Kindle Price: $13.99

Save $5.01 (26%)

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novel Kindle Edition


NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have read before.

"Delightful and absorbing." —
The New York Times • "Utterly brilliant." —John Green
 
One of the New York Times’s100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, Oprah Daily

From the best-selling author of
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom.

These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

Get to know this book


From the Publisher

utterly brilliant, one of the best books i've ever read says john green
a gem of a novel says erin morgenstern author of the night circus
an exquisite love letter to life with all its rose gardens and minefields says tayari jones
the sort of book that comes around once in a decade says rebecca serle, author of In Five Years

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Amazon Editors' #1 Pick of 2022: I’m not a gamer, I will likely never be a gamer, but this book about childhood friends who bond over gaming in a hospital and later go on to build a video game empire, stole my heart and buoyed my spirits. This is a story of how friendship—in all of its messy misunderstandings, mistakes, and mishaps—gives Sam Masur and Sadie Green the fire to pursue their dreams, to be brave and overcome ridicule, to be the best they can be. Along the way they must reckon with what life throws at them: heartache and heartbreak, ambition and bravado, success and failure, jealousy and admiration. I devoured this book, and afterwards walked with a bounce in my step, a full heart, and the buzzy feeling of having discovered one of the best books on friendship—the complexity and the glory--I’ve ever read. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

Review

WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER WINGATE PRIZE NOMINEE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK CLUB PICK

One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, TIME, Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Oprah Daily, Slate, Self.com, Bookpage, Kirkus, SheReads, GoodReads, Goop, and The What List

A
New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Jimmy Fallon Book Club Pick • A Time Must-Read Book of the Year A Washington Post Notable Work of Fiction • BookPage Best Fiction of the Year

"Delightful and absorbing...Zevin burns precisely zero calories arguing that game designers are creative artists of the highest order. Instead, she accepts that as a given, and wisely so, for the best of them plainly are...Expansive and entertaining...Dozens of Literary Gamers will cherish the world she’s lovingly conjured. Meanwhile, everyone else will wonder what took them so long to recognize in video games the beauty and drama and pain of human creation."
—Tom Bissell, The New York Times

"A tour de force... A moving demonstration of the blended power of fiction and gaming....Zevin describes herself as 'a lifelong gamer.' That level of experience could very well have produced a story of hermetically sealed nostalgia impenetrable to anyone who doesn’t still own a copy of 'Space Invaders.' But instead, she’s written a novel that draws any curious reader into the pioneering days of a vast entertainment industry too often scorned by bookworms. And with the depth and sensitivity of a fine fiction writer, she argues for the abiding appeal of the flickering screen."
—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“Whatever its subject, when a novel is powerful enough, it transports us readers deep into worlds not our own. That's true of Moby Dick, and it's certainly true of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which renders the process of designing a great video game as enthralling as the pursuit of that great white whale….There are…smart ruminations here about cultural appropriation, given that the game, Ichigo, is inspired by Japanese artist Hokusai's famous painting The Great Wave at Kanagawa….It's a big, beautifully written novel about an underexplored topic, that succeeds in being both serious art and immersive entertainment.”
—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

"Engrossing....Though it contains plenty of nostalgia for the pioneer age of 1990s game design, this isn’t primarily a novel of nerdy insider references....Videogames happen to be the medium by which [Zevin's characters] best express themselves and share in each other’s life."
—Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

“Woven throughout [
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow] are meditations on originality, appropriation, the similarities between video games and other forms of art, the liberating possibilities of inhabiting a virtual world, and the ways in which platonic love can be deeper and more rewarding—especially in the context of a creative partnership—than romance.”
The New Yorker

"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a celebration of the narratives, in video games and in life, that reinforce just how important connection really is. In following Sam and Sadie’s journey from Massachusetts to California and into the imagined worlds of their games, Zevin writes the most precious kind of love story."
—Annabel Gutterman, Time

“The story of three brilliant kids who found a videogame company, this book is about so much more—friendship, love, loyalty, violence in America and the magic of invented worlds. Gorgeous.”
—Kim Hubbard, People

"Zevin is a great writer who makes you care deeply about her characters....Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow resonated with me for personal reasons, but I think Zevin’s exploration of partnership and collaboration is worth reading no matter who you are. Even if you’re skeptical about reading a book about video games, the subject is a terrific metaphor for human connection."
—Bill Gates

"You don’t have to be a gamer to appreciate the pulsing heart of this best-seller: In a story spanning three decades and references from Oregon Trail to Macbeth, Gabrielle Zevlin has written a modern, definitive story about work, love, and friends for whom you’d do and risk everything."
—Keely Weiss and Halie Lesavage, Harper’s Bazaar

“A remarkably absorbing portrait of friendship, identity, and the urge to create something beautiful, whether it be on the page or in pixels….Zevin…clearly knows her way around an RPG, but it's the analog intimacy of
Tomorrow's wise, sensitive storytelling that stays.”
—Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

"I’ve never played a video game in my life, and I was sucked into this book like it was
Halo and I was a socially awkward tween in 2001. Really, this isn’t just a book for people who understand life through the pixels, but for people who understand life through stories."
—Jenny Singer, Glamour

"One of the most special novels written in the past decade. This story follows two friends who form a thrilling creative partnership that drives them together and apart over the course of their young lives."
—Kiki Koroshetz, Goop

"Utterly absorbing...Until I read
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, I had never heard of anyone playing games the way my husband and I play games, the way that Sam and Sadie do—on campaign mode but passing the controller back and forth. It takes a shattering lack of ego to play this way, knowing that someone else has the power to make a decision that would change the storyline or garner the skills to play through certain sequences that you’ll never see again. All that matters when you play like this is that you’re moving forward, and you’re together."
—Adrienne So, Wired

“This is a boy meets girl story that is never a romance – though it is romantic… Zevin blurs the lines between reality and play...
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is an artfully balanced novel – charming but never saccharine. The world Zevin has created is textured, expansive and, just like those built by her characters, playful.”
—Pippa Bailey, The Guardian

"Two friends, who are often in love, but never lovers, must contend with the fame, joy and tragedy that comes with success after they enter the world of video game design. Spanning three decades and multiple locations, this love story by
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry author is anything but predictable."
E! News, Tierney Bricker

"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a decade-spanning feat in storytelling, switching perspectives as the story winds through the years."
—Elena Nicolaou, TODAY Show

"Despite [her] fantastical virtual worlds woven in lush detail, Zevin wants us to take a hard look beyond the screen...At its heart,
Tomorrow is a coming-of-age tale stretched, in so many ways, by grief and hurt. This is Zevin’s tough love: There is no shortage of misfortune in life. Take a deep breath. Click continue....Tomorrow is not the type of book to accept a game over. It clutches onto that innocent hope ingrained in all video games."
The Washington Post

“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow…is buoyant despite the illness and pain that speckles its characters’ lives because they hope to meet again, to play again, to build again like gods….This book, with its respect for craft—the craft of love and games, or loving games—will remind you of how abundant one life is, how lucky we are to keep each other in our memories forever.”
—Ashley Bardhan, Kotaku

"This is a great novel. Zevin has the ability to make you care about her creations within paragraphs of meeting them....The book is rich with characters whose intertwined fates power the narrative...We are glad of the privilege of accompanying Sam and Sadie on the adventure of growing up and discovering who they are, and wondering who they might have been."
—Erica Wagner, The Financial Times

"If your Insta and #BookTok feeds are filled with pics of this read...there's a reason why....Trust us when we say to give it a shot....You'll follow [Sam and Sadie] over the course of decades, from Massachusetts to California, as they deal with ambition, loss, success, and heartache. We're not crying, you are." 
The Skimm

"Gabrielle Zevin’s potent new novel feature[s] a memorable and oddly stirring meet-cute, with Sam getting the attention of his long-ago childhood friend Sadie by shouting across a crowded train platform that she 'has died of dysentery.' If you picked up on that Oregon Trail reference, you may appreciate this funny, unpredictable story of love and video games set in the late ‘90s, a time when a couple of indie programmers like Sam and Sadie could take the world by storm with nothing but a good idea and a stack of floppy disks."
—Patrick Rapa, The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Utterly brilliant. In this sweeping, gorgeously written novel, Gabrielle Zevin charts the beauty, tenacity, and fragility of human love and creativity.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is one of the best books I've ever read." 
—John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed

“My #1 book to recommend…
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow… [is]  incredible, like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon meets The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. It’s about love and friendship and video games.”
—Emma Straub, Cup of Jo

“Is there such a thing as the Great American Gamer Novel? Because if not, I believe Gabrielle Zevin just invented it. She has crafted a brilliant story about life’s most challenging puzzles: friendship, family, love, loss. By turns funny, poignant, wistful, and occasionally devastating, this book absolutely pwned me—in the very best way.”
—Nathan Hill, author of The Nix

