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| Mogworld is a laugh-a-minute romp |
Mogworld is Croshaw's first published novel and, if this initial effort is any indication, it certainly won't be his last.
Set in the fantastic world of a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), Mogworld tells the story of an undead mage, Jim, and his quest to be wiped from the face of existence once and for all.
Mogworld, which is also the name of the game Jim occupies, begins with our protagonist (he refuses to be called a hero) meeting an unfortunate and untimely death. Just before he can reach the shiny majesty of a carefree afterlife, however, he finds his soul sucked back into a rotted corpse, the work of a rogue necromancer by the name of Dreadgrave.
But the world Jim returns to has changed. An "infusion" has occurred, meaning that absolutely nobody can age and nobody can die a true death. Even better (or worse, depending on who you're asking) is the fact that, upon "death," a person simply re-materializes at the nearest church, good as new.
Unknown to the inhabitants of Mogworld, their universe is actually the creation of a group of programmers trying to put the finishing touches on an MMO before it's ready to ship. The problem comes when a braindead member of the team starts toying with the world's inner workings, creating a real delimma for Jim, who can neither die (again) or rematerialize into a new and less decayed body.
It's no surprise, then, that Jim eventually sets out on a quest to be properly deleted from this world gone mad where random citizens are being inflicted with a Syndrome that makes them stand in the most ridiculous of heroic poses, the entire economy is based on quests and "experience," and a former crazed priest finds himself in possession of a wicked set of godly powers and a real hate-on for Jim and his cohorts.
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Jim, it turns out, has a special connection with the world of the creators, giving him occasional glimpses into their workings in the form of text chats. It's a pretty neat balancing act between the two worlds and one any gamer is sure to appreciate.
The best praise I can give Modworld, though, is that its story and never-ending humor can be enjoyed by just about anyone. The world is well realized and, while there are plenty of in jokes only gamers are likely to catch, every single page is overflowing with clever twists, witty dialogue and hilarious circumstances anyone with half a brain should get a kick out of.
With Mogworld, Croshaw has shown his razor sharp humor can stay intact for 400 pages and, more importantly, he's proven he has the chops to tell an interesting, unique and utterly entertaining narrative that moves along at a quick clip and never loses its charm.
Mogworld is a triumph of storytelling and humor that just so happens to be perfectly keyed in to the wild world of video games. I cannot stress enough, however, that it can also be enjoyed by those who have never logged in or picked up a controller in their life. It's just a damn good read no matter which way you look at it (unless you're looking at it upside-down).
This review is based on a product I purchased with my own money and highly recommend you behave in a similar fashion. In case you missed it, it's a really, really good read.
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