Author: Jason Segel / Kirsten Miller Publisher: Delacorte Press Pages: 355 Genre: YA Sci-fi Publication: 31st October 2017

If you already don’t know, I LOVE Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. That book was written for an American-80s-baby version of me, just because I didn’t know most of the pop culture references. Otherwise, I’m a sucker for it!! And being a gamer, a geek at heart, and a bookworm, I adore when all these things are combined. So I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to read Otherworld by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller since it’s advertised to be perfect for fans o Ready Player One. At first, I was eager to read a book similar to RPO without the 80s pop culture. Although, I was a bit scared that both books might be too similar, and Otherworld would end up as a cheap or failed attempt to be like RPO. After all, the book was partially written by a celebrity and some times those books only are published because they are assured money.

Now, after reading Otherworld, I can tell one thing for sure: It’s nothing like Ready Player One!! Yes, I’m a fan of Ernest Cline’s book, and I enjoyed Otherworld, but not as much though. And yes, both stories unravel around a virtual reality game, but other than that they are nothing alike. In RPO the characters have a passion for gaming as something that motivates them, that’s why they learn a lot about 80s pop culture and gaming history. While in Otherworld, the characters are gamers as well, but they don’t show that same passion and intention to save the game. Actually, the purpose of Otherworld is to save the real world, not the game.

Instead of comparing Otherworld with Ready Player One, I would quicker compare it with The Matrix. Both stories are still far from each other except the concept of people living in an imagined world, being able to taste food and have other experiences – if you know what I mean *wink wink* – even though nothing is real, they fell like it is. There was also another crucial moment that made me instantly think about The Matrix and that I think it’s the more explicit one but is a spoiler, so you have to trust me here. Even though the players know that it’s just a game, it still can be so immersive that it’s easy to lose the sense of reality. But enough of comparisons and time to focus on the book.

Simon is the protagonist of this story, and he isn’t the typical geek, shy, and sweet boy, he’s actually quite problematic. He is bold, confident, rich, loyal, and not as attractive as you might think. Since he has such a laid back attitude, he often gets himself into trouble, and he doesn’t have any friends. Well, except for Kat. She is Simon’s best friend, and for some reason, their friendship isn’t as good as it used to be. She has pushed him away and started hanging out with some not-recommended-people. Between the stubbornness and the jealousy of losing the only person he really cares about, Simon tries everything to get closer to her again. And that’s when a strange accident happens. All of a sudden Kat is in a hospital bed with locked-in syndrome. Unable to speak or move, the Company (the company holder of the game Otherworld) offers an opportunity to change Kat’s life with the virtual reality game. Instead of her watching the world pass by, she can walk, talk, eat and be herself again even if it’s all fake. Quickly, Simon realises that nothing is as simple as the doctors are trying to pass on, and he will do everything to bring his best friend back.

A big part of this book is about the quest, the entire journey throughout the various places in Otherworld. All the events inside the game develop slowly to give room to world building. And every time Simon is not inside the game, the story picks up the passe giving the feeling that he is spending more time inside the game than in the real world. I usually don’t like when a story develops slowly and this was no exception. There were some parts where I felt nothing was happening, the story wasn’t evolving, and it was a bit boring. It also didn’t help how hard it was for me to immerse in the world of Otherworld.

Understanding everything that exists in the game wasn’t easy. I think the story went over the idea of a video game and started creating a fantasy world. At some point the “creatures” of Otherworld were more than pieces of code inside the game, they were “alive”, and their behaviour was similar to an AI which confused me even more. Was the game an AI itself instead? Or was it really just a game? And if so, why would the “creatures” act so strangely when it’s just a game? Possibly these questions might be a focal point on the second book (Otherearth). Either way, understanding the game became harder and harder as I progressed far in the book.

In terms of mystery, the story didn’t have much. Some of the plot points were fairly easy to predict, like the romance, the reason for the accident, and Kat’s locked-in syndrome. Those are just a few of the things that as soon as I read them, I knew what was going to happen and how the story would progress. There were still a couple of moments here and there that I didn’t quite guess, but it was pretty obvious they were part of the story for a reason. Despite that, the book was fun! In the end, what truly matters is the quest, the journey Simon has to take to try and save Kat. The mystery is only there as a compliment, as a reason that sets in motion all the events.

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