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Questland
"Questland is a thrill ride . . . Richly imagined, action-packed, maximum fun." — Charles Yu, New York Times bestselling author of Interior Chinatown
YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A MAZE FULL OF TWISTY PASSAGES . . .
Literature professor Dr. Addie Cox is living a happy, if sheltered, life in her ivory tower when Harris Lang, the famously eccentric billionaire tech genius, offers her an unusual job. He wants her to guide a mercenary strike team sent to infiltrate his island retreat off the northwest coast of the United States. Addie is puzzled by her role on the mission until she understands what Lang has Insula Mirabilis, an isolated resort where tourists will one day pay big bucks for a convincing, high-tech-powered fantasy-world experience, complete with dragons, unicorns, and, yes, magic.
Unfortunately, one of the island's employees has gone rogue and activated an invisible force shield that has cut off all outside communication. A Coast Guard cutter attempting to pass through the shield has been destroyed. Suspicion rests on Dominic Brand, the project’s head designer—and Addie Cox's ex-boyfriend. Lang has tasked Addie and the mercenary team with taking back control of the island at any cost.
But Addie is wrestling demons of her own—and not the fantastical kind. Now, she must navigate the deadly traps of Insula Mirabilis as well as her own past trauma. And no d20, however lucky, can help Addie make this saving throw.
“Gamers rejoice! Carrie Vaughn has conjured up a fun and fast-paced story filled with elves, d20s, and Monty Python riffs.” — Monte Cook, ENnie Award-winning creator of the Numenera roleplaying game
YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A MAZE FULL OF TWISTY PASSAGES . . .
Literature professor Dr. Addie Cox is living a happy, if sheltered, life in her ivory tower when Harris Lang, the famously eccentric billionaire tech genius, offers her an unusual job. He wants her to guide a mercenary strike team sent to infiltrate his island retreat off the northwest coast of the United States. Addie is puzzled by her role on the mission until she understands what Lang has Insula Mirabilis, an isolated resort where tourists will one day pay big bucks for a convincing, high-tech-powered fantasy-world experience, complete with dragons, unicorns, and, yes, magic.
Unfortunately, one of the island's employees has gone rogue and activated an invisible force shield that has cut off all outside communication. A Coast Guard cutter attempting to pass through the shield has been destroyed. Suspicion rests on Dominic Brand, the project’s head designer—and Addie Cox's ex-boyfriend. Lang has tasked Addie and the mercenary team with taking back control of the island at any cost.
But Addie is wrestling demons of her own—and not the fantastical kind. Now, she must navigate the deadly traps of Insula Mirabilis as well as her own past trauma. And no d20, however lucky, can help Addie make this saving throw.
“Gamers rejoice! Carrie Vaughn has conjured up a fun and fast-paced story filled with elves, d20s, and Monty Python riffs.” — Monte Cook, ENnie Award-winning creator of the Numenera roleplaying game
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 2021
About the author
Carrie Vaughn
267 books4,420 followersCarrie Vaughn is the author more than twenty novels and over a hundred short stories. She's best known for her New York Times bestselling series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk radio advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. In 2018, she won the Philip K. Dick Award for Bannerless, a post-apocalyptic murder mystery. She's published over 20 novels and 100 short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. 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, where she collects hobbies.
Visit her at www.carrievaughn.com
For writing advice and essays, check out her Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carrievaughn
An Air Force brat, she survived her nomadic childhood and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado, where she collects hobbies.
Visit her at www.carrievaughn.com
For writing advice and essays, check out her Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carrievaughn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 385 reviews
July 6, 2021
Westworld meets Jurassic Park...
Unicorns. Dragons. Elves. These are a few of my favourite things. I love fantasy and literature and all those things rolled into one so Questland, about a literature professor sent on a quest to take back a fantasy island seemed like an actual dream.
It wasn't quite what I was expecting: Questland was neither a serious "what if" story exploring the ramifications of AI creatures and the boundaries of danger for tourists (I'm looking at you Jurassic Park) or a fun, lighthearted adventure. I'm not sure it knew exactly what it wanted to be and it got a bit muddled.
It handled gun-related PTSD of a main character in a sensitive way, which I liked, and I didn't dislike it overall. It just didn't wow me. I would recommend it to anyone who likes easter eggs in stories (there are tonnes of literature and gaming references) and anyone looking to explore a more lighthearted speculative fiction featuring AI.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.
Read more reviews on Velvet Opus
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Unicorns. Dragons. Elves. These are a few of my favourite things. I love fantasy and literature and all those things rolled into one so Questland, about a literature professor sent on a quest to take back a fantasy island seemed like an actual dream.
It wasn't quite what I was expecting: Questland was neither a serious "what if" story exploring the ramifications of AI creatures and the boundaries of danger for tourists (I'm looking at you Jurassic Park) or a fun, lighthearted adventure. I'm not sure it knew exactly what it wanted to be and it got a bit muddled.
It handled gun-related PTSD of a main character in a sensitive way, which I liked, and I didn't dislike it overall. It just didn't wow me. I would recommend it to anyone who likes easter eggs in stories (there are tonnes of literature and gaming references) and anyone looking to explore a more lighthearted speculative fiction featuring AI.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.
Read more reviews on Velvet Opus
Find us on Twitter | Instagram
January 15, 2021
Carrie Vaughns trek into LitRPG territory is a solid run even if it feels like a half-attempt to legitimize the sub-genre by giving it fairly extensive SF roots, a real-world base, and economic "reasons".
Of course, most of the LitRPGs I've read don't bother with any of that. They just go straight into the adventure and let us have all the *ding* level-ups we want, letting us revel in the adventure and learn the basic gaming rules as we go with easy-to-follow diagrams. :)
Vaughn's is more along the lines of Ready Player One, but with a more devoted eye to direct LoTR mythology and normal myths that aren't limited to '80s schwag. I LIKED that. I even liked the idea that a PHD in Literature got the leading role.
So what didn't I like? The plot. Maybe the first half was okay because it's standard journey stuff, but once we got into the evil corporation arrogance and the rats trying to steal all the company cheese, I either wanted it to go out with a big bang or defy my expectations. It did neither.
It wasn't bad, but it didn't wow me, either.
Of course, most of the LitRPGs I've read don't bother with any of that. They just go straight into the adventure and let us have all the *ding* level-ups we want, letting us revel in the adventure and learn the basic gaming rules as we go with easy-to-follow diagrams. :)
Vaughn's is more along the lines of Ready Player One, but with a more devoted eye to direct LoTR mythology and normal myths that aren't limited to '80s schwag. I LIKED that. I even liked the idea that a PHD in Literature got the leading role.
So what didn't I like? The plot. Maybe the first half was okay because it's standard journey stuff, but once we got into the evil corporation arrogance and the rats trying to steal all the company cheese, I either wanted it to go out with a big bang or defy my expectations. It did neither.
It wasn't bad, but it didn't wow me, either.
August 15, 2021
This book...
Prepare yourself for a spoiler-filled rant-o-rama. The TL;DR spoiler-free version of my review is this: The entire problem with this book is Addie is a classic example of that character type we all love: Too Stupid To Live.
And now let the rant-o-rama begin!!
Prepare yourself for a spoiler-filled rant-o-rama. The TL;DR spoiler-free version of my review is this: The entire problem with this book is Addie is a classic example of that character type we all love: Too Stupid To Live.
And now let the rant-o-rama begin!!
July 4, 2021
This is an old idea: real world crimes in a Disneyland-like environment based off of classical fantasy RPGs. I was hoping for an 2020s update on Dream Park, but this one disappointed. The main issue was the point of view character, a woman who's so burdened by back-story that the author kind of forgets to give her a personality. An appreciation for fantasy gaming and literature tropes is not enough, and nor is PTSD from a school shooting or a past relationship with one of the antagonists.
August 7, 2021
This was a fun, fast read, but really not as good as I expected. It's something of a blend of Crichton's West World or Jurassic Park with Dream Park by Niven and Barnes. (As many of the other reviews have said, but true nonetheless.) There are many genre pop culture nods, some subtle and some not so, and a lot of love for fantasy gamers, with good dialog and many clever quips. On the other hand, the technological developments seemed uneven to me, and none of the characters struck me as sympathetic or particularly likable.
Shelved as 'wishlist'
June 27, 2021How am I only hearing about this now??? This sounds like READY PLAYER ONE!
#NEED
#NEED
April 6, 2022
Our narrator is a college professor in literature who is called in to help a team penetrating an island where a magical theme park is being built with futuristic tech, and which is cut off from the world.
