Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Questland by Carrie Vaughn Published by Mariner Books on June 22, 2021
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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It’s said that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and an eccentric billionaire has set out to prove it by building an island retreat that brings the fantastic to life. In an action-packed novel for fans of Ready Player One, Carrie Vaughn asks what happens when a bunch of tech geeks and fantasy nerds don’t realize the game they are now playing is for real?
I am a fan of this author, but I am not a gamer. Questland is a gamer fantasy with plenty of nods to different pantheons like Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings and many, many more. I am certain I missed several references because I am not familiar with them.
Our point of view is Addie Cox who is a college professor in literature. A company is creating a master game park on an island and things have gone wrong. Because of her history with one of the designers and gaming, she is hired to go there to try to fix things.
While I didn’t grasp the references, I loved having Addie who was like an expert guide. It was great to hear her thoughts but this was strenuous for her. There was a bit of not being able to trust anyone but at least the fixit team protected her. She still got pretty banged up.
This felt like a survival dystopia to me and I love that atmosphere. I liked getting to know the characters a bit but I had the most sense of Addie. She had her flaws but I liked her. I could certainly relate to her being exhausted, hungry and afraid at times. But there was also her wonder at the technology on the island bringing unicorns and dragons to life.
I had to start this a couple times but when I actually started it, I was engaged. I really enjoyed the story. If you have some gaming experience, I would think it would be even more fun.
About Carrie Vaughn
Carrie Vaughn is best known for her New York Times bestselling series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk radio show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. The fourteenth installment, Kitty Saves the World, was released in 2015. Her forthcoming novels include a near-Earth space opera, Martians Abroad, from Tor Books, and a post-apocalyptic murder mystery, Bannerless, from John Joseph Adams Books. She’s written several other contemporary fantasy and young adult novels, as well as upwards of 80 short stories. She’s a contributor to the Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin and a graduate of the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop.
An Air Force brat, she survived her nomadic childhood and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Summer
I was wondering if this would work for non gamers, and it sounds like it does. I love the idea and would try it if I had more time?
It’s a short or regular 304 pg book instead of the longer ones I often read. I really enjoyed it.
I’m not a gamer either but it sounds like Addie was a great character! Excellent review, Anne?
Characters and world-building are the foundations to a great read!
I’m curious to see if I’d catch the nods to games . Used to play a lot but been a long time.
I’d love to know that from someone who plays. I’ll have to go read the reviews on Goodreads. I haven’t done that, but especially wouldn’t until I have written my review.
I’m not a gamer either so the references would go over my head, too. Glad to hear some of it was explained and that you enjoyed the story!
I thought everything was cool and techy so I loved that. Addie was a great character, not perfect, so that made it easy to read.