Scoop of the e-e-evening: "Epic"

My dear little brother, Robbie, has agreed to share his book thoughts now and then. This boy reads everything--Hardy Boys to David Copperfield to Pride and Prejudice (I told him reading that one would really expand his marriage prospects). Lots of librarians review books, but it's always interesting to hear what the target audience has to say. So without further ado, a 14-year-old's take on "Epic" by Conor Kostick.

Epic is a RPG that reflects life. How you perform in Epic determines how you get on in real life. The game is New World's government--the best players rule the game, which also means they rule the real world, too. There is no money in real life, you have money in Epic and that is all. If you file a complaint, you fight it out in Epic's arena. That was how life had been and that was how most everyone thought it would continue.

But when Eric and his friends, the Osterfjord Players, discover how to defeat the dragon Inry'aat and take possession of its hoard, a group of the world's top players, Central Allocations, starts to get nervous. With their riches, the Osterfjord Players are able to buy the best equipment the game has to offer. With that, they become a threat to Central Allocations.

As Eric and his friends rise to fame, they start to look around themselves, and slowly realize just how corrupt New World has become because of Epic. People spend every minute of their free time playing Epic. It is no longer just a game, but a way for the greedy to gain as much power as possible.

The struggle for power ends up in full-fledged war, with the C.A. against the Osterfjord Players and as many other players as they can muster. In the end, Eric must resort to one last extreme to save the world: destroy Epic.

3 comments:

Mike Duran said...

Great review, Robbie! It's so nice of your "big sister" to include you in her literary ventures. And Noel, I see I'm listed in your sidebar. But what exactly is a "Jammy Blog"?

Noël De Vries said...

Thanks for hobbling over, Mike! Contrary to common belief, a Jammy Blog is not one moderated by people in nighties ... since my blog is Never Jam Today, and there isn't something new every day, I link to people who always have Jam. So it's high praise. ;)

MmeT said...

Dear Robbie, I like your taste in books. I just reviewd the book on my blog and did a google and there was yours!
If you like sci-fi, I would recommend Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey. She wrote a lot of books about unicorns but don't let that put you off. It is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I loved Epic, too.