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    MindWar: A Novel
    MindWar: A Novel
    MindWar: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    MindWar: A Novel

    Written by Andrew Klavan

    Narrated by Andrew Kanies

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    When Rick lost the ability to run, he came one step closer to becoming a hero.

    New High Score! New Record Time!

    Rick nodded with grim satisfaction. He laid the game controller aside on the sofa and reached for his crutches.

    Rick Dial was the best quarterback Putnam Hills High School had ever seen. Unflappable. Unstoppable. Number 12. But when a car accident left him crippled, Rick’s life as he knew it ended. He disavowed his triumphant past. He ignored his girlfriend. He disappeared into his bedroom—and into the glowing video screen.

    But Rick’s uncanny gaming skills have attracted attention. Dangerous attention. Government agents have uncovered a potentially devastating cyber-threat: a Russian genius has created a digital reality called the Realm, from which he can enter, control, and disrupt American computer systems . . . from transportation to defense. The agents want Rick, quick-thinking quarterback and gaming master, to enter the Realm and stop the madman—before he sends America into chaos.

    Entering the Realm will give Rick what he thought he’d never have again: a body as strong and fast as it was before the accident. But this is no game, there are no extra lives, and what happens to Rick in the Realm happens to Rick’s body in reality.

    Even after Rick agrees to help, he can’t shake the sense that he’s being kept in the dark. Why would a government agency act so aggressively? Can anyone inside the Realm be trusted? How many others have entered before him . . . and failed to return?

     

    In the tradition of Ender’s Game and The Matrix, MindWar is a complex thriller about a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers a hidden gift—a gift that could make him a hero . . . or cost him everything.

    "Edgar Award–winning Klavan’s well-orchestrated fantasy thriller features . . . an imaginative mix of gaming action with real-life stakes. With just the right cliff-hanger ending, this trilogy opener shows promise." —Booklist

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateJul 15, 2014
    ISBN9780529124135
    MindWar: A Novel
    Author

    Andrew Klavan

    Andrew Klavan is an award-winning writer, screenwriter, and media commentator. An internationally bestselling novelist and two-time Edgar Award-winner, Klavan is also a contributing editor to City Journal, the magazine of the Manhattan Institute, and the host of a popular podcast on DailyWire.com, The Andrew Klavan Show. His essays and op-eds on politics, religion, movies, and literature have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, and elsewhere.

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    Reviews for MindWar

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      really great concept, had me hooked a few chapters in! klavan is an excellent suspense writer but character development falls flat in a few areas. narration was hard to get used to. looking forward to listening to the next book!
    • 5/5
       My mom has superpowers. I'm sure of it. She was able to find a copy of this book over a week before it's release (it's still not released yet at the time of this review). Anyway.Rick Dial used to have it all. The hero of the football team, got a girl, plenty of friends, everything. But that all ended when the accident happened that would render his legs useless. Seemingly right after, his dad walked out on the family, leaving only a note that he'd met back up with his college girl. Since then, Rick lived in his room, doing nothing but video games. Until Rick learns of the Realm: a virtual reality the terrorist group plans to use to bring America to its knees, and only Rick can stop them.It's an Andrew Klavan novel! Of course I'm going to like it! I love how he throws the plot at you within the first couple chapters, creates suspense, gives you that ONE reason to read the next chapter, and his twists are fantastic!However, I didn't quite connect with this book like I have with other books. Maybe because I now do more things than video games, and have always thought that books based on In-Game concepts were a little unbelievable (Spy Kids 3: Need I say more?). Klavan did a pretty good job describing the Game world: red earth, blue trees, a monster that was a cross between a spider and a snake--so there was never a time where I was overly disgusted with the unbelievable dimension. Maybe it was also the fact that Rick only spent about half the book there and had other things to worry about in the real world. There wasn't a thousand new names and places to learn in the Realm, which made it simple and easy.I wasn't all that keen on the characters in the Realm. The water girl (Mariel?) and Favian (who seemed kind of wimpy for someone who fights Game demons) and then there was the "boss" who worships the creator of the Realm. I'm not sure why a perfectly normal human being (aside from being a terrorist) would like to be upgraded in the game to a demonic purple creature with wings, talons, and a tail. I just didn't see him going, "Master, I want to be transformed into a hideous monster!"Of course, I loved the terrorist side to the story, and the fact that a lot of it was told from the mind of Victor One was an interesting POV. One of the things I really like about Klavan is his twists with terrorists. There's almost ALWAYS terrorists in his books. At the very least, crime.Things to Watch Out For:Romance: Rick has a girlfriend and remembers kissing her; Rick feels drawn to Mariel; father suddenly leaves the family and a note explains he went off with another womanLanguage: "hurt like the devil"; "hellish"; several descriptions of one character are compared to SatanViolence: teenager gets in a car wreck and damages his legs; man breaks into a house with a gun; a monster attempts to kill several characters; a danger that one character's mind will disintegrate; several fight scenesDrugs: wine used as a simile for something pleasant; characters had drunk champaign at a weddingNudity: NoneOther: One character seems to believe in works for salvation in one scene; strife between parent and son; one character explains that if someone dies in the Realm, their soul is stuck there forever, unable to go on to the afterlife. Later another character decides that isn't completely true, but believes their soul can still be trapped for awhile319 pages
    • 4/5
      I was pleasantly surprised with this book for teenagers. It was very easy to get into the story. It is pretty imaginative and had an Avatar quality about the story. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was very well written and it kept me interested to the end and I’m looking forward to reading the sequels.
    • 4/5
      Good beginning to a series that I'll continue reading. Some of the writing is skewed a little young, but it is not too distracting from an interesting story.
    • 4/5
      Rick Dial was an unflappable, unstoppable quarterback for his Putnam Hills High School team until a car accident crushed his legs and made him dependent on crutches to even hobble 100 meters. Unsure of who he is without his athletic gift, and embarrassed by his weakness, Rick retreats to the safety of his bedroom where he throws himself into video games and masters every game he plays. One day, while hobbling down the street, he is abducted by a government agency who convince him that the skills he displays during video play; coolness, quick thinking, and fearlessness are exactly the skills they need to combat a Russian cyberthreat to America known as the Realm. They want Rick to enter the Realm, and defeat the crazy genius who is masterminding the plot to control and disrupt American computer systems. The biggest drawback is that, although Rick's body is fully functioning within the Realm, any injuries he sustains while in there are real, and when he withdraws from the Realm, the injuries remain. If he is killed while inside the Realm, he will remain in a coma forever in the real world. This is book one of a trilogy, guaranteed to be loved by those who enjoyed The Matrix or Ender's Game.