Virtual World

by Chris Westwood

When computer junkie Jack North downloads a pirated internet copy of Silicon Sphere, the ultimate in virtual reality, he suspects that there is more to the game than meets the eye--a virtual world so nightmarish that the only way out may be to give in. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Westwood, the son of a coal miner and a school teacher, decided on his writing career at age 11. Despite being Yorkshire born & bred, Westwood does live part of the time in East London. His first published writing was for the London music paper Record Mirror, where he worked as a staff reporter for three years.
His career mixes journalism and fiction.

Reviews

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am scared to death to ever play a virtual game again!!! this book was so messed up, but a big eye opener. Who knows if we will come to the technology used in this book? What if this does happen? whcih side would you choose? Is the "creater" a mad-man or genus? It is all how you think about it. I have the answers that if I could choose from where I am sitting, that I would choose. But I have no clue how this game really is. This book will keep you thinking for a while. but, it is a good thing to think about. Will the internet really come THAT far? If you like to second guess yourself, man, and everything we know today, this IS book for you.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a YA book and given the date of its publishing, I had originally read this waaaay back in middle school. That was roughly around 2 decades ago at this point.

Recently I had managed to pick up a copy again and gave it a solid read now being much older with a little bit better reading comprehension under my belt.

I have to say I still really enjoyed the book and the world(s) it built. As a current VR enthusiast as well as someone who has envisioned more immersive and encompassing virtual worlds becoming reality since around the time this has been published, it still left me yearning for the promises of Silicon Sphere as much as it did during my first read.

There are many points that the book felt a little too short, like some points could have been expanded on. A lot of threads, admittedly most are minor, left hanging that would have been nice to expand upon further. As others have mentioned already, there's a lot of technical references that really date the book and kind of take you out of the immersion into the story from the perspective of present day. Stuff like the use of old PowerMac's, DAT tapes and floppies, and a game taking up 'over thirteen megabytes' not to mention what seems to be inferred as your standard internet capabilities of the day (ie: no always on access, dial-up, etc.). Yet you contrast to the world of Silicon Sphere and the story arc surrounding that and its creator and there is just a stark difference in technical capability laid out that in present day feels even more pronounced than it would have back in 1996-97.

Definitely a recommended read for anyone tech inclined, even though one often has to suspend their disbelief at points throughout. The book is pretty inexpensive to come by these days if not just simply borrowed from many libraries. There's also an eBook copy that exists on OpenLibrary that can be borrowed which is how I initially started my second read-through. It's short enough that you can knock it out in a few hours straight.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It could have potentially been a great book. The writing is good, but the story didn't have a lot of structure. There was so much potential that wasn't taken advantage of. The story seemed to be just rushed and glanced over and of course since this book was written in 1996, the mention of VCR's and floppy disks certainly dates the book and is maybe a little distracting. I wouldn't recommend reading just because there are so many other books and movies about the same thing that goes a lot more in depth.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I accidentally grabbed this book because it was next to an author I was trying to get. It had too much swearing for a teen book. And I couldn't tell if the ending was really an ending or if there were sequels. I don't care if there are sequels or not, I don't want to read them.

[Asenath]

Thought provoking. This is the future- a world of Virtual Reality. But could you leave the real world behind and live in the virtual?

[Suzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok.

[Carolynn Markey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan, the writing was vague and I couldn't get a definite grasp of characters, hated that the main character kept changing right as we were about to discover something.