{Review} Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

 Title: Erebos

Author: Ursula Poznanski

Format: Netgalley, egalley

Publisher: Annick Press

Release date: January 19th, 2013

Date Read: July 11th

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.

When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.

Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game.

Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur. This utterly convincing and suspenseful thriller originated in Germany, where it has become a runaway bestseller.

As someone who has wasted fruitfully spent countless hours and weekends gaming or doing things related to gaming (aka crying about how I don’t have pc Skyrim or Guild Wars 2), this book was something that I obviously had to read. I was fairly nervous about it though because I had no idea how someone could write a good book about a video game. It's not really something that is easy to write since video games are a very visual and auditory experience that can't very well be replicated on paper.

Yet, somehow, even with Erebos' shitty translator, Erebos manages to convey the feeling of playing a fantastic video game while having an amazing plot at the same time. Many chapters are from the point of view of the video game character, which makes Erebos a wholly original experience in many ways.


Like I said, one of Erebos' biggest drawbacks is the absolute awful translator. Sentences are completely weird and often, whole paragraphs don't make any sense at all. The translator is German but obviously, they don't know how to translate at all. I can't really say anything about the writing because there is a high chance that Poznanski is an amazing writer with a really sucky translator. I'll have to get my mom to read it in German one of these days so she can tell me if the writing is decent or not.

Horrible translation aside, the story is amazing. I couldn't put the book down once I picked it up. The story was incredibly engaging and entertaining. Like a good thriller, Erebos kept you guessing for much of the book. It was a bit erratic at times and it wasn't very tight but I loved it anyway.

While you don't have to be a gamer to find the concept absolutely brilliant, but it definitely helps. A game that interacts very directly with the player and adapts itself to you? How awesome is that? It's both scary and amazing. 

I am happy to say that the concept was executed brilliantly. I am still in awe of how Poznanski handled the incredibly hard subject. It had the perfect feeling to it, one that put you right into the character's shoes. I fell headfirst into the world of Erebos and I'm still not over it. I really wish I could wipe my memory of it and reread it and re-experience it.

Another flaw to the book are the characters. They lack life and energy for the most part. I never really connected with any of the characters. 

The main character, Nick, was the worst. He felt more like a filler character that was created simply because Poznanski needed a main character. He didn't really have a personality and felt like a character that you should use as, I don't know, a body for you to put your personality into? I'm not sure how to describe it but Nick didn't feel like a normal character. 

I know I've said words like perfect a lot in this review but that’s really all I can think of for the book. Overall, I’d recommend Erebos to people who either like thrillers or video games – or both. It was an awesome read that deserves lots of readers.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.