"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a beautifully wrought saga of human connection and the creative process, of love and all of its complicated levels. A gem of a novel, intimate yet sweeping, modern yet timeless. Bits of this book lingered in my head the way ghosts of Tetris pieces continue to fall in your mind’s eye after playing."
—Erin Morgenstern, author of The Starless Sea

"Gabrielle Zevin has written an exquisite love letter to life with all its rose gardens and minefields. With wisdom and vulnerability, she explores the very nature of human connection. This novel, and its unforgettable characters, know no boundaries. To read this book is to laugh, to mourn, to learn, and to grow."
—Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

"
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrowis the sort of book that comes around once in a decade—a magnificent feat of storytelling. It is a book about the intersection between love and friendship, work and vocation, and the impossible and relentless pull of our own west-bound destinies. Gabrielle Zevin is one of our greatest living novelists, and Tomorrow just may be her magnum opus. Remarkable."
—Rebecca Serle, author of In Five Years

“A polished, thoughtful novel about loyalty and love that, like the best video games, grows more absorbing the further you venture into it."
—Connie Ogle, The Star Tribune

"Zevin has written a fascinating novel about two friends who collaborate on designing video games. These games are so imaginative and innovative that you will wish you could actually play them."
Wisconsin Public Radio

“[A] brilliant tale of identity, human connection, and yes, love in all of its myriad of forms.”
—Sabienna Bowman, PopSugar

“If you’re into video games, this extraordinary coming-of-age/love story/social novel has your name on it. The story follows terrific characters from youth into their adult lives as founders of a successful gaming company. Even if you couldn’t care less about video games, Zevin’s signature narrative charms will still keep you riveted.”
—Marion Winik, Newsday

"The brilliance of Zevin’s tour de force is that you can come into this book with zero gaming knowledge and be blown away by her insights on the human condition, her prodigious capacity for storytelling, and how she weaves it all together — brilliant and brilliantly." 
—The Bridge

"Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before. Taking place over 30 years, this dazzling and intricately imagined novel by Gabrielle Zevin examines the nature of identity, disability, failure, and above all, our need to connect.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is one of our most anticipated books of the summer and we can’t wait for you to read it." 
B&N Reads

“[This] novel explores themes of identity, disability, play and love in an unforgettable and richly imaginative way.” 
—She Reads

"Zevin… returns with an exhilarating epic of friendship, grief, and computer game development…. Zevin layers the narrative with her characters’ wrenching emotional wounds as their relationships wax and wane... Even more impressive are the visionary and transgressive games… This is a one-of-a-kind achievement.”
Publishers Weekly, starred

“Riveting… Zevin has written the book she was born to write, a love letter to every aspect of gaming…Zevin’s delight in her characters, their qualities, and their projects sprinkles a layer of fairy dust over the whole enterprise…Sure to enchant even those who have never played a video game in their lives, with instant cult status for those who have.”
Kirkus, starred

"Zevin creates beautifully flawed characters often caught between the real and gaming worlds, which are cleverly juxtaposed to highlight their similarities and differences. Both readers of love stories and gamers will enjoy. Highly recommended."
—Library Journal, starred

"It’s impossible to predict how, exactly, you’ll fall in love with Gabrielle Zevin’s novel
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, but it’s an eventuality you can’t escape... Her artistic, inclusive world is filled with characters so genuine and endearing that you may start caring for them as if they were real. Above all, her development of Sam and Sadie’s relationship is pure wizardry; it’s deep and complex, transcending anything we might call a love story. Whether you care about video games or not is beside the point. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the novel you’ve been waiting to read."
—Chika Gujarathi, BookPage

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09JBCGQB8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage (July 5, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 5, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4678 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 396 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0C8Z9RT11
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Gabrielle Zevin
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

GABRIELLE ZEVIN is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of several critically acclaimed novels, including The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Young Jane Young. Her most recent novel is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, a selection of the Tonight Show’s Fallon Book Club, the winner of the Goodreads Choice Award, a finalist for the Wingate Prize, and one of the best books of the year, according to the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, the Atlantic, Amazon.com, Oprah Daily, Slate, NPR, and many others. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is now a feature film with a screenplay by Zevin. Her novels have been translated into forty languages. She lives in Los Angeles.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
98,281 global ratings

Customers say

Customers love the characters. They say the storyline touches on many things and is punctuated with insights about gaming. They also say the emotional tone is unexpected and evokes nostalgia for the early days of videogaming. They describe the writing quality as captivating, well written, and surprised by the depth of the book. Opinions are mixed on the pacing, with some finding it good and dynamic, while others say it's a little off and drags. Readers also have mixed feelings about the readability, with others finding it fun and easy to read, while other find it frustrating and hard to like the FMC.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

474 customers mention "Storyline"425 positive49 negative

Customers like the storyline. They say it's an amazing book with complex characters that hold their interest. They also find it delightful, innovative, and authentic. Readers also mention that the book explores various friendships, relationships, and touch on many things, including the ups and downs of a multi-decade.

