While the resolution is somewhat easy to figure out, once one of the central mysteries has been revealed to the reader, it still is a heckuva ride.Ī couple things kept this from being a five star book for me, though, the first being that I’m unsure if Poznanski has very much actual gaming experience. I raced through the book because I was so invested in figuring out these mysteries alongside Nick.
The world of Erebos was rich, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that part of me wanted to explore it, too! Finally, the tension and fear surrounding the game–how does it know what your real name is, for example?–are also well-done. Nick’s interactions with other players, as well as his frustration at failing missions or his exaltation at winning duels will be familiar to any gamer. Young gamers will also enjoy the lengthy descriptions of happenings in Erebos, which do begin to feel very real. It was quite realistic, and Poznanski deserves kudos for approaching the subject carefully. (Students who are kicked out of Erebos, for example, become desperate, pleading, with some withdrawal-like symptoms.) We can easily follow the changes in Nick’s personality the longer he plays Erebos, and see how concerned his friends become the further he draws away from them. Poznanski does a great job illustrating just how seductive the world of Erebos is, and convincingly depicts what appears like addiction. I imagine it would be especially good for young gamers, who might be able to see themselves in Nick. Can Nick and his friends figure out exactly what–or who–Erebos is, before it’s too late?Įrebos is a fun, lightning-quick read. Nick gets further and further sucked into the game, even as the game’s quests get creepier. After finally getting his hands on one, Nick enters the immersive computer game world of Erebos, where the graphics are amazing, the music is almost hypnotic, and the game reacts to you almost like a living, learning creature. Erebos is the story of high school student Nick who notices some funny things going on at his school–his friend Colin becomes withdrawn and no longer answers his texts or comes to basketball practice, other students are consistently absent, and some people are secretively passing around a CD.
So as a lifelong fan of video games, I was looking forward to picking up Erebos, by Ursula Poznanski. I play a mean Pikachu and Toon Link in Super Smash Bros.: Brawl, and can still remember the first time my friend R and I beat final boss Master Hand in the original Super Smash Bros. At various times, my brother, father, and I have simultaneously played computer games like Morrowind, City of Heroes, and of course, World of Warcraft. I cut my baby teeth on the Sega Genesis (and totally dominated at Sonic 2 and The Lion King), graduated to the Playstation, and fell in love with the GameCube. With a gamer for a dad, we grew up always having computer and video games around the house.
0 kommentar(er)
