Book Synopsis
Levi Jensen is, by all accounts, a loser. He failed sixth-form, never got to university, and works at a no-future fast-food restaurant. The only thing he’s good at is gaming.
When his father starts dying of a new type of cancer, only treatable privately and at impossible expense, Levi’s one hope of saving him becomes the million-dollar cash-prize for winning the dark-fantasy video-game Fate of Ellaria.
But Levi isn’t the only one with motivations beyond money for winning. And the price of success in Fate of Ellaria might mean the destruction of what little he has left in the real world.
Save Game is a heart-breaking story of an underdog against all odds, as well as a love-letter to the beauty of video-games.
Inspired by the amazing and eclectic everyday people who inhabit the gaming world, and the pain of their real-world lives, Save Game aims to show the courage of those who feel they’ve got no place in reality.
Review
Save Game is the book Ready Player One should of been. Its a book that quite simply leaves you feeling alive with joyful glee. Save Game takes you back to them long summer days of being camped out in your bedroom not allowing even the smallest speck of light to creep through the curtains in case your mother saw you and demanded you got outside. I mean come on mam who wants fresh air when I am blowing people’s heads off. Seriously you had more chance of moving an elephant with your bare hands. You know the feeling I am talking about. I remember it well holding my breath with untold excitement to see if I had defeated the seemingly unbeatable foe.
Save Game gave me this emotion in spades wrapping me in a blanket of nostalgia that once I closed the book I felt as if I had lost an old friend. The reason I say that is because at no point did I feel as if I was reading a book. The sense of place that Joseph was able to create whenever you entered the next quest, made me believe I was a teenager once again locked in my bedroom racing along with Snake from Metal Gear Solid wanting to discover the next clue to accomplish the mission. The world that Joseph creates within this story is one of such complexity, and grandeur that as the words fell away from page to page I found myself smiling in a way that I haven’t in ages when reading a book. It almost felt like Joseph had conducted surgery on all the world’s gamers allowing him to construct an incredible mash up of all the elements that make games tick for us. Pulling influences from such classics as Crash Bandicoot and the greatest game of all time Metal Gear Solid and yes I will go to my grave defending this. As the world continued to unfold it was almost as if Joseph picked up a paintbrush and said this is what you need to know now go and explore. Due to the level of imagination used within the world. It kind of became a character itself. Helping to enhance the heartfelt moments of the story where our main protagonist Levi is faced with some decisions that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
The story is told from the perspective of Levi. A shy young man who doesn’t have much going for him to most people hes a loser. He never finished sixth form, never went to university, and is now working a dead end job. He is kind of a drifter who seems to have no purpose to his life. When his father is struck down by a cancer that seems to have no cure his life is turned upside down. However when he is offered the opportunity to utilise his gaming skills in a game that rewards him handsomely if he succeeds in defeating it Levi can’t pass it up.
What follows is a story about the lengths a person is willing to go to to save loved one. Every time Levi went back into the game I found myself willing him to succeed. You cant help but relate to him, and this is why I always find myself returning to Joseph’s work. Every character he writes makes you feel something for them. Whether it is in the moment, or later on in the narrative when he returns you to a scene you may of overlooked, and gives you all the emotions you were hoping for the first time around. I never finish a Joseph book without learning a new way of how to display an emotion to the reader and for me in Save Game he is marvellous at producing this. I loved the interactions between Levi and his father. How Joseph was able to give you insights into their complex relationship that displays love in so many different ways.
This book is an examination of the ties that bind the human condition. From love to trails of friendship, and the levels of desperation we can reach when faced with an impossible situation. This book has several layers that it is impossible to do them all justice within this review. You will just have to read for yourself to find out more. It receives 5 stars. A highly recommended read.
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t affect my views.
The Dimension Between Worlds 