Lucky Wander Boy

MAY 1, 2003

Apparently, this is book is supposed to do for video games what Michael Chabon did for comic books. At least that's what the cover says. I don't know if I agree with that because Chabon made comic books accessible to everyone, and not knowing a heck of a lot about comics wasn't prohibitive. With this book by D.B. Weiss, I felt that your level of video game knowledge was important. So, it's been tough for me to recommend this book to just anyone.

For those that cut the mustard (what the hell does that mean, by the way), I found this book to be incredibly interesting a few levels. For everyone, the book is about a geek who is writing a book that catalogues every video game ever made and his pursuit for one particular game, Lucky Wander Boy. He believes it holds the secret to life.

First, the criticism of games, especially early in the novel, is excellent. I would definitely read his reviews over those you find in today's video game mags. The plot of the book was interesting, as seeking the meaning of life from a video game is something new, and the writing style was excellent. These alone would have kept me interested, but what pushed me over was the underlying exploration of the modern geek.* The book really does a good job of looking at how a geek thinks and acts.

I could go on about this book, as I found it interesting, but these are "mini-reviews," but I'd rather discuss it with you in real-time. Definitely pick it up if you're into videogames.

*By geek, I mean someone who is completely and totally obsessed with one thing. In this case, videogames.

Posted in Book at 5:49 pm.