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Double Jump
Jeremy Chin is walking home from school. The sky looks strangely clear—there’s no smog. Only a menacing blimp with black dragon wings, dumping out a glimmering dust. Everything it falls on—the skyscrapers, the trees, and yes, even the people—melts away.
And so begins Jeremy’s quest for survival.
When he wakes up in a strange hospital, the world Jeremy has known for 17 years is gone. He has landed in the lattice, a collective of remnant world fragments and their survivors. But Jeremy has survived the loss of one world only to join a war in another. As he and his newfound companions travel the lattice, Jeremy searches for answers about the Engine, a force that seems to control everything but no one really understands. It's a steep learning curve, as the crew he is traveling with is drawn into battle with robotic ninjas and giant insectoids—the minions of a much greater enemy determined to rebuild the lattice, even if it means erasing everything and starting from scratch.
Amid their grinding struggle to survive, Jeremy discovers that the more he follows video game physics and logic, the better chance he has of survival. The revelation brings him to an important question: Why am I the only one who recognizes this?
At once a mind-gripping puzzle and an emphatic nod to video game culture, Double Jump will thrill gamers who will recognize archetype characters, leveling, and other gameplay elements as a backdrop for a motley crew of characters with surprising depth who band together to not only survive, but to save what remains of their worlds. Part action-adventure, part science fiction, and part mystery—even non-gamers won’t be able to stop wondering what happens to Jeremy and what holds the secret of the double jump.
And so begins Jeremy’s quest for survival.
When he wakes up in a strange hospital, the world Jeremy has known for 17 years is gone. He has landed in the lattice, a collective of remnant world fragments and their survivors. But Jeremy has survived the loss of one world only to join a war in another. As he and his newfound companions travel the lattice, Jeremy searches for answers about the Engine, a force that seems to control everything but no one really understands. It's a steep learning curve, as the crew he is traveling with is drawn into battle with robotic ninjas and giant insectoids—the minions of a much greater enemy determined to rebuild the lattice, even if it means erasing everything and starting from scratch.
Amid their grinding struggle to survive, Jeremy discovers that the more he follows video game physics and logic, the better chance he has of survival. The revelation brings him to an important question: Why am I the only one who recognizes this?
At once a mind-gripping puzzle and an emphatic nod to video game culture, Double Jump will thrill gamers who will recognize archetype characters, leveling, and other gameplay elements as a backdrop for a motley crew of characters with surprising depth who band together to not only survive, but to save what remains of their worlds. Part action-adventure, part science fiction, and part mystery—even non-gamers won’t be able to stop wondering what happens to Jeremy and what holds the secret of the double jump.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 10, 2015
Jeremy Chin didn’t notice anything odd about his world until the day it was destroyed by a sparkling dust dumped from an airship. He dives into a swimming pool, and blacks out. When he awakens in a hospital, Jeremy appears to be in a different world altogether. He’s quickly recruited by Steel Serpent, a genetically enhanced soldier with a penchant for hiding in cardboard boxes, and Xartus, a snarky white mage (healer.)
In between deadly encounters, Jeremy learns that he is now in a place called the Lattice which was cobbled together from other destroyed worlds and which seems to run on video game logic. As he gains other allies and develops strange new powers, Jeremy slowly begins to grasp what the enemy who destroyed his world is up to. Can he learn the secret of the double jump before it’s too late?
This is indeed a tribute to a certain generation of video games, and many young adults will be able to tell who and what the various characters were inspired by. The “world inspired by mashing together other fictional worlds” setting is one I’ve seen before (In this particular case, most recently in Wreck-It Ralph) , but it’s fairly well-thought-out here.
Jeremy is very much “the Chosen One”; events (and possibly the universe) revolve around him, he manifests new awesome powers as the plot demands, and he seems to break the local rules of physics. Mind, this is a fairly common thing in video games, as the story points out. He also seems to be remarkably unaffected emotionally by the destruction of his world. Admittedly, the non-stop action doesn’t give him much time to think about that, and there are flashbacks that partially explain his numbness, but I hope that the inevitable sequel will have him dealing with the aftermath more fully.
The flashbacks are perhaps the most innovative aspect of the book; Jeremy’s memories are not internally consistent, something he realizes towards the end of the story. Indeed, they suggest that the events are not necessarily taking place in “reality” in the physical sense. I should mention for those who are easily triggered that suicide is a part of the story.
One aspect of the Lattice that may be problematic for some readers is the “Nons.” There are less than ten thousand freewilled beings in the universe; the rest are automatons that blindly repeat actions and bestow quests. The “heroes” have long since learned not to care about Nons since the quests are often dangerous and after a while the rewards are not worth it. Jeremy has not learned this lesson yet, and does help out a few Nons…who know his name. Hmm….
The female characters are depicted as competent, but there are some digs at the impractical costumes foisted on them in video games. One, Min, is engaged in intensive study of the “Engine” (the rules that drive the Lattice) in an effort to overcome the embarrassing nature of her powers.
