A near-future techno-thriller from New York Times bestselling author Diane Duane.
It's the first quarter of the twenty-firs... read full description
It's the first quarter of the twenty-firs... read full description
reviews
Dec 04, 2011
Marlene
rated it: 
In the middle of the first chapter of Omnitopia Dawn by Diane Duane, I kept thinking "I've played this book". Not "I've read this book", but "I've played this book", as in there's a game just like this. And there is. The beginning of the book is from the perspective of a player in an extremely immersive massively multiplayer online world that is so detailed that at first the reader doesn't realize that the perspective is inside a game. Then, he steps back into "
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Sep 22, 2011
John Carter
rated it: 
While not without at least one serious flaw, Omnitopia Dawn is wonderful, classic sci-fi, and deserves a bigger readership than it's seeming to get.
This is an easy book for "if you're a fan of... you'll like..." - the game company Omnitopia (located right next to the ASU campus, and I'd give limbs to work there!) is so reminiscent of early Kim Stanley Robinson's utopianism that I dreamed about him last night. The black hat/white hat thriller plot driven by strong (if stereo More...
This is an easy book for "if you're a fan of... you'll like..." - the game company Omnitopia (located right next to the ASU campus, and I'd give limbs to work there!) is so reminiscent of early Kim Stanley Robinson's utopianism that I dreamed about him last night. The black hat/white hat thriller plot driven by strong (if stereo More...
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May 10, 2011
Dan
rated it: 
Unsatisfying.
This book describes a conflict between a Good CEO and a Bad CEO; each of them own large companies which run MMORPGs. Corporate America being what it is, the Good CEO and the Bad CEO don't directly interact; in fact all we see of the Bad CEO is a couple of scenes in which he introspects about how guilty he feels because he knows he's a bad person.
(In fairness, a decent chunk of the Good CEO's screen time is taken up with the author narrating how awesome it is tha More...
This book describes a conflict between a Good CEO and a Bad CEO; each of them own large companies which run MMORPGs. Corporate America being what it is, the Good CEO and the Bad CEO don't directly interact; in fact all we see of the Bad CEO is a couple of scenes in which he introspects about how guilty he feels because he knows he's a bad person.
(In fairness, a decent chunk of the Good CEO's screen time is taken up with the author narrating how awesome it is tha More...
Dec 23, 2010
Laura
rated it: 
It's fun, it's light, it's got glowing trees and swords made out of code.
I was skeptical when I learned the book was about a MMORPG, since that story has basically been done to death, but I held out hope that Duane would surprise me with something new. Unfortunately, there's no new story here. She spends most of her time establishing her cliched characters, the good-guy-corporate-man and the bad-guy-corporate-man. I do like the Omnitopia universe, standard-issue as it is, though More...
I was skeptical when I learned the book was about a MMORPG, since that story has basically been done to death, but I held out hope that Duane would surprise me with something new. Unfortunately, there's no new story here. She spends most of her time establishing her cliched characters, the good-guy-corporate-man and the bad-guy-corporate-man. I do like the Omnitopia universe, standard-issue as it is, though More...
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Jun 16, 2011
Dan
rated it:
The worlds of Omnitopia are thoroughly-enjoyable settings, though tied very closely to modern experiences of multiplayer gaming. The author also draws on current understandings of "good" technology companies versus "bad" Wall Street firms; while the antagonist is another game company and CEO, its attending descriptors seem much like today's vilified financial institutions. This text has, therefore, the potential to age quickly like Tom Clancy's Net Force. Duane's character
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Oct 27, 2010
Wayne
rated it:
I'm a big fan of Diane Duane's Young Wizard's series. This is the first "adult" book of hers that I've read. I can see a lot of similarities in her themes between this book and the Young Wizard's series.
This book takes place in 2015. An online game called Omnitopia (think World of Warcraft meets Second Life times 100) is about to update to its latest release. The main characters are the owner of the company and an experienced player who has just been given the opportunity to More...
This book takes place in 2015. An online game called Omnitopia (think World of Warcraft meets Second Life times 100) is about to update to its latest release. The main characters are the owner of the company and an experienced player who has just been given the opportunity to More...
