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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grand Fantasy Adventure With A Heart And Soul, October 1, 2004
"Killobyte" wouldn't have to be anything more than what it's described as on the back - a near-future hyper-realistic virtual reality game where players can play almost any role, until a hacker brings into the game the possibility of real death to the players - and succeed marvelously as an exhilirating adventure story and prime fodder for any number of dreams and fantasies. But, being written by Piers Anthony, it also adds in some extra dimensions for even more reward.
First, the VR-adventure themes - players play 'online' with and against any number of other players (and bear in mind that this was written in 1993, when things like the Internet were still in their infancy), choosing from a vast array of scenarios - High Fantasy type with dragons and sorcerors and dashing knights and beautiful maidens; Science Fictional settings; 'real-life' political intrigue/military settings - just about anything you can think of - and select from a host of loosely-defined 'roles' within their scenario, then go on to custom-make the specific attributes of their character. Players can log in and out of their scenario and come back in inprogress, but if killed ingame must start a new character. For any fan of video games, adventure/fantasy movies, and the sexier possibilities in Virtual Reality role-playing, this guarantees a great novel provided it's written well, which this is.
But there's more - first of all, though it's evident that the majority of Killobyte-players are 'normal', reasonably well-adjusted people whose excursions into the VR world no more mean that they can't enjoy the real world, any more than people who watch a lot of movies or read a lot of books can't enjoy numerous other aspects of life; the two lead characters - Waler and Baal - are indeed hampered by limitations that severely hamper their ability to partake of the 'real' world. And their backstories are given, providing insight into and generating real empathy for the characters. Baal, for example (this isn't giving anything away, it comes up early in the book) is both severely diabetic and hypershy. This is one thing I love about Anthony's writing: like Stephen King and Dean Koontz he includes characters with physical and/or mental ailments as main parts of the cast - sometimes it's not a main point, just a 'just-happens-to-be' kind of thing; other times it's a significant part of the character. But even when it's significant in the character and the story, it's always made clear that the affliction (or disability or whatever you want to call it) is FAR from the sole characteristic that makes up the person. This is true of Koontz's and King's books as well.
Piers also frequently includes characters of different races, belief systems, ethnicities, and the other things that unfortunately tend to divide people, into his books. Here, for example, the Druze religion is briefly brought into things, an actual religion that I had never heard of before reading "Killobyte". As a species, humanity isn't doing as good a job as it could of the different peoples mingling and understanding and respecting one another in the real world. Perhaps greater exposure to different cultures, religions, etc., through things like books and movies is a place to start? (If you agree with that, I'd enthusiastically urge you to check out "The Veiled Web" by Catherine Asaro, an excellent book that has the very notions above as one of its two main themes, along with the emergence of genuine Artificial Intelligence)
There's one other thing about this that's a big drawing point - the Author Notes at the back. Years back I gave up reading most Author Notes and interviews and the like, and I Never watch the behind-the-scenes making-of features on DVDs, because I don't want to risk spoiling the magic of the story. At the time I ceased with the interviews and stuff, I decided there were a few sources who were 'safe' in this way, Anthony being one of them. His notes are always entertaining, enlightening, and never take away even a smidgen of the magic of his books
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun Romp Through VR, December 8, 2003
This story is quite engaging and fun, and only one thing keeps it from getting a five: the seeming arbitrariness of the danger that the players of the VR game face. One player goes into diabetic shock while the other has a coincidental pacemaker problem that makes it possible for a game-death to kill him. Other than that difficulty, it is entertaining and a fun story. No real issues of great import are ever discussed in the novel, but it is a book for fun, not for serious contemplation. The three main characters are interesting, though, and they do have a fun story, even if it isn't terribly compelling. Walter is an emotionally scarred ex-policeman who was assaulted by a vicious wife-beater (who should have died, quite frankly), and who is seeking escape in virtual reality. Baal is an emotionally scarred teenage girl who was diagnosed with diabetes and who has a tragedy-fraught romantic life. She wants to find out what dying is like, and thinks that VR is the best way to find out before she finally commits. Their story is interesting and believable, and the action carries it through the parts that don't make as much sense and where characterization fails a bit, but it makes a fun, cohesive whole. It's not a brain-bender by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a very fun read that I recommend. Read it and enjoy it, use it as a way of escaping the world for a little while.
Harkius
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An oldie..., September 4, 2010
This review is from: Killobyte (Paperback)
I had this on my bookshelf for years and never finished it and after finally finishing it now I know why.
I think Anthony is a great writer/can be a great writer. Some of his books are the best that I've ever read (first of the Adept and Xanth books, some of the Anthonology shorts, Battle Circle etc.).
What makes those books so good is the time he spends fleshing out the main characters. He spends a lot of time on them and really builds them up so you really feel for them. All these characters have something in common, they are all moral characters that we either identify with or want to identify with. And a lot of times he puts them in moral dilemmas they solve in a way that we either approve or want to solve ourselves. In a way, the setting of the book is immaterial, it's the characters that really grab us and hold our attention.
The plot in this book is really neat. It's an adventure in an on-line reality world setting, but that in a way is immaterial. The problem with this book is that Anthony does not invest enough in the characters (or main character) to make him interesting for us, there is too much action going on and that detracts from what we like about Piers Anthony books. I think I'm correct because this book did not have any sequels. It could have had one or more sequels, but I think the fan base was not supportive enough of the book for Anthony to continue. That's what I think anyway.
Part of the problem was also that the book was split into 2 protagonists. All the books I really liked had only one: Stile, Dor, Bink, Sos; all the other characters were supporting. This book had two so I don't think Anthony invested enough time in either one. That's why I didn't enjoy the book that much myself. Your mileage may vary.
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