The Illusion of Living: An AFK Book

by Adrienne Kress

Enter the mind of Joey Drew in this exclusive memoir, sure to captivate fans of the hit horror video games Bendy and the Ink Machine and Bendy and the Dark Revival ! Bendy fans will delight in poring over the memoir of his ingenious creator, Joey Drew. From humble beginnings to his meteoric rise as the force behind his eponymous studio, Mr. Drew offers a behind the scenes peek at his many animation innovations, such as Sillivision, his "Rules to Animate By," and of course his unique approach to franchising-among the first of its time. This re-release even includes never before seen information omitted from the original manuscript, cobbled together from the Joey Drew Studios archive as well as Mr. Drew's personal estate. Don't miss this exclusive peek inside the rise-and fall-of one of the most groundbreaking animators in history!

Genres: Horror, Video Games, Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 2, 2021

About the author

Adrienne Kress is a Toronto born actor and author who loves to play make-believe. She also loves hot chocolate. And cheese. Not necessarily together.

2016 saw the release of HATTER MADIGAN: Ghost in the H.A.T.B.O.X., an exciting collaboration with NY Times bestselling author Frank Beddor (set in the same world as his Looking Glass Wars YA books). And April 2017 she releases the first book in her new Middle Grade series: THE EXPLORERS - The Door in the Alley (Delacorte, Random House).

October 2016 her essay appeared alongside work by the likes of Margaret Atwood and Mariko Tamaki in the non-fiction anthology THE SECRET LOVES OF GEEK GIRLS (Dark Horse).

She is also the author of two other children's novels: ALEX AND THE IRONIC GENTLEMAN and TIMOTHY AND THE DRAGON'S GATE (Scholastic). And also the YA novels, THE FRIDAY SOCIETY (Steampunk Adventure from Dial Penguin, 2012) and OUTCAST (a quirky YA paranormal romance from Diversion Books, 2013).


Some more info about Adrienne: she is a theatre graduate of the Univeristy of Toronto and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in the UK. Published around the world, ALEX was featured in the New York Post as a "Post Potter Pick," as well as on the CBS early show. It won the Heart of Hawick Children's Book Award in the UK and was nominated for the Red Cedar. The sequel, TIMOTHY, was nominated for the Audie, Red Cedar and Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards, and was recently optioned for film. THE FRIDAY SOCIETY was nominated for a Quill Award, and has been optioned for television.

Oh, and the German title for ALEX is:
DIE HALSUBERKOPFUNDKRAGENDRAMATISCHABENTEUERLICHE KATASTROPHENEXPEDITION DER ALEX MORNINGSIDE.

No.

Seriously.

Find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdrienneKress

On Instagram:
https://instagram.com/AdrienneKress

And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adrien...

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a typical video game novel. It doesn’t have an overarching plot, supernatural mysteries, or shocking twists. It’s a collection of loosely connected moments from the life of Joey Drew, each of which serves as a way to familiarize the reader with the nature of his personal philosophy: The Illusion of Living. These snapshots from his life are accompanied by musings about art, history, and the meaning of reality.

If you’re looking to read something on a philosophical side, or you’re a fan of Joey Drew’s character (as I am!) then this book is a perfect fit for you. It shows a deeper, more human side of this character, though there’s a lot of hints that the way he presents himself may not be entirely truthful. As a theorist, this is actually the most fun part about reading the book: trying to piece together the clues to figure out what is real, and what is an illusion.

However, if you’re thinking of picking this story up because you saw it on a shelf with YA horror novels, and it has a demon on the cover, I feel like the Dreams Come to Life novel would be better suited for your needs. Despite being a companion piece to a horror franchise, and being listed under the horror genre in many bookstores, The Illusion of Living contains no horror elements, and very few action scenes.

The novel focuses largely on an original cast, however a lot of attention is also given to the character of Nathan Arch, who seems to be built up as a major character in the upcoming Bendy game. Nathan also provides some comments in the book, which are helpful in figuring out which of the stories presented in it are either partially, or completely made-up.

Pros:
- Gives an insight into the mind of a beloved character
- Separating the truth from lies is a fun exercise
- An interesting guide to the history of entertainment in the first half of the 20th century
- There’s a very fun short murder mystery subplot, that I wish I could read more of
- No obligatory het romance that many YA books suffer from

Cons:
- It’s sold under the horror genre, yet it contains no horror elements, or supernatural themes, which I feel is misleading.
- Focus is largely on an original cast, with only a passing mention of the game characters. This probably won’t bother newcomers to the franchise, but longtime fans would probably prefer to see more of their favorites.
- A bit too many scenes of characters sitting around, sipping drinks and musing about life, the universe, and everything

[SB Senpai Manga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Mr Drew... For all your talk of dreams, you are the architect behind so many nightmares.
Joey Drew is one of the main antagonists in the game Bendy and the Ink Machine. Essentially a dark parody of Walt Disney and this is the in-universe memoir about his life and success.
Fictional biographies are an interesting sub genre for me, but this was quite exceptional.
Joey is very boastful in a polite way that you feel charmed and somewhat attracted to, but can still feel that selfish and sinister tension.
Spanning from World War I to the mid 1940’s, we see him climb the social ladder in various circles as well as accumulate different people that have larger roles to play. In particular note is the odd partnership with Henry Stein, who co-created Bendy. Reading these parts from Joey’s side heavily reminded me of Stan Lee&Jack Kirby and Bob Kane&Bill Finger, both in good and bad ways.
This isn’t a horror book, but as a fan of the game, I loved every second of it and it was nice to fill in some gaps on the studio’s background and an interesting character study on heavily flawed, yet still interesting character.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Solane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting to read to say the least. It is funny to read about how Joey Drew describes himself. I wonder how much of the story is actually true and how much he twisted.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was not, in fact, sold to me as historical fiction so I was completely thrown off when it was. I also didn’t realize it was a memoir written ‘by’ Joey Drew himself, with short annotations by his good friend Nathan Arch after Drew’s death. This created an interesting dynamic between the two characters, and through Arch we see that some kind of dementia was overcoming Drew towards the end and making him a bit of an unreliable narrator. Overall, it’s interesting to see how Drew grew over his life to buy into the illusion of living as he witnessed horrible events throughout his life including in the war. His mind did not work the way a standard, rational person’s would, so while he had such high hopes for making everyone’s lives better through entertainment, the underlying thread of the potential for everything to go horribly wrong (as the Bendy and the Ink Machine games prove things do) is always there. This story had no horror elements, but it set the stage for what we know comes later.

An interesting look at the time period in American history, and an interesting look into Joey Drew himself, but not what I expected.

[cobwebbing · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to this entire book waiting for things to get interesting, for the other shoe to drop... and man oh man that moment never came. Painfully dull. There were one or two things I liked in the very last twenty minutes but otherwise there felt like there was a whole lot of nothing going on.

I think it says something that there is a literal murder mystery plonked in the middle of this and it still manages to be boring.

Much like the video game that this is based upon, I like the concept a lot more than the execution.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am honestly conflicted by this book. For starters, the book was modestly entertaining to read but seemed to not be a horror novel like it was set to be according to its genre. It fronts as primarily a businessman, Joseph Drew's, memoir of his life and his philosophy, "The Illusion of Living." Nothing spectacular per say as it has a collection of stories from his life and etcetera.

Now, spoiler warning from here on out as it contains portions of the book.

However, this is where my view of the book is split. Perhaps I am looking too deep into it but the book is labeled horror likely for a reason - and, I believe that reason is that it is a look into a manipulator. Being vaguely familiar with the game and its lore, we know Drew to be the bad guy of the story and a liar to say the least. I was first tipped off on page 37 in the foot notes. Nate is giving praises about how Joey's stories seem so real, you tend to forget they aren't despite him telling you so. This is shortly followed up on page 39 where Drew denies Joey's claims of having him write to pretend to be James. So there appears to be a discrepancy in memory - no big deal right? You would think so until page 41 Nate again in the footnotes states how he can never find these correspondences with Lottie and wouldn't be surprised if the story was made up - despite just a few pages ago stating how he does remember this whole story and thinking it all fact. This is later followed up in the philosophical walk through on pages 63-65 where Nate again denies the event that occurred.

If that isn't enough, come page 97 during the recollection of the entire murder investigation; Drew describes how many time he has told the tale and how he was able to perfect the shape of telling the tale - when to say something and when to leave something out. This showing he would manipulate the story to tell us what he best sees fit. Nate even comments relating to this on the following page stating how the story changes over time, characters get mixed up and how Nate had to correct parts of the story for him. I suggest that the entire tale is a lie. Another story crafted by Joey Drew in his memoirs to make him appear like a good person and genius - a story where he aided a hardened detective who came to appreciate Drew's intelligence and insight. Hell, the detective believed Joey could deduce the case's ending when asking Drew about it in the end - again putting this narcissist in the spot light.

Now, if that was not enough, the whole last portion of the book is on his hiring, amusement park, and then professional advice. (Notably, in this last half, any imagery related to ink is heavy and it seems he is becoming rather obsessive in anything relating to it.) The last section will be my final main focus however. He outlines how to create characters and types of characters because people are just like types. In this portion, he does not use any of his fictitious characters as an comparison - no, he only uses the "people" from the earlier stories of his life (many who Nate's comments bring into question on their legitimacy or accuracy) and Joey even speaks of himself in a third person way as he himself is a character.

Given what we have seen and know of Drew's character, many of these stories may be a grand fabrication in order to make the man appear more noble and worthy of awe. Especially notable is the statement that characters should "haunt" people for years to come. This bit is attempted to be played off as advice yet seems subversive in word choice - as even in the book, and Drew's words, words and phrasings mean everything. Continuing further, page 246 lays out how to tell a tale and this is the same framework for the story of the murder of Walter Richmond. So now, not only does the story follow a framework he advises to us, it also has questionable details according to Nate, advice on how to create characters that appear life like using the actual "people" he's talked about as examples, and rhetoric that shows himself as a character in this portion through third person statements.

So, it is my belief that the horror aspect of this book comes from deciphering what is actually real in the case of Joseph Drew and his life. After all, what is a lie but an illusion?

That or I was trying to find more meaning than there actually is in the book given it wasn't what I initially expected. Cheers to all readers.

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bendy: The Illusion of living by Adrienne Kress is well written and entertaining, but it is a strange book to categorize. It is a fictional autobiography about a horror video game character.

Let's break it down.

This book is Joey Drews autobiography. Joey Drew is from the video Game Bendy and the Ink Machine. Joey Drew is also the owner of Joey Drew studios, a fictional animation studio that operated from 1929 until some undetermined period after WWII.

Is this an accurate history of the studio and the events that took place there? No. Joey is an egotistical and unreliable narrator. This book is mostly about Joey's life before the studio. Seriously, only a fifth of the page count even takes place at the studio.

There is no new lore, no theory confirmations and nothing about the ink machine. If you are looking to understand the game story this book is not for you.

If you are looking for the sequel to Dreams Come to Life, this is not it.

However, if you love historical fiction, biographies, or memoirs, then you might enjoy this book. You do not need to play the video game. you don't even have to be a fan of Bendy. If you would read a biography of Walt Disney. You will more than likely enjoy this book. But, it's probably not for you, because you like reading about real people and real events.

So who is this book really for? This book is for nerds who played and enjoyed Bendy and the Ink Machine. Nerds who are going to look at the cover and say, "That's the book from the game!" They'll buy it to lovingly display alongside their Bendy plushies and Funko Pops.*

It really is the book from the game, as it would have been written by the lying creator himself. If you could open the book you found in chapter one and read it in the game, this is what would have been inside.

This book is nothing more than a prop, a cool collectable, a piece of the video game that you can hold in your own two hands.

*I am that nerd.

[anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this novel.

The book isn't horror, and instead serves as a work of historical fiction that fits the studio into real-life animation history. It's so true to reality that it often reads as though this is an actual memoir and not a work of fiction.

The attention to detail is impeccable, including the parts where Joey subtly contradicts himself that the reader may or may not pick up on as reminders that he's an unreliable narrator. It's really interesting how this book quickly makes you forget how bad of a person Joey is by portraying him as ambitious and relatable.

Unfortunately, there is little mention of the game characters besides Joey himself (aside from Henry, Sammy and Jack making a notable appearance). However, the original characters introduced and elaborated on in this book are so lovable and have quickly become some of my favorites. (Looking at you, Abby.)

Maybe it's just my biased opinion, but this novel is easily my favorite one out of the three that have been written for the Bendy series, and I highly recommend it if you enjoy the historical/employee centered aspects of this franchise :)

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is boring 😐

[Kaylee Fascaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of this book, a wonderful but fictional memoir, Joseph “Joey” Drew tells us of his ideology: His Illusion of Living, as the book is titled. In order to first start explaining where he got this little philosophy, we follow Joey’s childhood experiences as the son of a shoemaker. As he witnesses a high-stress but also high-excitement event through a window within the confines of his home, his philosophy just barely blooms. It develops further during his adolescence, where he lies about his age to join the Signal Corps in WWI. It is there that he learns the proper art of storytelling through letter correspondence with a girl named Lottie. Out of there, he meets two influential people who will change the course of his life forever: a girl named Abby, and her friend Henry Stein. It is through a viewing of Henry’s art that he finalizes his vision. And what better way to share it? Cartoons, he decides. So he starts his studio and recruits people he met along the way to help him share his vision, all using a character he created alongside Henry: the little Devil Darlin’ himself, Bendy. That’s unfortunately where his recount of the story ends… But where Bendy’s begins, explored in the Bendy and the Ink Machine horror game franchise.
Where I personally connect to this book is the protagonist, Joey Drew. He and I have similar ideas, thoughts, and feelings. I found myself deeply connecting to his love for storytelling, his flair for the dramatics, and so on. Alongside that, his views on fiction and reality have really helped me realize that it’s not that uncommon to be moved by fictional works. As he said, “...fictional stories have just as much truth in them as nonfiction. It just depends on what truth you are seeking.” It was all a brilliant moment for me to see some of my deepest thoughts retold, finalized to me in Joey’s writing, just as his own philosophy was finalized through art. Heck, he’s inspired me to have more self confidence. I just need to remind myself, through his words: “This {isn’t} a reinvention. This {is} who {I’ve} always been.”
As for what I liked and disliked about this book, it’s hard to put into words how much I truly appreciate it. It may have been created as a fun little book for the fans of a neat indie game franchise, but for me, it’s become something of greater substance. I will say, Joey’s vocabulary and diction had me enthralled from the start – I can’t help but enjoy a few fancy words here and there. They might puzzle me for a moment, but when I read just a bit further, the meaning becomes clear. Additionally, his keen ability to create a compelling description of events had me hooked throughout. One thing I didn’t exactly enjoy was the nonlinear structure in which he told his story, but I can forgive it since it wound up tying itself together. Although, there was one thing I could not forgive, and that was the lack of resolution with one particular conflict. Specifically, the investigation of Detective Sinclair, which Joey went along with. He put it best: “Here was a man I’d admired despite it all and here he was at the end, with nothing.” It was less than satisfying and I wish something more had been done. He should have kept trying. If unable to get a confession, gather evidence! If you can’t do that… Why even call yourself a detective? Despite that grievance, I enjoyed the book immensely, and if it can be expanded upon… Well, that’d be lovely!

[Bryan House · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may be one of the strangest books I have ever read.

To be completely honest the first 1/3rd of this book had me incredibly hooked and I could only think "Wow, this is different than I expected"

I picked up this book knowing there is a jump scare horror video game out there.
I buy books based on their cover so I did no research into the fact that this is NOT a horror story in the slightest. This is a fictional memoir of the man who created the fiction toon "Bendy"

There is no haunting - no monsters - no scares - just a man explaining his larger than life story to becoming a successful and well know creator

Just a mostly wholesome story of a charismatic son of a shoemaker who later in life makes a famous cartoon

I'm excited to check out the video game to see how much relevance this book actually has to the original game, but I can't help but think "Who was this book written for?" I did enjoy this book for whatever it is, but it is not a book I could recommend to anyone

So very odd.....

[Eqra Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is enjoyable, but I found myself dreading to read it at times. It gets very tiring to read about a manipulative liar praise himself whislt indirectly demeaning everyone around him for 234 pages straight. I can't even count the amount of times Joey takes credit for someone elses works, or makes up a story to make himself seem more grandoise. The worst part is, he's at times really good at lying, or at least it's less obvious at the books beginning. But as soon as you notice one contradiction from the game series, the illusion shatters and you find yourself doubting every sentence he writes. It's very infuriating, but it's also good writing. You sometimes want to read more to see what else he'll have the nerve to lie about.

I like how well the story fits in with the games, and also provides a clear timeline to the events in before the first game. I also found the animation advice at the end of the book very helpful as it can be applied to writing as well.

[Estel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bendy tie-in novels are stupidly good for what they are. I cannot say that it would be good for anyone who doesn't have the context of the games and the universe from the other tie-in stuff--I'm pretty certain it would come across as just a confusing series of unreliable snippets with cool history stuff thrown in--but with the context I adore it. This is exactly what a book by Joey Drew should be like. The epitome of unreliable narrator, lying to himself as much as to everyone else. It's fascinating to take these little glimpses of characters and try to put them together with audiologs and figure out what's true and what's not. Four stars just because I love all the little Easter eggs and because the author really didn't need to go this hard but I am so so glad they did.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this might disappoint readers who are only in it for Bendy, this pseudo-memoir is a fascinating insight into an incredibly ambitious, arrogant, and downright sociopathic man. The author captures Joey's winsome, self-aggrandizing manner so well, deftly foreshadowing the dark path he was already beginning to tread. Of particular interest were his encounters with Henry (a different story than we've ever suspected before!) and Jack and Sammy (I truly love Sammy, especially the ornery, antisocial version we meet here). It's a stunning portrait of the dark side of creativity - what happens when this powerful force is mixed with an aggressive drive to be the best. I highly recommend it, even to non-Bendy fans!

[Joe Mama · Rating 2 out of 5]

i bought the book cause im a massive BATIM fan, but almost 65% percent of the book was about joey drew, its kind of nice i get to know what joey experienced about her life, but what i dont like, i hate LGBTQ cause there are clear references that joey might be homophobic, luckily she has a wife in BATDR (i dont know her name) but it's not why i rated it 2 stars, the reason i rated it 2 stars is because... what stupid idiot would like entering the war to be a soldier? (he entered the war but not as a soldier) HE WOULD FUCKING DIE MY MAN, BRO FR I THINK THAT WAS WHAT I READ, BOY HE LITERALLY A PSYCHOPATH AND FUCKING LIED ABOUT HER AGE TO ENTER?! BRO!?

[Liz Friend · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story: Joey Drew, founder of Joey Drew Studios and creator of Bendy, Alice, Boris, and other cartoon characters, tells his story in this memoir. Starting with his childhood growing up as the son of a shoemaker, and watching the world go by through the frame of the shop window, the memoir details his engineering experiences during World War I, his meeting and recruiting various members of his creative team, and the evolution of his creative philosophy, which he calls “The Illusion of Living”.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance Abuse PG-13; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes G; Overall rating PG. Still, better for older, more committed readers, probably 8th-up.

Liz's comments: While an interesting read as a fictional memoir, fans of the author’s previous "Bendy and the Ink Machine" will be disappointed if they grab this expecting it to be a continuation of that creepy volume. Instead, Kress goes deep into Joey’s head and shows both his creativity and his overly-healthy sense of self-worth. This volume will be of interest only to those who are truly immersed in the world of Joey Drew Studios, with their curiosity extending beyond the games. Anyone expecting things to get creepy at some point will be entirely dissatisfied with this story. This is serviceable slice-of-life historical fiction and as such is light on forward-moving plot elements. It is certainly not going to please readers looking for a spooky thrill.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Illusion of Living is a well known book to fans of the games, and this book does a good job bringing that book to life. Some fans may find the book rather slow if they're only looking for character interactions limited to those who appear in the games, however others will enjoy the interactions we get between Joey and his other friends. The topics covered in the book do a good job painting Joey's life, and the little hints here and there that Joey isn't being entirely truthful are fun to find.

[cello ostrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you haven't played BATIM or have no idea what BATIM is, I highly recommend this book. You don't need any knowledge of the game to enjoy it and I honestly wish I read this before I played the game. In this book, we get to dive into Joey Drew's philosophy about life and fiction. The author uses Joey Drew to get some amazing points across and I often found myself agreeing with this philosophy. Not to mention, as a general novel, it is quite fascinating and fun to read. I wish I could have read this book again.

[Rares Cimpoeșu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only wanted this book as a collectable to put on my shelf as a Bendy fan, but it ended up being a good read. It provided valuable insights into characters such as Joey Drew, Sammy Lawrence and Jack Fain. I mostly wish we got more about Henry Stein, as Joey only mentions him being an irrelevant part of his life, which tells us more about Joey than about Henry. Although the ink machine itself isn't even mentioned in this book, it was interesting to piece together the motivations behind its construction from Joey's writings.

[Castiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Joey Drew as a character. He is complex, nuanced and appealing to a fault- he knows it, the author knows it. As an unreliable narrator he serves his purpose perfectly, creating strings of fibs and even alludes to his own ability to tell a truly *good* story by leaving out certain details. It connects together like a thread, and even without knowing the full and entire lore of BATM, it creates a fluid and intriguing story that truly does feel like a memoir.

Excellent pacing, word choice, and philosophical notions that raise questions to the world and one’s own morality.

[Jack Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am conflicted. While reading this book it didn't truly feel like a Bendy book, and though it is meant to be set in the world of the game and not in the studio I think that this book took too much time getting to Joey Drew Studios, even if the first chunk of this book was still good.

[NIRIO · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice

[Z. Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It really gave a good look into the narcissistal mind of Joey Drew.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! The philosophy of it really makes you wonder and think about life!

[Coconot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joey Drew is such a silly little guy. Lol!

[Zanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

wow they weren't kidding about how gay joey seems

[Voodoo Freddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that we get to know Joey a little more.

[Garrett Emile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the actual games. I think a fictional autobiography from the perspective of a character is really funny and interesting.
Joey drew is such a vain and self centered character but it never got annoying to read.

[Miranda Kunkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally getting to this! I loved being able to get a “behind the scenes” look into Joey’s life and how everything came to be. The only thing I wish is that we got a bit more detail on the things at the studio.