Starred review from September 20, 2010
Realistically weaving together video gaming and back-alley corporate intrigue, Duane (A Wizard of Mars) takes readers to the near future, where new technologies like RealFeel allow players to smell, touch, and taste their game worlds. Today's gamers will fantasize about playing Omnitopia, an all-immersive 3D massive multiplayer online game with 200 million players which spans thousands of Microcosms: first-person shooters, cooking competitions, historical recreations, and more. But behind the curtain are two rival companies with some slight resemblances to Apple and Microsoft: one headed by laid-back, jeans-wearing Dev Logan and the other by his former friend and partner, corporate maven Phil Sorensen, who plots to topple Dev's Omnitopia empire by any means necessary. Neatly set up for a sequel, this outstanding speculative novel is action-packed and fast-moving, and Duane's lavish, expansive world building already seems eerily prescient.
August 1, 2010
Dev Logan is the eighth-richest man in the world, thanks to his invention of a massive multiplayer online game known as Omnitopia, in which players can venture into all sorts of vibrant, creative worlds and even have a shot at designing their own. The thousands of people Devs company employs are working toward a big goal: releasing an expansion to the game. With the expansion rollout just days away, Dev is worried about possible vulnerabilities in the system. His concerns are not unfounded: a skilled group of hackers is plotting an attack at the time the games servers will be most vulnerable, and Devs former business partner and friend is preparing a financial takedown of Devs company. Readers who have never ventured into the intricate world of online gaming will have a hard time seeing what all the fuss is about, but the many who have played World of Warcraft or its ilk will appreciate Duanes rich description of Omnitopias many universes and enjoy the intrigue and drama surrounding the release of the expansion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)