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MetaGame

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 714 ratings · 130 reviews

Life is a game, literally. Winners earn immortality, while losers are condemned to aging and death. D_Light, a gifted player, knows this all too well and he’s willing to do anything to win—even kill. It is no wonder then that when given the chance to enter a MetaGame—an exclusive, high-stakes, anything goes contest—he’s quick to jump at the opportunity. The MetaGame starts...more

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Published (first published May 18th 2009)

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Nov 19, 2010 Benjamin Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, advanced-reading-copy, indie-authors

"Metagame" by first time author, Sam Landstrom is a cyber-punk style of science-fiction novel that is utterly original in style and scope. Essentially, it is about a futuristic society where life itself is one humongous game. Points earned equate to currency so the better player you are, the richer and more powerful you are. Top scorers are eligible for immortality.

Kudos to Mr. Landstrom for creating this world. He has obviously spent a lot of time and energy extrapolating mankind's current tren...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Pamela (slytherpuff) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: gamers, sci-fi geeks, distopia/utopia readers

Shelves: lendle, fantasy, favorites, own, z-complete-2011-subc, ebook, pimp-out

See more of my reviews at Bettering Me Up.

I do not usually delve into the world of sci-fi and I am certainly not a gamer (much to my husband's chagrin), but I could not get enough of this book. Landstrom creates a world that seems all too plausible in the far (near?) future. The characters are realistic, and arrogant, and flawed, but you can relate to them. Their names consist only of handles you'd find on the internet. No "Jennifer" or "Joshua" plain vanilla names.

There were several "Oh no!" m...more

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Jan 06, 2013 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Originally reviewed on Otherwhere Gazette)

From time to time, a book comes along that has such an interesting concept that it’s hard to get out of your mind. Metagame, by Sam Landstrom, is that kind of book.

The basic concept is pretty simple. On a future earth, the world has changed in some really significant ways. Instead of everyone working, everyone instead plays games. In fact, your game is usually your job, called a “grinder game.” For example, people in a law enforcement grinder game get p...more (Originally reviewed on Otherwhere Gazette)

From time to time, a book comes along that has such an interesting concept that it’s hard to get out of your mind. Metagame, by Sam Landstrom, is that kind of book.

The basic concept is pretty simple. On a future earth, the world has changed in some really significant ways. Instead of everyone working, everyone instead plays games. In fact, your game is usually your job, called a “grinder game.” For example, people in a law enforcement grinder game get points and rewards for catching people. You also get points for little things like dropping a company’s brand name into a conversation. Family is also less of a biological concept and more of a social one, allowing people to join a family of their choice. Of course, there are still lower and higher level players, and the higher level players are invited to play a “Metagame,” where the really big prizes are.

Religion has also changed, with the OverSoul as the deity. And it’s a deity that can grant immortality, if you get to a high enough level. You can think of the OverSoul as the operating system that runs the whole game system, including the implants in people. So people who break the rules of the game are not criminals, they’re demons. And demons are hunted by angels, which are artificial people with enhanced abilities.

Speaking of artificial people, they’re all over the place, and they do most of the dirty work. They’re also not considered people, they’re “products.” It’s the interaction of one player with a product, inside of a Metagame, that provides the story. I don’t want to give it away, but suffice it to say that during the Metagame, questions arise about what humanity really means, and whether a being that is 96.3% genetically similar to a human (the upper limit of similarity allowed for products) is truly human or not.

For a thought provoking story that is still enjoyable and very readable, it’s hard to beat Metagame. I strongly recommend it.(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Lady Entropy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 Stars.

I really really wanted to give this a better rating that I gave, oh, Twilight, but I honestly, couldn't bring myself to give it a 4.

The strength of this book is the setting, which is elaborate, gorgeous, complex and frankly interesting. This writer would do wonderfully in creating roleplaying games. The downside to it is that, well, everything else is pretty weak: the structure crumbles under its own weight, the pacing is atrocious, the stakes are never that high (and the revelation of...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Russell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Metagame is the story of D_Light who lives in a future in which life itself has become a game, where basic jobs have been boiled down into games in which players earn points that add up to currency and if you have enough points you can get a show at becoming immortal. D_Light is an upstart player who finds himself invited to take part in a Metagame, a prestigious, potentially dangerous game with high rewards.

First of all, as someone who has not read a great deal of science fiction, I found the w...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Raven rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books

What if life was just one big MMO? That's the question that this book answers.

This book takes place in the future. At least, I think it does. I assume it does. I'm pretty sure it does. That was kind of unclear. Let's just say it takes place in the future. Civilization as we know it now is gone. People we believe to be beautiful would be considered average, even ugly. Life span has changed so someone in their 50's is now considered young and youthful. Everyone is fit, and those who become lazy a...more What if life was just one big MMO? That's the question that this book answers.

This book takes place in the future. At least, I think it does. I assume it does. I'm pretty sure it does. That was kind of unclear. Let's just say it takes place in the future. Civilization as we know it now is gone. People we believe to be beautiful would be considered average, even ugly. Life span has changed so someone in their 50's is now considered young and youthful. Everyone is fit, and those who become lazy are penalized through the points system. Life is one big game, and every one is a player. Best friends can become enemies in an instant, and your enemies can become your greatest ally.

An interesting concept that has been done in anime a few times (namely the .//hack series and Sword Art Online), but I had not come across the concept in a book until MetaGame. I originally started it because I needed to read something that wasn't The Graveyard Book, but MetaGame quickly captured me and I had trouble putting it down. Looking back, I'm not too sure why. Nothing truly sticks out other than the concept and some of the imagery. The names were confusing in the beginning because it uses usernames of the players and not their real names, such as D_Light and Love_Monkey. Then there are times when characters go by more common names, such as Lily and Lyra. It got a bit confusing, but once I was used to it, I was okay. The plot seemed to skip around a bit, but that was only due to the jumping of viewpoints. When in the viewpoint of the angel, Jacob, the story seemed to drag on and on. This was due to the author trying to write as Jacob would think, and since he was a machine and completely math oriented, there were a lot of numbers and calculations that just didn't flow well. It was a good idea, and added voice, but I just don't think it worked out too well.

The technology is interesting, and the blurbs at the beginning of the chapters were helpful. They explained the world of The Game and explained how this form of civilization came to be. It was all the background information we needed, but given to us a little at a time only when we needed it. I just had trouble differentiating from when the characters were in game to when they were out. I guess that's the point, because you never truly stop playing, but at times it was confusing. Especially since they all went by their usernames and then when they "plugged in" to a game, they went by a character name.

D_Light was an interesting enough character. Nothing really special about him. He's in his 50's but looks like he's 20 thanks to the health contracts that keep everyone looking young as long as they're playing. He saves the mysterious Demon Lily from the Divine Authority and that's where the story actually picks up. That was a few chapters in. A good quarter of the way through the book.

I enjoyed Lily and her ignorance to The Game. We learned most of the background information through D_Light explaining to her what's going on. Her background, though quite disturbing, is really unexpected. The other characters keep dropping hints as to what she may be, but the truth was really...disturbing.

Honestly, I think my favorite character is Smorgeous, D_Light's cat familiar. He's a robot, he's a cat, and he dances.

My only warning is of the language. And I don't mean swearing. There's a lot of gamer lingo dropped left and right, and if you're not familiar with it, you could have a tough time. All in all, a fun read.(less)

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Dec 19, 2011 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

