Customer Reviews

Killobyte

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"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

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

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.

Firstly, this is not my favorite book genre. However, on advice from a friend I surprisingly enjoyed "Killobyte".

Piers Anthony gives us an intriguing concept of virtual reality in "game form". We meet heroic Walter Toland, an ex-policeman, now forced to be wheelchair bound. And Baal Curran, an introspective High Schol senior, who has retreated into a world of her own.

Playing "Killobyte" brings them together on a journey of understanding and victory.

A complete, well written story.

Thanks--CDS

Killobyte (1993) is a one-off science fiction adventure by Piers Anthony.

The core premise of Killobyte is that virtual reality technology works. Gamers put on special suits in their living rooms, then plug in all around America to the game of Killobyte. They play cooperative and competitively, in environments that range from 'fantasy castle' to 'Beirut'.

Also, because this is Piers Anthony, the limitless freedom of the new technology enables people to talk endless about their childhoods and, of course, go at it like rabbits.

Killobyte starts as an intriguing, well-paced investigation of the virtual reality concept. The protagonist, Walter, explores the game from the earlier 'levels' - ushering the reader through the early ramifications of the new technology. Walter soon encounters multi-player gaming and Anthony, to his credit, deftly explores the repercussions of that aspect as well - a virtual reality world for one is wildly different than a world shared with others. Anthony even does a credible job showing the difference between power-gamers, social gamers, role-players. While Walter is out to explore the new world, others, like the woman, Baal, are merely using it as escapism. And still others are playing to 'win' - ignoring the meaning of the worlds they play in and just trying to rack up points.

Anthony being Anthony, however, the initial promise of the book is quickly ruined. Walter and Baal immediately kick off a romance (complete with VR sexual exploration), based almost entirely on the fact that they're both 'misfits' - Walter is wheelchair-bound, Baal is diabetic (something Anthony touches in repeatedly in his books). Several meandering expositional (yet in no way interesting) chapters later, their budding relationship is spoiled by a HACKER. Hackers, we learn, are the emo terrorists of the future. This one, Phreak, is a lonely kid who reaches out by logging in to Killobyte and heckling people. Unfortunately, in the case of Walter and Baal, his heckling has the potential to prove lethal. (dun-dun-DUN!)

Although the reader should be grateful for Phreak's interruption of Baal & Walter's awkward sexual ministrations, the plot is nothing less than pure goofiness. In the weird 1994 version of the internet, full Virtual Reality is possible (on a modem, no less!), but the equipment is magically and conveniently lethal (and inescapable), and a single hacker has godlike power.

Walter and Baal are both fairly wretched characters as well. Although Virtual Reality is positioned as a godsend for both Baal and Walter - a chance for both to experience a 'normal' physical life, that is quickly undermined by the whole plot of the book. Even in the realm of imagination, the two are unable to escape who they are. Cue: an entire book filled with sterile, self-absorbed internal monologues. Anthony's tendency for super-rational, over-thinking protagonists is on full display here, as Walter dutifully contemplates everything in painstaking detail before doing anything.

Anthony's traditional sexism is on display here as well. Anthony is quick to point out that the female roles in Killobyte are sexist. In the 'fantasy castle' scenario, for example, the only female roles are 'nymph' and 'princess'. Walter and Baal are constantly shocked by the sexual availability of the computer-controlled female characters.

Alas, that doesn't cut it. Just having characters comment about how sexist something is... doesn't actually make it any less sexist (please take note of this, Joss Whedon). Rather than using virtual reality as an excuse to step out of gender roles, the game reinforces them. Similarly, rather than exploring the concept as an means to avoid stereotypical gender roles, Anthony uses the book to reinforce them. Girls are girls and boys are boys, and nothing can change that. One will always be the hero, the other will always be the object. He is defined by his concerns over his manhood, she is defined by concerns over how pretty she is. The whole thing is more than a little painful.

Overall, Killobyte is like having an entire Anthonian series condensed into one short volume: an interesting premise, swiftly ruined by an appalling commitment to lackluster characters and ludicrous sexual escapism. The book's trite ending is particularly appalling - a ham-fisted appeal to some sort of geeky gamer utopia, where geek meets geek under the starry sky, to be accepted by one another - if not by the rest of the world.

Given 1 star, and that's only for the outrageous mullet in the cover art.

Having avoided Piers Anthony since junior high school (16 years or so ago), I was first exposed to him through Killobyte. As a graphics programmer, this book is awful and very, very, very wrong. As a fiction reader, though, this book is complete, well written, and a delight to sit and pour through.

