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The Strange - Myth of the Maker
Carter Morrison didn't want to kill his friends, or himself, but he had a good reason. It was them, or the end of all life on the planet. Their sacrifice saved the world. Not that anyone knew it.
Until Katherine Manners stumbled over a melting man in a computer room clutching a message of doom from another world.
Follow Carter Morrison, Catherine Manners, Elandine the Queen of Hazurrium, and Jason Cole - also known as the Betrayer - as they try to understand, survive, save, and in Jason's case, break free of the fictional worlds that insulate Earth from the dangers of the Strange, where world-eating monstrosities called planetovores lurk.
Until Katherine Manners stumbled over a melting man in a computer room clutching a message of doom from another world.
Follow Carter Morrison, Catherine Manners, Elandine the Queen of Hazurrium, and Jason Cole - also known as the Betrayer - as they try to understand, survive, save, and in Jason's case, break free of the fictional worlds that insulate Earth from the dangers of the Strange, where world-eating monstrosities called planetovores lurk.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2017
11 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Bruce R. Cordell
165 books123 followersBruce R. Cordell authored books for Dungeons & Dragons over the course of 4 editions (2nd Edition through 5th Edition D&D). These days, he’s a senior designer for Monte Cook Games, LLC designing Numenera , Gods of the Fall, and The Strange. Also a novel author, his credits include several titles set in the Forgotten Realms. Bruce’s tenth novel, Myth of the Maker, is just out from Angry Robot Books:
http://brucecordell.blogspot.com/2017...
http://brucecordell.blogspot.com/2017...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 5, 2017
The first thing that needs to be said about this book is that it's actually pretty good - once you get past the truly awful beginning. I think the beginning of any book is pretty hard to write, because you have to figure out how to introduce new characters and describe their situation, while keeping some sort of action going so it's not just paragraphs of exposition. Scifi and fantasy books are even harder, since you've got to fill the reader in on a whole new universe while not sounding like an encyclopedia entry.
This book totally screws it up. And I think the author knew it, which is why he blows through the first two chapters as fast as possible, while using lots of technobabble to try to disguise the fact that none of this makes sense. What's a bit frustrating is that chapter 5 is the main(ish) character waking up and trying to remember who he is and where he got there, which actually would have been a FAR better starting point. I strongly suspect that had the beginning been edited into flashbacks, it would have done a lot to hide how forced the setup is.
Moving on (for now - there's some parts of the beginning I feel the need to mock, but I'll hold off on that until the end), the rest of the book is actually pretty good. It's apparently based on a pen-and-paper RPG called The Strange, which I didn't realize when I picked it up at the library. The basic setup is that beyond Earth, there's another universe of dark matter/quantum network singularity/whatever which is called the Strange, which is inhabited by creatures who desperately want to get into out universe so they can eat it.
Normally, these creatures aren't able to touch our world, but building a quantum computer opens up a hole they can come through, which is exactly what happens. That hole can be plugged up again by building a virtual world, and there are apparently a massive number of virtual worlds within the Strange (though this book only deals with one of them, named Ardeyn, which is a fantasy type of world.) I imagine the RPG the book is based on goes into a lot more of that stuff, but for the book, that's basically all the real setup necessary.
I'll try to avoid getting bogged down in details. Basically, the book deals with two main problems, the first being preventing anyone else from building another quantum computer and opening up more holes, as well as protecting the fictional world of Ardeyn which acts as a buffer to protect Earth from the Strange.
As I said, once past the terrible first 35 pages, the book is pretty good. The setting is interesting, the characters are largely believable and the plot moves along nicely. I would say it's actually pretty deep for book based on a property. There are a few things that seem a bit unnecessary in the context of the book, such as a character reveals he's actually from another virtual world called Ruk. That's would probably be something interesting if you knew the game, but in the context of the book, it's kind of pointless (though I suppose if there are more books in the series, it could turn into a more important part of the plot.)
Okay, now to the promised mocking of the beginning of the book. Carter Morrison is a member of a university research team tasked with building the world's first quantum computer. Quantum computing would, of course, mean be a revolutionary breakthrough that would completely change the face of computers. They promise to be astonishingly power, something that will change cryptography, simulation and AI.
