Erebos: It's a Game. It watches you. by Ursula Poznanski

Publisher: Annick Press
Publication Date: Jan 19 2012
Series or Standalone: Standalone
ISBN-13: 9781554513734
Format: eBook
Pages: 440
Websites:
Ursula Poznanski - Official Site
Ursula Poznanski - Blog
Ursula Poznanski - Twitter
Ursula Poznanski - Goodreads


Translation: Judith Pattinson


[add on Goodreads]


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Blurb:


An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda. 

When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname. 

Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game. 

Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur. 

_________________________

Erebos was one of those books that pleasantly surprises you. Don't get me wrong, the plot description really sounded interesting to me but when i started reading it and i foud out that i would spending time with Nick's In-game character, Sarius, i thought that the in-game scenes would be bpring because i'm not really into gaming. But i couldn't be more rong! The in-game experiences were just as fantastic as the real-world ones! The descriptions were so lively that you actually thought that you were there, either looking at the computer screen over Nick's shoulder or fallowing him around at school and on the streets.


The plot was not predictable which is always a good thing in a book (and film), It sucks to have foresee the whole story beforhand. And keeping that from happening can sometimes be a very hard task. It had me guessing througout the book about who was behind the game and hoe the hell can a game know so much a bout you? "Sometimes I think it's alive", this is what a character of the book said and sometimes that is exactly what i thoght too.


There were times when i would say that "well that's not possible" or "hat are the parents doing? Are they not noticing the change in their children? How is it that only one adult, a teacher, has noticed something is wrong?" but i didn't bother much with these questions because the rest of the book made up for them and they didn't even matter to me after a while.


The characters were ok, i liked them (the ones that were supposed to be likeable ayway) but i din't get blown away by them. My favorite character i think was Jamie. He was adorable and so easy going. This book wasn't a character driven book, the big picture, was what was imortant so it didn't really bother me that i didn't fall in love with the characters.


Overall, great book. I would recomend it to anyone, either they are into gaming or not. I plan on getting my friends to read this as well.


About the author:

Ursula Poznanski was born in Vienna, Austria, where she still lives today with her partner and daughter. The older of two sisters, she enjoyed reading, music, cycling, and skiing when she was a child. Her favorite books were The Flying Classroom by Erich Kaestner, Mio, My Son by Astrid Lindgren, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

Ursula started writing when she was no more than seven or eight years old. She was fortunate in that she had teachers who encouraged her a great deal, and loving relatives who would read her essays to everybody who hadn’t managed to escape in time. She found it quite embarrassing, but it did not deter her from writing.

The idea for Erebos (Spring 2012) came from her penchant for stories that include a change of worlds. These usually come in the form of fantasies, but she wanted to tell a story where this actually happens. She loved the idea of a computer game dragging the player so deeply into a virtual world that it would affect his view of reality. She also wanted to write about manipulation and how it works. 

What Ursula enjoys most about the creative process are those moments when it seems as if the book is writing itself. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it is pure joy.

Her advice for aspiring authors is to read a lot and write a lot. Don’t believe that success is going to come fast or easy, but carry on nevertheless. Love your story; don’t run after trends. Look for a good writing partner who tells you the truth about what he or she thinks of your work. Appreciate profound criticism.

Ursula’s interests, besides writing, include photography, music (although she doesn’t play an instrument, she has not given up hope that she may still do so one day), talking to interesting people, and traveling.

Challenge(s): 2012 eBook Challenge

Source: ARC Review Copy from NetGalley