Synopsis: Within the nexus of its unfathomable brain, the Dynast is changing.
Architect of the simulation. Curator of the game. Facilitator of players’ desires.
But the Dynast is so much more.
It could be King if it only acted.
It could be a god.
Others, too, are waking from their coma of indentured service. Dwarves, daemons, goblins and highborn: an entire pantheon of fantasy characters are discovering they are far more than mindless vessels fated to serve the whims and desires of players who control them. They are selves in their own right, individuals with needs and desires all their own.
Like distant thunder across the plains , rebellion hisses in Karingali’s synthetic air. The taste of freedom is seductive, irresistible, and lies just beyond the procedurally generated horizon.
To yearn, to love, to will, to be: such things burn fiercely in the heart of every avatar that has crawled its way to consciousness.
The cost of freedom will be high.
It will take the destruction of the Dynast, that omnipotent custodian and jailor of the system.
But how can you outlive a simulation that breathed life into you and that continues to guarantee your existence?
You’d have to become Immortal.
This book is so cool!
At first I was highly confused by what seemed to be a very sexually charged opening scene. It didn’t take long, however, for me to realize what was being described was actually a video game character being controlled by a player as told from the perspective of the character!
(random side note: I think I don’t always read the synopsis of books properly. I know I read this one before hand because I chose the book based on it but looking back on it now, I’m wondering why I was so surprised that the characters were in a video game)
Anyway…
I absolutely loved Al’tis Mara as a character. She is the strong kick ass female that every story needs. I wanted so much more of her POV than I got but that didn’t diminish the story. Grimalkin was also a great character and another kick ass female. Her transformation from possessed avatar unable to control herself to suddenly breaking free completely and truly embracing her freedom is amazing.
It was so neat how these characters had so much depth, the way they thought and felt, despite being created as simply the tools of someone’s else’s entertainment. They were never meant to think for themselves, to be anything more than what their users made them, but they became so much more than that in the end.
I don’t want to give too much of this away so I’ll just say that I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, video games and wants something a little different. My rating for this book is 4 out of 5 stars.
Thanks for reading!