Despite being the survivor of a shooting with PTSD.
In part because of the literary elements, but chiefly because one of the major employees involved knew her once.
They do a lot of trudging on the island, with our narrator proving her worth by getting past a sphinx (excellent realism, the age-old and so obvious riddle), and into the problems of the islands.
It involves inscriptions, rings, a kidnapping practiced for, three kingdoms and the employees in each, a squirrel that is only a squirrel after they are already paranoid, questions about plumbing, a wardrobe that leads to a different place, and more.
Despite being the survivor of a shooting with PTSD.
In part because of the literary elements, but chiefly because one of the major employees involved knew her once.
They do a lot of trudging on the island, with our narrator proving her worth by getting past a sphinx (excellent realism, the age-old and so obvious riddle), and into the problems of the islands.
It involves inscriptions, rings, a kidnapping practiced for, three kingdoms and the employees in each, a squirrel that is only a squirrel after they are already paranoid, questions about plumbing, a wardrobe that leads to a different place, and more.
July 8, 2021
This book had me internally screaming and eye rolling constantly. Now, let me be honest, I didn't have high expectations. A Jurassic Park for fans of Tolkien, Narnia, and D&D seemed difficult to pull off and turns out, it is.
So yeah, I didn't like it. At all, turns out. I wanted it to be a fun, cozy read, but Questland was too much of what it wanted to be.
I'll spoiler tag what annoyed me because I'm aware this is just me being annoyed. I see many reviews liked this book and I may have had weird expectations on it, I don't know. So take my rating with a grain of salt and go read other reviews.
So yeah, I didn't like it. At all, turns out. I wanted it to be a fun, cozy read, but Questland was too much of what it wanted to be.
I'll spoiler tag what annoyed me because I'm aware this is just me being annoyed. I see many reviews liked this book and I may have had weird expectations on it, I don't know. So take my rating with a grain of salt and go read other reviews.
January 4, 2021
Tech meets fantasy when a billionaire tech genius creates an island where technology is indistinguishable from magic. It looks like a dream come true, except his team starts a mutiny and he thinks only Addie Cox can help him get his island back.
I was really excited to read this book. I admit I absolutely love fantasy worlds like Narnia and Middle Earth. Did this story live up to my expectation? No, not really to be honest. Let me explain why:
First, I want to point out that it took me really long to get interested in the characters. I had trouble keeping them apart for the first 80 pages, and the story didn't make me feel like I wanted to get to know them. Also, I think Addie was just not that likable to me. I wanted to like her, but just couldn't. Also, the character-building for Dominic was just not enough
The first few problems the team ran into after arriving on the island, moved way too fast for me. After 150 pages the story started moving a bit slower, but that was not for long because the last 50 pages moved really fast again. Just too fast for my liking. I did not have the time to really get invested in what was happening in the story because before I knew it, the moment was gone.
What I obviously loved were all the tropes from fandoms that I knew, that got mentioned. But at the same time, it felt like so many things I already knew, that I missed some original elements. Maybe if a few original elements had been put on the island, I would have liked it more.
It also felt like the same thing just happened over and over again. Addie got herself in trouble and she had to be saved. Only the end was different, but to me, that came out of nowhere and it should have had more of a buildup.
I was really excited to read this book. I admit I absolutely love fantasy worlds like Narnia and Middle Earth. Did this story live up to my expectation? No, not really to be honest. Let me explain why:
First, I want to point out that it took me really long to get interested in the characters. I had trouble keeping them apart for the first 80 pages, and the story didn't make me feel like I wanted to get to know them. Also, I think Addie was just not that likable to me. I wanted to like her, but just couldn't. Also, the character-building for Dominic was just not enough
The first few problems the team ran into after arriving on the island, moved way too fast for me. After 150 pages the story started moving a bit slower, but that was not for long because the last 50 pages moved really fast again. Just too fast for my liking. I did not have the time to really get invested in what was happening in the story because before I knew it, the moment was gone.
What I obviously loved were all the tropes from fandoms that I knew, that got mentioned. But at the same time, it felt like so many things I already knew, that I missed some original elements. Maybe if a few original elements had been put on the island, I would have liked it more.
It also felt like the same thing just happened over and over again. Addie got herself in trouble and she had to be saved. Only the end was different, but to me, that came out of nowhere and it should have had more of a buildup.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2021
Tech billionaire, Lang, decides he wants to create a real-life quest a la Lord of the Rings or Narnia. This includes hyper realistic mechanical ‘beasts’ like dragons and such that a quester would come across while ‘playing the game’. It also includes having people live on the quest island full-time. People that will be 100% invested into the story and will live and breathe that quest lifestyle. But what happens when one of these full-timers wants to take over the island for themselves? This is basically what this story is about. A group of full-timers have taken over the island and aren’t letting anyone onto it. A boat of individuals sent to the island to find out what’s going on is killed when they hit into a shield that surrounds the island. This sparks a larger issue and now we have a group of mercenaries hired by Lang to get onto the island and take it back. In tow the mercenaries have Dr. Addie Cox, a literature professor who also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of a man on the island who may be one of the dissenters.
For not being a fantasy fan I really enjoyed the first part of the book, with it’s quests, puzzles, traps and even a tavern right out of any fantasy video game. What I didn’t like, through the entire part of the story, was Addie herself. If this story is a kind of love letter to the fantasy nerds out there, then Addie was an absolutely horrible representative. Yes, she was SUPER into the lifelike world that Lang created, for which I can’t blame her. But she is absolutely one of the dumbest characters I’ve ever read about. She is so caught up in the fake/real world around her that she completely disregards any and all possible dangers. Even knowing that people have died and been seriously hurt (herself included!!) she has zero issue just tramping off into the woods while everyone’s back is turned. She is CONSTANTLY putting the group she is with in danger and making their jobs that much harder because she can’t, figuratively, keep it in her pants. It really doesn’t look good on the fantast/LARPing culture and honestly, I feel like it instead 100% proves all the negative stereotypes correct.
The further the story goes the more far-fetched it gets. Right till the end when we get an almost mustache-twirling villain scenario. Just super OTT.
I decided to give this 3-stars because I really enjoyed the idea of the story more than the execution itself. Although, if you’re a big fantasy fan, you may enjoy this more than I did. Addie’s complete stupidity ruined most of this story for me.
Releases June 22, 2021
Received from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing via Netgalley
For not being a fantasy fan I really enjoyed the first part of the book, with it’s quests, puzzles, traps and even a tavern right out of any fantasy video game. What I didn’t like, through the entire part of the story, was Addie herself. If this story is a kind of love letter to the fantasy nerds out there, then Addie was an absolutely horrible representative. Yes, she was SUPER into the lifelike world that Lang created, for which I can’t blame her. But she is absolutely one of the dumbest characters I’ve ever read about. She is so caught up in the fake/real world around her that she completely disregards any and all possible dangers. Even knowing that people have died and been seriously hurt (herself included!!) she has zero issue just tramping off into the woods while everyone’s back is turned. She is CONSTANTLY putting the group she is with in danger and making their jobs that much harder because she can’t, figuratively, keep it in her pants. It really doesn’t look good on the fantast/LARPing culture and honestly, I feel like it instead 100% proves all the negative stereotypes correct.
The further the story goes the more far-fetched it gets. Right till the end when we get an almost mustache-twirling villain scenario. Just super OTT.
I decided to give this 3-stars because I really enjoyed the idea of the story more than the execution itself. Although, if you’re a big fantasy fan, you may enjoy this more than I did. Addie’s complete stupidity ruined most of this story for me.
Releases June 22, 2021
Received from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing via Netgalley
July 27, 2021
I saw several people commenting on the similarities to Ready Player One. I haven‘t read that book, only watched the movie. Mighty media tycoon, ok. But they do not delve into a digital world here. It‘s rather like the first Jurassic Park, with an actual entertainment park, with unicorns and dragons instead of dinosaurs. A real-life game of D&D. That‘s the plan, anyway, but contact to the island breaks off, a coast guard boat tries to go to the island and everybody on the boat is killed when they hit an energy shield surrounding it. An adventuring party is sent to investigate.
Straight forward, linear story telling. A bit like a dungeon crawler. One mystery and obstacle after another. Check, next one. Don’t forget to pick up all the loot, it might come in handy later. Our heroine is a nerd and knows her way through a dungeon crawler. She has a bunch of soldiers in tow. Or rather, they have her in tow and she helps them to find their way to the center of the island, for the final big reveal.
