they still seem relatable in a lot of ways and likeable. For a Sci-Fi Fantasy novel aspects of the storyline don’t seem that far-fetched either, VR headsets are widely available to us already so an entire Otherworld isn’t pushing the bounds of potential to far. But there are also the fantasy aspects that make this a really good story and keep it entertaining throughout.

The end is a bit sudden if not unexpected but I guess this was done on purpose setting us up for book 2. Hopefully that book wont be too long in becoming a reality!

This book is 100% definitely worth a read for young and old, it is a book I could quite happily and easily read again. show less

I'm astonished at how much I loved this book. I got sucked in from the get go and raced through it to see how the story could possibly get solved (spoiler alert it's in the first of a series). I also couldn't believe that Hollywood actor, Jason Segel, wrote this. How cool! Apparently he's also written other books as well! This book is like Ready Player One and Westworld if it had been written for teenagers. There is a new virtual reality called Otherworld and it's just been released on the market to 2,000 lucky beta testers. Simon and his best friend (and romantic interest) Kat, get to be some of the lucky first few to experience it. Real life is so boring is boring compared to realness and power of Otherworld. But when Simon discovers show more that this may be more than a game and it has the potential to kill certain players during the testing phase, he is determined to go back in there and save Kat (who at this point, is being forced to stay in the Otherworld against her will). Engrossing, funny, imaginative, and surprisingly believable; this book will garner teen fans and quite a few adults too. I can't wait for the next one! show less

I would actually give this one about 3-1/2 stars. Imagine a virtual reality game so sophisticated that you find yourself lost in that reality. Now imagine it's possible to completely move your conscious self into that world leaving only your physical body behind. Wouldn't that be wonderful? What could go wrong? Death, however, in the game would result in your death in the 'real' world, and your physical body would have to be maintained while you are in the other world. And what if you never wanted to come back? This is a compelling story that looks at current events and technological development to explore our reliance on high tech software and virtual reality I confess to be entirely surprised by this story because a) I'm not the show more target demographic, and b) I'm not really a fan of Jason Segel's on screen body of work. Despite that the plot is good and the characters are well developed and Segel and Miller create a credible story that draws you in through both intrigue and relationships. I confess the story is a bit predictable in places, but it nevertheless is engaging and moves along at a good pace. I will simply say that is was good enough that I will read the next one. show less

This book was rough and I found the plot and characters confusing bordering on stupid. The main character, Simon, made no sense whatsoever and pretty much just lucked through all of his decisions. Sometimes, Simon is portrayed as a wholesome hero while others, he’s an impulsive idiot. I doesn’t make sense. Pick a side! In the video game, he’s upset about killing people’s avatars and therefore sending them back to start but not actually killing them, but then he goes around killing people like crazy turning on his impulsive idiot switch. Also, the side characters were all falling head over heels over Simon for no reason whatsoever. He’s really an awful guy but somehow Kat loved him (randomly I might add), Busara was willing to show more do anything for him (after knowing him for like two seconds), and Gorog and Carroll randomly trust him and are willing to die for him (even though he’s an awful guy). Kat’s character seemed to be playing to contradicting parts as well. Sometimes she was the smart badass girl and other times she was the pathetic stupid damsel in distress, whose only real reason for being in the book was to motivate Simon. Once again YOU CANT BE BOTH PICK ONE. Her “relationship” with Simon wasn’t really explained or justified either. One moment they’re little kids playing fort the next they’re making out for next to no reason. GAH Okay. The reason I didn’t completely hate this book was because I found the general concept interesting and some of the moments in the book were actually half decent. I don’t recommend this book and there’s a lot more I could rant about. I don’t think I’ll pick up Otherearth unless it gets really hyped up or something. show less

If you or your kids are into computer games, you’ll know the AI just keeps getting better; the bots act just that bit more human; the graphics feels more real… the voices… And then there’s VR technology that lets us turn around and see the (imaginary) world where we might like to stand… How long before the technology lets us touch and taste it as well?

In Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller’s Otherworld, that time has arrived. Technology leaps forward to promise an experience so real it will almost feel… real. A convincing first person narrator is understandably excited to enter this great new experience, though his real world, with plenty of money but not so much care and control, leaves much to be desired. Most of all, show more Simon’s just growing into desire for the girl next door, and first love hurts—all the more when Kat gets hurt.

Tough choices are hard enough to make in the real world. But reality’s blurred in Simon’s environment. Technology can lie, and so can kids and adults. The result is a thought-provoking read, asking questions of morality, reality and more. What makes a life worth saving, worth living, worth more than just hard cash? And what makes choices good and bad?

Otherworld has all the excitement of a scyfy adventure and the evocative emotions of teen romance, plus mystery, plus intriguing imaginary characters, not too distant future scenarios, and a great storyline. I really enjoyed it as a standalone novel, and I’m looking forward to finding out more in the next book.

Disclosure: Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review. show less