So, which particular application of quantum computing is this university spending millions of dollars of funding to research? Why, the world's most advanced VR version of Minecraft (er, sorry, "popular resource mining game".) Yeah, that's right, they built the world's first quantum computer so they could dig up redstone better. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when THAT project was proposed. They got the money somehow, though.
Ok, so they now have the world's fastest computer and the latest version of Minecraft, so they're ready to go. Leaving one person to monitor things, the other 5 put on their VR headsets and find themselves at their spawn location. They quickly discover that something is wrong - just outside their starting location is a massive chaotic void of evil, which is bad enough, but they can't take off their VR goggles, or even feel them. This, of course, is why you always have someone watching over you when you play a VR game, except the guy they left behind must have run out of the room like his ass was on fire the instant they logged in.
Thinking quickly, Carter uses the crafting table (which is now apparently some sort of Star Trek-like holodeck interface to call up a bunch of code and realizes technobabble technobabble technobabble. Realizing his friends' code has been corrupted by this evil, he quickly technobabble technobabble technobabble and prints a new copy of himself back on Earth. He finds the guy who was supposed to be watching them (apparently he had to go change some fuses) and bashes him over the head with a toolbox because reasons. Then he stabs the people logged into VR to death, including the original version of himself (though they're not really dead, as their mind/soul was sucked into the game.)
He knows that the evil creatures could use the link created by the quantum computer to invade Earth and destroy everything. Time of of the essence - they could make the jump at any second. So he sets the quantum computer to self destruct in 30 minutes. Okay, then.
So, how to protect Earth for half an hour? Carter remembers his failed MMORPG, Ardeyn, the Land of the Curse, and figures that might keep them busy for a while (everyone knows evil monsters can't resist World of Warcraft clones.)
And at this point, looking back at the beginning of the book as I write this, I notice something strange: he logs into the main Ardeyn server to grab the code and sees that there's "2000 or so" people playing the beta version of the game. Putting aside that that's a pretty impressive number of people to be playing the beta version of an indy game, it also raises the question of what game these people will be playing from now on, as the transfers control of the game from the previous server over to the quantum computer/Strange (where it'll keep running even after the quantum computer blows up.)
Will they continue playing the game afterwards, only the super duper version of it that it becomes after it becomes "real" in the Strange? Will they get sucked into the Strange as well? Or will they just lose the connection and that's that? I guess the last thing, as these people are never mentioned again, which seems like something of a lost opportunity. Oh well.
Anyway, having loaded his friend's consciousness into the game, he then joins them by uploading himself. And having slogged through the terrible, awful setup portion of the book, things get better.
This book totally screws it up. And I think the author knew it, which is why he blows through the first two chapters as fast as possible, while using lots of technobabble to try to disguise the fact that none of this makes sense. What's a bit frustrating is that chapter 5 is the main(ish) character waking up and trying to remember who he is and where he got there, which actually would have been a FAR better starting point. I strongly suspect that had the beginning been edited into flashbacks, it would have done a lot to hide how forced the setup is.
Moving on (for now - there's some parts of the beginning I feel the need to mock, but I'll hold off on that until the end), the rest of the book is actually pretty good. It's apparently based on a pen-and-paper RPG called The Strange, which I didn't realize when I picked it up at the library. The basic setup is that beyond Earth, there's another universe of dark matter/quantum network singularity/whatever which is called the Strange, which is inhabited by creatures who desperately want to get into out universe so they can eat it.
Normally, these creatures aren't able to touch our world, but building a quantum computer opens up a hole they can come through, which is exactly what happens. That hole can be plugged up again by building a virtual world, and there are apparently a massive number of virtual worlds within the Strange (though this book only deals with one of them, named Ardeyn, which is a fantasy type of world.) I imagine the RPG the book is based on goes into a lot more of that stuff, but for the book, that's basically all the real setup necessary.
I'll try to avoid getting bogged down in details. Basically, the book deals with two main problems, the first being preventing anyone else from building another quantum computer and opening up more holes, as well as protecting the fictional world of Ardeyn which acts as a buffer to protect Earth from the Strange.
As I said, once past the terrible first 35 pages, the book is pretty good. The setting is interesting, the characters are largely believable and the plot moves along nicely. I would say it's actually pretty deep for book based on a property. There are a few things that seem a bit unnecessary in the context of the book, such as a character reveals he's actually from another virtual world called Ruk. That's would probably be something interesting if you knew the game, but in the context of the book, it's kind of pointless (though I suppose if there are more books in the series, it could turn into a more important part of the plot.)
Okay, now to the promised mocking of the beginning of the book. Carter Morrison is a member of a university research team tasked with building the world's first quantum computer. Quantum computing would, of course, mean be a revolutionary breakthrough that would completely change the face of computers. They promise to be astonishingly power, something that will change cryptography, simulation and AI.
So, which particular application of quantum computing is this university spending millions of dollars of funding to research? Why, the world's most advanced VR version of Minecraft (er, sorry, "popular resource mining game".) Yeah, that's right, they built the world's first quantum computer so they could dig up redstone better. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when THAT project was proposed. They got the money somehow, though.
Ok, so they now have the world's fastest computer and the latest version of Minecraft, so they're ready to go. Leaving one person to monitor things, the other 5 put on their VR headsets and find themselves at their spawn location. They quickly discover that something is wrong - just outside their starting location is a massive chaotic void of evil, which is bad enough, but they can't take off their VR goggles, or even feel them. This, of course, is why you always have someone watching over you when you play a VR game, except the guy they left behind must have run out of the room like his ass was on fire the instant they logged in.
Thinking quickly, Carter uses the crafting table (which is now apparently some sort of Star Trek-like holodeck interface to call up a bunch of code and realizes technobabble technobabble technobabble. Realizing his friends' code has been corrupted by this evil, he quickly technobabble technobabble technobabble and prints a new copy of himself back on Earth. He finds the guy who was supposed to be watching them (apparently he had to go change some fuses) and bashes him over the head with a toolbox because reasons. Then he stabs the people logged into VR to death, including the original version of himself (though they're not really dead, as their mind/soul was sucked into the game.)
He knows that the evil creatures could use the link created by the quantum computer to invade Earth and destroy everything. Time of of the essence - they could make the jump at any second. So he sets the quantum computer to self destruct in 30 minutes. Okay, then.
So, how to protect Earth for half an hour? Carter remembers his failed MMORPG, Ardeyn, the Land of the Curse, and figures that might keep them busy for a while (everyone knows evil monsters can't resist World of Warcraft clones.)
And at this point, looking back at the beginning of the book as I write this, I notice something strange: he logs into the main Ardeyn server to grab the code and sees that there's "2000 or so" people playing the beta version of the game. Putting aside that that's a pretty impressive number of people to be playing the beta version of an indy game, it also raises the question of what game these people will be playing from now on, as the transfers control of the game from the previous server over to the quantum computer/Strange (where it'll keep running even after the quantum computer blows up.)
Will they continue playing the game afterwards, only the super duper version of it that it becomes after it becomes "real" in the Strange? Will they get sucked into the Strange as well? Or will they just lose the connection and that's that? I guess the last thing, as these people are never mentioned again, which seems like something of a lost opportunity. Oh well.
Anyway, having loaded his friend's consciousness into the game, he then joins them by uploading himself. And having slogged through the terrible, awful setup portion of the book, things get better.
March 18, 2017
DNF
I wish I didn't have to say it, but I DNF-ed Myth of the Maker after only 20 pages. Usually, I don't mind foreign words or languages, but I really couldn't stand it that there was constantly a buzz around some technological and computer science stuff I couldn't understand. There were so many of these words that I still didn't get what was happening after 20 pages, even though this was just one scene. I wish I could say more to this book, but I couldn't read on because it bugged me just too much.
The blurb seemed really intriguing and maybe the book is, if you don't mind all the confusion in the beginning.
* I received a copy of ths book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I wish I didn't have to say it, but I DNF-ed Myth of the Maker after only 20 pages. Usually, I don't mind foreign words or languages, but I really couldn't stand it that there was constantly a buzz around some technological and computer science stuff I couldn't understand. There were so many of these words that I still didn't get what was happening after 20 pages, even though this was just one scene. I wish I could say more to this book, but I couldn't read on because it bugged me just too much.
The blurb seemed really intriguing and maybe the book is, if you don't mind all the confusion in the beginning.
* I received a copy of ths book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
April 8, 2017
*Book received from NetGalley for an honest review.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. There were so many strange and interesting things going on that I kept turning the pages wanting to know more. And there were a couple of twists in the story line that had my toes bouncing because I was giddy with excitement. No surprises were completely out of left field and the story, world and characters are strong throughout the book.