There’s a lot of Tolkien references. I suppose this qualifies as LitRPG… the writing is good, but I didn‘t find it terribly suspenseful or interesting. I guess I expected more adventure and thriller elements. This was fairly slow paced. Definitely something for lovers of epic fantasy, RPGs, Disney animals and seekers of unicorns and dragons. If you are looking for action-driven suspense and a touch of Michael Crichton, this isn‘t it. I wasn‘t exactly bored, but didn‘t feel a driving need to pick it up and find out the next mysterious thing. Somewhere in the middle I started a little skimming, wanting to get to the end already… which turned out to be pretty unsatisfying. There was a proper ending, no cliffhanger and the good guys won, as expected. The loose ends were tied, everything was explained. The End. Pretty meh.
I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
Straight forward, linear story telling. A bit like a dungeon crawler. One mystery and obstacle after another. Check, next one. Don’t forget to pick up all the loot, it might come in handy later. Our heroine is a nerd and knows her way through a dungeon crawler. She has a bunch of soldiers in tow. Or rather, they have her in tow and she helps them to find their way to the center of the island, for the final big reveal.
There’s a lot of Tolkien references. I suppose this qualifies as LitRPG… the writing is good, but I didn‘t find it terribly suspenseful or interesting. I guess I expected more adventure and thriller elements. This was fairly slow paced. Definitely something for lovers of epic fantasy, RPGs, Disney animals and seekers of unicorns and dragons. If you are looking for action-driven suspense and a touch of Michael Crichton, this isn‘t it. I wasn‘t exactly bored, but didn‘t feel a driving need to pick it up and find out the next mysterious thing. Somewhere in the middle I started a little skimming, wanting to get to the end already… which turned out to be pretty unsatisfying. There was a proper ending, no cliffhanger and the good guys won, as expected. The loose ends were tied, everything was explained. The End. Pretty meh.
I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
November 22, 2020
The setting for this novel is a kind of updated Dream Park - an immersive LARPing environment constructed with sufficiently advanced technology (an unspecified number of years into the future) that it's at least difficult to distinguish from magic. Except an energy barrier has gone up and isolated the island where Questland is being developed by a corporation headed by the usual billionaire narcissist, and said narcissist has hired a team to go in and get it back for him.
Cue the trope of "very civilian female expert is called in to consult on a matter that's under military or paramilitary jurisdiction and is super secret, and she has to deal with the militariness of it all". (Really, it's a trope, though usually the matter under investigation is first contact, in my previous experience.) In this case, there are a couple of extra layers: the expert, as the survivor of a school shooting where her boyfriend and her best friend were killed in front of her, suffers from PTSD and is not at all comfortable around the military; and her expertise is not only as a comparative-lit professor who is also deeply into the kind of nerdy pursuits that form the basis of Questworld, but as the ex-girlfriend of the prime suspect for the activator of the barrier: the head of the design team.
Ironically enough, the problems I had with this one were all about suspension of disbelief. I didn't believe in the conveniently uninhabited, idyllic island some distance off the west coast of the US. I didn't believe that the ex-boyfriend believed he would somehow be able to get legal ownership of it for the developers. I didn't believe that after five months of the island being isolated, no friends or relatives on the mainland had raised any kind of public fuss, or that the supplies were holding out so well, or that the people on the island weren't bothered by the isolation, or that the US government hadn't done more to get in there - especially since a ten-person Coast Guard crew had been killed trying to breach the barrier - or that nobody had leaked anything to the media. I didn't believe that a designer (not an engineer) could come up with the energy barrier and construct it, apparently without the help of the engineering team, in the first place, or that there would be enough power to sustain it. I didn't initially believe that three project managers, after five months, hadn't apparently made any progress in solving the problem of accessing the central system, but then I thought about project managers I've known and believed it after all. I didn't, however, believe in the central system, which none of the people who had set up the entire island seemed to really understand or be in control of. It was as if the true antagonist was a system that everyone had contributed to but nobody understood or controlled, except maybe the tech billionaire; and then I wondered if this was a callback to the first scene, and the lit prof's student going on about rampant capitalism.
So anything in the physical and technical setup I pretty much didn't believe. What I did believe was the emotional and personal setup, which is where the book was strong. The post-traumatic professor, the attitude of the military people (who clearly had respect for what she was dealing with and how she was dealing with it, even if she wasn't aware of that respect), the self-absorbed and condescending ex, the ineffectual project manager, the angry engineer who was in it for the sense of wonder - all of these I believed. There was a strong human story being told, but for me, it didn't quite come completely together, not only because of my struggles to suspend belief about the setup and the setting, but also in that it felt just a little bit undercooked. There were the elements of an even stronger, and indeed very powerful, story, but whether from inadequate on-page reflection, a lack of clarity, or not enough development, they didn't add up to as much as they might have.
I find this author's books a mixed bag. When she's good, she's amazing, but when she's a bit off her game - and, for me, this is one of those books - it's disappointing, because I know she's capable of more. There was a lot of potential here that I felt remained unrealized.
I received a review copy via Netgalley.
Cue the trope of "very civilian female expert is called in to consult on a matter that's under military or paramilitary jurisdiction and is super secret, and she has to deal with the militariness of it all". (Really, it's a trope, though usually the matter under investigation is first contact, in my previous experience.) In this case, there are a couple of extra layers: the expert, as the survivor of a school shooting where her boyfriend and her best friend were killed in front of her, suffers from PTSD and is not at all comfortable around the military; and her expertise is not only as a comparative-lit professor who is also deeply into the kind of nerdy pursuits that form the basis of Questworld, but as the ex-girlfriend of the prime suspect for the activator of the barrier: the head of the design team.
Ironically enough, the problems I had with this one were all about suspension of disbelief. I didn't believe in the conveniently uninhabited, idyllic island some distance off the west coast of the US. I didn't believe that the ex-boyfriend believed he would somehow be able to get legal ownership of it for the developers. I didn't believe that after five months of the island being isolated, no friends or relatives on the mainland had raised any kind of public fuss, or that the supplies were holding out so well, or that the people on the island weren't bothered by the isolation, or that the US government hadn't done more to get in there - especially since a ten-person Coast Guard crew had been killed trying to breach the barrier - or that nobody had leaked anything to the media. I didn't believe that a designer (not an engineer) could come up with the energy barrier and construct it, apparently without the help of the engineering team, in the first place, or that there would be enough power to sustain it. I didn't initially believe that three project managers, after five months, hadn't apparently made any progress in solving the problem of accessing the central system, but then I thought about project managers I've known and believed it after all. I didn't, however, believe in the central system, which none of the people who had set up the entire island seemed to really understand or be in control of. It was as if the true antagonist was a system that everyone had contributed to but nobody understood or controlled, except maybe the tech billionaire; and then I wondered if this was a callback to the first scene, and the lit prof's student going on about rampant capitalism.
So anything in the physical and technical setup I pretty much didn't believe. What I did believe was the emotional and personal setup, which is where the book was strong. The post-traumatic professor, the attitude of the military people (who clearly had respect for what she was dealing with and how she was dealing with it, even if she wasn't aware of that respect), the self-absorbed and condescending ex, the ineffectual project manager, the angry engineer who was in it for the sense of wonder - all of these I believed. There was a strong human story being told, but for me, it didn't quite come completely together, not only because of my struggles to suspend belief about the setup and the setting, but also in that it felt just a little bit undercooked. There were the elements of an even stronger, and indeed very powerful, story, but whether from inadequate on-page reflection, a lack of clarity, or not enough development, they didn't add up to as much as they might have.
I find this author's books a mixed bag. When she's good, she's amazing, but when she's a bit off her game - and, for me, this is one of those books - it's disappointing, because I know she's capable of more. There was a lot of potential here that I felt remained unrealized.
I received a review copy via Netgalley.
December 31, 2021
Basically if Neal Stephenson's books had a less technical baby with litrpg and/or portal fantasy.
The protagonist felt very true to life, her wonder and awe at the 'magic' of the island, her wry thoughts about her students and her ex, the way she experiences PTSD.
It's a book that's both a love letter to fandom (all fandom collectively, the love of genre and tropes and conventions) and a cautionary tale about technocrats and greed.
I'm glad that I let my trust of Carrie Vaughn's previous work get me over the 'I REALLY can't handle more litrpg' feeling I had when I first heard about the book. In some ways, yes, it's about being within a game, but ultimately that's not really what it's about. It's absolutely worth reading.