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Mar 25, 2011
Marta
rated it:
Surprisingly disappointing. Or maybe not. If I'd read the "corporate espionage techno-thriller" description, maybe I wouldn't have had such high hopes, because espionage thriller stories are simultaneously stressful and boring for me. But I am a big fan of the Young Wizards series. In this world, however, there were things that were just a little weird: legends about the first player; a memorial to someone who had discovered the method of traveling between worlds; casual conversati
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Sep 18, 2011
Emily
rated it:
Another story partially set in an MMO. Basically a story of industrial espionage culminating in a hacker attack against the game world. I like Duane's writing and have read a lot of her books, but I'm finding her characters are becoming more and more two dimensional. The good guys are all very similar - personable, competent, inclined to breezy flippancy while they heroically do this or that, never showing the smallest character flaw. Maybe this is a byproduct of all the young adult books she's
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Nov 11, 2010
kvon
rated it:
I had some problems with this book, resulting in a slog through the first three hundred pages. The bad guys are all way too evil, of the twirling-mustache type; the good guys pretty unalloyed good. Lots of business talk which is important but does nothing for me. Very few of the characters change or grow in any way--off the top of my head, I can think of Arnulf and Angela, and Cora, and that's about it. (Not counting Delia, who may change after the action but was mostly being reacted against
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Mar 03, 2011
Lychee
rated it:
Enjoying the story, but taken aback on a frequent basis by rather old school gender-stereotypical seemingly off the cuff remarks. The kind of writing that I've grown used to dealing with from uninformed male authors, but not at all used to after reading authors like Lois McMaster Bujold, David Webber, or Sharon Shinn. Additionally, the main protagonists are all men and the women are primarily wives with minor supporting roles. All this rings very strange in 2011, especially after reading Shin
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Sep 14, 2011
Christina K
rated it:
I'm halfway through the audiobook, and it's reasonably entertaining, but... Maybe I'm just too familiar with DD's style & themes, but I'm already placing bets with myself about what happens next. It's well-written, the ideas are good, and maybe they wouldn't be so slow on the written or e-page, but through the reading, I'm going "yes, yes, and that's the next bad guy" and "yes, yes, that's a concealed good guy" and "dear God will the bad guy who runs the Microsoft-type
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Aug 31, 2010
Cyberspace ain’t what it used to be. In the era when William Gibson coined the term (it’s another one of those useful SF neologisms, like tanj) readers imagined that navigating the Internet would someday become a transcendent experience, its own reality. But thus far logging on has proven to be somewhat more mundane. That’s not because we don’t have awesome virtual reality goggles, but because it turns out that most people want to use the Internet to augment reality, not replace it. We use Fours
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Dec 16, 2010
Victoria
rated it:
It's a Diane Duane book, and it has world trees. (Happy sigh)
It's also the first in a new series, and full of technobabble, and scattered with too many characters. There were a few reveals toward the end that felt deus ex machina simply because of the way she'd hidden facts that, I feel, didn't need to be hidden - and that it made no sense to hide, given the form of the narration.
Those minor quibbles aside, it's a strong and enjoyable book. I was worried about how she'd w More...
It's also the first in a new series, and full of technobabble, and scattered with too many characters. There were a few reveals toward the end that felt deus ex machina simply because of the way she'd hidden facts that, I feel, didn't need to be hidden - and that it made no sense to hide, given the form of the narration.
Those minor quibbles aside, it's a strong and enjoyable book. I was worried about how she'd w More...
Aug 04, 2011
Scout A.
rated it:
i loved the scifi aspects of the book: the way a world is built, the battle to fight back the hackers, the game coming alive and so on. all topics that have been explored in the amazing Young Wizard series. but i found the characters in Omnitopia Dawn rather stereotypical (husband and father, supportive wife, energetic 4year old...) and the depiction of the "good capitalist" who only thinks of how to make his gamers and employees happy was disturbing if not annoying. I recommend Cory D
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Sep 17, 2011
Talizmyn
rated it:
Diane Duane is one of my favourite authors since reading her novel, The Book of Night with Moon. Seeing Omnitopia Dawn on the shelf in Chapters (and I rarely see any of her books in the store - ever) I was fairly certain it would be a book that I would enjoy.
And I was right about that.
And the book was enjoyable, the game-world is vast and amazing, and, if Omnitopia existed, I am sure it would be one that I would invest both time and money into. Much of the novel was spent More...
And I was right about that.
And the book was enjoyable, the game-world is vast and amazing, and, if Omnitopia existed, I am sure it would be one that I would invest both time and money into. Much of the novel was spent More...
Dec 31, 2011
Estara
rated it:
Yes, this was a lot like watching a movie. The focus was on the overall experience, but this being a Diane Duane book the characters were individual, well characterised and just plane fun - I liked the reveal about Stoopwaffel at the end (and I expect George to have been Raoul, actually, based on that frustrated comment about oceans). Rik and Angela were a nice viewpoint into the player perspective, and I love seeing the good guys get ahead.
I do have to say that I think the old anniv More...
I do have to say that I think the old anniv More...
Jun 28, 2011
Alex
rated it:
In the style of Michael Crichton at his absolute best, blending gripping science fiction with a harsh, believable reality; bestselling author Diane Duane brings the incredible Omnitopia Dawn to life, combining the world of a massive multiplayer online game like never seen before, with an the exciting world of corporate gaming and intrigue. If you’re any sort of tech geek, or just like playing video games, Omnitopia Dawn will suck you in and never let you go, making you forget worrying about tha
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Jan 12, 2011
MB
rated it:
Basically it seemed to be about industrial espionage, an attempted corporate takeover, in and about cyberspace with a 'surprise' at the end to set up for the next book. I know that's not a good synopsis. Sorry! I found this book fairly confusing.