The humor in this book was also greatly appreciated. I found myself really able to relate to Carter and Kate because their reactions felt so natural. A lot of times these would make me laugh as well. There are some very good one-liners in here.
Cordell goes back and forth between the first person perspective for Carter and third person perspective for everyone else. This may be a bit off putting for some readers but I found it incredibly helpful, especially during Carter's revelation scene towards the end. It really made his personal revelations flow a lot more naturally and it fits that he gets the first person perspective; he is the Creator.
This is a wonderful fantasy book that has elements of high fantasy as well as science fiction. You have aliens trying to destroy the world, but first they must get past Ardeyn, a world where magic runs everything. You have so many things going on but they're all so cohesive and well blended that it's easy to keep track. I happily give this book 4 hoots and look forward to more from Cordell.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. There were so many strange and interesting things going on that I kept turning the pages wanting to know more. And there were a couple of twists in the story line that had my toes bouncing because I was giddy with excitement. No surprises were completely out of left field and the story, world and characters are strong throughout the book.
The humor in this book was also greatly appreciated. I found myself really able to relate to Carter and Kate because their reactions felt so natural. A lot of times these would make me laugh as well. There are some very good one-liners in here.
Cordell goes back and forth between the first person perspective for Carter and third person perspective for everyone else. This may be a bit off putting for some readers but I found it incredibly helpful, especially during Carter's revelation scene towards the end. It really made his personal revelations flow a lot more naturally and it fits that he gets the first person perspective; he is the Creator.
This is a wonderful fantasy book that has elements of high fantasy as well as science fiction. You have aliens trying to destroy the world, but first they must get past Ardeyn, a world where magic runs everything. You have so many things going on but they're all so cohesive and well blended that it's easy to keep track. I happily give this book 4 hoots and look forward to more from Cordell.
April 19, 2017
While programming inside virtual reality (VR), Carter Morrison is put in the impossible situation of having to kill his friends in order to save their own world.
This would appear to have been successful, until three years later private investigator Katherine Manners finds a melting man in a computer room, with a message from another world.
Unless, Carter gets reconnected with who he once was, things will never be the same again
You have to give this book time to get into its groove. Last time I felt this way reading a book was Donnerjack, which also delved into a complex virtual reality world. Readers need to get their heads around the possibilities true quantum computing might offer, as well as the implications of being able to programme in VR. There is also a strong role playing game (RPG) element.
It's always interesting reading a book written by a RPG designer who is deeply immersed in his creation. Sometimes the lack of distance between the two makes for a very stilted plot with clichéd situations and characters, because the author’s head and heart are too tightly bound to the concept and rules of the game.
Bruce R Cordell manages to offset this through shifting between the real world and using Katherine Manners, preventing it from disappearing into a ‘The Strange’ RPG lovefest. There is also a great deal of grounding with humour, particularly where Carter Morrison is concerned, because his psyche is more in the real world than the alien VR environment, which he is trying to survive and make sense of. Now he must strive to become the character he once was in that domain and complete the objective which will save the real world from a terminal invasion, while dealing with the characters created within the VR, who are as bemused by Carter and his behaviour as he is by theirs.
Jason Cole (once Carter’s best friend) is also trapped in the alternate world but is far more connected with it, while at the same time desperately trying to get back into the real world.
There is also some interesting history which has occurred with other friends of Carter which has developed over a period of time. That there are different worlds existing side by side adds another layer to the complexity of the story.
On the whole this is an entertaining read and the reader is rewarded by an interesting ending which keeps options open for a further outing into the world of ‘The Strange’.
Myth of the Maker was courtesy of Angry Robot.
This would appear to have been successful, until three years later private investigator Katherine Manners finds a melting man in a computer room, with a message from another world.
Unless, Carter gets reconnected with who he once was, things will never be the same again
You have to give this book time to get into its groove. Last time I felt this way reading a book was Donnerjack, which also delved into a complex virtual reality world. Readers need to get their heads around the possibilities true quantum computing might offer, as well as the implications of being able to programme in VR. There is also a strong role playing game (RPG) element.
It's always interesting reading a book written by a RPG designer who is deeply immersed in his creation. Sometimes the lack of distance between the two makes for a very stilted plot with clichéd situations and characters, because the author’s head and heart are too tightly bound to the concept and rules of the game.