The protagonist felt very true to life, her wonder and awe at the 'magic' of the island, her wry thoughts about her students and her ex, the way she experiences PTSD.
It's a book that's both a love letter to fandom (all fandom collectively, the love of genre and tropes and conventions) and a cautionary tale about technocrats and greed.
I'm glad that I let my trust of Carrie Vaughn's previous work get me over the 'I REALLY can't handle more litrpg' feeling I had when I first heard about the book. In some ways, yes, it's about being within a game, but ultimately that's not really what it's about. It's absolutely worth reading.
September 25, 2021
ONE DOOR OPENS
We've read this stuff before.
An academic gets an irresistible offer, and is subsequently transported far beyond her comfort zone.
A bazillionaire gets his way, as the rich tend to do, spending an unreasonably large number of those bazillions building a fantasy island to his fantastic specifications.
I'm sure you can think of your own examples. Mine ranged from the poppiest of pop culture (Jurassic Park) to the undeservedly obscure (Kij Johnson's The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe), with stops along the way for Neal Stephenson's Fall and Walter Jon Williams' Dagmar series.
So, after all that prior art... what makes Questland worth picking up?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
*
GEEKING OUT
Meet mild-mannered Addie Cox—Professor Adrienne Cox, that is, toiling away in the English department of an unspecified university somewhere near the East Coast headquarters of Lang Analytics, bazillionaire Harris Lang's high-tech conglomerate. Lang recruits Cox for a real-live quest to "Insula Mirabilis," the island in the North Pacific that Lang purchased and turned into a... well, a theme park, the theme being live-action role playing—where the guests can stay in castles, venture out to slay dragons, and even ride on unicorns!
The problem is, the island has been cut off from the outside world by a mysterious and deadly purple energy shield. A Coast Guard ship sank, and its entire crew of ten was killed, just trying to get inside. But Lang says he has a way through... and he needs Addie to go there and use her intimate knowledge of the sources for Lang's fantasies to get to the center of the island, disable that shield, and return Insula Mirabilis to Lang's control.
Of course Professor Cox will have backup... four mercenaries, hired by Lang, who may not know an elf from an orc, but they know how to handle their weaponry.
Who could refuse? Although tabletop adventuring is much more Addie's style, she's soon on a ship heading toward the island:
*
TRIGGER HAPPY
Of course, not everything can be unicorns, mead, and mystic runes... Addie's personal history includes a trauma that makes it very difficult for her to accept the authority or even the assistance of gun-toting mercs. This conflict between what Lang wants and what Professor Cox is willing to accept continues throughout Questland, and if you, yourself, are triggered by reading about someone else's experiences with what we blandly call "school shootings," then perhaps this book is not for you. Or just maybe it's the best book for you—after all, Carrie Vaughn's a solid writer, with a light touch and ample empathy. Despite its deeper undercurrents, this was a light, fun read.
*
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
A strong finish and a strong, realistic protagonist raise Questland well above the level of the ordinary. I don't think Questland is a great novel, but it's a damned good one, the kind of epic quest you could recount over a tankard of mead at your next gaming session or Ren Faire without feeling even a little bit ashamed.
Up next... The Unfinished Land by Greg Bear, with its oddly similar beginning (the map in the frontispiece; the apparent nature of its quest)—although Bear's novel quite quickly goes in a very different direction...
We've read this stuff before.
An academic gets an irresistible offer, and is subsequently transported far beyond her comfort zone.
A bazillionaire gets his way, as the rich tend to do, spending an unreasonably large number of those bazillions building a fantasy island to his fantastic specifications.
I'm sure you can think of your own examples. Mine ranged from the poppiest of pop culture (Jurassic Park) to the undeservedly obscure (Kij Johnson's The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe), with stops along the way for Neal Stephenson's Fall and Walter Jon Williams' Dagmar series.
So, after all that prior art... what makes Questland worth picking up?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
*
GEEKING OUT
Meet mild-mannered Addie Cox—Professor Adrienne Cox, that is, toiling away in the English department of an unspecified university somewhere near the East Coast headquarters of Lang Analytics, bazillionaire Harris Lang's high-tech conglomerate. Lang recruits Cox for a real-live quest to "Insula Mirabilis," the island in the North Pacific that Lang purchased and turned into a... well, a theme park, the theme being live-action role playing—where the guests can stay in castles, venture out to slay dragons, and even ride on unicorns!
The problem is, the island has been cut off from the outside world by a mysterious and deadly purple energy shield. A Coast Guard ship sank, and its entire crew of ten was killed, just trying to get inside. But Lang says he has a way through... and he needs Addie to go there and use her intimate knowledge of the sources for Lang's fantasies to get to the center of the island, disable that shield, and return Insula Mirabilis to Lang's control.
Of course Professor Cox will have backup... four mercenaries, hired by Lang, who may not know an elf from an orc, but they know how to handle their weaponry.
Who could refuse? Although tabletop adventuring is much more Addie's style, she's soon on a ship heading toward the island:
I touched my hip, felt the hard shape of my lucky d20 in my pocket. Roll-saving throw against nausea...
—p.18
*
TRIGGER HAPPY
Of course, not everything can be unicorns, mead, and mystic runes... Addie's personal history includes a trauma that makes it very difficult for her to accept the authority or even the assistance of gun-toting mercs. This conflict between what Lang wants and what Professor Cox is willing to accept continues throughout Questland, and if you, yourself, are triggered by reading about someone else's experiences with what we blandly call "school shootings," then perhaps this book is not for you. Or just maybe it's the best book for you—after all, Carrie Vaughn's a solid writer, with a light touch and ample empathy. Despite its deeper undercurrents, this was a light, fun read.
I suddenly wondered what it would be like to play actual D&D with these guys. It would either be hilarious or terrible. Hilariously terrible. I should set that up.Professor Adrienne Cox manages to acknowledge her weaknesses—embrace them, even—without letting them overwhelm her. Addie prevails not in spite of, nor because of, but alongside her vulnerabilities.
—p.191
*
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
"I could really use a cup of tea, if you have some."
He shook his head. "Not really period for the setting. Sorry."
"Period police will be the undoing of us all," I muttered.
—p.117
A strong finish and a strong, realistic protagonist raise Questland well above the level of the ordinary. I don't think Questland is a great novel, but it's a damned good one, the kind of epic quest you could recount over a tankard of mead at your next gaming session or Ren Faire without feeling even a little bit ashamed.
I could imagine a few hard-core fans who would come here wanting a real—so to speak—taste of medieval fantasy questing and would forgo the hot bath. I did not.
—p.211
Up next... The Unfinished Land by Greg Bear, with its oddly similar beginning (the map in the frontispiece; the apparent nature of its quest)—although Bear's novel quite quickly goes in a very different direction...
July 3, 2021
3.5 stars.
To understand the basic premise of Questland, it’s helpful to refer back to Arthur C. Clarke’s famous statement, explicitly referred to in this book:
Questland is contemporary fiction, but with technology and fantasy as its underlying themes. In Questland, Professor Addie Cox, an expert in comparative literature with a focus on mythology and fantasy, is approached by tech billionaire Harris Lang with a proposition: Help him reclaim control of his top-secret project, which has been hijacked (supposedly) by his underlings.
The project is a fantasy island in the truest sense of the words: Think Jurassic Park, but instead of T-Rex and velociraptors, insert wizards, goblins, elves, and archers. Insula Mirabilis is conceived of as a fantasy vacation resort, where hardcore gamers and fantasy geeks can immerse themselves in a world in which magic appears to be real. Thanks, of course, to the sufficiently advanced technology to pull it all off.
But Insula Mirabilis seems to have cut off all access and communication with the outside world, and Lang wants it back. Addie is sent to infiltrate the island along with a small band of mercenaries. Addie’s gaming/fantasy brain immediately recognizes her role in all this — their group may have a Cleric and a Ranger, but she’s clearly the Bard.
Her unique knowledge and experience in fantasy worlds quickly becomes important, as the team encounters a Sphinx, a maze, and all sorts of dangerous riddles and traps. Worryingly, the fail-safes for the fantasy elements seem to be turned off — so yes, those arrows and stunners and spider claws can do real damage, and worse.
Addie also carries with her very significant baggage. As a teen, she survived a school shooting, but watched her two closest friends die. Fantasy worlds and gaming became a sort of refuge for Addie:
All I’d ever wanted to do was escape. No, that wasn’t true. All I wanted was for what happened to mean something. Stories meant something, and real life… didn’t.
