At first, he’s a guy sitting and pushing buttons at his computer, trying to figure things out. But reading on, that clumsiness actually served a purpose, which was demonstrating the depths to which Nick gets invested in the game of Erebos. I didn’t really care what buttons Nick was pushing to get his on-screen character to perform certain actions. The storytelling was nothing special, except for the places where it seemed almost clumsy in its execution. The answer is more sinister than he could have guessed.Īt first, I wasn’t sure I’d actually end up enjoying this novel as much as I did. But when the orders go to far, he backs out, and is expelled from the game, and starts instead dedicating his efforts to finding out why the game is asking for all of these things, and what it’s all leading up to. Little things here and there, they aren’t a big problem. Or poison your teacher who has been making his disdain of the game known quite publically.Īt first, Nick sees no problems with his orders. Or checking that somebody else followed their orders. And by the way, want to go up levels and become stronger? Then do this favour for me, a favour which involves you doing something in the real world. Don’t mention your game name in the real world. Don’t mention your real name in the game. A video game with fantastic graphics, an amazing ability to react to player input, and a strange set of rules. Eventually he’s let in on the secret – a video game.

Or rather, not discussing, but hinting at them, making it clear that there’s something going on that Nick can’t be a part of. The story follows Nick, a London teen who starts to notice his friends acting secretively, discussing issues they won’t let him hear. But regardless, when I first read the description of Poznanski’s novel, I couldn’t resist giving it a read. Thoughts: I’m a sucker for books involving video games that are more than they first seem, I’ve discovered. This utterly convincing and suspenseful thriller originated in Germany, where it has become a runaway bestseller. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur. Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives.

Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.Ĭurious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately.

Summary: (Taken from GoodReads) An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.

Poznanski erebos