You can't escape the Gamescape
Sorry for the cheesy title, but I couldn't help myself. I just finished (and I mean just, like five minutes ago) Gamescape: Overworld by Emma Trevayne. This is the first I've ever read from Emma, and I have to say she literally blew my mind. Well, not literally. This is not Emma's first novel, but it is the first in what I hope will become a series because come on, you can't leave us hanging like that Emma. Coming out in September, I think it is a safe bet to say that this book could be huge. Like Hunger Games huge. Atleast that is what I'm hoping.
Gamescape: Overworld is about a 17 year old boy named Miguel who loves playing a virtual reality game named Chimera. This isn't just any game. Once you're hooked in you experience everything as if you were there. The air feels dry in the desert, the rain soaks your clothes and makes you feel cold. All the while you are back in some room completely safe and dry. Also everyone plays this game, and I mean everyone. Young, old, smart, not smart. Everyone plays Chimera, and not just because it's fun. In Miguel's world (earth in the distant or not-so-distant future) everything is dying. The rain is acidic, nothing can grow, the air is harmful to your lungs, the sun burns your skin. So as you advance through the levels of Chimera you can chose biomechanical enhances like plastic skin that isn't harmed by the sun, mechanical lungs that can handle the harsh air, and also more fun things like a claw arm and camera eyes.
But for Miguel it isn't just about playing the game and getting cool upgrades. He is dying. Born with a heart defect his only chance at survival is playing the game and winning a biomechanical heart. But the game taxes his heart beyond what it can handle, so Miguel is constantly in a tug-of-war between slowing down in the game to protect his heart and speeding through it to get a new one.
All of this changes when the Gamerunners (the creators) decide to do a beta test for a new version in the form of a worldwide competition. Here is where it gets a little like the Hunger Games, except you aren't forced to enter. The whole world watches as 100 teams of five players try to play through the levels of the new game. Whoever wins is supposed to get rewards beyond what they could ever imagine.
Do I have you sucked in yet?
I was hooked from the first chapter, and although this novel is a bit longer than most I finished it within a few days. Don't you just love when books suck you in like that? And the ending, oh my gosh, the ending. Emma takes you to a place you don't expect and you never would've guessed at, but it makes complete sense.
The characters are so well developed you can hear and see them in your head. Her prose is so compelling that when Miguel checks his heartbeat you feel it. And when bad things happen you cry with the characters. Emma has captured Miguel's voice in such a perfect way. None of the dialogue feels forced or out of place, and the narrative flows so smoothly it is nearly impossible to put the book down.
Now you may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. I have fallen in love with this book, and I can't say enough good things about it. But if you do think I'm exaggerating check the book out yourself. All I know is that I will excitedly be awaiting the next one. I need more of these characters and to find out what happens to them. Don't let me down Emma. Write the next book.
Please. Like pretty, pretty please. I'm not above begging here.
