New author photo for Conor Kostick at O'Brien Press

O'Brien Press have a new author photograph for Conor Kostick. The new photo (below) looks much more professional than the old one (above).

Early reviews for Epic in the USA

Booklist is a prestigious publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers. In a starred review, Sally Estes wrote:

Kostick was a designer for the world’s first live fantasy role-playing game in England, and his expertise is evident in this gripping first novel, set on New Earth, where violence has been banned for generations and conflicts are settled in the fantasy computer game Epic. Getting ahead in the real world means winning in the gaming world - and everyone plays. The unjust treatment of his parents by the Central Allocations committee, which ruthlessly rules the planet, sets teenager Erik and his friends on a perilous mission to challenge the committee and put an end to Epic. Erik’s fantasy persona has been killed in a battle with a dragon, and he must prepare a new gaming identity. This time, he is a beautiful female swashbuckler named Cindella the sailor, and as he undertakes a dangerous struggle against the committee, he is threatened by death in both the fantasy world and hardscrabble reality. The action is nonstop, it’s easy to keep track of who’s who, and the story flows seamlessly as characters move between worlds, maintaining their individuality in both. A surefire winner with a sequel in the works and a third planned.

Kliatt, a bimonthly magazine, publishes reviews of books recommended for libraries and classrooms serving adolescents and young adults. In a starred review, Paula Rohrlick writes:

On New Earth, violence is forbidden. All conflicts are resolved through a fantasy role-playing computer game called Epic, which is controlled by the autocratic Central Allocations Committee. When 14-year-old Erik's parents are threatened with exile--"reallocation"--he and his friends come up with a desperate, daring scheme to battle the Committee in the virtual arena and win. They must fight not only a powerful dragon in the game, but, unknown to them, the members of the Committee, who are vying for power with each other behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Epic is evolving on its own and revealing unsuspected depths, and the real battle turns out to be for control of New Earth's society.

Fantasy fans, especially fans of role-playing games, will appreciate all the detail Kostick (a teacher of medieval history at Trinity College, Ireland, who also designs fantasy role-playing games) supplies in both the worlds he creates in this first novel. There's lots of swashbuckling action in the game--even a vampire and a pirate ship--which is of course the most fun, but there's suspense in the characters' hardscrabble, vaguely Scandinavian farmer-like lives on New Earth, too. Readers will be eager to continue the adventure in the sequel, Saga.

In the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Cindy Welch writes:

Epic is the game of all games: occupation, income, housing, and even power for heat and light are all dependent on players' skills in the arena, and death is serious but not fatal. Originally a virtual reality game intended to entertain space travelers, it has become the legal and economic foundation of a society that prohibits all forms of violence and dissent. Central Allocations administers justice and favors via its virtual champions, who have the best weaponry and magic and who are literally virtually unbeatable. Stung by a series of inequities, high-school student Erik decides to take on the system. Discovering that Epic has evolved as the society it supports has begun to fail, he realizes that the only option is to try to end the game forever, which leads him into an ultimate battle against the game's own consciousness. The storyline becomes predictable, and characters are two-dimensional in their clear commitment to good or evil and their lack of growth. The premise is engaging, though, and the book emphasizes action, which is enhanced by interesting subplots about treachery and the consequences of absolute power. Readers may therefore find themselves rooting for the youngsters, and the nicely constructed gaming framework will likely ultimately draw teens.

Bowker's Books In Print has the following summary:

On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game, fourteen-year-old Erik pursuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families. Generations ago, violence was banned on New Earth. Society is governed and conflicts are resolved in the arena of a fantasy computer game, Epic. Everyone plays. If you win, you have the chance to go to university, get more supplies for your community, and fulfill your dreams; if you lose, your life both in and out of the game is worth nothing. When Erik, seeking revenge for the unjust treatment of his parents, dares to subvert the rules of Epic, he and his friends find themselves up against with the ultimate masters of the game: the Committee. If Erik and his friends win, they may have the key to destroying Epic?s tyranny over New Earth. But if they lose . . .

Two future books from Conor Kostick

Conor has posted at Lady Schrapnell's blog about two upcoming books.

The first book to appear will be part of O'Brien Press's Forbidden Files series. The idea is that these are stories that had been suppressed by the publishers.

These stories are too FRIGHTENING, too DISTURBING or just too downright DISGUSTING to be read by children.

The title is unknown at present.

A second book, Move is influenced by the writings of David Deutsch and the Buddhist concept of the Hungry Ghost.

Epic published in Italy

Epic has now been published in Italian. This is a rather handsome hardback. The translator is Gianpaolo Fiorentini.

Conor Kostick at Phoenix Convention IV, Dublin

Conor's appearance at Phoenix Convention IV in Dublin gave Epic's presales a boost in the US. It reached its highest daily rank ever of 140,770 as seen in the chart above. Conor's appearance was also noted in several blogs.

New German cover for Saga

Saga is coming out in Germany, with a new cover.

Teaching Guide for Epic written by Conor Kostick

O'Brien have posted a Teaching Guide for Epic written by Conor Kostick. This contains discussion points and activities for classroom use. I enjoyed reading this. An interesting excerpt:

This activity demonstrates how a bias in a system can quickly lead to huge unfairness. It requires two to four packs of playing cards depending on class size and time. Explain the rules in advance.

• Place squares of paper in a box, all white apart from six that are yellow.
• Ask everyone to pick a square. Those with the yellow ones are Central Allocations (CA).
• Hand out two playing cards randomly to every person but three to CA.
• Everyone then has a few minutes to swap cards with each other if they want to.
• At the end of the trading time you add up the value of the cards, with Aces being 3pts, King, Queen, Jack, 2pts, the rest 1pt.
• Now, the critical bit! If 2 cards are the same suit, add 2pts to the score. If a CA player has a set of 2 the same suit they add 2pts, if they have 3 of the same suit they add 3pts. The top six scores become the new Central Allocations.
• Collect all the cards, except those possessed by the CA members, who get to keep theirs. Repeat.
• If time allows, repeat again.

It should be clear to everyone that all the cards are going to end up in the hands of CA and it has become impossible to get on the committee if you only have 2 cards. Stop the game at this point. Ask the class what can be done about the unfairness of the game. Possible strategies for those outside CA include refusing to play, co-operating to get an individual up into CA by pooling cards, refusing to return cards, persuading CA people to give back their extra cards. If they can’t decide upon any of these then you might wish to declare the person with the most points as inner. I played a version of this game once. A group of about 10 of us pooled our cards, collectively giving us a very high points score, although the game ended in confusion because the rules didn’t allow for 10 people taking up 1 place on CA. It was interesting though, as by the second round we realised something had to be done to change the rules.