Killobyte's characters, Walter, Baal, and Phreak, are perfectly described, their actions, their pasts...they all seem congruous and well-thought. The action is quickly paced and often funny. Fans of computer gaming will find it especially enjoyable to be immersed in this fantasy world of gaming, even one that is so very unlikely. You will read this book at one sitting, and end up wanting more, guaranteed.

I have been an Anthony fans for about 11 years and though I haven't read every novel he has written I have read many of his series. This was the first single novel of Anthony's that I read.

As a matter of fact, next to the FOUNDATION TRILOGY, it was one of the MOST enthralling books I have ever read. This was an "edge of your seat" book. It not only was exciting but it was a "peek into the future."

To begin with I read it cover to cover in 1 day I took the next 2 days to re-read and savor it all over again. On top of that it inspired me to write my first and only fan letter. (Of which was replied to by Piers himself.)

I urge any and all fans to get and read this book. It is definatly worth the price (and a real bargain from AMAZON.COM) And for all you Sci-fi fans that haven't read Anthony, but liked the movie TOTAL RECALL, This is the author for you!

I was DEEPLY dissapointed by Kilobyte. My wife and I purchased the book based upon our faith in the Piers Anthony name, because we have come to expect quality from the books that bear it.

At first, I felt the characters to be a bit wooden, but I was willing to read on and see if it got better. It didn't. It got worse.

I completely lost my suspension of disbelief around page 148. First, I find that the main villain has been around for a while, and has done this sort of thing before, AND the company is aware of it. I think to myself "Gee, then it's kinda wierd that they haven't DONE something about it, announced something about it, or at least made it easier to report it when it happens... They seem to be opening them selves to a bodacioius lawsuit!". Later that page, we find that the seemingly profitable and large company behind the Kilobyte game finds nothing unusual or problematic about leaving one of it's customers in a potentially dangerous situation, perhaps for hours or days, in order to "catch the bad guy". Apparently, in the United States in this book, the word "Lawsuit" has not been invented.

When it is revealed that one or both of our main characters face lethal situations here, my dissapointment grew worse. One might assume that there are no laws at all in this fictional USA, as one of our main characters, seemingly a policeman, fails to inform our villainous teenager that if he continues he will no longer be hunted for computer crime, but for murder (Ok, I admit that they MIGHT not make the charge stick, but as an ex-policeman he should have at least TRIED the threat of the law!).

Even though either of both of our main characters may die, it occurs to neither of them that they are in a crowded room, filled with bystanders. Neither of them even attempted to contact any of these bystanders, perhaps to ask them to call 911, or perhaps to inform the Kilobyte company that they were going to die (for real), and that this just MIGHT cause some bad publicity (again, we won't mention that word "Lawsuit", as it doesn't exist in this world...).

I am quite puzzled, as I have felt that in the past Piers Anthony books have really shined out by holding together in a logical manner, regardless of the wierdness or sillyness of the situation. That the characters and world of this book should be so illogical really shakes me up! Well, I just hope that this book is an abberation, and that his future works return to the level of quality that I have grown used to.

I've read a few Piers Anthony books and really enjoyed them, and when I found Kilobyte I approached it like an undiscovered treasure. Unfortunately, this is one manuscript that should have stayed in the author's desk drawer, or at least been refused by the publisher. I tried to finish it, I've been struggling with it for weeks thinking that it would get better if I approached it in another setting or another mood, but I only get a couple of paragraphs at a time before I'm bored. Sorry!

The characters lack depth, the story isn't really going anywhere, and it's not as well written as his other books. Either this is an early effort, or one that's half finished and should have been polished some more.

If you're looking for a good book to get into this author, I would recommend For Love of Evil. It's in the middle of a series but can be read stand alone, and it's really, really good.

With the advent of widespread online multi-player games like World of Warcraft and Everquest, this novel really seems ahead of its time. Especially when you consider that Anthony had the idea to write this novel in 1981. Granted, some old technology is involved (i.e. dial-up modems) but you can't really fault the author for referencing the knowable communication medium at the time.

Anthony also gives us a couple of different lessons:

1. Diabetes, of which I was woefully ignorant of the details. Yeah, I've heard the term "blood sugar" used before, but I never really knew what it meant because it doesn't concern me. Anthony has given me an amount of sympathy to those that suffer from this disease, especially Type 1.

2. Lebanon during a time of civil war. You gain a good baseline of knowledge on the different state and non-state actors involved. Still very relevant to current times.

If you're a fan of video games and Piers Anthony, despite a few characterization flaws, you'll definitely enjoy reading this.