The plotline of Questland follows Addie and her team’s journey across the island, from the realms of dwarves to the magical and beautiful realm of elves, with random weird encounters with animal villages, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, unicorns, wargs, and more. It’s all so real — but Addie knows it’s not.
My feelings on Questland are mixed. First, delight — who wouldn’t want to inhabit a real-feeling world that incorporates every fantasy element you could possibly desire? It sounds too good to be true, and of course, none of it really is true. For all the mead and antlers and fairy lights, there’s a backroom filled with computers and controllers and transmitters. It may feel like entering a fantasy world, but the ancient stone castle is 3D-printed.
Beyond the delight of the concept, I was often frustrated by the quest itself. The overarching plotline about the corporate takeover veers between being overly complicated and just not very rational. So one faction seizes control of the island — and then everyone there just stays there, wearing costumes and acting as if they live inside the fantasy? To what end, ultimately? If Addie’s team hadn’t arrived, how long would this have gone on?
Still, it’s fun to see Addie use her wits and her geek sensibilities to outsmart the traps and puzzles of the island, getting to be heroic while those around her want to view her as a damsel to be shielded. I wish Addie’s backstory had been even more fleshed out — the pieces dealing with her PTSD and the lingering trauma of her past are sensitively depicted and quite moving.
Never having played D&D or other fantasy-based games or RPGs myself, perhaps I wasn’t quite primed to be the perfect audience for Questland, although I did appreciate how seriously Addie and the island characters take Harry Potter, the Tolkien masterpieces, Narnia, Labyrinth, and more. These aren’t presented in the wink-wink pop culture cool way of many contemporary novels that want to show their characters’ geek cred — instead, in Questland, knowledge of modern fantasy epics is as foundational as a knowledge of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey.
Overall, I enjoyed Questland, but got bored at points with the quest elements. And yet, it’s never a bad thing to see geek culture front and center, being celebrated for all its complexity and wonder. As Addie explains:
And as the author says in the end notes:
If you’re a fan of magical worlds, and especially if you’ve grown up immersing yourself in games and movies that transport you into those worlds, do check out Questland.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
To understand the basic premise of Questland, it’s helpful to refer back to Arthur C. Clarke’s famous statement, explicitly referred to in this book:
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Questland is contemporary fiction, but with technology and fantasy as its underlying themes. In Questland, Professor Addie Cox, an expert in comparative literature with a focus on mythology and fantasy, is approached by tech billionaire Harris Lang with a proposition: Help him reclaim control of his top-secret project, which has been hijacked (supposedly) by his underlings.
The project is a fantasy island in the truest sense of the words: Think Jurassic Park, but instead of T-Rex and velociraptors, insert wizards, goblins, elves, and archers. Insula Mirabilis is conceived of as a fantasy vacation resort, where hardcore gamers and fantasy geeks can immerse themselves in a world in which magic appears to be real. Thanks, of course, to the sufficiently advanced technology to pull it all off.
But Insula Mirabilis seems to have cut off all access and communication with the outside world, and Lang wants it back. Addie is sent to infiltrate the island along with a small band of mercenaries. Addie’s gaming/fantasy brain immediately recognizes her role in all this — their group may have a Cleric and a Ranger, but she’s clearly the Bard.
Her unique knowledge and experience in fantasy worlds quickly becomes important, as the team encounters a Sphinx, a maze, and all sorts of dangerous riddles and traps. Worryingly, the fail-safes for the fantasy elements seem to be turned off — so yes, those arrows and stunners and spider claws can do real damage, and worse.
Addie also carries with her very significant baggage. As a teen, she survived a school shooting, but watched her two closest friends die. Fantasy worlds and gaming became a sort of refuge for Addie:
All I’d ever wanted to do was escape. No, that wasn’t true. All I wanted was for what happened to mean something. Stories meant something, and real life… didn’t.
The plotline of Questland follows Addie and her team’s journey across the island, from the realms of dwarves to the magical and beautiful realm of elves, with random weird encounters with animal villages, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, unicorns, wargs, and more. It’s all so real — but Addie knows it’s not.
My feelings on Questland are mixed. First, delight — who wouldn’t want to inhabit a real-feeling world that incorporates every fantasy element you could possibly desire? It sounds too good to be true, and of course, none of it really is true. For all the mead and antlers and fairy lights, there’s a backroom filled with computers and controllers and transmitters. It may feel like entering a fantasy world, but the ancient stone castle is 3D-printed.
Beyond the delight of the concept, I was often frustrated by the quest itself. The overarching plotline about the corporate takeover veers between being overly complicated and just not very rational. So one faction seizes control of the island — and then everyone there just stays there, wearing costumes and acting as if they live inside the fantasy? To what end, ultimately? If Addie’s team hadn’t arrived, how long would this have gone on?
Still, it’s fun to see Addie use her wits and her geek sensibilities to outsmart the traps and puzzles of the island, getting to be heroic while those around her want to view her as a damsel to be shielded. I wish Addie’s backstory had been even more fleshed out — the pieces dealing with her PTSD and the lingering trauma of her past are sensitively depicted and quite moving.
Never having played D&D or other fantasy-based games or RPGs myself, perhaps I wasn’t quite primed to be the perfect audience for Questland, although I did appreciate how seriously Addie and the island characters take Harry Potter, the Tolkien masterpieces, Narnia, Labyrinth, and more. These aren’t presented in the wink-wink pop culture cool way of many contemporary novels that want to show their characters’ geek cred — instead, in Questland, knowledge of modern fantasy epics is as foundational as a knowledge of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey.
Overall, I enjoyed Questland, but got bored at points with the quest elements. And yet, it’s never a bad thing to see geek culture front and center, being celebrated for all its complexity and wonder. As Addie explains:
I’m not sure any of them really understand — it’s not the stuff. It’s not the magic, the unicorns, the rings. All that’s just things. Fantasy is about what you can’t patent. Honor and heroism and… and… hope.
And as the author says in the end notes:
It’s not just about the sufficiently advanced technology that appears to make magic possible. It’s about a culture hungry for worlds and stories filled with magic. That embraces a sense of wonder instead of being suspicious of it.
If you’re a fan of magical worlds, and especially if you’ve grown up immersing yourself in games and movies that transport you into those worlds, do check out Questland.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
July 22, 2021
Questland is an okayish sci-fi/fantasy story. It mixes up elements of Jurassic Park, Westworld and Ready Player One (as so many other reviewers have said). I didn't find it compelling enough but it wasn't bad either.
July 26, 2021
DNF. The main character felt like a caricature, and the rest of the characters felt one-dimensional. Also the plot doesn't make a like of sense. I can't suspend my disbelief for this book.
April 17, 2023
Addie Cox is a literature professor tasked with entering the fantasy world created by a bunch of magic-loving engineers and scientists. The island was intended to be a tourist attraction and revenue source, but now it has an energy field around it and no one has gone in or out for months.
I've seen other reviews complaining that Addie's reactions to the fantasy creatures, vistas, and experiences were over the top, but I have to disagree. I also completely understand why so many geeks contentedly abandoned the outside world. If I could legit play with a dragon I would 100% betray my boss and forgo any paycheck. The descriptions of the immersive environment that sold me on this book. The plot is bare and doesn't make a lot of sense, the characters are thinly sketched, but by god I believe in the reaction to walking into a real Rivendell.
I've seen other reviews complaining that Addie's reactions to the fantasy creatures, vistas, and experiences were over the top, but I have to disagree. I also completely understand why so many geeks contentedly abandoned the outside world. If I could legit play with a dragon I would 100% betray my boss and forgo any paycheck. The descriptions of the immersive environment that sold me on this book. The plot is bare and doesn't make a lot of sense, the characters are thinly sketched, but by god I believe in the reaction to walking into a real Rivendell.
July 18, 2021
Originally published at Reading Reality
If you’re a fan in the real world, it’s possible (again) to go to Hobbiton and visit a bit of the Shire. All you have to do is go to New Zealand, where they’ve turned the movie sets from the Lord of the Rings into a tourist attraction.
You may be able to see the sights, but you can’t actually insert yourself into the story except in your own head. You can eat a meal but you can’t spend the night. The immersion can only go so far.
But if that description makes your head spin with possibilities, you’re not alone. And that’s what the original project to build Insula Mirabilis was all about. Creating a place where well-heeled travelers could spend days or weeks not just observing a fantasy world but actually living it.
Complete with mythical creatures – like unicorns and wargs – running around and occasionally even running from each other. And there would be magic – at least in the Arthur C. Clarke sense of “any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from.”
All in the service of allowing people to live out their dreams of living in a fantasy world. At least for a little while.
But the problem with fantasy worlds is the same problem that exists with the real world. Humans do have a way of messing up even the best things – perhaps especially the best things – in ways that their designers never expected.
Or did they?
A rich tech wizard has created Insula Mirabilis to provide as many dreamers and geeks and nerds and LARPers and members of SCA as possible a place to live their dreams by paying him big bucks for the privilege. But the real purpose is for his crack engineering teams to rise to greater and greater inventive heights, providing him with lots of patents and trademarks and even more ways to make even more money.
But it’s all gone wrong. Or at least it looks that way. The island has cut itself off from the rest of the world with some kind of forcefield. Nothing going out – not even telecommunication – and nothing and no one going in, something that the Coast Guard has discovered to their loss.
Harris Lang, that rich tech wizard, has put together a team to sneak into his island and get it back for him. The team consists of four mercenaries and one very much out of her depth literature professor.
But Addie Cox has all the tools they need to figure out what went wrong and why. She’s an expert on the original sources that form the backbone of epic fantasy. She’s an avid player of D&D and a member of SCA.
Addie’s geek credentials aren’t the only thing she has going for her – and they’re not the only thing that Harris Lang is counting on, either. Because he’s planned much better than that. Addie is his ace in the hole, because Lang is pretty certain that the engineer who has gone rogue on HIS island is Addie’s ex-boyfriend.
And that the man will be unable to resist trying to impress Addie in the hopes of getting her back.
Escape Rating A-: This story feels like it exists on two levels. On the surface, there’s, well, the surface. Which is an adventure tale about exploring the island resort in order to figure out what’s gone wrong.
And on the other level, the story is one gigantic in-joke. If you love epic fantasy and role-playing games and everything that goes along with them, you’ll get the joke and enjoy the story. If you don’t, I’m not sure whether the story is strong enough to carry the reader over. I can’t tell because this is a joke that I very definitely got, as epic fantasy has formed a pretty big share of my reading since I first picked up The Hobbit. When I was 8. In OMG 1965. That’s a long time in which to read a lot of fantasy.
Which means that I had a great time in Questland. But I felt like I got all the in-jokes, and understood all the references. And kept thinking up more as I went along.
This turned out to be a story where I kept discovering more and more books and movies that it reminded me of the longer I got into it. Like one or two on every page. A lot of people are going to say Ready Player One because they share that nostalgia factor, but that didn’t feel like the primary influence to me. For that to work, James Halliday would have to have been the founder of Innovative Online Industries. In other words, the inventing genius would also have to be kind of evil.
It’s a lot more like Westworld in that the resort, which is also the gamespace, is mostly a work of mechanical engineering rather than the genetic engineering of Jurassic Park. Although the two books that Questland made me think of way more than anything else are both rather obscure, Sherri Tepper’s first novel King’s Blood Four, where the game is the world is the game, and Jean Johnson’s The Tower, where the protagonists are playing a live action role-playing game as entertainment for others – with very high stakes.
Your reading mileage may definitely vary, and there are hints of plenty of other books, games and movies if you squint a bit.
But at the center of it all is Addie Cox. While the mercenary team that takes her to the island does all of the physical heavy lifting on the trip, Addie is the one carrying all of the emotional baggage. Not just because the rogue wizard at the heart of the maze is her ex, but because Addie is the survivor of a school shooting. (She’d fit right in with The Final Girl Support Group). Traveling with a bunch of mercenaries with guns is way outside what comfort zone Addie has left.
That the team makes it clear that they think she’s useless does not help any of her issues, because she agrees with that assessment. The way that she refers to her uselessness is one of many, many references to Dungeons and Dragons and lots of other geekery.
That the story is her journey, her putting all of her knowledge to use to not just figure out the puzzle but also suss out who the monster is at the heart of this maze helps Addie change her perception of herself from being an unskilled and useless “Bard” character to become someone skillful and important and necessary for the quest, no matter what part she seems to play.
So come to Questland for the nostalgic geekery, but stay and enjoy for the very human story.
If you’re a fan in the real world, it’s possible (again) to go to Hobbiton and visit a bit of the Shire. All you have to do is go to New Zealand, where they’ve turned the movie sets from the Lord of the Rings into a tourist attraction.
You may be able to see the sights, but you can’t actually insert yourself into the story except in your own head. You can eat a meal but you can’t spend the night. The immersion can only go so far.
But if that description makes your head spin with possibilities, you’re not alone. And that’s what the original project to build Insula Mirabilis was all about. Creating a place where well-heeled travelers could spend days or weeks not just observing a fantasy world but actually living it.
Complete with mythical creatures – like unicorns and wargs – running around and occasionally even running from each other. And there would be magic – at least in the Arthur C. Clarke sense of “any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from.”
All in the service of allowing people to live out their dreams of living in a fantasy world. At least for a little while.
But the problem with fantasy worlds is the same problem that exists with the real world. Humans do have a way of messing up even the best things – perhaps especially the best things – in ways that their designers never expected.
Or did they?
A rich tech wizard has created Insula Mirabilis to provide as many dreamers and geeks and nerds and LARPers and members of SCA as possible a place to live their dreams by paying him big bucks for the privilege. But the real purpose is for his crack engineering teams to rise to greater and greater inventive heights, providing him with lots of patents and trademarks and even more ways to make even more money.
But it’s all gone wrong. Or at least it looks that way. The island has cut itself off from the rest of the world with some kind of forcefield. Nothing going out – not even telecommunication – and nothing and no one going in, something that the Coast Guard has discovered to their loss.
Harris Lang, that rich tech wizard, has put together a team to sneak into his island and get it back for him. The team consists of four mercenaries and one very much out of her depth literature professor.
But Addie Cox has all the tools they need to figure out what went wrong and why. She’s an expert on the original sources that form the backbone of epic fantasy. She’s an avid player of D&D and a member of SCA.
Addie’s geek credentials aren’t the only thing she has going for her – and they’re not the only thing that Harris Lang is counting on, either. Because he’s planned much better than that. Addie is his ace in the hole, because Lang is pretty certain that the engineer who has gone rogue on HIS island is Addie’s ex-boyfriend.
And that the man will be unable to resist trying to impress Addie in the hopes of getting her back.
Escape Rating A-: This story feels like it exists on two levels. On the surface, there’s, well, the surface. Which is an adventure tale about exploring the island resort in order to figure out what’s gone wrong.
And on the other level, the story is one gigantic in-joke. If you love epic fantasy and role-playing games and everything that goes along with them, you’ll get the joke and enjoy the story. If you don’t, I’m not sure whether the story is strong enough to carry the reader over. I can’t tell because this is a joke that I very definitely got, as epic fantasy has formed a pretty big share of my reading since I first picked up The Hobbit. When I was 8. In OMG 1965. That’s a long time in which to read a lot of fantasy.
Which means that I had a great time in Questland. But I felt like I got all the in-jokes, and understood all the references. And kept thinking up more as I went along.
This turned out to be a story where I kept discovering more and more books and movies that it reminded me of the longer I got into it. Like one or two on every page. A lot of people are going to say Ready Player One because they share that nostalgia factor, but that didn’t feel like the primary influence to me. For that to work, James Halliday would have to have been the founder of Innovative Online Industries. In other words, the inventing genius would also have to be kind of evil.
It’s a lot more like Westworld in that the resort, which is also the gamespace, is mostly a work of mechanical engineering rather than the genetic engineering of Jurassic Park. Although the two books that Questland made me think of way more than anything else are both rather obscure, Sherri Tepper’s first novel King’s Blood Four, where the game is the world is the game, and Jean Johnson’s The Tower, where the protagonists are playing a live action role-playing game as entertainment for others – with very high stakes.
Your reading mileage may definitely vary, and there are hints of plenty of other books, games and movies if you squint a bit.
But at the center of it all is Addie Cox. While the mercenary team that takes her to the island does all of the physical heavy lifting on the trip, Addie is the one carrying all of the emotional baggage. Not just because the rogue wizard at the heart of the maze is her ex, but because Addie is the survivor of a school shooting. (She’d fit right in with The Final Girl Support Group). Traveling with a bunch of mercenaries with guns is way outside what comfort zone Addie has left.
That the team makes it clear that they think she’s useless does not help any of her issues, because she agrees with that assessment. The way that she refers to her uselessness is one of many, many references to Dungeons and Dragons and lots of other geekery.
