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Insert Coin
Insert Coin harkens back to retro arcades, digital adventures, and pockets full of quarters on a sweaty Saturday night with a group of friends. Looking for stories that have high adventure and real consequences? Friends surviving, very real injuries, clever moments where the big boss is conquered through wit and ingenuity. The games may be anything – space oriented, sword-and-sorcery, sports, spies, and the stakes are high.
Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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January 5, 2026Second story- Space Knights at Aldo's Pizza by John Gorman has much in common with the first story. Instead of a made-up video game, the game is the arcade Joust. This story also accurately depicts arcade culture, and the dialogue between the boys made me feel like I was in third grade again. Since Gorman used a real video game, when the kids entered into Joust, I got the feeling it was like to imagine the entire world of a video game behind those pixels. Now, you don't need any imagination when playing a video game, but at least 50%, if not more, of the allure of old video games was the imagination you brought to it.
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First things first, I have a short story appearing in this anthology titled The Void Effect. I suspect it's not kosher to rate a book if you're in a part of it, even if it's only 10%, so I will avoid giving this a rating.
BUT! I just started reading the other stories, and I will update my observations as I read.
The first story is DewDee's Booty by KB Carlisle (which beyond the childish title... which does get explained using 80s/90s arcade high score naming culture) is about a group of boys competing in a pirate-themed arcade game contest, and the discovery of a secret level actually brings the kid into the video game. It captures the nostalgia of arcade culture and the age before the internet when secrets in video games were actual secrets spread by rumor. I enjoyed this first story, and it was a good start to the anthology.
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First things first, I have a short story appearing in this anthology titled The Void Effect. I suspect it's not kosher to rate a book if you're in a part of it, even if it's only 10%, so I will avoid giving this a rating.
BUT! I just started reading the other stories, and I will update my observations as I read.
The first story is DewDee's Booty by KB Carlisle (which beyond the childish title... which does get explained using 80s/90s arcade high score naming culture) is about a group of boys competing in a pirate-themed arcade game contest, and the discovery of a secret level actually brings the kid into the video game. It captures the nostalgia of arcade culture and the age before the internet when secrets in video games were actual secrets spread by rumor. I enjoyed this first story, and it was a good start to the anthology.
January 2, 2026
Retro Goodness!
Grab your Power Glove and go back to a simpler time. A time when best friends gathered together and saved the day, one pixel at a time!
Between these covers are tales of adventure with clever kids fighting against the odds and the Boss Battles, armed with their wits, their hearts, and maybe a Cheat Code or two.
Stand outs for me were KB Carlisle's hilariously titled "Dewdee's Booty", as well as the stories from Jesse James Fain, Malory, and Michael LaVoice!
Grab your Power Glove and go back to a simpler time. A time when best friends gathered together and saved the day, one pixel at a time!
Between these covers are tales of adventure with clever kids fighting against the odds and the Boss Battles, armed with their wits, their hearts, and maybe a Cheat Code or two.
Stand outs for me were KB Carlisle's hilariously titled "Dewdee's Booty", as well as the stories from Jesse James Fain, Malory, and Michael LaVoice!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews