This story starts back in 1987 when Sam and Sadie meet as children, bonding over computer games they play to while away time in a hospital where Sam is a patient and Sadie a visitor. Thus begins the strong connection to each other and gaming that draws them back together at university and into the gaming industry. Along the way, Marx, Sam’s friend, is gathered in and becomes the magic ingredient binding them all together and propelling them to commercial success.
Those readers open to understanding and appreciating something of great importance to so many younger generations around the world: gaming.
Having never
played a computer game, I was keen to read a novel about this alien world,
written by someone who is a gamer themselves. It was easy to be drawn into
Sadie, Sam and Marx’s lives and as a consequence, the world of computer gaming.
Apart from characters that you become emotionally invested in, there is a
satisfying intellectual component to the story with many references to art,
literature and philosophy. Thankfully the author does not shy away from some of
the well-known problems of the gaming industry: sexism and concerns around
violence in games.
This is a novel ready to be discussed with the
young people in your life – Gabrielle Zevin has given us a beautiful story and
an exhilarating entrée into the world of video games
Although many of the real games referenced in the story are mentioned in the Notes and Acknowledgements, a chronological list would have been helpful, as would have been a short glossary for some of the gaming acronyms. This is not a failing of the story, however, rather a reflection of my own ignorance.