The suicide and some rough language may make this book unsuitable for younger or more sensitive readers; otherwise it should be okay for junior high on up. (A scene involving Min would boost the rating to an “R” if it were visual.)
I am pleased to say that though this book was self-published, it looks good and has no memorable typos. Recommended for video game fans and former video game fans.
In between deadly encounters, Jeremy learns that he is now in a place called the Lattice which was cobbled together from other destroyed worlds and which seems to run on video game logic. As he gains other allies and develops strange new powers, Jeremy slowly begins to grasp what the enemy who destroyed his world is up to. Can he learn the secret of the double jump before it’s too late?
This is indeed a tribute to a certain generation of video games, and many young adults will be able to tell who and what the various characters were inspired by. The “world inspired by mashing together other fictional worlds” setting is one I’ve seen before (In this particular case, most recently in Wreck-It Ralph) , but it’s fairly well-thought-out here.
Jeremy is very much “the Chosen One”; events (and possibly the universe) revolve around him, he manifests new awesome powers as the plot demands, and he seems to break the local rules of physics. Mind, this is a fairly common thing in video games, as the story points out. He also seems to be remarkably unaffected emotionally by the destruction of his world. Admittedly, the non-stop action doesn’t give him much time to think about that, and there are flashbacks that partially explain his numbness, but I hope that the inevitable sequel will have him dealing with the aftermath more fully.
The flashbacks are perhaps the most innovative aspect of the book; Jeremy’s memories are not internally consistent, something he realizes towards the end of the story. Indeed, they suggest that the events are not necessarily taking place in “reality” in the physical sense. I should mention for those who are easily triggered that suicide is a part of the story.
One aspect of the Lattice that may be problematic for some readers is the “Nons.” There are less than ten thousand freewilled beings in the universe; the rest are automatons that blindly repeat actions and bestow quests. The “heroes” have long since learned not to care about Nons since the quests are often dangerous and after a while the rewards are not worth it. Jeremy has not learned this lesson yet, and does help out a few Nons…who know his name. Hmm….
The female characters are depicted as competent, but there are some digs at the impractical costumes foisted on them in video games. One, Min, is engaged in intensive study of the “Engine” (the rules that drive the Lattice) in an effort to overcome the embarrassing nature of her powers.
The suicide and some rough language may make this book unsuitable for younger or more sensitive readers; otherwise it should be okay for junior high on up. (A scene involving Min would boost the rating to an “R” if it were visual.)
I am pleased to say that though this book was self-published, it looks good and has no memorable typos. Recommended for video game fans and former video game fans.
November 18, 2013
Full disclosure: the author is related to me.
However, I only give 5 stars to books that either I would read again (and this is very few... There are too many books and too little time) or books for which I would love to read a sequel and find out more about the characters and the world of the book, and this one meets both those criteria.
The main character, Jeremy Chin, has his world disintegrated by sparkling dust and he's the only survivor--but he wakes up in a new world called the lattice, which has characters that resemble those in video games he played back on earth. This makes him useful to the crew he joins as they try to discover who is trying to destroy the lattice, and Jeremy realizes he survived from one world only to enter a war in another. Each chapter begins with a flashback to Jeremy's former life on earth and so the reader gets to follow the mystery of both his past and present lives.
I am by no means a die hard gamer, but as someone who played through the original Super Mario Bros. on NES with no manual (Ours just didn't come with one), reading Double Jump reminded me of that feeling of never knowing what was going to happen in the next level or the next world, with the excitement of discovery. I probably only caught half the video game references in the book, but an experienced gamer would find lots of inside jokes.
I can't wait to find out what happens in book 2. Double Jump definitely stands on its own but there are questions unanswered that you are left wondering.
However, I only give 5 stars to books that either I would read again (and this is very few... There are too many books and too little time) or books for which I would love to read a sequel and find out more about the characters and the world of the book, and this one meets both those criteria.
The main character, Jeremy Chin, has his world disintegrated by sparkling dust and he's the only survivor--but he wakes up in a new world called the lattice, which has characters that resemble those in video games he played back on earth. This makes him useful to the crew he joins as they try to discover who is trying to destroy the lattice, and Jeremy realizes he survived from one world only to enter a war in another. Each chapter begins with a flashback to Jeremy's former life on earth and so the reader gets to follow the mystery of both his past and present lives.
I am by no means a die hard gamer, but as someone who played through the original Super Mario Bros. on NES with no manual (Ours just didn't come with one), reading Double Jump reminded me of that feeling of never knowing what was going to happen in the next level or the next world, with the excitement of discovery. I probably only caught half the video game references in the book, but an experienced gamer would find lots of inside jokes.
I can't wait to find out what happens in book 2. Double Jump definitely stands on its own but there are questions unanswered that you are left wondering.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews