Young Robin Hargreaves is looking for something to occupy his time and spice up his life. Apparently by chance, whilst perusing the wares in a second-hand shop, he is introduced to Game of Aeons, a computer simulation.
In the game, he meets up with a young lady, Ellie, who takes him under her wing. Despite her youth, Ellie has risen to the ranks of a veteran in the game and as well as a loving heart, she has a wise head on her shoulders.
Robin soon discovers that like life itself, Games of Aeons is not all beer and skittles. As he becomes more and more involved and immersed in the game, it becomes increasingly real and at times frightening. But by the time he realizes this, it is too late to back out and there is too much at stake – not only in-game but also in what we commonly and mistakenly think of as the Real World.
If you like The Matrix, you might like Game of Aeons.
☆☆☆☆☆ "A fascinating idea; thought provoking; a great read."
Genres: psi-fi, soft sci-fi, young adult.
Some quotes
"Once you become thoroughly engrossed in the work, you'll never see this world in the same light again."
"There comes a point when you stop thinking of you playing the game, and you simply become a part of – and merge into – and become lost in the game."
"There really is more to this world than meets the casual or untutored eye."
"There are universal laws at work, even here. The Law of Attraction; the Law of Correspondence; and the Law of Karma. That is: like attracts like; as within, so without; and what goes around comes around."
"These technical impediments [... things like ignorance, impatience, unexamined assumptions, habit ...] get in the way of what would otherwise occur or develop quite naturally, such as wakefulness, awareness, inspiration and infallible intuition. Things that should be our birth right. This preliminary stage, then, we call learning how to learn."
"Then there was the not-knowing, itself. Human minds being the fallible instruments that they are, she couldn't help but fill in the gaps with horrific possibilities, the application of a thumbscrew being a case in point. They hadn't said a word about torture, and yet here she was already bracing herself for something that might never happen, and scaring herself silly for no good reason. So yes, the psychological torture had already begun, if not in reality then in her own mind."
"Red pill or blue pill? If only it were that simple. You've been watching the wrong movies."
Reviews
When do games become reality? Or is 'reality' a game?
Amazon.com, 22 April 2013
By Omar
☆☆☆☆☆
"A teenage boy, Robin, buys a second hand computer game from a rather strange shop with an even stranger proprietor. He installs the game, rushing through the signing-up process and finds he has been allocated a role-playing character at the lowest end of what appears to be a very nasty cyber society. Robin finds that in order to progress his status within the game his character has to perform very menial tasks and to deal with some not-so-nice characters amongst his fellow role players. It is not long before he gets beaten up quite badly in the game by one of these players and finds the next morning, in the real world, his body aches all over and he has a split lip! And so dawns the realisation that this perhaps is more than just a game.....
I found 'Game of Aeons' to be a very readable story that kept my attention and I read the book in one sitting! There is an enjoyable mix of humour and wisdom sprinkled throughout that will get the reader thinking about the human condition and the meaning of reality.
I highly recommend this book."
Thought provoking and enjoyable read
Amazon.co.uk, 8 May 2013
By Jethro
☆☆☆☆☆
A fascinating idea that a game could be a means of self development.
I wonder what level 2 would be like? The rate at which game technology is developing who knows what lies around the corner.
A book that stays with you
Amazon UK, 19 May 2013
by Monica Bilongame
☆☆☆☆☆
This is a great read - written on more than one level - and one that provokes a lot of thought as well as being a great story. If my kindle had pages I would call it a page-turner, but it doesn't... so I got RSI clicking the 'turn page' thingy to find out what happened next. Very worthwhile the buy.
Goodreads review
30 April 1013
By Iain
☆☆☆☆
"H.M. Forester's Game of Aeons is a good read, indeed – I zipped through in one sitting! The combination of topical themes (computer gaming, on line and offline identities) with perennial questions (what is sleep, what is dream, what is really being awake) keeps the story thought-provoking. And a heroine that it’s easy to become very fond of, just as the hero does!"
Game of Aeons is a short, 60,000 word novel in the genre of soft science fiction. Like the in-story game of the same name, the book is more about people rather than technology, so you don't need a degree in quantum physics to understand and enjoy it. Nor is it a shoot 'em up, so you don't need an interest in computer gaming.
Game of Aeons is now available for free download as an epub or mobi ebook from our web site.
Game of Aeons is now here at Goodreads. If you've read the book, please add it to your bookshelf and rate it.
If you want to try before you buy, you can read the first chapter of Game of Aeons here. Alternatively, you can download a preview in mobi/kindle format here. The preview contains the first 10% of the book.
• By Etienne de L'Amour ~ Google+