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Published: Nov. 06, 2011
Words: 72,086 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781466416482
Short description
When the sequel to a popular virtual reality game is released for a special beta test, what seems like harmless violence quickly turns all too consequential when the players realize the game's biggest error: They can't log out. The players must battle against an endless army of monsters programmed to kill their avatars, and find a way out of the game, before the real world catches up to them.Extended description
The never-ending wars, pollution, and overpopulation of the near future have caused the outdoors to become uninhabitable, and the government is forced to create a new world, a virtual existence that allows civilization to continue. Shopping malls, schools, concert venues, and religious gathering places all exist in the infinite confines of this new reality, yet the most popular domain for most teenagers is the one that houses the endless array of digital games.When the sequel to a popular title is released to the public for a special beta test, a group of players eagerly log in to try out the new experience. What seems like harmless violence quickly turns all too consequential when the players realize the game's biggest error: They can't log out. Forced to battle their way through an endless army of monsters programmed to kill their avatars, the players must fight against the clock and find a way out of the game before the real world catches up to them.
Tags
artificial intelligence, young adult, virtual reality, cyberpunk, rpg, video game, near future, mmorpg, mmoAvailable ebook reading formats
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| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Download |
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Videos
Level Zero (Official Trailer)Reviews
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Review by:
Therra Dren
on June 11, 2013 :
I do believe Francis Porretto said it all with much more eloquence than I ever could.
This old female codger was greatly moved and entertained by this book. And that means a great deal to me. This is a book that I KNOW I will read again down the road.
Thank you, Mr. Knuth. VERY HIGHLY recommended!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Francis Porretto
on Nov. 10, 2011 :
This is a hopeful, yet ambiguous, vision embedded within a dystopian conception of the future, with some cautionary-tale leavening for good measure. It qualifies as SF, but it's refreshingly un-cliched; indeed, it focuses where good fiction always should: on the human heart.
Mr. Knuth bills "Level Zero" as for young adults, but this 59-year-old codger enjoyed it immensely. It asks questions about the nature of reality, and about how much of our "classical" reality we'd be willing to give up for a simulation that pleases us better. It also asks whether we're ready for the long foretold (but painfully slow in actually arriving) emergence of artificial intelligences that possess the gamut of human capacities -- including our ability to love.
The aspects of "Level Zero" that do aim at a YA audience would be:
-- The use of a digital game as a simulated universe and field of action;
-- The selection of teenagers as the principal characters;
...yet in neither case does that make the story unpalatable to an older reader.
The plot is fresh and ingenious, without demanding excessive suspension-of-disbelief. The characterizations struck me as spot-on. The metamorphosis of Arkade from a borderline-sociopath antisocial to someone capable of loving was handled exceptionally well. The overall theme -- that anything with human-scale intelligence will ultimately demand to be valued as such, and to be free -- is as important as anything SF is being written about today.
If only all young-adult fiction were this well executed, and aimed this worthily. Highly recommended!
(reviewed within a week of purchase)