doruga's review
2.0
DNF. Really tried with this one, even skipped ahead to see if it got better. Not for me at all though, I guess Im just cursed to not enjoy anything matt mercer narrates
theaudioauditor's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kevinwest's review
4.0
If you're looking for a new book to get lost in, read New Arcadia.
I really enjoyed this book!
I received a free review copy of this book and I asked for a hard copy, knowing it might be a new favorite of mine (I like to have physical copies of my favorite books), and I'm so glad I did. I've always told my non-reader friends, a good book doesn't need to be a huge epic, like Dune or Lord of the Rings (although those are great), it just needs to be a good book that makes me want to read more. That's what this book did for me, it made me want to read more.
Once I started, it was difficult to put the book down. I'm not always in the mood to read, so I've made a rule for myself that I will always read at least two minutes a day. If I really didn't want to keep reading, I wasn't hard on myself, but would put the book down and try again the next day. That never happened with New Arcadia: Stage One. Once the two minutes were up, I just kept reading, sometimes well past the time I should be getting to bed. I'm pretty sure I've stayed up past midnight twice while reading this book.
There were a few minor things I didn't love about the book. Certain references, when named, resembled Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The director and year of film or game release would be named, and it reminded me too much of a different book. After a while, and after reading about Eric Jason Martin, I realized this was because the author shared the protagonist's love of 80s pop culture, and I eventually found it very fitting.
I'm sure many people can draw links between this book and Ernest Cline's Ready Player One; however, as I read more, I realized the books were very different. In New Arcadia, the world is under the oppression of a deadly virus, and many people - including the protagonist, John Chambers - escape from their reality of solitude by playing games on their VR headsets or tablets. It may seem far fetched, but I never questioned it; I was too excited to discover what else the world of New Arcadia had to offer.
Which brings me to my favorite part of the book. The world of New Arcadia. I found myself getting a little adrenaline rush whenever John Chambers leveled up, or successfully completed a task. The same thing that makes real video games rewarding - the feeling of success and getting stronger - is what made this book so enjoyable for me. I couldn't help but root for John. I just wanted to see Blaze kick some butt! I also really loved Kevin, not just because we share a first name. Something about him was just super likable and I'm really looking forward to seeing his relationship with John bloom over the next book. I'm also looking forward to seeing some more Blaze and Iceman butt-kicking.
I consider it pure luck that someone offered a review copy for me; otherwise, I might have missed out on this hidden gem. I strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a new adventure to dive into, I might buy a second copy to hear the audio version (which I've heard is amazing, I mean Eric Jason Martin has narrated or taken part in like a million audiobooks) and I'll certainly be among the first to buy Stage Two!
I really enjoyed this book!
I received a free review copy of this book and I asked for a hard copy, knowing it might be a new favorite of mine (I like to have physical copies of my favorite books), and I'm so glad I did. I've always told my non-reader friends, a good book doesn't need to be a huge epic, like Dune or Lord of the Rings (although those are great), it just needs to be a good book that makes me want to read more. That's what this book did for me, it made me want to read more.
Once I started, it was difficult to put the book down. I'm not always in the mood to read, so I've made a rule for myself that I will always read at least two minutes a day. If I really didn't want to keep reading, I wasn't hard on myself, but would put the book down and try again the next day. That never happened with New Arcadia: Stage One. Once the two minutes were up, I just kept reading, sometimes well past the time I should be getting to bed. I'm pretty sure I've stayed up past midnight twice while reading this book.
There were a few minor things I didn't love about the book. Certain references, when named, resembled Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The director and year of film or game release would be named, and it reminded me too much of a different book. After a while, and after reading about Eric Jason Martin, I realized this was because the author shared the protagonist's love of 80s pop culture, and I eventually found it very fitting.
I'm sure many people can draw links between this book and Ernest Cline's Ready Player One; however, as I read more, I realized the books were very different. In New Arcadia, the world is under the oppression of a deadly virus, and many people - including the protagonist, John Chambers - escape from their reality of solitude by playing games on their VR headsets or tablets.
Spoiler
Ultimately, this ends up being what Dekker thinks can save the world. If people have a natural tendency to escape, why not reintegrate society by having them escape together, until they can learn to coexist?Which brings me to my favorite part of the book. The world of New Arcadia. I found myself getting a little adrenaline rush whenever John Chambers leveled up, or successfully completed a task. The same thing that makes real video games rewarding - the feeling of success and getting stronger - is what made this book so enjoyable for me. I couldn't help but root for John. I just wanted to see Blaze kick some butt! I also really loved Kevin, not just because we share a first name. Something about him was just super likable and I'm really looking forward to seeing his relationship with John bloom over the next book. I'm also looking forward to seeing some more Blaze and Iceman butt-kicking.
I consider it pure luck that someone offered a review copy for me; otherwise, I might have missed out on this hidden gem. I strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a new adventure to dive into, I might buy a second copy to hear the audio version (which I've heard is amazing, I mean Eric Jason Martin has narrated or taken part in like a million audiobooks) and I'll certainly be among the first to buy Stage Two!
littlebutton's review against another edition
I went in not knowing that this was a book that heavily featured a pandemic that gets WAY worse than COVID. That’s fine, but not something I really want to read about currently. DNFing for now, although I might come back once the pandemic dies down. I love the voice cast for this and I’d still like to hear their performance.
vergilkilla's review against another edition
3.0
New Arcadia seeks to right the wrongs of Ready Player One, in a sense. The comparison of the two books is absolutely inevitable - so note most of my review will be in terms of comparison.
I liked Ready Player One pretty well (I gave it 4 stars on here) but thought it was bizarrely situated in the literary catalog, all things considered - it was a YA book written expressly to target 30/40 year olds (what with the early 80's trivia sprinkled throughout).
If you've patrolled online forums you'll know that Cline's work, despite being a commercial success, is actually victim to incessant eye-rolling and put-downs from many readers. I'd always thought the reasoning is that the readership was not interested in YA, full stop.... so it was a weird book for a reader expecting something more "literary" like whatever recent contemporary fiction fits the bill (it's no The Vanishing Half, it's no Deacon King Kong - it's not anything like those books and doesn't touch those books, really).
So Eric J. Martin has done a wiser choice - sliding the scale up a little bit from early 80's trivia to instead late 80's and 90's - this gives you SLIGHTLY younger readers. Further - this is a playful, trivia-filled, "entertainment value" book - but it's not a YA book. The protagonist is 40 years old. There's that weathered depth to the protagonist that comes with being an adult.
In this way - this is a rather different experience than Ready Player One, and in some ways a better one. I'm right at 30 years old - the trivia here was way more salient, to me. The sort of darker tone of the setting of the book I enjoyed. There are not as many "wish-fulfillment" passages/cringe-inducing moments as Ready Player One. The themes are not the typical YA theme of "who am I, and what will I do about it?" - but instead something on a much grander scale, which I appreciated.
Where I've subtracted "stars" and where I think Cline's work edges out this book is in terms of execution of the story. There is a certain amount of "tell, don't show" both books are guilty of - but New Arcadia is more guilty. As a result some of the reveals and twists and turns don't have as much impact as they could. The book tends to jump around a bit in a way that lead me, anyway, to being somewhat confused. Further, having just read Ready Player One, I did suffer a bit of "Simpsons already did it" syndrome - descriptions of things like VR rigs or, in general, a living breathing MMO/AR type scenario - I was already wow'd for the first time by Cline's descriptions. New Arcadia, perhaps, does not stray far enough from the book from which it so obviously draws influence. Rather than being immersed in the near-future dystopian world as I was ignited by first-time descriptions of paradigms I had never, ever thought about - instead I had already thought about most of these paradigms, already, when reading Cline's book. There were, then, fewer surprises and "wow" moments.
All told - a good effort of a debut, IMO. Had you never read Ready Player One - honestly I'd say this is a better starting point for 90's born kids than RPO is - so snatch it up! If you have already read and enjoyed RPO - read this when you are in the mood to revisit the familiar concept, but with a drastically different protagonist and a darker setting.
I liked Ready Player One pretty well (I gave it 4 stars on here) but thought it was bizarrely situated in the literary catalog, all things considered - it was a YA book written expressly to target 30/40 year olds (what with the early 80's trivia sprinkled throughout).
If you've patrolled online forums you'll know that Cline's work, despite being a commercial success, is actually victim to incessant eye-rolling and put-downs from many readers. I'd always thought the reasoning is that the readership was not interested in YA, full stop.... so it was a weird book for a reader expecting something more "literary" like whatever recent contemporary fiction fits the bill (it's no The Vanishing Half, it's no Deacon King Kong - it's not anything like those books and doesn't touch those books, really).
So Eric J. Martin has done a wiser choice - sliding the scale up a little bit from early 80's trivia to instead late 80's and 90's - this gives you SLIGHTLY younger readers. Further - this is a playful, trivia-filled, "entertainment value" book - but it's not a YA book. The protagonist is 40 years old. There's that weathered depth to the protagonist that comes with being an adult.
In this way - this is a rather different experience than Ready Player One, and in some ways a better one. I'm right at 30 years old - the trivia here was way more salient, to me. The sort of darker tone of the setting of the book I enjoyed. There are not as many "wish-fulfillment" passages/cringe-inducing moments as Ready Player One. The themes are not the typical YA theme of "who am I, and what will I do about it?" - but instead something on a much grander scale, which I appreciated.
Where I've subtracted "stars" and where I think Cline's work edges out this book is in terms of execution of the story. There is a certain amount of "tell, don't show" both books are guilty of - but New Arcadia is more guilty. As a result some of the reveals and twists and turns don't have as much impact as they could. The book tends to jump around a bit in a way that lead me, anyway, to being somewhat confused. Further, having just read Ready Player One, I did suffer a bit of "Simpsons already did it" syndrome - descriptions of things like VR rigs or, in general, a living breathing MMO/AR type scenario - I was already wow'd for the first time by Cline's descriptions. New Arcadia, perhaps, does not stray far enough from the book from which it so obviously draws influence. Rather than being immersed in the near-future dystopian world as I was ignited by first-time descriptions of paradigms I had never, ever thought about - instead I had already thought about most of these paradigms, already, when reading Cline's book. There were, then, fewer surprises and "wow" moments.
All told - a good effort of a debut, IMO. Had you never read Ready Player One - honestly I'd say this is a better starting point for 90's born kids than RPO is - so snatch it up! If you have already read and enjoyed RPO - read this when you are in the mood to revisit the familiar concept, but with a drastically different protagonist and a darker setting.
jodiemolzahnbrunner's review
5.0
This book is excellent dystopian fiction, in the subgenre that deals with gamers. I enjoyed it very much and I look forward to the sequel.
sagebrushnbooks's review
3.0
A lot like Ready Player One... but not quite as charming. Still a fun escapist listen on Audible.
claytell's review
3.0
You cannot help but make comparisons to Real Player One. Which is tough for it. As I LOVED that book, it was pretty amazing. This is not amazing. It is alright. I might read a sequel. I would probably rank this against Ready Player 2, which I was not a fan of.
As other reviewers said, this is more 90s trivia. Which is fine.
As other reviewers said, this is more 90s trivia. Which is fine.
james0x2a's review
adventurous
fast-paced
3.0
Feels somewhat derivative of "Ready Player One". Clearly trying to follow that formula to success. That said, it does have a distinct plot that is much more aligned to the LitRPG genre than the Easter egg hunt of RP1. Adventurous, heavily focused on nostalgia for 80s and 90s kids.
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