Since I have little knowledge of gaming and my tech knowledge is minimal, I had a hard time with this book. But the plot is interesting, the characters (although very thin) are full of potential, and the story ended intriguingly so I'll p More...
Since I have little knowledge of gaming and my tech knowledge is minimal, I had a hard time with this book. But the plot is interesting, the characters (although very thin) are full of potential, and the story ended intriguingly so I'll p More...
Aug 23, 2010
Kitsuchi
rated it:
Very much enjoyed this. I'm sure there were other things I was going to do this evening, but oh well. Here is why we are nice to our computers, people! It managed the switching perspectives well, and even though I was looking forward to getting back to some characters, I wasn't bored with any of them.
I am intensely jealous of the VR. It reminded me of Jackie French's Blood trilogy in that regard, and in some of the character relationships. Which is a good thing. No-one became brains More...
I am intensely jealous of the VR. It reminded me of Jackie French's Blood trilogy in that regard, and in some of the character relationships. Which is a good thing. No-one became brains More...
Dec 06, 2010
Pam
rated it:
I had to roll my eyes so often and so hard while listening to this audiobook, folks around me probably think I have some kind of nervous tic.
The good guys in this story are so perfect, so righteous and so very honest it gets kind of ridiculous.
There are no grey areas or moral ambiguities, leading to dull and boring characters.
It's a shame, really. In more capable hands this could have been quite epic.
The good guys in this story are so perfect, so righteous and so very honest it gets kind of ridiculous.
There are no grey areas or moral ambiguities, leading to dull and boring characters.
It's a shame, really. In more capable hands this could have been quite epic.
Sep 05, 2010
Hollya
rated it:
I liked this book very much and had no idea it was the first in a series. I would love to play Omnitopia also. The "Real Feel" technology they were talking about sounds fantastic. How fun would it be to play WOW and actually feel all the landscapes and taste all the kinds of water I need to restore my mana? Who know..the future isn't that far away.
Aug 15, 2010
Mark
rated it:
My kind of techno thriller.
The latest from Diane Duane opens up a new world set about five years in the future and follows the technological exploits of a rich MMORPG creator, the system he has created and the people who want to tear it down.
This first installment doesn't lend itself to a concise summary and definitely feels like Duane is establishing her characters for what will hopefully be a fantastic series.
At first, I was a little put off by all the description More...
The latest from Diane Duane opens up a new world set about five years in the future and follows the technological exploits of a rich MMORPG creator, the system he has created and the people who want to tear it down.
This first installment doesn't lend itself to a concise summary and definitely feels like Duane is establishing her characters for what will hopefully be a fantastic series.
At first, I was a little put off by all the description More...
Jan 28, 2011
Jon
rated it:
A really fun, fluff-fast read. Interesting integration of utopian view of capitalism (Google vs Microsoft, sort of) and the world of massively multiplayer software.
This is the first in a series and I am worried that it is going to devolve into something akin to the WWW:etc series, but Duane may have other things in mind.
This is the first in a series and I am worried that it is going to devolve into something akin to the WWW:etc series, but Duane may have other things in mind.
Aug 08, 2011
Sheila
rated it:
This is a wonderful, light SF thriller weaving together massively multiplayer online role-playing games and corporate intrigue. You'll find lots of likable, intelligent characters here, and a few requisite bad guys. I thought I knew where the story was going, but the ending really surprised me!
Aug 30, 2010
Janet
rated it:
I so want to play online in the Omnitopedia worlds. Sounds like a combination of WoW and Second Life and something bigger. What variety and what fun! I flew through this book, it sucked me right in and I was even okay with the ending. Can't wait for #2.
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Mar 04, 2011
Haven't gotten too far with this, but it is interesting, more so than I would have thought. It is set in the game playing universe, very much like Dungeons & Dragons, which is not part of my interests, but I love this author's work.
Aug 26, 2011
Kaia
rated it:
Whhhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyy is the sequel "postponed indefinitely"??? It was supposed to be out already! And now I have no idea what happened or if it's ever going to come out! Whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
Sob.
Sob.
Feb 13, 2011
Alaina
rated it:
I just keep stumbling across books with sentient computers! This was very entertaining. Four stars instead of five because I felt like the good guys and bad guys were way too black and white. Still, sometimes it's nice to read about an impossibly utopian workplace.
Feb 04, 2012
Riven ♪d(-.-)b♪
rated it:
For the record I did not actually finish or even read half of this book. I just think Omnitopia Dawn is a really fun word to say and I FUCKING WANT THE GAME TO HAPPEN. That is all.
Sep 03, 2011
Otak
rated it:
ok read, a bit naive view of the gaming world, black and white characters etc.can't call it challenging, but was ok to listen to while painting the bedroom which is what i needed it for ;)