Bruce R Cordell manages to offset this through shifting between the real world and using Katherine Manners, preventing it from disappearing into a ‘The Strange’ RPG lovefest. There is also a great deal of grounding with humour, particularly where Carter Morrison is concerned, because his psyche is more in the real world than the alien VR environment, which he is trying to survive and make sense of. Now he must strive to become the character he once was in that domain and complete the objective which will save the real world from a terminal invasion, while dealing with the characters created within the VR, who are as bemused by Carter and his behaviour as he is by theirs.
Jason Cole (once Carter’s best friend) is also trapped in the alternate world but is far more connected with it, while at the same time desperately trying to get back into the real world.
There is also some interesting history which has occurred with other friends of Carter which has developed over a period of time. That there are different worlds existing side by side adds another layer to the complexity of the story.
On the whole this is an entertaining read and the reader is rewarded by an interesting ending which keeps options open for a further outing into the world of ‘The Strange’.
Myth of the Maker was courtesy of Angry Robot.
December 6, 2019
I was on board for the elevator pitch version of the story: a twisted Nine Princes in Amber with the Real World surrounded by "recursions" and bordered on all sides by shapeless, hungry chaos inside which horrors lurk. But the story version buckles under the weight of a high concept supported by infinite fiddly bits that kept needing explanation. The first twenty pages hits hard with technobabble, and the technobabble never quite disappears into the quantum foam, all in service of the heavy lift of describing "how they got here" and what exactly the deep setting is all about.
And once this is done, the characters are thrown into an MMORPG made real, as a "recursion" constructed as buffer against The Strange.
Ultimately, I never connected with where the author was going, got tired of explanations, and didn't like how it was built into the shell of a sub-rate World of Warcraft.
And once this is done, the characters are thrown into an MMORPG made real, as a "recursion" constructed as buffer against The Strange.
Ultimately, I never connected with where the author was going, got tired of explanations, and didn't like how it was built into the shell of a sub-rate World of Warcraft.
May 21, 2018
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.25 of 5
Carter Morrison is a software developer/programmer and he and his associates have built a fully immersive Virtual Reality world that should take the gaming world by storm. But something goes awry at Carter kills his friends in order to save mankind. Well...maybe. When Katherine Manners finds a man in the computer server room who looked to be materializing as if from a 3D printer and then liquefies, leaving only a ring and a USB flash drive in front of her, worlds collide.
Jason Cole, one of those who was killed by Morrison returns with a frightening tale of the reality of the VR world that isn't so much 'virtual' as it is 'alternative' and that those 'killed' by Cameron actually were sent to the VR world and that a link between the worlds is making itself known and a malevolent presence in the VR world is making a run to dominate Earth.
Author Bruce Cordell knows the gaming world - being a game designer himself - and the idea of creating stories inside a game world is certainly nothing new. Cordell himself has written a few books based on games.
Books based on video games or RPG's may have a small built-in audience with those who are already familiar with the same or at least with the game parameters. For the rest of us, we need to be brought in to the story with compelling characters, conflict, and creative story-telling. Here we only get a little of what we need to be invested in the story.
The characters are not so compelling but feel pretty cardboard-like. There really is no one that we rally behind and cheer on - Katherine was the closest to being rally-worthy.
The circumstances and conflict were good - Earth domination by a rogue monster from a different world is some pretty good conflict. But because I didn't really care about the other characters, I didn't really care if they lost their world.
And as for compelling story-telling.... Cordell starts us off with a slough of technical computer science talk that really isn't important to us or the story at all. It's just setting up a character or two and it definitely doesn't make us like anyone any more or less just because we get they are super intelligent when it comes to programming.
I've never been interested in books based on gaming and this hasn't changed my feelings in that regard.
Looking for a good book? Myth of the Maker is a novel based on a computer game series by Bruce R. Cordell and if you enjoy gaming novels, you may find this worthwhile. Otherwise it is quite limited.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Carter Morrison is a software developer/programmer and he and his associates have built a fully immersive Virtual Reality world that should take the gaming world by storm. But something goes awry at Carter kills his friends in order to save mankind. Well...maybe. When Katherine Manners finds a man in the computer server room who looked to be materializing as if from a 3D printer and then liquefies, leaving only a ring and a USB flash drive in front of her, worlds collide.
