Navigators

by Mike Meginnis, LeVar Burton (Narrator)

Genres: Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction

Audiobook

Published August 22, 2017

About the author

Mike Meginnis is the author of Drowning Practice (2022, Ecco) and Fat Man and Little Boy (2014, Black Balloon). His short fiction and essays have appeared in Hobart, PANK, The Lifted Brow, Recommended Reading, Booth, The Pinch, The Collagist, The Sycamore Review, Fanzine, American Book Review, and Writer's Digest. His story "Navigators" appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012. He lives and works in Iowa City.

Mike also cohosts the podcast Gift Horse with his partner, Tracy Rae Bowling.

Reviews

[Stephie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a poignant short story about a father and son who use a video game to connect with each other and insulate themselves from the presumed break down of their family and the pressures of life. They do not have much money, they eat poorly and they do not keep themselves or the house tidy, but they obsessively map out this video game together, which seems to give them a sense of purpose and helps them "navigate" through a bleak period of their lives. Good stuff.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was enjoyable, but remarkably bittersweet.

It is so easy to loose oneself in a game (pun not intended, but wow it hits it on the nail). Especially my generation.

Yes, it can bring you together. But sometimes at what cost?
I wish I had more words for this, but sadly I don't. This was just really good.

LeVar did an excellent job narrating.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Interesting take on gaming, and I was taken to a very different place in the story than I was expecting.

[Harrison Malone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you LeVar 🙏

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative, sweet story, with vague philosophical undertones and a somewhat unresolved ending.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

My initial reaction to this short story was that it is a cautionary tale about how by immersing ourselves in the imaginary worlds of RPG, we can so easily lose ourselves in the real world. As Joshua and his father compulsively play their game together and map out the world in the game, their real life seems to be deteriorating quickly. Bills are not being paid so utilities are disconnected. There is a lack of food in the kitchen and what food there is, is unhealthy. Laundry has not been done in so long that there are no clean clothes. Dishes have piled up.
Then, things begin to improve for this little family. They move to a more economical apartment which means there is money to pay the utilities. Healthier eating habits are adopted. They seem to interact with the world more, going out to eat one night a week, renting movies, going to the amusement park. There is hope.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on LaVar Burton's podcast and I found it to be pretty sad emotionally as it is the story of a son and father struggling to make it (in life) with a very tight budget. The only thing that we see the two of them really connect on is in a video game that the two play together and alone. What's weird about the game is as you progress along and level up in the game the character loses traits rather than gaining new amazing skills. For example, when they get to a new level she gets earplugs and can no longer hear anything in the world and the last one is she is blinded and everything is dark. It wasn't until the end when LaVar pointed out that the game was about giving up on your worldly possessions, as in Buddhism, that it finally made sense to me.

[Ambre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically a 2.5

I found this short story to be strange and sadly beautiful. Particularly with LeVar Burton narrating it.

While a lot of the story centers around the game play, it's not the actual focus of the story. Although the concept of advancing through a game by weakening your avatar is an interesting one. 

The true focus is on the relationship between the father and his son, which grew stronger while they were gaming together. But they also seemed to disconnect and lose sight of everything outside the game - even their own well-being, which is so haunting.  Too many of us seem to live in ephemeral digital worlds and miss out on a lot of good, real-life experiences (myself included). 

[Ryan McShane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously the themes are very on-brand for me (getting really into a video game), but there's a lurking story left untold that bothered me. Also, I'm not sure that I like reading stories about something I've already spent enough time doing.

The father appears to be a hero for playing video games with the son. But, it sounds to me like the father has kidnapped the son and is hiding out by playing a video game. Or, the father did that several years ago, and is now unemployed or on a long vacation. The boy needs his mother, which the story does express. I would have liked just a small bit of comeuppance for the father.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What really fascinated me about this story is the Buddhist philosophy of the game that the dad and the son play. It feels like an oxymoron to play a game which usually ends with a winner and loser, the winner being someone who has the most and is the strongest. In this case the player wins by being the losing everything and becoming nothing. In Western cultures, losing, whether it be in games or material possessions is widely frowned upon and therefore makes me wonder, what is our life, our sense of self, except for the material world in which we become detramentally addicted to?

[Amy Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting tale of a father and son who come together through a game, which can be interpreted in multiple ways. My preferred interpretation is that, as life progresses, things change, and you have to adapt to those changes as best you can, particularly when the changes are not obviously for the better.

[Ian House · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant and sad tale where life is reflected in the video game that a boy and a father share spend time playing together. The concept of the game with the characters getting weaker and losing powers and abilities as they progress is reflected in the sad economic situation of the single father and son.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a father and son connecting through a video game. Any further detail would spoil the story, but I found the most interesting part to be what was going on in their lives outside of the game.

[Simran Bodhak · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept of a game where on finding and winning the magic item, your avatar loses health and powers down rather than get stronger. Once completing all the objectives, your avatar becomes decrepit and unable thus achieving Nirvana.

Did not like the concept or the execution.

[Jay Miraldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bittersweet story about a boy and his father who connect with each other via a video game while also using it to withdraw from the pain of the world around them.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprising little story here.

I can't say much without giving it away but a very rare find here!

[Henrik Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool premise.

[Brian Mikołajczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A father and daughter bond over a tabletop RPG they play together.
A good bonding story.

[Tim W.]

Read by Levar Burton podcast.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many feelings evoked by the story, from being appalled at the parenting, to sadness at the situation, then that ending. I appreciated LeVar's commentary on the zen goal of the game.

[Frieda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have so many questions. There is so much pain within, and a disassociation from each other. And that video game?
I would actually like to have an extra 1/2 star.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice

[Cami]

Nope, this one didn't hit for me, after a slew of short stories that were complete gems I'm getting a lot of misses (for me! May hit for other people!)

[Yadira Mejia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relistened to this one because it was so good and I wanted to understand the last paragraph. Then I read the written version and it finally made sense. I loved this one so much.