Chris

Excellent.

Revisado: 04-02-25

Obvious as to why and how it inspired a genre by itself. Long-winded at times on technical jargon but that aids in immersion. You truly get the feeling that even total professionals can be out of their depth, that when faced with something that breaks every rule, the rules stop being so important.

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Wikipedia articles sewn together.

Revisado: 03-25-25

Very solid start but quickly devolves into somebody showing me all their toys. Too dense on needless detail that undercuts the point of some of the games, while too lofty on the greater social and cultural impact of later entries. This is a HISTORY, not a brief little overview before you return to showing me your Transformers. Tell me more about why they're important.
And "it revolutionized the genre" followed by one or two VAGUE reasons isn't enough.

This is a college paper stretched into a whole book.

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Outstanding "you decide" monograph full of facts.

Revisado: 03-20-25

The author takes enormous effort to maintain a neutral and balanced tone when outlining various incidents, reports, misinformation, and testimony. If the reader pays attention they can quite easily surmise which incidents are almost certainly bad luck, confusion, coincidence, or plain-old faulty reasoning.
The outlining of the damned-if-you-do federal stance is excellent. Do you reveal your hand and admit you've made a mistake? Or do you quietly pretend there was no military exercise with new tech in the first place, letting the flying saucer fans discredit the event FOR you?
Superb work.

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If Ernest Cline had high IQ and real emotional intelligence.

Revisado: 11-26-24

The two hour exposition dump at the beginning of the book should be considered a warcrime. Onboarding people into what a videogame is and how they work is agony to endure. This and the total explanation not only of the narrative but also the central tension is... unsatisfying. Please stop telling me literally everything. man.

Instead of a hot-start where we begin the story with Carl IN the dungeon, we're stuck getting the Navi experience. At least it's done as reasonably as it could have been. It's not pulling teeth, we get some novicane.

Very creative in some ways, though. Credit where credit is due. The lampshading of death games paired with sci-fi troops and MMO tropes isn't something I've seen without constant Joss Whedon writing.

This is SAO for the west— regrettable as it is that SAO exists when .dotHack already did.

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A haunting monograph.

Revisado: 11-10-22

Utterly terrifying how sheer human incompetence and laziness could have sparked nuclear armageddon a dozen times or more. But what's perhaps even more terrifying is how brazenly passive and accepting the US government was of those mistakes. Why fix something if it costs a little extra? That won't make the defense contractors any money. Why wear your seat-belt? It won't make the car go any faster, so what's the point?

It's a miracle we haven't caused a nuclear holocaust, or worse.

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⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃

Revisado: 07-22-22

Discussing this book seems to only bring misfortune. Dig no deeper. Settle with what you have.

⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃ ⏃

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An author who decided he's tired of trying.

Revisado: 02-15-22

Ever since the propagation of papyrus and written script, older men transform their envy of youth's expedient use of new technology into a sense of divine injustice. They begrudgingly admit the new technology or tool's improvements over their childhood's old standbys, before clutching their pearls. Surely this will end society as we know it!

The author is neither the latest, nor most creative iteration of this most ancient of traditions.

Despite constantly advocating for personal growth, development, and willingness to pursue new ideas in youth, he somehow draws the line at full-time employment and one's wife giving birth. Then, one is officially an "adult" and they no longer need to learn! Your growth somehow ends! Spawn released and corporate subservience for the sake of "being productive" (somehow considered an innate virtue) achieved, growth mystically concludes. Thank goodness.

Instead of offering limp "I'm no professional" hand-waves concerning neurodivergent and transgender students-- calling into question why the author opts to speak about gender at all, if they so willingly admit such a barren, total absence of understanding --alongside cellphone doomsaying, perhaps they could have spent some free time actually speaking with his students about their lives. Rather than condescendingly delivering snide one-liners about cellphone use and "kids these days" he could have purchased or at least asked his students about phones themselves. He could have become immersed in the culture; he could have attempted to understand that which he fears. But, as he communicated earlier in the text, he is an "adult". He has no more need for growth.

I am unsure as to whether the author has ever read the definition of "cognitive dissonance" in his life, or genuinely examined his own thoughts before putting them to paper. He explains what he does not understand, does not attempt to understand, and draws his conclusions from his consequently ignorant observations. I am as baffled as you are, dear reader.

If you share a crippling fear of social, technological, and educational experimentation alongside even the mildest of progressive ideas, rest assured: You will not be challenged by this work whatsoever.

Speak to your old teachers and professors about their careers, what they learned, their tactics, what they've observed. Call your parents, ask them about raising children-- how they felt, their tips, what changes they observed in themselves and yourself as you grew up. These series of conversations will vastly outstrip the content of this book.

But, if you relish shaking your cane at the noisy children on your front lawn playing that loud stuff they call "music", by all means, enjoy. You'll fit into this piece like a cozy pair of fleece slippers.

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If Robert Jordan wrote about the American West.

Revisado: 03-25-21

Managed to get 5~ hours in before my tolerance snapped. The narrator clearly means well and does his best, but he narrates nearly every line with the same light candor and tone as he does every other. Brutal tragedy? He'll emphasize a different word or two. Lovely triumph of human spirit? He'll emphasize a different word or two.

This book has an unrivaled dedication to detail, it's greatest flaw. I don't care if Carson had a sprained ankle one time and he wrote a journal entry about it. In fact, NOBODY cares. This book makes me actively wish I were re-listening to other nonfiction books I own, wistfully imagining the day I'd finish this odyssey and be allowed to enjoy myself again.

If the American West and Carson are your fetish, by all means, eat it up.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

timeless classic

Revisado: 06-25-20

Jacques's story is potent enough, but the entire narrating cast gives it a color never found outside the audiobook or radio play genres.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

excellent work by Jaques

Revisado: 06-07-20

very clearly written by the seat of his pants at times, which works well in his case, excellent work by Jaques

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