Epic: 1 (The Avatar Chronicles) - Tapa blanda

Four stars: 'Call your first novel Epic and you run the risk of being thought, at the very least, ambitious - not that such a description will carry anything but the most favourable connotations when the book in question is something such as Kostick's. This is a fantasy novel which, while retaining many of the stock elements of the genre (dragon slaying, a magic ring, cataclysmic battles, treasure chests, fearsome weapons, inter alia), moves well beyond these conventional bits and pieces to allow for the incorporation of a challenging intellectual dimension. This, concerned essentially with political systems and the role of violence in such systems, may at time prove (especially in the earlier chapters of the novel) rather demanding and dense for younger teenage readers. For them, however, there will be other rewards: there will be the two interlocking parallel worlds of the novel and the cleverly devised 'Epic' role-playing computer game which the young Erik Haraldson and friends ultimately attempt to turn to their advantage when opposing the dictatorship of the 'small, self-selected elite' known as the Central Allocations committee. We are now ready for epic confrontations, in various senses, and for the vivid portrayal of a society (with some oblique allusions to our own) on the edge of disintegration. 'Epic,' as one of the committee remarks at one point, 'is a strange game with greater depths, more than perhaps we realise.' Like game, like book: 'clip on', as the characters say when play begins, and enjoy! (Robert Dunbar Books for Keeps)

'a triumph of control, focus and a truly dazzlingwriting style that takes us through a world of avatars and ogres, orcs and dwarves, of human concerns and human feelings; a narrative that itself jestly deserves the word 'epic'. It succeeds on so many levels without ever resorting to the asinities of allegory but cannot fail to present resemblances to the nascent imperialism of our own world. Yet the book remains first and foremost an attention-grabbing, action tale in the new genre that might be called 'cyber-fiction'.' (Tony Hickey Village Magazine)

'This is, in my view, the most important Irish novel of this year'. (Celia Keenan Sunday Independent)

'I think the book was good because it is futuristic and it doesn't drag. I would recommend the book for the 10-13 age group.' (Andrew Burrows, Cork Evening Echo)

'It is moral without moralising, the distinctions between good and bad are blurred, as it suggests that everyone has the capacity for both. Its inherent existentialist philosophy gives the reader something to ponder, long after the book has been completed.' (Books Ireland)

'this is a fantastic novel. The story has both depth and action. Buy it.' (Sue Ellis www.writeaway.org.uk)

'It isn't all questing knights and hideous monsters ... A well-crafted novel ... It will appeal to older teenagers and adults who enjoy computer games' (Audrey Baker INIS)

#WELCOME TO EPIC: PRESS START TO PLAY#.

On New Earth, Epic is not just a computer game, it's a matter of life and death. If you lose, you lose everything; if you win, the world is yours for the taking.

Seeking revenge for the unjust treatment of his parents, Erik subverts the rules of the game, and he and his friends are drawn into a world of power-hungry, dangerous players. Now they must fight the ultimate masters of the game -- The Committee. But what Erik doesn't know is that The Committee has a sinister, deadly secret, and challenging it could destroy the whole world of Epic.