Jason Cole, one of those who was killed by Morrison returns with a frightening tale of the reality of the VR world that isn't so much 'virtual' as it is 'alternative' and that those 'killed' by Cameron actually were sent to the VR world and that a link between the worlds is making itself known and a malevolent presence in the VR world is making a run to dominate Earth.
Author Bruce Cordell knows the gaming world - being a game designer himself - and the idea of creating stories inside a game world is certainly nothing new. Cordell himself has written a few books based on games.
Books based on video games or RPG's may have a small built-in audience with those who are already familiar with the same or at least with the game parameters. For the rest of us, we need to be brought in to the story with compelling characters, conflict, and creative story-telling. Here we only get a little of what we need to be invested in the story.
The characters are not so compelling but feel pretty cardboard-like. There really is no one that we rally behind and cheer on - Katherine was the closest to being rally-worthy.
The circumstances and conflict were good - Earth domination by a rogue monster from a different world is some pretty good conflict. But because I didn't really care about the other characters, I didn't really care if they lost their world.
And as for compelling story-telling.... Cordell starts us off with a slough of technical computer science talk that really isn't important to us or the story at all. It's just setting up a character or two and it definitely doesn't make us like anyone any more or less just because we get they are super intelligent when it comes to programming.
I've never been interested in books based on gaming and this hasn't changed my feelings in that regard.
Looking for a good book? Myth of the Maker is a novel based on a computer game series by Bruce R. Cordell and if you enjoy gaming novels, you may find this worthwhile. Otherwise it is quite limited.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
November 27, 2017
Maybe I expect too much from gaming tie-in fiction, but Monte Cook, Shanna Germain, and Robin Laws have done creditable work making it into a real genre. Sadly Bruce Cordell could not manage as well with this origin story for the setting for The Strange RPG.
The question you have to ask of The Strange is whether it’s science fiction or fantasy. That is to say, whether the rules of the setting are bound by science or magic. Numenera - the sister game to The Strange - skillfully danced around this question and let players and readers decide how they wanted to interpret it. The Strange tries really hard to do the same thing, but the problem is that The Strange is very clearly a fantasy setting tied up with magic and questions of personal identity. So when the book going on length techno-babble and pseudo-scientific jags (the computer science in the book is particularly egregious) in a spurious attempt to give it some science fiction bona fides, it’s just really awful. The Strange is fantasy. It’s actually really interesting fantasy! So just do that, don’t give us all this garbagey techno gobbledygook.
As a setting for an RPG, I actually think The Strange is a really interesting and fun setting to play with if you understand that it’s a fantasy setting. As such, this book has its moments for fans as backstory, even with the caveat that it’s often not well-written and chunks of it are misguided. But I can’t recommend it as a reading experience otherwise.
The question you have to ask of The Strange is whether it’s science fiction or fantasy. That is to say, whether the rules of the setting are bound by science or magic. Numenera - the sister game to The Strange - skillfully danced around this question and let players and readers decide how they wanted to interpret it. The Strange tries really hard to do the same thing, but the problem is that The Strange is very clearly a fantasy setting tied up with magic and questions of personal identity. So when the book going on length techno-babble and pseudo-scientific jags (the computer science in the book is particularly egregious) in a spurious attempt to give it some science fiction bona fides, it’s just really awful. The Strange is fantasy. It’s actually really interesting fantasy! So just do that, don’t give us all this garbagey techno gobbledygook.
As a setting for an RPG, I actually think The Strange is a really interesting and fun setting to play with if you understand that it’s a fantasy setting. As such, this book has its moments for fans as backstory, even with the caveat that it’s often not well-written and chunks of it are misguided. But I can’t recommend it as a reading experience otherwise.
October 10, 2020
Mediocre book sums it up. Its passingly ok but fails to live up to the high concept ideas that sell you on the blurb. Its awkwardly assembled main character fails upwards and while they do it, they don't do it with any sort of likeability. The main character is a coward, failed at their dreams sort of sold as a man child to appeal to an audience of real world board game players whom are expected to be put off by having a strong lead or at least not someone just like them...pathetic as they may be expected to be.
I found the objective of the book to not be entertaining, for the sake of it, but for the sake of info dumping enough information about monte cook's meta verse till you're busting at the seems with useless information.
I'm sorry I gave it a chance. A good cover, a good idea, it had it all on the box, but couldn't rise to be something special. Everything good about it feels cheapened by the real motive of the book...to sell you on playing a board game tie in.
I found the objective of the book to not be entertaining, for the sake of it, but for the sake of info dumping enough information about monte cook's meta verse till you're busting at the seems with useless information.
I'm sorry I gave it a chance. A good cover, a good idea, it had it all on the box, but couldn't rise to be something special. Everything good about it feels cheapened by the real motive of the book...to sell you on playing a board game tie in.
June 1, 2017
Computer programmers caught up in an alternate universe/ fantasy world "simulation," except it's not a simulation. The story follows several POV characters, though only one gets the first person treatment (for reasons that are obvious once the story gets rolling). All of the characters are interesting, even the antagonist POV.
I greatly enjoyed this one. It's tie-in fiction to one of my favorite tabletop RPGs of all time: the Strange. I'm not entirely sure how well it stands on its own (very possibly very well!), but I was already familiar with the setting and some of its unique concepts.
I greatly enjoyed this one. It's tie-in fiction to one of my favorite tabletop RPGs of all time: the Strange. I'm not entirely sure how well it stands on its own (very possibly very well!), but I was already familiar with the setting and some of its unique concepts.
June 17, 2017
This is the best book I've read for a long time.
Fantasy with an underlay of science fiction. The premise of a virtual reality world just outside our own running on a quantum computer network is close enough to reality to allow for a willing suspension of disbelief while providing enough latitude for great story telling. I hope this isn't the last book we see based in this world.
Fantasy with an underlay of science fiction. The premise of a virtual reality world just outside our own running on a quantum computer network is close enough to reality to allow for a willing suspension of disbelief while providing enough latitude for great story telling. I hope this isn't the last book we see based in this world.
December 31, 2017
A very nice take on parallel dimensions sci-fi/fantasy.
Myth of the Maker is a very refreshing take on thr idea of dimensional travel and worlds. I loved the setting and it left me wanting more. I wish the ending was explained better (regarding the battle scene). In the end I enjoyed the read and can't wait for a second book! There is more places to visit in The Strange.
Myth of the Maker is a very refreshing take on thr idea of dimensional travel and worlds. I loved the setting and it left me wanting more. I wish the ending was explained better (regarding the battle scene). In the end I enjoyed the read and can't wait for a second book! There is more places to visit in The Strange.
July 30, 2020
The beginning was hard for me to really get into, but once I got into the background of the characters and the story, I really got into the story and read it to the end. Definitely worth my time reading.
November 24, 2020
Honestly I went into this book a little skeptical, but I wanted to get back into fantasy and this was the book on my shelf I chose. It had me intrigued at ch. 3, like the fact that their in a video game they created, like awesome!! This definitely got me back into fantasy and science fiction!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2022
***Not Finished***
I really tried to get through this, I managed almost half... But I just couldn't get into the story. The story sounded interesting at first, but there was much that wasn't explained and what was seemed kind of jumbled.
I really tried to get through this, I managed almost half... But I just couldn't get into the story. The story sounded interesting at first, but there was much that wasn't explained and what was seemed kind of jumbled.
March 4, 2018
I usually enjoy the works of Mr Cordell and I really like books based upon RPGs. unfortunately, this was not a good showcase for either.
January 8, 2022
Did not finish.
January 15, 2019
An expansion of a short story in one of the Strange anthologies this story has some of the vibe or pov of Donnerjack meets Lord Demon if you're a Roger Zelazny fan with a dash of Corwin's amnesia problems.
A bit of science fantasy using quantum computing to connect to an ancient relic of an alien network that has gone wild and terrible over time as the earth did in the Infinity Concerto by Greg Bear. The reality seeds remind me of that book and the rapid non-history reminds me a bit of the blurriness in the Virtu reality of a spirit world and virtual reality world.
Would like to see more of the Strange particularly the Ruk and the Estate in a novel format.
A bit of science fantasy using quantum computing to connect to an ancient relic of an alien network that has gone wild and terrible over time as the earth did in the Infinity Concerto by Greg Bear. The reality seeds remind me of that book and the rapid non-history reminds me a bit of the blurriness in the Virtu reality of a spirit world and virtual reality world.
Would like to see more of the Strange particularly the Ruk and the Estate in a novel format.
Read
July 7, 2017An enjoyable romp through the world(s) of the Strange. A must read for fans of the role playing game by one of the great writers of the genre.
October 3, 2017
one word, awesome
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