As an avid reader, especially in the Sci-Fi genre, I've encountered a fair amount of original story-telling when envisioning a (dystoptian) future society, but I have to hand it to Sam for being particularly original in the vision he casts for earth in the future decades (if not hundreds) of years from now. He takes some pretty well known concepts like genetic manipulation, MMOG and and other fairly well known elements in our current culture and extrapolates them out into some pretty fun places...more As an avid reader, especially in the Sci-Fi genre, I've encountered a fair amount of original story-telling when envisioning a (dystoptian) future society, but I have to hand it to Sam for being particularly original in the vision he casts for earth in the future decades (if not hundreds) of years from now. He takes some pretty well known concepts like genetic manipulation, MMOG and and other fairly well known elements in our current culture and extrapolates them out into some pretty fun places in this future world. Aside from your standard Sci-Fi elements, there's also some good humor throughout, some clever and interesting dialog, and a variety of different types of action ranging from the geeky to the graphic. And, of course, like most good stories, this one has a few pretty nice plot twists that, especially the final one which I did not see coming.

The story itself revolves primarily around one guy (D_Light) who's starting to ascend into the next level of success in his journey towards immortality - the goal of many in this future world where the Oversoul sees and governs all. Most of the action revolves around the title-referenced "MetaGame" which is basically a quest taking place in real life where the cost of winning or losing is very high and possibly the difference between death and immortality.

The tale is split up into 3 unequally sized acts. The first act which lasts about 6-8 chapters sets the stage, the main players and introduces some important ground rules for the world you'll be reading about. This act is pretty strong for the most part and you are more or less thrown right into D_Light's life and are playing catch up for several (slightly bizarre but fun) chapters. There's a bit of a lull around this poimt, but then there's a very strong second act that lasts all the way up to about the 70%-75% point of the book and there's a lot to like about this act. It's paced well, progresses naturally and the events all make sense and do much to move the players to the next place in the story.

Granted, it's not what I would consider "amazing" Sci-Fi, but what it lakes in polish and finesse, it makes up for in originality and unexpected turns in the story. The last act takes place largely in one location (Dr. Monsa's) and is very unevenly paced making some passages clumsy and even tedious to get through. There were also some questionable and/or confusing decisions that our protagonist makes, especially in this act, though the book does manage to refocus and end strongly in the last couple of chapters. Still, the problems in the last act didn't negate the overall quality of the book, just that I think the plotting and pacing of the events in this story could have used some more work.

So, all in all this book has a little bit of everything from action/thriller to lots of Sci-Fi elements to horror and even some romance and philosophical ground is covered. For a first effort, this book definitely shows a lot of promise and I'll definitely be watching for more Sci-Fi goodness in the future.(less)

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Nov 07, 2010 Penelope Fletcher rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't read sci-fi books often, but the synopsis intrigued me.

I dropped a star because for me the book gradually lost it's...sparkle, and by the end I was wondering where the finish line was. It started strong but at times during the middle I was lost. It may have been easier to follow if I had connected to the main character, D_Light, more than I did.

That said I thought it as well written and made complex relationships, and practices that are seen as taboo in today's society easy to follow, a...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Daniel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The debut novel of Sam Landstrom is decent at best. His ideas (like his tech-twist on the fantasy familiar), though not wholly original in the realm of sci-fi, are interesting. Actually, the most interesting, and best, part of this book is its ideas as the execution of narrative, plot, and characters are all equally dismal.

In the beginning of nearly every chapter, Landstrom adds some text from fake books, sermons, or interviews from the world of MetaGame in order to expand its universe, and the...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Kitty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, science-fiction, freebies-kindle

Okay, the truth is that I probably only enjoyed this book enough to give it three stars, but... even though it wasn't really my cup of tea (I don't read a lot of Sci-Fi), I definitely think it was worthy of four stars . It's the sort of story that stays with you after you finish it. I imagine I'll still be thinking about this book for a while, which should earn it an extra star.

What I liked: it had a good pace, and held my attention from beginning to end. It was an unusual story - never knew wha...more

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Mar 06, 2010 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

A strong first novel that is hampered by less than impressive writing style.

Sam Landstrom's first novel introduces a fantastic dystopic society where all tasks carried out by humans are done in the guise of virtual games to earn 'points'. Your points are used to purchase assorted designer merchandise and also determine your place in society. Everything from garbage-collecting to programming new software becomes a 'game' with the goal of earning new points. In this world, a fascinating thriller i...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Jose rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

MetaGame takes place in a futuristic world where biotech, nanotech, gaming, and "religion" merge to blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

Another dystopia but this one is disguised by the apparent freedom most people are given. But its all virtual.
Mankind is distracted daily in their virtual reality games, winning and spending points as currency, being ruled by an OverSoul that's not really understood or revealed. The main goal is immortality, though. That's a fantastic endgame, if you rea...more

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Oct 18, 2009 Dennis Batchelder rated it 5 of 5 stars

A fascinating and immersive read

Sam Landstrom's debut novel "MetaGame" is a well-thought-out, well-written novel about a future--maybe even a bit dystopian--time when the earth's 28 billion humans are caught up in playing games.

Landstrom's world is fascinating: he gives us glimpses into why society evolved this way. We are introduced bio-engineered almost-humans and plants, mind interface chips, nanoskins, and a mutli-level caste-driven society. The explanations are detailed enough that I got t...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of hard scifi

Shelves: books_2011

I was a little nervous going into Sam Landstrom's debut, METAGAME, because the description reminded me a bit of Neal Stephenson's SNOW CRASH, of which I'm not particularly a fan. (I found it dry, cluttered and dull.) However, METAGAME proved to be an entirely different reading experience, one that I immensely enjoyed.

Set some time in the future, METAGAME tells the story of a changed world, one where life is, quite literally, a game. Grinder games function as their version of jobs, while spank ga...more I was a little nervous going into Sam Landstrom's debut, METAGAME, because the description reminded me a bit of Neal Stephenson's SNOW CRASH, of which I'm not particularly a fan. (I found it dry, cluttered and dull.) However, METAGAME proved to be an entirely different reading experience, one that I immensely enjoyed.

Set some time in the future, METAGAME tells the story of a changed world, one where life is, quite literally, a game. Grinder games function as their version of jobs, while spank games are purely for entertainment. Points accrued from either type are then used as currency, and all players in the Game (discounting side-liners, who live on the fringes of society and have opted out of play) have a chip embedded in their necks which telepathically connect them to each other and to the Cloud (their global network). Players also have familiars, animal-shaped robots who serve various functions, the most significant of which is to record every conscious moment of a player's life.

D_Light is a talented young player from the House of Tesla. He's invited to play a Meta Game (competitive, often brutal high-stakes games that typically span a set period of time) with the house's royalty, Mother Lyra and Father Djoser -- which, for the somewhat opportunistic D_Light, sounds like a great chance to score some figurative points, as well as actual ones. But D_Light doesn't expect to fall for a mysterious woman he meets a long the way -- and he certainly doesn't foresee just how this particular Meta Game will end.

Landstrom did an excellent job at world-building, and takes readers on a clever, fun journey with interesting, complex characters. The story is quite provocative for its take on the degree to which technology has begun to impact our lives. Landstrom's cyberpunk world is one that's eerily familiar and frighteningly plausible, even in its shocking extremes. That's a sign of great science fiction.

Highly recommended. Can't wait for the prequel and sequel, both of which the author is currently writing.(less)

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Mar 13, 2010 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

This first time novel is very good and the best part is it is available for free. The story is set in a future that could be coming and the plot is very engrossing. If you are a role playing gamer the story will have an added attraction. The characters are fairly well developed and the action is almost non-stop. Not so technical to lose the casual reader looking for a good read but certainly thought provoking and well worth the time to read. I read it on the "nook" version but do not think I los...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Kim Pallister rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Metagame is a scifi thriller that takes place in and around MMO-type games. In this vein, it's similar to Snowcrash, Rainbows End, Ready Player One, and many others.

I found it to be a very engaging story, with some provocative bits technology futurism. I give the book a 3/5 or so rating because it was in dire need of editing. There were parts that were too long and should have been left on the chopping block, and there were parts that could have used cleanup, and some poor choice of language tha...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Eric Wallace rated it 4 of 5 stars

Landstrom has constructed a believable future world where both work and play have been incentivised using the psychology of a rewards system. "The Game" is interesting in its own right (even apart from the plot), particularly as the author doesn't explain all at once: rather, he strings you along with tidbits that gradually increase your awareness of the history and purpose of the game. One such partial revelation I enjoyed was how each chapter begins with an epigraph quoting someone ostensibly...more

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Jan 31, 2011 Terrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't typically chose a science fiction themed book but I purchased this to read on my Kindle as the description caught my attention and the price was right (I think at the time I paid a $1 to download it). Mr. Landstrom writes a captivating tale of a future life where work amounts to playing in a video game. As a gamer by adding up points you earn credits to purchase clothing, food, and housing. D-Lite is elevated for a move he made in a game and is invited to play with the royals. He becomes...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Jeremy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Took a long time to get going and nearly lost me, but I kept at it. Somewhere under all the layers of online gaming culture the author is trying to say something. It's just a shame that so much superfluous exposition is piled on top. When you're still explaining the rules of your world at the 75% mark (no joke), you are doing something wrong. Seriously, the info dumps were out of control.

For a long time I didn't think the author knew where he was going, but then I reached the final few chapters...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Gsawe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Incredible sci fi. The plot is a little weak but the world building and the 'what ifs' that make up the best sci fi stories are all there. The character is a little weak - you never really sympathize with him - but it doesn't matter, you can feel for his story and his very detachment makes you realize that this futuristic environment is almost guaranteed to create a population of veritable sociopaths. He isn't at all likable but is the most likable of his peer group. Every action he takes makes...more

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Oct 07, 2009 Pablo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

I read some positive reviews for this book on Amazon.com, however, I don't have a Kindle and downloaded the book straight from the author's website: http://samlandstrom.com/metagame.aspx

The book is a quick and exciting read and I enjoyed it. While the book will be extra readable for gamers, I think everyone who enjoys scifi will enjoy this book.

The book describes a future society where everyone co-exists in a virtual world and play games all day. Work, play, and socializing have all been built...more

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Sep 15, 2010 Scott Soefje rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I learned about this book on a iPad forum. I do not regret downloading and reading this book.

As a former gamer, just not enough free time right now, I found the world interesting and entertaining. The motives of the characters are similar to what I would experience in the gaming world. The story was interesting and kept me coming back. If you are a gamer or you like the cyberpunk type books, I would recommend you read this one.

If you are don't like the cyberpunk genre or if have never done onli...more

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Nov 14, 2010 David Meade rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, singularity

Usually sci-fi takes one thing (robots, or space ships, etc) and shows us how that thing looks in the future - and what it's done to the human condition.

Sam Landstrom charges into an amazing (and at times uncomfortable) future where ALL technologies have continued to develop at break neck speeds, each playing off of each other and human culture all along the way - miracles and calamities ensue. A.I., bio-engineering, nano-technologies, virtual communities/realities, and even spirituality are al...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Peter rated it 4 of 5 stars

The author's style, imagination, and world-building skills remind me of some of Cory Doctorow's early work, specifically Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. Since Doctorow is one of my favorite authors, I enjoyed Sam Landstrom's MetaGame quite a bit.

The world of the MetaGame is an interesting one, built on the utter gamification of everything. As the book progresses, Landstrom draws back the curtain on this plausible far-future, revealing details in small chunks so as not to slow down the pace o...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Brett Lassoff rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book consistently reminded me of The Hunger Games, except I thought it was better speculative fiction. I could actually see the world moving into this way. Plus I felt the ending of The Hunger Games was simply meant to extend the story and clear a path for the two less interesting sequels. The ending of this book is much more provocative and interesting. My only other thought is that I really hope Landstrom doesn't write a sequel. The story was interesting, but I'm not really sure a second...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Nick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, kindle-editions, 2011-challenge

Sam Landstrom creates an interesting future where the entire concept of humanity as we know it is morphed into a multibillion person computer game. Normal day-to-day functions such as child raising and law enforcement are transformed into "grinder games" where players are jacked into the network and earn points based on their performance. Players belong to great houses (read Guilds) where status is determined by your point totals. It is in this world where a group is called to play a Meta-Game....more

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Jul 17, 2011 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars

My thoughts:
This book was completely the opposite of what I was expecting. I am not a sci-fi reader, let me stress that again - NOT a SCI-fi reader. I really didn't know that this book was science fiction. I read the synopsis and it sounded kind of dystopian-ish-plus-action which I love. It was a futuristic dystopian-type sci-fi-pretty-technical-but awesome. The world building and technology was....WOW INCREDIBLY PHENOMENAL. It totally blew my mind. It was very detail oriented, and so so so SO c...more My thoughts:
This book was completely the opposite of what I was expecting. I am not a sci-fi reader, let me stress that again - NOT a SCI-fi reader. I really didn't know that this book was science fiction. I read the synopsis and it sounded kind of dystopian-ish-plus-action which I love. It was a futuristic dystopian-type sci-fi-pretty-technical-but awesome. The world building and technology was....WOW INCREDIBLY PHENOMENAL. It totally blew my mind. It was very detail oriented, and so so so SO creative. I've grown tired of the vague descriptions of new inventions and technology in this recent wave of dystopians (Not ALL recent dystopians, but quite a few of them have been severely lacking in that department). There were no plot holes, every single bit of this amazing, new technology was well thought out and described so perfectly. Sam Landstrom's amazing world-building skills are just one of a kind. I really can't stress enough how cool, creative and complex everything in this futuristic sci-fi world was. I would give this aspect of the book a hundred stars.

This world we are immersed in does take some getting used to. You have to really pay attention in this book. There's so much information packed into the pages that you have to COMPREHEND and REMEMBER everything. But thankfully, I was never really left with that "HUH" feeling. Y'know the one where you're just lost while the author is overloading your brain with new terms, inventions, places and characters.

I have one complaint, it is a pretty big complaint (hence the 4 star and not 5 star rating). The plot felt like it just meandered about. I didn't really know where it was headed. I was 50 pages from the end, and I still felt like we were in limbo. The last 15 or so pages was where the action was. Still, I didn't have the urgency to keep flipping the pages because I didn't really understand what we were waiting for or what was going to happen. The ending did turn out to be wonderful, and it tied everything together nicely. I couldn't imagine a more perfect ending. There was some romance throughout the book, but it was hardly the main focus.. I feel like it was more sex-oriented than romance oriented

I really hope that the author will write another novel based in this futuristic world. He did leave it open-ended enough for a possible sequel. I think this could be a great series.

I borrowed this book through LendMe for my Nook even though Metagame isn't sold in a Nook format anymore (as far as I can tell). But it is available in Kindle format for $2.99. Great price for a good read!

I recommend this to:
*GUYS (not to say that girls shouldn't read it, but I don't often come across a book that I think both sexes can really enjoy).
* Anyone that enjoys the technical aspects and technology in dystopian books.
*Borderline Sci-Fi Readers and hardcore sci-fi readers too!

Clean/YA readers: The book is not a YA book, definitely more of an adult book. I don't recall any language or anything like that, but sex and rape is discussed rather flippantly.

Judge a Book By It's Cover: The cover is pretty cool. It's actually one of the coolest sci-fi covers I've seen. I usually DO NOT LIKE sci-fi covers.

*Disclosure: I acquired this book of my on my own. I actually read and reviewed a NOT FOR REVIEW BOOK!? Yay me. Links in this review are not affiliate links.(less)

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Sep 19, 2010 Dirk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: gaming, entertains

MetaGame von Sam Landstrom habe ich gleich zweimal hintereinander gelesen. Einmal als Roman und das zweite Mal, um die im Buch beschriebene Vision der Gesellschaft wirklich zu verstehen.

Das Buch spielt irgendwann in der Zukunft. Die Gesellschaft ist in sogenannten Familien organisiert, deren Mitglieder jedoch nicht klassisch verwandt sein müssen, sondern eher ein Mittelding zwischen einer Firma, MMO-Gilde und Religion sind. Alle werden von der sogenannten OverSoul regiert, einer künstlichen Inte...more MetaGame von Sam Landstrom habe ich gleich zweimal hintereinander gelesen. Einmal als Roman und das zweite Mal, um die im Buch beschriebene Vision der Gesellschaft wirklich zu verstehen.

Das Buch spielt irgendwann in der Zukunft. Die Gesellschaft ist in sogenannten Familien organisiert, deren Mitglieder jedoch nicht klassisch verwandt sein müssen, sondern eher ein Mittelding zwischen einer Firma, MMO-Gilde und Religion sind. Alle werden von der sogenannten OverSoul regiert, einer künstlichen Intelligenz, die unter Aufsicht aller Menschen die Gesellschaft steuert und reglementiert. Der Wert eines Menschen definiert sich dadurch, wie gut er “das Spiel” spielt, was im Grunde gleichbedeutend ist mit: “wie gut er lebt”, wobei “gut” definiert ist als Erfüllung der von OverSoul anerkannten moralischen Kriterien. Einfach gesagt: das ganze Leben ist ein Spiel, bei dem die Regeln kontinuierlich den gesellschaftlichen Vorstellungen angepasst werden.

Das Buch begleitet D_Light, einen hochrangigen Spieler einer Familie, wie er seinen adligen Eltern bei der Erfüllung einer epischen Quest hilft. Übersetzung: der Hauptdarsteller, ein angesehenes Mitglied der Gesellschaft, wird von den reichen und mächtigen Geschäftsführern seiner Firma als Berater zu einem Auftrag hinzugezogen.

Während die Geschichte ihren Lauf nimmt wird die fiktive Gesellschaft immer tiefer vorgestellt: was die Motivation für die Einführung von OverSoul war, auf welchen wissenschaftlichen Theorien diese Gesellschaftsform steht. Das Interessante dabei ist: diese Theorien sind tatsächlich erschienene Bücher und Paper, so dass diese Science Fiction Gesellschaft eher wirkt wie eine Vision, ein konsequent weitergedachter Versuch diese Theorien in den Alltag zu übertragen. Und das ist spannend. Vielleicht nicht vollständig realistisch, aber darum ging es bei 1984 ja auch nicht. Aber das Buch stellt interessante Fragen zu Identität, Moral, Motivation und letztendlich Menschlichkeit.

Fazit: Empfehlung für SciFi-Fans, Doppelte Empfehlung für Leute, die sich mit Game Design und Gamification beschäftigen.(less)

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Dec 20, 2011 Hali Sowle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gaming, science-fiction, dystopia

What if the human condition became only applicable if viewed as through "the game"? What if the only work that was done was to live in the game and to make the game happen and your family was not the people you related to but a loosely gathered group of people who worked together to create a game within the game? And what if the game didn't just reward you but could kill you if you weren't fast enough, strong enough or smart enough?

Welcome to the world of MetaGame where people live in what appea...more

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Apr 08, 2010 Goronmon rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: gamers

As a gamer myself I have to say that it was hard not for me to enjoy this book quite a bit. It explores gaming taken to the extreme where just about everything we do is integrated into some form of gameplay and Landstrom does a great job building a rather complex and fascinating world for the book to take place in.

Unfortunately, in many cases, this "world-building" seems to replace a more developed storyline along with more fleshed out characters, especially when it comes to their relationships...more

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When I was six, I announced to my mom, "There's no such thing as time." News spread and Mom’s hippie friends started coming over to the house and asking me questions about the universe. From this promising beginning, I went on to be accused by teachers of smoking pot in the first, fifth, and ninth grades at three different schools in three different regions of the United States. Since these accusa...more

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