That the story is her journey, her putting all of her knowledge to use to not just figure out the puzzle but also suss out who the monster is at the heart of this maze helps Addie change her perception of herself from being an unskilled and useless “Bard” character to become someone skillful and important and necessary for the quest, no matter what part she seems to play.
So come to Questland for the nostalgic geekery, but stay and enjoy for the very human story.
Read
June 5, 2021I should preface this by stating that I'm not a "gamer" so if I'm blunt many terms I simply didn't understands so I had to approach this simply as an adventure story. Our protagonist is Addie and she my fellow reader is most definitely a "gamer" who has been approached (bamboozled ? ) into helping check out an island where her ex Dominic is working. Things have gone drastically wrong with a new and deadly barrier surrounding the island and the people living there strangely out of touch for months. Addie, together with a small elite team arrive but there the fun and games begin or should I say the madness ?
Before choosing to read this I checked out other reviews and was surprised that so many don't like Addie. I actually had empathy for her as her life has been turned upside down and yet she's a fully functioning adult surviving an horrific past. She doesn't see herself as the damsel in distress but instead as someone who wants to guide others towards better things. Yes at times she's impulsive and totally entranced by this world opening up around her but she pushes through although admittedly I didn't agree with all her choices.
The idea of something straight out of Jurassic Park or Westworld but with a heavy fantasy feel was very entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition of the armed mercenaries accompanying Addie as they outplayed the medieval/fantasy elements in this world fuelled by crazy, good old fashioned greed and just sheer longing. The team see everything as a job, a mission but Addie and indeed the islanders see the rabbit hole they want to jump down. I cannot say there's romance here although Addie does allow herself to get swept away. I think my favourite character was Torres who if I had to choose a romantic interest for Addie would win hands down but the character that surprised me the most was Rucker the gung ho soldier who actually developed as this story progressed.
I did enjoy this book although I admit I wanted slightly more as it ended concerning the billionaire tech genius behind the island but I guess the quest to shut down the island was over so hey ho on to the next project for this author.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
Before choosing to read this I checked out other reviews and was surprised that so many don't like Addie. I actually had empathy for her as her life has been turned upside down and yet she's a fully functioning adult surviving an horrific past. She doesn't see herself as the damsel in distress but instead as someone who wants to guide others towards better things. Yes at times she's impulsive and totally entranced by this world opening up around her but she pushes through although admittedly I didn't agree with all her choices.
The idea of something straight out of Jurassic Park or Westworld but with a heavy fantasy feel was very entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition of the armed mercenaries accompanying Addie as they outplayed the medieval/fantasy elements in this world fuelled by crazy, good old fashioned greed and just sheer longing. The team see everything as a job, a mission but Addie and indeed the islanders see the rabbit hole they want to jump down. I cannot say there's romance here although Addie does allow herself to get swept away. I think my favourite character was Torres who if I had to choose a romantic interest for Addie would win hands down but the character that surprised me the most was Rucker the gung ho soldier who actually developed as this story progressed.
I did enjoy this book although I admit I wanted slightly more as it ended concerning the billionaire tech genius behind the island but I guess the quest to shut down the island was over so hey ho on to the next project for this author.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
June 15, 2021
This is a fun gamer/scifi‐fantasy adventure with a summer action movie feel! Another reviewer's description of this as "Jurassic Park meets Westworld" will give you a good feel from what's to come.
I really liked the main character, Professor Addie Cox. She's a lot nerdy and totally into gaming, scifi/fantasy and RPGs. I'm not a gamer, and though I felt a little lost when she would drop some cryptic gamer lingo, I felt a kinship with her scifi/fantasy book & movie depth of knowledge. She is an expert who has to help a team navigate a LARP wonderland filled with magical creatures in places filled with tricks and traps. Her ex is behind the hostile takeover of the island, so the team is going in to help figure out how to stop him.
The happenings at Insula Mirabilus are so much fun that I think this will be a great beach read for the summer! Recommended!
I really liked the main character, Professor Addie Cox. She's a lot nerdy and totally into gaming, scifi/fantasy and RPGs. I'm not a gamer, and though I felt a little lost when she would drop some cryptic gamer lingo, I felt a kinship with her scifi/fantasy book & movie depth of knowledge. She is an expert who has to help a team navigate a LARP wonderland filled with magical creatures in places filled with tricks and traps. Her ex is behind the hostile takeover of the island, so the team is going in to help figure out how to stop him.
The happenings at Insula Mirabilus are so much fun that I think this will be a great beach read for the summer! Recommended!
December 11, 2020
This book isn't exactly my cup of tea, but I'm a big fan of the author, and that makes all the difference. This is going to be like gold for its intended audience. It's Ready Player One with the benefit of a story and a competent author who has more to say than "remember this? What about THIS?" It's an adventure inside a world built on nostalgia, and I feel people who were let down by Ready Player Two will finally get what they were looking for here.
Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 18, 2021
This was a nothing book. I forgot I was reading it, while actually reading it.
I am giving it 1 star not because I hated it, but because of the instantaneous amnesia.
I am giving it 1 star not because I hated it, but because of the instantaneous amnesia.
October 28, 2021
DNF at p. 135 (46%). This is poorly constructed and patronizing to anyone who likes nerdy stuff.
July 19, 2022
My book club was going to read this book, but one of them got started and asked if we could switch books. I read it anyway…
My mistake.
This book is dissatisfying and I recommend not reading it. Thumbs down. It could have been really good given the premise, but instead it got stuck in a really crappy space between sci-fi and fantasy. The plot felt rushed in places and overwhelmed by technology in others, only to end with next to no closure. All the characters were MASSIVELY underdeveloped, leaving the impression that they were all stuck in some sort of manic, drug-induced dream. Maybe that was intentional, but I think this book would have fared much better had the author spent more time developing the characters and had made a decision between focusing either more on reality or on fantasy- not straddling the two. As it stood, we had a professor of literature with PTSD reading more like a scared teenager. Topping that off, the protagonist’s view on her surroundings failed to contextualize the faux fantasy world in a way that was appealing to the reader.
In a way, the first line of the story could be re-written to be the thesis of this book: “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism by demonstrating its repercussions in an immersive fantasy world controlled by warring factions of corrupt individuals.” Or, more simply, “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism.”
Ugh.
My mistake.
This book is dissatisfying and I recommend not reading it. Thumbs down. It could have been really good given the premise, but instead it got stuck in a really crappy space between sci-fi and fantasy. The plot felt rushed in places and overwhelmed by technology in others, only to end with next to no closure. All the characters were MASSIVELY underdeveloped, leaving the impression that they were all stuck in some sort of manic, drug-induced dream. Maybe that was intentional, but I think this book would have fared much better had the author spent more time developing the characters and had made a decision between focusing either more on reality or on fantasy- not straddling the two. As it stood, we had a professor of literature with PTSD reading more like a scared teenager. Topping that off, the protagonist’s view on her surroundings failed to contextualize the faux fantasy world in a way that was appealing to the reader.
In a way, the first line of the story could be re-written to be the thesis of this book: “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism by demonstrating its repercussions in an immersive fantasy world controlled by warring factions of corrupt individuals.” Or, more simply, “What I want to do is show the inherently destructive nature of the relentless pursuit of abstract consumerism.”
Ugh.
November 30, 2021
This is one of those books that's just fun to read. It's like a cross between Jurassic Park (because you are on an island that has been developed into a fun playland with fantastic creatures) and Lord of the Rings plus your other favorite fantasy movies too! You like flying monkeys? They are in here. You want elves and unicorns and dragons? It has those too!
And just like in Jurassic Park this is a park out of control. Things are not working right and so a team has been sent in to try and fix it. But you need to get to the control room in the castle but there are many deadly things in the way. And who can you trust?
I just loved the fast moving adventure in here but the thing I really loved was all the references to my favorite movies like Lord of the Rings and Labyrinth and even Harry Potter. I never knew what was going to happen next so it was a load of fun. The team members on the mission faced many various creatures and then the main character, the college professor Dr Addie Cox, had to face many of them on her own. And as a professor she is not used to dealing with these types of things at all. Its one thing to read about these situations in a book but a whole other thing to be actually facing these deadly creatures. And yes, they can actually kill you as someone has turned off all the fail-safes! And that dragon is breathing real fire too...
The climax is a real scorcher!
This one has kept me entertained throughout the story. I do enjoy these "crossover" fics even though technically they are not really crossovers at all. But just imagine how fantastic such a place would actually be!
And just like in Jurassic Park this is a park out of control. Things are not working right and so a team has been sent in to try and fix it. But you need to get to the control room in the castle but there are many deadly things in the way. And who can you trust?
I just loved the fast moving adventure in here but the thing I really loved was all the references to my favorite movies like Lord of the Rings and Labyrinth and even Harry Potter. I never knew what was going to happen next so it was a load of fun. The team members on the mission faced many various creatures and then the main character, the college professor Dr Addie Cox, had to face many of them on her own. And as a professor she is not used to dealing with these types of things at all. Its one thing to read about these situations in a book but a whole other thing to be actually facing these deadly creatures. And yes, they can actually kill you as someone has turned off all the fail-safes! And that dragon is breathing real fire too...
The climax is a real scorcher!
This one has kept me entertained throughout the story. I do enjoy these "crossover" fics even though technically they are not really crossovers at all. But just imagine how fantastic such a place would actually be!
June 29, 2021
Listen up, gamers. This one's for you. It's also for anyone who enjoyed “Ready Player One”, but I pre-date gamerhood enough to be reminded of Christopher Stasheff's charming book, “The Warlock In Spite of Himself”.
When sufficiently advanced technology actually CAN seem like magic, who's to say an eccentric gazillionaire won't buy and island and fill it with fantasy tropes from legend? It's just another form of “Fantasy Island”, but this one has claws.
However, the game developers who live on the island have different ideas than the big boss, and isolate the island with a real honest-to-goodness force field. Send in the Marines! Or in this case, a team of ex-military contractors and one professor who's an expert in myth and legends, plus being a rabid gamer. Oh, and she's the ex-girlfriend of one of the developers which is why she was chosen. Complications ensue.
Honestly, this is a fun romp through a fantasyland that rings the chimes on any number of famous legends, D&D games and fantasy books written in the past 100 years. It's a lot of fun, and you won't need your d20 die to join. Although it might be handy.
When sufficiently advanced technology actually CAN seem like magic, who's to say an eccentric gazillionaire won't buy and island and fill it with fantasy tropes from legend? It's just another form of “Fantasy Island”, but this one has claws.
However, the game developers who live on the island have different ideas than the big boss, and isolate the island with a real honest-to-goodness force field. Send in the Marines! Or in this case, a team of ex-military contractors and one professor who's an expert in myth and legends, plus being a rabid gamer. Oh, and she's the ex-girlfriend of one of the developers which is why she was chosen. Complications ensue.
Honestly, this is a fun romp through a fantasyland that rings the chimes on any number of famous legends, D&D games and fantasy books written in the past 100 years. It's a lot of fun, and you won't need your d20 die to join. Although it might be handy.
July 18, 2021
Four stars for this one. Not for any kind of literary merit. I just had so much fun reading it! There's a great tradition of fiction set in unbelievably cool theme parks, from Jurassic Park to Westworld to Fantasy Island. But this book brought lots of best-sellers to mind: another Crichton, Timeline. And even Ready Player One, if you can believe it. There was a quest, and lots of geek and pop culture references. You see where I'm going with this.
What you won't find are fleshed out characters, subtlety, or any kind of nuance. This is the literary equivalent of a popcorn movie. And sometimes, I'm really in the mood for that. Another day, I wouldn't be as enthusiastic, but on the day I read it, it was just the thing. I had a blast!
What you won't find are fleshed out characters, subtlety, or any kind of nuance. This is the literary equivalent of a popcorn movie. And sometimes, I'm really in the mood for that. Another day, I wouldn't be as enthusiastic, but on the day I read it, it was just the thing. I had a blast!
June 20, 2021
I don't think this a perfect book but i surely know it's a book that made me live in another world for some hours and made me think that I could kill to work on a project like Insula Mirabilis (that's the project manager in me to talk) or travel there (that's the geek in me to talk).
I know that I loved every moment of this story even when the plot drags a bit or when my rational mind is tut-tuting (project manager talking again).
I loved Addie: she's so frail and so strong at the same time. She's no kickass heroine but she kick asses with her know of how the game can work.
The characters are fleshed out and I love them. I even felt for Dom, a man self-centered but also one with a vision.
This is the perfect book if you grew up reading tons of sagas and playing D&D. Or if you were a young developer dreaming of developing the impossible.
The senior high tech person found the description of the relationships amongst the Lang employees quite realistic.
Technology can be magic and magic is a technology.
I travelled to Insula Mirabilis with Addie and her friend and I would be happy to meet them again and see what happened to the island.
I assume that there's a small hope.
The world building is fascinating and I like all the references to books, movies and games.
I strongly recommend this book if you ever played D&D or worked on a huge IT project. You played the game and you know what it means.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I know that I loved every moment of this story even when the plot drags a bit or when my rational mind is tut-tuting (project manager talking again).
I loved Addie: she's so frail and so strong at the same time. She's no kickass heroine but she kick asses with her know of how the game can work.
The characters are fleshed out and I love them. I even felt for Dom, a man self-centered but also one with a vision.
This is the perfect book if you grew up reading tons of sagas and playing D&D. Or if you were a young developer dreaming of developing the impossible.
The senior high tech person found the description of the relationships amongst the Lang employees quite realistic.
Technology can be magic and magic is a technology.
I travelled to Insula Mirabilis with Addie and her friend and I would be happy to meet them again and see what happened to the island.
I assume that there's a small hope.
The world building is fascinating and I like all the references to books, movies and games.
I strongly recommend this book if you ever played D&D or worked on a huge IT project. You played the game and you know what it means.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
December 31, 2021
Like other reviews have said, this is Jurassic Park but with unicorns! The premise and setting of the story is something I want to go visit - an island of unicorns, dragons, castles, and quests.
Professor Addie Cox is our main protagonist. She is invited by a tech guru/CEO to join some military types to invade a fantasy island and figure out who is trying to revolt and take over the island. Addie has PTSD from her past experience with a shooting, which gives her character real depth and this comes into play throughout the novel. She is in love with the world, which I totally get, but her decisions throughout the novel astound me. Let's go follow this machine, let's sneak off even in dangerous situations, etc. Up until the end i just kept smacking my head at her choices. She showed up at the end though and I was thankful for it.
The military trope team that goes with Addie are all fine characters, and I definitely understood their actions much better than Addie's. Addie's ex I wanted to punch, but I suppose that was intentional.
The world building was fine, but throughout I wanted more...suspense? Danger? Throughout the novel it was all "oooh" and "ahhh" and the danger really didn't come into play until the very end. You wonder why everyone is so intense when really nothing goes on until the last 40 pages. Everything is mechanical/software/biotech and I went in hoping it really was like Jurassic Park in that things were REAL. So that was a little disappointing. The themes are cropped together from multiple existing fantasy stories, games, and movies so if you are a nerd you will get a million references. Which I think was the general point of this book overall.
Don't let my critiques ward you off though, this was a fun little novel and I thought it worth a read (although maybe borrow it from your library). I would have loved to visit the fantasy island! And it does have some good action in there at the end and some back and forth about reality versus engineered fantasy.
Professor Addie Cox is our main protagonist. She is invited by a tech guru/CEO to join some military types to invade a fantasy island and figure out who is trying to revolt and take over the island. Addie has PTSD from her past experience with a shooting, which gives her character real depth and this comes into play throughout the novel. She is in love with the world, which I totally get, but her decisions throughout the novel astound me. Let's go follow this machine, let's sneak off even in dangerous situations, etc. Up until the end i just kept smacking my head at her choices. She showed up at the end though and I was thankful for it.
The military trope team that goes with Addie are all fine characters, and I definitely understood their actions much better than Addie's. Addie's ex I wanted to punch, but I suppose that was intentional.
The world building was fine, but throughout I wanted more...suspense? Danger? Throughout the novel it was all "oooh" and "ahhh" and the danger really didn't come into play until the very end. You wonder why everyone is so intense when really nothing goes on until the last 40 pages. Everything is mechanical/software/biotech and I went in hoping it really was like Jurassic Park in that things were REAL. So that was a little disappointing. The themes are cropped together from multiple existing fantasy stories, games, and movies so if you are a nerd you will get a million references. Which I think was the general point of this book overall.
Don't let my critiques ward you off though, this was a fun little novel and I thought it worth a read (although maybe borrow it from your library). I would have loved to visit the fantasy island! And it does have some good action in there at the end and some back and forth about reality versus engineered fantasy.
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