I don't usually read Sci-Fi books but I have to admit, MetaGame's plot is quite intriguing, not to mention how strong the novel starts. Give me a book with these two elements and I'd probably finish the book in one sitting-down - like I did with Sam Landstrom's.Just a side note, when you reach the end, think back on every scene and recognize how much effort is invested in each and every one of them - extrapolating man's current trend and society to that of the most likely future. That's brilliance right there.MetaGame gives us the cliche "life is a game" - but in this case, it's more than an old adage. Set in a futuristic world where the goal of life is to earn points, MetaGame is an exclusive, high-stakes, no-rules contest. Immortality is given to winners, while losers are doomed to aging and death. D_Light, a gifted player, is given a chance to play in the game. Bent on winning, he's willing to do everything, even kill. As the rule of the game, each player must surpass - and survive, each quest in order to reach the ultimate quest, and ultimately win the much coveted immortality prize.For D_Light, his battle starts good, hunting down a dangerous fugitive. But as it's sometimes the case with humans, your own neglect, ambition and ego can sometimes blindside you. The tables are turned and the protagonist finds himself the renegade.Amidst figuring out the truth behind MetaGame, D-Light must choose which to save - himself or the last piece of his humanity.First few pages and you're pulled into this alternate universe where Landstrom painstakingly but brilliantly created. With the unusual blending of futuristic elements and various political and cultural trends, already set it a level higher than your ordinary Sci-Fi book. The novel is a big mash-up of eclectic motifs - we have the world of gaming, globalization and the increasing dominance of corporations.The last point mentioned above is a tiny nod to what is currently happening in our society - Occupy Wall Street. I just mentioned that in order to stress how brilliant I think this book is.Sam Landstrom's MetaGame is a book created not only for the gamers or Sci-Fi readers out there. It's easily a book crafted, and very well at that, for all kinds of readers. Romance is even present in this masterpiece. This really isn't quite a 4, but I enjoyed it so much in spite of its problems, that I feel anything less does not do the book justice.Metagame is the second "gamer" or "game-world" book I have read. The first was "Ready Player One," which I thoroughly enjoyed. I thought "Metagame" was wild and imaginative. Having said that, I'm not a gamer, and my knowledge of current quest games is limited, so an experienced gamer's reaction might be quite different than mine. "Metagame" is a first effort by Sam Landstrom. Humanity, having suffered near extinction at the hands of a genetically modified virus, is saved by the "Oversoul." The Oversoul restores order and economy by turning life into a series of quests. Here is a world where work has been replaced with gaming and corporations and families have been replaced with houses (probably best described as large game teams). Everyone plays games. Even life is a game, a quest, in which a mistake can cost you your life. Gaming is the means of all production; even law enforcement is conducted as a game. Cops don't engage "demons" (criminals) directly. They send their "products" (avatars) to catch (or kill) them. One wins points like one does in any game, and if you win enough points, and reach a high enough level, you can attain immortality. Like with most games, there are no friendships, only alliances, and alliances last only as long as its members find them profitable. This is a world where loneliness would be too much to bear if its inhabitants only knew something other than loneliness. Life has no meaning, but the games do. Intimacy is a relic of the human past. Everyone is a hustler.Landstrom, a Microsoft tech writer, has a fertile imagination. He has built a crazy, imaginative world. I can't see how he can go back to writing technical manuals after creating this world of genetic and technical marvels. There is a lot going on here, and that is the one problem with the book. Landstrom takes on too much. It is difficult to build a world, develop detailed, believable characters, and tell a good story in 400 pages. But that is what this first time author attempts to do, and I think it is too much for him. The story is bit jumbled -- world building mixed with plot -- and the characters suffer as a result. I wasn't vested in their lives the way I needed to be. Unfortunately, almost nothing is revealed until the last 40 pages. I'm not much for those ubiquitous writer rules like "Show don't Tell" or "Don't use adjectives." I figure if you are good at using adjectives or at telling, then that is what you should do. Having said that, this story suffers from a little too much telling. Much of the book is devoted to explaining, and that is why the characters never fully develop and why nothing is revealed until the very end.Still, I enjoyed the story and can't wait to read Landstom's next effort. I hope he gets better with experience. He's definitely on my watch list.Shadow
What do You think about MetaGame (2000)?
It was ok-ish. Nothing special. Writing was good but the story itself was very much meh.
—harry
The world and idea behind the book is totally great but the story is only okay.
—tobylover2
awesome read, someone surely will make a popcorn blockbuster out of this
—bobbyjoe
