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The Tangled Lands
CAN A GAME BE MORE REAL -- AND MORE DANGEROUS-- THAN REALTY?
KEVIN FIKKAN was a reckless computer game testrunner whose history was a series of betrayals. Until he met Janny.
JANNY LAIAS was a game designer determined to create a fantasy world more realistic than ever before -- and to rule over it as a god.
But now Janny's world has a treacherous programming bug that can only be solved by tackling the game without a safety net -- by entering a demon infested desert called...
THE TANGLED LANDS
Kevin and Janny risk their sanity as they try to complete the game. For he demons they must battle together in the Tangled Lands are his faults -- and her nightmares.
KEVIN FIKKAN was a reckless computer game testrunner whose history was a series of betrayals. Until he met Janny.
JANNY LAIAS was a game designer determined to create a fantasy world more realistic than ever before -- and to rule over it as a god.
But now Janny's world has a treacherous programming bug that can only be solved by tackling the game without a safety net -- by entering a demon infested desert called...
THE TANGLED LANDS
Kevin and Janny risk their sanity as they try to complete the game. For he demons they must battle together in the Tangled Lands are his faults -- and her nightmares.
247 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 28, 2021
I picked this book up, thinking that it was a sequel to Cats Have No Lord, but, no, it's more of a prequel, except where it isn't. Some stuff just didn't quite mesh in my head, as I was reading it. I guess the best way to think of it is that Cats Have No Lord takes place in the world that is brought about by the events in this book.
I did have some qualms about a world where people abuse tech so oddly, to the extent of having what amount to pointless high-tech mental duels that can permanently damage one or both fighters. The main character, Kevin, who was attacked in one of these, is paying for the physical upkeep for the person he defeated, since her brain seems to have been fried, but he was still the kind of person who accepted such a challenge in the first place. He's also the kind of person who will betray his supposed friends in a variety of ways, and the story made it clear that it wasn't only for money.
That's in the "real world" part of the story, which is about developing the best computer game ever. Inside the game is another story entirely, and that is the one linked to Cats Have No Lord.
Is this a great story? No, but it's a good one, and given when it came out, it had some interesting ideas about what amounts to VR gaming, and the hold that gaming could have on a modern society.
I did have some qualms about a world where people abuse tech so oddly, to the extent of having what amount to pointless high-tech mental duels that can permanently damage one or both fighters. The main character, Kevin, who was attacked in one of these, is paying for the physical upkeep for the person he defeated, since her brain seems to have been fried, but he was still the kind of person who accepted such a challenge in the first place. He's also the kind of person who will betray his supposed friends in a variety of ways, and the story made it clear that it wasn't only for money.
That's in the "real world" part of the story, which is about developing the best computer game ever. Inside the game is another story entirely, and that is the one linked to Cats Have No Lord.
Is this a great story? No, but it's a good one, and given when it came out, it had some interesting ideas about what amounts to VR gaming, and the hold that gaming could have on a modern society.
May 7, 2017
This book takes place in the future where virtual reality is prevalent and has become a job industry. Kevin's job is to play through a game to see how playable it is, are there any bugs, is it enjoyable... ect. Janny is the lead designer and is the brainchild of the game. Tensions rise as the characters have conflicts within themselves and the game. There is a bug in the game, The Tangled Lands, and it seems that no one can beat it. If they don't, the game will crash in on itself and all of that world will come to an end...
This book is set up well, it opens with perspective from playable characters within the game, before switching to characters set in the real world. The rest of the book follows this pattern and it is intriguing to see the developments in both worlds coincide.
Definitely worth a read. I docked it because it is a bit overly sexual at times, but more so because the ending feels rushed.. I think that it could have been expanded upon so much more! 100 or so more pages and I think that would have been closer to the perfect length. Overall, still a good story although the ending is a bit abrupt.
This book is set up well, it opens with perspective from playable characters within the game, before switching to characters set in the real world. The rest of the book follows this pattern and it is intriguing to see the developments in both worlds coincide.
Definitely worth a read. I docked it because it is a bit overly sexual at times, but more so because the ending feels rushed.. I think that it could have been expanded upon so much more! 100 or so more pages and I think that would have been closer to the perfect length. Overall, still a good story although the ending is a bit abrupt.
April 18, 2024
I love Will's early works. This one just doesn't quite make it to the finish line, but still very good.
May 4, 2010
A tightly written novel about people transplanted into a computer game fantasy world and what they need to do to defeat the demons infesting the game.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews