Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Epic
    Epic
    Epic
    Ebook353 pages2 hours

    Epic

    By Conor Kostick

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    #WELCOME TO EPIC: PRESS START TO PLAY#.
    On New Earth, Epic is not just a computer game, it's a matter of life and death. If you lose, you lose everything; if you win, the world is yours for the taking.
    Seeking revenge for the unjust treatment of his parents, Erik subverts the rules of the game, and he and his friends are drawn into a world of power-hungry, dangerous players. Now they must fight the ultimate masters of the game -- The Committee. But what Erik doesn't know is that The Committee has a sinister, deadly secret, and challenging it could destroy the whole world of Epic.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe O'Brien Press
    Release dateJul 1, 2012
    ISBN9781847174192
    Epic
    Author

    Conor Kostick

    Conor Kostick is a writer and historian living in Dublin. As a novelist he was awarded the Farmleigh writer's residency for the summer of 2010 and a place on the nominees list for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012 and 2013. At their 2009 awards, the Reading Association of Ireland gave him the Special Merit Award ‘in recognition of his significant contribution to writing for children in Ireland’.   Epic is Conor’s most successful book, selling over 100,000 copies worldwide. It was awarded a place on the International Board on Books for Young People "White Ravens" list for 2006 and on the Booklist Best Fantasy Books for Youth list for 2007. As an historian, Conor Kostick's holds a PhD and a gold medal from Trinity College Dublin. He won first prize in the 2001 Dublinia Medieval Essay Competition, and has held fellowships from the Irish Research Council and the University of Nottingham. In 2013, he was awarded a Marie Curie research grant from the EU. Conor was twice chairperson of the Irish Writers' Union. His facebook readers page is here.

    Related to Epic

    Titles in the series (1)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    YA Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Gray Fox

      Nov 1, 2021

      Gray Fox
      1 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Sep 8, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      Quotients

      May 7, 2020

      Quotients
      8 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Aug 25, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Kobold in the Corner PART 1

      Oct 1, 2022

      THE CARVING HAD stood off to the side of the chimney for years upon years, so long, in fact, that Friedrich had forgotten when it was put there, or why. It was a curious thing, fashioned from elm wood in a crude yet appealing style. It looked like a

      6 min read

    • Article

      Saving Freyfaxi

      Jan 1, 2024

      Saving Freyfaxi
      8 min read

    • Article

      Magnets: Carried through time, lovers seek their purpose.

      Feb 6, 2014

      Moon Colony B, 2213 Former Ponzi-schemer Mary Pillar digs through a trashcan. It smells like rotten eggs and milk. She is elderly and homeless, living in an alley between two eco-efficient skyscrapers. Dust particles dance around her. She has lost ev

      11 min read

    • Article

      The little NIGHTINGALE

      Dec 21, 2022

      The little NIGHTINGALE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Dragon Of The North

      Sep 7, 2022

      The Dragon Of The North
      5 min read

    • Article

      In Love And War

      Jun 10, 2021

      April 1943 - Krakow, Poland Irena was bent over her needlework, stitching the frayed seam of her skirt when she heard a single gunshot ring out. She jerked and then scowled. After four years of war, she ought to be used to it. Why, the other night a

      11 min read

    • Article

      ‘Appalling Behaviour Is Outrageously Funny’: How The Irish Sitcom Took Over Telly

      Apr 13, 2021

      Finding mirth in misery is one of the most fundamental qualities of being Irish. “Sure, if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry,” my mother, a Dubliner with a wicked ability to see the funny side of life, is fond of saying. There has always been an obsession

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Parting Shot

      May 8, 2020

      The Parting Shot
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Kobold In The Corner

      Nov 1, 2022

      Friedrich lives by himself on a rundown farm. By the chimney sits a wooden carving of a little man. It has been there since the days of Oma Elsa, Friedrich’s grandmother. “That’s our kobold,” Friedrich’s mother told him before she passed away. “He wa

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Quest For Home!

      Nov 2, 2022

      The Quest For Home!
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Glove

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Glove
      8 min read

    • Article

      Saving Freyfaxi

      Feb 1, 2024

      Saving Freyfaxi
      8 min read

    • Article

      To Eat Your Own Children

      Nov 5, 2020

      To Eat Your Own Children
      5 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Aug 18, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Summer Outing

      Jul 1, 2021

      A Summer Outing
      4 min read

    • Article

      Summer Books Special!

      Dec 28, 2023

      Summer Books Special!
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Wind Feels Loss

      Aug 8, 2019

      The Wind Feels Loss
      7 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Sep 1, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Clues To ROMANCE

      May 4, 2021

      The Clues To ROMANCE
      6 min read

    • Article

      A summer OUTING

      Jun 21, 2022

      A summer OUTING
      4 min read

    • Article

      Ira & the Whale

      Jun 14, 2022

      It is dark in the whale and hot. The air is difficult to breathe. Ira is coated in gunk, sweating in his black Speedo. The whale’s heartbeat booms and echoes like a giant drum. It’s intimidating. It sounds tribal, ritualistic, as Ira wades through th

      15 min read

    • Article

      Excerpts From The Works Of The 2024 Whiting Award Winners

      Apr 10, 2024

      The 2024 Whiting Award winners were announced Wednesday night. Below are excerpts from their work.

      19 min read

    • Article

      When the SUN RISES

      Jun 14, 2023

      When the SUN RISES
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Epic

    4/5

    178 ratings20 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      LitRPG isn’t one that I’ve been involved with much, but after this wonderful read, I’m definitely going to seek out more work in this genre.

      In Epic, we see a society that has been shaped by VR. Instead of conflict in the real world, issues are settled with fights in VR. Everything is settled in this manner from little scrapes to problems that are much bigger. Like any game, there are characters who are stronger and those who are weaker. When someone dies, they must start all over. With this basic computer game ideas, we explore the politics of the government over this society and see the way that corruption effects every facet of this world. There are plenty of twists and turns and lots of suspense.

      It has the same kind of adventure vibe that Ready Player One had so if you were a fan of that, you will eat this book up.

      Narration was beautiful, bringing life to each individual character in intriguing ways.

      This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
    • 3/5
      A AY group of teens destroy the regime, via the world spanning game EPIC by which it's oligarchs are selected. ++for yet another red haired, green eyed heroine, though in this case she is a boy's player character. More positively involved adults than usual for a YA.
    • 4/5
      The book all in all was a pretty good book, but I feel like I didn't get the info I wanted. Slowly through out the book you learn more about epic but in the beginning I was really confused. If you managed to get through the beginning it was a great read though.
    • 5/5
      It is a great book that I could not put down.
    • 3/5
      I think I would've enjoyed this book more if it stuck with the main character, Eric's point of view. And I know I would've enjoyed it more had it not had a tendency to skip important things.

      This is a colonized world where they enter a game to solve conflicts and run their economy and government. Eric and his friends have to pass some sort of graduation test. But this all happens off-camera, and you never even learn exactly what was involved in that! There were other things where things happened in the 'real world', but again, off camera, and not even mentioned until in retrospect or you were just supposed to guess.

      There were also a few plot holes that I just couldn't gloss over. Like it's clear that traveling in the virtual world takes time, no matter who you are. But then a character does a whole bunch of things in disparate locations in the game, and nobody communicated with each other outside the game while he was doing this. (To be more detailed would be a spoiler.)

      And we never even get a hint of where this game resides or who maintains the equipment, etc. That was, perhaps, not relevant, but it did bug me by the end.

      There is a sequel, so maybe this last point gets raised and explained more, but there's no hope for the rest of it. And I don't know if I'm invested enough in the characters or the world to try the sequel.
    • 3/5
      Following yet another death in Epic, Erik creates a new character. On a whim, he chooses a female form, allots all her aptitude points to beauty, and chooses an unusual character class: Swashbuckler. Such an unusual character makes Epic into a whole new game--which is exactly what Erik needs, if he’s going to slay the second dragon in Epic’s history and challenge the Central Allocation government to release his father from exile.

      A ton of easy read-alikes for this one--The Roar (Clayton), Vande Velde's User Unfriendly or Heir Apparent, For the Win (Doctorow)--and those are just the obvious, video-gamey ones.

      Engrossing plot, weak writing that seems like a bad translation--some phrasing is just too precise, sometimes a little turned around--even though I don't think it's a translation. But I can see boys really taking to this one, if they're not daunted by the 350 page count. A page-turner, but I feel like I've read the basic story before.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good. I don't know why, but about half way through I lost interest and set this one aside for a while. There's a lull in the middle of the book that went on a little too long for me. However, I'm glad I picked it up--it gained speed again quite nicely and had a good bit of action. I will probably pick up the sequel, Saga, sometime because the opposite perspective in that one (from the view of the AI) sounds interesting.
    • 3/5
      I feel like snippets were missing. It was a great idea, and I enjoyed most of the book, but I really felt like Kostick couldn't think of anything to write, so he's just skip big portions. For instance, the heroes in the novel are practicing Epic for a tournament. Then a few chapters go by about something else, and the nest thing you know, they won the tournament... ummm? How? When? Etc.
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable book and highly recommended. Epic is a tale that is fun with the MMORPG aspects of the book, but at the same time has a strong philosophical undertone that asks important questions about democracy, violence, and values. If there is to be one quirk however, I'd have to say that the lead to the ending and the ending itself did not really feel as relevant and instrumental to end point. No cause and effect. However, considering that this is the author's first novel, it has alot of be commended for and again I would highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Combine .hack with a dystopia and you have what Kostick is setting up here. Violence is outlawed and punishable by exile, and everything is settled through interactions in an MMORPG, including legal disputes, appeals for more equipment for farms, lifesaving surgeries. Which means that those who have more time to play the game and gather more money and equipment get preferential treatment, and those who actually have to labour in the real world get shafted.So when Erik gets sick of the system and starts over with a new character, he does things differently. He puts all his starting points into appearance and none into battle skills, and starts interacting with NPCs and engaging in randon quests instead of participating in the endless grind of fighting for pennies. And what comes of it is a quest that could change the world, unmake the fantasy world of Epic, and bring down the foundation upon which Erik's entire society is built.But the game doesn't plan to go down so easily. Epic is a world that hasn't even been fully explored, let alone understood, and over the years it has evolved a consciousness, and will to live, and an eventual understanding that player characters are not like the NPC denizens that inhabit it.The real shades of .hack start coming to play when the game, or at least the part of it that wants to live and is being expressed, ironically, through a powerful vampire NPC, learns that it can kill the player by killing the character. The conscious game, the living entity within the code, the idea that a game can kill from within, none of these ideas are new, but it put me in the mind of .hack mostly, I think, because of the fantasy setting of the world of Epic itself. Everything combined to create a setting that felt familiar and comfortable to me because I saw in it something I'd seen and enjoyed elsewhere.On a whole, Epic was not a perfect novel, but it was very enjoyable and made me want to throw the world aside and spend a few hours in a MMORPG again. It brought back a bit of the old gamer in me that hasn't been seen for a little while, and for that, I can thank it and the author for that bit of inspiration.Epic is the first book in a trilogy, and I think, all things considered, that I'm going to have to track down the sequels. The book ended at a point that makes me incredibly curious as to how things continue, and I can't let this one lie.Recommended to gamers and fans of gamer fiction. And maybe I'll see you around Ragnarok or playing SMT:Online someday!
    • 4/5
      Erik Haraldson lives in two worlds. In the real world, on New Earth, he works on a farm with his parents, where they use both solar panels and wood-burning stoves, tractors and donkeys, an odd juxtaposition of the old and the new. He also lives in Epic, a fantasy MMORPG with virtual reality interfaces that nearly every person plays. It is within Epic that business transactions and governmental issues are handled, disputes are settled, and the economy functions.Then, of course, things start going wrong. I really liked this book, it turned out to be much, much more interesting than I expected it to be. I do have three minor quibbles: there were almost no female characters in the book and the ones that did exist were unimportant and practically invisible; a major battle near the beginning was completely omitted; and the end wrapped up too quickly. But regardless, it was a fun and enthralling SF story.
    • 3/5
      A very clever idea - a completely peaceful world is governed with a massive online video game called Epic - but not executed all that well. I thought the writing was very choppy, but perhaps that was a language issue? I'm not sure that English is this author's native language. I kept getting confused on which character was which, and some of the action was kind of slow. But really, the idea was intriguing, and I'll probably read the sequel if I can find it at the library.
    • 3/5
      Erik is a boy in a future society where violence is outlawed. The fate of families depends on how well they play a computer game called Epic, which I likened to World of Warcraft. Erik ends up trying to save his father from exile, and in the process does much more than that. There is a sequel that has been released called Saga.
    • 4/5
      Epic is a virtual reality game that provides the economic and legal system for the residents of New Earth. It is governed by Central Allocations, which is composed of the richest, best fighters. After his father is exiled, Erik and his friends team up to slay a dragon, gaining enough wealth in the game, to then go on and challenge Central Allocations for a failing system of government. Slow start to the book, reading about game play in Epic was the most interesting bit of the story for a time, and much of the book does actually take place in the game world. Recommend to RPG gamers especially. WoW fans.
    • 4/5
      In a world where violence is forbidden and all conflict is resolved in the context of a computer game, Erik must decide whether he has what it takes to challenge the status quo and keep his family together. The characters come alive in this fast-paced, original story. I was happy to hear that this is only the first in a series(trilogy?).
    • 5/5
      On the planet of New Earth, violence of any kind is anathema. The video game Epic is both the economic and legal system, with power centered in a select few players. Seeking justice for this father, Erik and his friends must challenge the very rules of Epic and in doing so challenge the planet's way of life. Kostick successfully creates not one world, but two! This is a great read and I would highly recommend it for anyone, whether they like video games or not.
    • 4/5
      When humanity reached New Earth they abandoned previous forms of government, banned violence of all types, and created a new government with and through the role-playing game Epic. Now, centuries later, the planet is governed by Central Allocations' five player team. All appeals are conducted in the arena, where players challenge and battle to the death, gaining or losing life virtual points, potions, armor and weaponry in a desperate attempt to win such tangibles as solar panels, legal rulings, operations, or university placements in real life. But change is coming: dissatisfaction with the status quo and rot from within have taken their toll. Now Eric Haroldson has discovered something new -- Epic itself is alive. The game has gained sentience, and part of it wants to die. He and his friends pit themselves against the all-powerful Central Allocations in a race to change the system from within.Not terrible, but not stellar, either. Character development is lacking, background development is sketchy and the ending is a bit trite.
    • 4/5
      A book where a world is controled by a videogame....potentially an interesting book. Was very entertaining!
    • 5/5
      On the planet of New Earth, violence of any kind is anathema. The video game Epic is both the economic and legal system, with power centered in a select few players. Seeking justice for this father, Erik and his friends must challenge the very rules of Epic and in doing so challenge the planet's way of life. Kostick sucessfully creates not one world, but two! This is a great read and I would highly recommend it for anyone, whether they like video games or not.
    • 4/5
      On New Earth, Epic is a computer program that is not just a way of life, it's a matter of life and death. Eric finds ways around some of the programming and starts winning which brings him to the attention of the committee.Interesting story that has parallels with OS Card's Ender's Game.

    Book preview

    Epic - Conor Kostick

    Ldbook_preview_excerpt.html}ےGݯLoBim@@, mm*Bia_Ї͗ PEʌǣ9_s8VO|'o&OcߝMlsj:Ц'T>'~wX1TmSuuuk=ⒺTQ:?ot807~RPǘK4^Sw~OJcy$&5={ -g xZSڹ}tq|\iݔN=9cMoo9Lc=mO럸>]u/ܙ8f<[uW8-CzҾHS"~Ưg'']=WWy*!)$j~|>b ^dx08t^"r gy1՛yÁ-nu&XDŽG͇_9p#8g K amUP8xъCbS6Q1' O~N"07\~ȧ~3{3I5 L9`n(>%x7 &ѼE>I>fGLnuڽa<>gM ?jΑ[% ;|N\N! $_{G_KWk[m,NxYӼc_`^0z.Joڡϙa8HΈ)te\ccW~VAn4S8v 0]"Fp06#a'dyit|c8 @q2=-MTFzkP#i&-^SFV79)bX+ǸHWs*</|ktqDf/3"υ$@aӂ3I$jZ;:v5n8FIHxR8]2diE*sG8`}Gt-+ϝ}NgXQT!HsɽNsj˂Vb4DPu~{cngft'fe˻Mi!2t[^GoD5Kf.hOA-5NSbg(?3ooP1gO@EK? ص@yοoK+q6%CI3(,s:[rDD.˯SEMsXBoiHHC0S6Yr;rry4bq}p-FCTn?ÚXImx v mGRt=d!q\/v VN0pObtO aY̒thb U|}$'qA`%{ Y}!Z fH~@.=^4\RŨҤkZkSɺc&2_hP ?_凂[e+o `3ao?/g ,^de%KQ5Hَ_V,8$=q^ 8·V`H"57vʀ7yKpm"`]jn8~;a_xE+ 1}M"8y*BTꎩKwKcI#ZLev,a k2=3:hjxJ Ђw|+$+zm{`euLs#JD_/g6cBߘ񩠖Kj'@E5DU'KnEh)LXZKxÜ5Wn2RMb=1:~Mwk5l.[" [dURjh2FP8 H 0q>)ÈSyH,C t1BEwF֨pa9y|zxnˆtqM,;^$d[NPl?\g‘sS3i=c WLq mdRlxRY{щaPnactL@~ەTLmP@|)ߜ?1 H+cޜ}Ɗ=vtM~ 4ec*e+ S?np&٠oְ*F#κTMd)4sbͽ3 'vszߏyŽW196cV(:cxd5ѠUHet"G'4s ,&lF-Bҡqp!r6HivYh 6X&UmGb#|wC3#)60]FIV6*DRaS &=5wVeǻR>Y^`d SjÑ AK=_Bd55}uney $^Ұu:͘#Jr1c?d>Uܫ *KZ>! I?;q#`cm'!?QltF.L%~!j|_ɾ_w*1>b8b2IBvٰ-%F]d23q;Ri](X,w['cƺ 9  {wWT|7QeJBǂk-LJYͮ /@C nOm_}){&B풹8^IG Qװ KJ)W՛&.L_avW9.@BDžJ؆mybi~Xv"|:,ŗ(@% ,qhwJ=-(/ruDkYK+ob'1:D)gfnbϖk> 2+ԷbȇښF9M3uBa-PPu!q\ma e^;'Yf:?6{FZx{44 **87X2,e=t"RMPuD\> OyN-(rhs $^H`P_t5,Ft?h'N1roFY~ x _%oCgO1GůlV쏪g/;9pp؋#Rv z-Ech"~E cCX0Z&E2՛!`Q biExyrcy8b|,$ؓvo<6(-V~ݞS`mqaQ|N?gZ[rjǦAǨEV{1(WH[seE&A$!@J},cwk:*GQ,JVMDGdoy|}qSbZF׏~E,qDި2QJC(4e!JoEuөYֵ(/n#6-4!,-1*aӤ?TzɏѤw~L#,xpU&a#"gw,]njcD0y X&ߖs!'m?e:GKK*vhNnlkW=K:4r:JNLD1ƃD@K *,,k/0ĢEv2X-~*cb_Mg4 ÇP4L%´d. 借ہi)/f3 4iST$^~WOe*- ϝ>BGg\U5٭iQrh4u??S8lQ;A3 ]6-[xcrHz,E~љ'GEڪ @j⸟=nz&e W<0)ڛ.jwakm s 1 Qqjrwr ?=?; !:hҬ"HMR) ciW@/ijڊ!*_2a OJ|&**D% h#cC쇥P mzFP-':Н ^\$ܗnŘ:|"B&=WRF3IVdz?ʯ'&wv\{Skҩ!~HϾ`RPb+FO+A<=D#P~\ ȸ'eފp\g=( hT!dynXAȋ=lBU'Lj֩Q#D3[}Q2 cӭ2[,`'c*_*}йK$Q`癖# pz_1<+nelW~taٗlmگYkdrYAkbѼz): * 뺛2 0شtO^TӖ3b5X"AQ'RPb)[oO0{uSţ-Lomg؟nnkvPNj9*ch!,@Jn=$\FSLD^4n+cB2jBq!5cVeڔ{ZJC_z)JMƒTx]rh*9 צQ!X 躀*OJOreMpnKa@'ѝfW"Kuiyf2|ax R^jٍa6G>+\(soU`[CaTg\gR^:n&BN\9 uXf~ ;尌w^s~w/~ˮ]7˾@G9\Y^Qŗ"" !P@t+NᰰPЉe>zLF7Fk,}t*q]ۥLM{9$']}p|wRrgs|v}Q|TV4ݳsj8KZnf=PI᭫6w.x̷ xa.: B>D:`CQ(#׫>.׿FBծlTHPIby}a?UR7ٸ7_J{sǝ*ux.ʁMtPLbJ tC_f)- pJ-p.멿{lz SkwV<[aE* ^EbLJOq!) y;PGUfSUm86gф,*X3Ⱥ}jKmdox]{T)h*{S_Q|:_< >QVfRc.I%VSg EW ޹.V@Q\'B+/T-r] ʓtr]^SdSSNgK9fxfgD$S7m¶Sk)XJz/x~X4eam߻#=1 J3ؤH{g)epZP?Ա*?*E}ϒDnνay)ǟC Ow,[igk嗃m$[gId6+m8Gi+pP jNzJxApn L+<&;'vxͅKFk /ԢIZ#OMw'ߕgR*r_Gq|SgQӆ[:7I࣎M"HiB f}B,(My@Vʖ$p5@( %ETEW;d NSt כXAR=1(!]f %?kB%6Jb}o3RV[olo!3 tXIbx@VS\EFoan%:\}/tcW eByoga͹Kv;dZD7p^-<]EƑ D>K܎5|.t?wJ; sU{$Č?F?|]z_|bM{${^Y*ǐ]~\>EjzQ)ʴh׶ TTDKC_o^C"9:퐑P WcX7>[Zm^&Juj|1V:fT_7Bv%.h%:rD-$JA]6tĊ/Jrs]w[Ek:}'W9CK[OdY[l)Px[l>n[aR/=^l.-ׯ .6gTriz0R>37.SvPpECHz }s]D^IGykד"AZW aXo=\9|$TqӢ^v{)h38 զxBuB~gqhex 5MM}mk9k%r/;uzڶVdݕx_^H VTP$8< ȧ0 -g6V,u/[SEA hn||]N}|**]Je7Ҏ&ziRpUIoY$~RfJ`ȥ} xBjo35 ~ޗ\,EHuv85cWakNw]swLjf/.5B25[~ \g},H+\f2!v.* .1l紹=wjwқ tb+cK;׼<;|0i}m78ʶ4Q#1ztxI- @7`J\#Uq6{y%yQ[3]_wIl*"'vM_xR{ ,s@'DG0U&^{KԈ҅x ڼLÓc;޶Cߪ]0')._@dyrLj4.,U7GLfN,;jվ`XuDvrcF/h
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1