Review: Epic by Conor Kostick

Epic (Epic #1) by Conor Kostick

Pulished: April 5, 2007

Publisher: Viking Juvenille

Hardcover, 384 pages

Generations ago, violence was banned on New Earth. Society is governed and conflicts are resolved in the arena of a fantasy computer game, Epic. 

Everyone plays. 

If you win, you have the chance to go to university, get more supplies for your community, and fulfill your dreams; if you lose, your life both in and out of the game is worth nothing.

When Erik, seeking revenge for the unjust treatment of his parents, dares to subvert the rules of Epic, he and his friends find themselves up against with the ultimate masters of the game: the Committee. If Erik and his friends win, they may have the key to destroying Epic's tyranny over New Earth. But if they lose . . . --GoodReads

Three and a Half Stars

Review

To begin with, this book is kinda old, slightly cheesy, and somewhat cliché, so you ask, “Why review/read it?” Well. It wasn’t exactly a literary masterpeice. Plot wise… it could be better. BUT! I simply cannot help but like it. Why? Well, the story begins with Erik, a boy in a poor out of the way farming town that struggles to get by. His character died fighting some dragon and has to make a new one to start his game over again. Good old Erik then decides to use all his attribute points on beauty, and picks the swashbuckler class which lacks in strength but makes up in je ne sais quoi, which probably means (use snooty voice here) “to be completely awesome.” 

In a world where the lives of the people depend on their status in Epic, this first rate idiot decides to waste all his attribute points on beauty..... Though actually, I would do the same. Not that I’m calling myself a first rate idiot or anything like that. Christened Cindella, she gets through the game by pure charisma. You gotta admit, thats pretty cool. Imagine walking through the mall, and that guy that mans the Aunty Annes pretzel stand gives you a free pretzel because you’ve (insert your best trait here). So yeah, I gotta respect that. It's one of the reasons I like this book.

Now as for the second thing, do you know that feeling you get when someone challenges you to something that they’re really good at (such as a video game or a sport, etc.)? They’re boasting and gloating about how good they are, and then you come in and WHAM! Royal straight flush. 193 kills. 8 touchdowns and counting. Y’know, that awesome feeling. This book has a large healthy dose of it, spread nicely throughout, which made me flip pages like there was large amounts of gold and the answers to the next math test hidden in the back cover.

Third, I love video games and anything that can pass for a video game. Hell, I’d still be playing the violin if I had a level gauge and a new fancier instrument every time I finished a song. Like, “Congratulations, your bowing skills leveled up! New bow available!” Or maybe if my teacher was a goomba and I could stomp on her for coins. Yes. YES. That would be amazing.

Yeah. So basically, this is a average book. To be frank, its childish, the characters are meh, the plot feels meh. It just happened to be in line with my personal preferences. Or maybe it’s because the story itself has a bit of je ne sais quoi(google it). Maybe because I got so used to reading crappy books *coughcontemporaryromancesuckscoughcoughcough* that this contrasted in a good way. Its a book that you should read if you got time, but not something you should put on the top or near the top of your reading list. 

Order Epic at: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD