Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not the book for me. DNF @ 15%.

One fateful day Edward's father and brother disappear while working on a virtual reality game. One day later Edwards world gets turned upside down. He learns that the family he believed to be dead are still alive and he is the only one to help them. He has to go into the game his brother and father created and play through it if he wants to save them.

I have to admit I was struggling with this book. While I liked the story and found it quite intriguing, I thought it could have been a bit better. I had troubles connecting with the main characters (Edward is really whiny sometimes) and I would have wanted the book to be a bit more fast paced.

A fun and unique book along the thread of <i>Ready Player One</i> and the new Jumanji movie.

I'm a total nerd and playing video games (largely RPG) is one of my hobbies so I was really excited to have the chance to read this book set in an RPG style virtual reality game. The setting allows for a combination of both high fantasy and sci-fi elements which is really cool to see.

Other than being a fun adventure story to read, it also poses important and deep questions and ethical implications for creating characters which are so lifelike, what really stops them being alive? Does creating this characters which are doomed to die and doomed to live in a world ravaged by a dark lord make the creator a bad person?

The writing itself was good in parts when it got into its stride but there were still some stumbles which made it read a little bit fanfictiony. That is something that will come with time and practice though and having received an ARC it may well have received some editing since then.

The storyline itself was enjoyable as long as you kind of ignore the plotholes and logic gaps! I mean, who creates a world where literally the ONLY way to leave it is by using this ONE specific stone in the entire game which can be picked up by anyone, including characters?!? The "romance" between Elizabeth and Edward was kind of weird and forced. It was too reciprocal to be a crush but also not enough to be a relationship. It was kind of more like "oh the main guy has to get with the main girl because that's just how it goes. The magic system also seemed really unfinished. Edward learnt 3(?) spells over the course of his adventure and we don't really get to see Elizabeth learn any. It just seems to be a bit forgotten about at times!

I do also agree with some of my fellow reviewers who felt like the story dragged a little bit despite there being plenty of action. I'm not really sure what the issue was or why it seemed this way but I did find myself getting a little impatient at times.

Overall, I loved the premise of the book and the bare bones of the story is excellent. With a little more development and a bit more refinement in the writing it has great potential.

Outside of reading, one of my favorite hobbies is playing video games, especially open-world adventures like Skyrim and Fallout. In addition, virtual reality play such as the Sword Art Online series are extremely interesting to me. If you’re at all interested in these things, you will fall in love with Extropia: Mind Game.

This novel doesn’t stay in one place for very long as our main character, Edward, traverses the unbelievably realistic world of Extropia, a science fiction virtual reality video game created by his missing father and brother. Why is he so emotionally invested in the characters presented to him? Why does the world affect him as if it’s real? I found that Robin Bootle’s experience with role-playing video games helped portray the main character as a gamer, someone experienced in how leveling and game progression worked. There were no questions on my end that were not answered throughout the story.

Even if you’re not a fan of video games, this story has a lot to offer. The world of Extropia is full of political strife and feuding powers. Edward must decide if the very real possibility of death and dismemberment is worth risking for virtual reality characters. Can he really make a difference in the trek he makes through this danger-ridden world, or is he just following pre-determined steps in a quest that was meant for every other player of the game? Can you really grow to have emotional bonds with synthetic characters in a video game? And if so, how far will you go for those that you bond with?

This book is the sort where there's so many twists and turns that you can't put it down. Yesterday I was going out for dinner with my partner and I promised 'just one more chapter' and had to admit to him that I might have accidentally read three instead, because there was no way I could go out not knowing what was going to happen next. my favourite character is actually Ivandell - I think there is such amazing development behind him and what's more is that I didn't like him at first, but he grew on me so quickly. I can't wait to read the next book; I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Hound and learning more about him, as there is A LOT more to him than meets the eye.