"...were interesting as were their relationships and the whole gaming thing was fascinating to me...." Read more

"...Alongside with gaming, this book also does an amazing job at exploring various friendships, relationships, etc. and seeing how they change over time...." Read more

"...(I mean come on, even the spine is beautiful)… it’s totally one of the best books I’ve ever read.It’s so hard to say what it’s about...." Read more

"One of the best books I've read in a very long time and one of my new all time favorites...." Read more

242 customers mention "Writing quality"205 positive37 negative

Customers find the book very well written, with an amazing narrator. They also say the meaning of the play is well explained in the book.

"...The writing style was easy, the characters were interesting as were their relationships and the whole gaming thing was fascinating to me...." Read more

"...The narrator was amazing, and did an incredible job at bringing the characters to life...." Read more

"...Thank you Gabrielle Zevin for a wonderfuly and exceptionally well written book!!" Read more

"Great writer...." Read more

227 customers mention "Characters"182 positive45 negative

Customers find the characters in the book unique, fantastic, and well developed.

"...The writing style was easy, the characters were interesting as were their relationships and the whole gaming thing was fascinating to me...." Read more

"...It’s a beautiful, masterfully crafted story. Full of amazing characters that you may not like initially, but I’m positive you’ll grow to love them..." Read more

"Loved this book! Great story with character development that makes you think about your relationships with friends and partners...." Read more

"...angst and complicated relationships of the story, and the characters were well written and flushed out...." Read more

141 customers mention "Emotional tone"106 positive35 negative

Customers find the emotional tone of the book unexpected, thoughtful, and original. They also say it breaks them down, warms their hearts, and devastated them. Readers also mention the messages about grief, pain, and love are perfect.

"...was one of the most tragic, beautifully written chapters I've ever read...." Read more

"...The stories are beautiful and I love the nostalgia of gaming...." Read more

"...A very human story filled with trauma, love and tech. My heart swelled and ached in equal measure by the end...." Read more

"...Frankly, it felt a little clumsy and wholly unnecessary...." Read more

93 customers mention "Plot"79 positive14 negative

Customers find the plot delved into the creative process, and say the idea behind the book is solid. They also say it contains aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional content that gives a clear understanding. Readers also appreciate the beautiful detail description that helped draw the characters. They say the book has a complex and layered yet simple and clear plot.

"...The stories are beautiful and I love the nostalgia of gaming. It's so detailed, especially about their experience as game creators, it's hard to..." Read more

"...games as the backdrop of the story was interesting and allowed for a lot of insight into our characters...." Read more

"...A very human story filled with trauma, love and tech. My heart swelled and ached in equal measure by the end...." Read more

"Characterization is marvelous in this story of friendship and computer games...." Read more

38 customers mention "Gaming content"30 positive8 negative

Customers find the gaming content in the book punctuated with insights about gaming and life.

"...I found it to be entertaining, informative of the game development community (of which I am not a member) and liked the character variety and..." Read more

"...It is punctuated with insights about gaming that are also insights about life.That first sentence reads:"..." Read more

"...That said, I did enjoy the descriptions of various games. The imaginative process was fascinating. Whew! I'm done." Read more

"Decent story about friendship, but too much about gaming. If you’re a gamer yourself, this is likely a 5 star read for you." Read more

140 customers mention "Readability"54 positive86 negative

Customers are mixed about the readability. Some find the book fun to read, hard to stop reading, and reads like a thriller. They also appreciate the author's explanations of why the characters are the way they are. However, some find the story frustrating, boring, and dislikeable. They mention that the book is repetitive and somewhat clumsy.

"...moments, lots actually , that made like the story BUT… it was a struggle to finish...." Read more

"...I found it to be entertaining, informative of the game development community (of which I am not a member) and liked the character variety and..." Read more

"...that the author deals with social issues, but overall, it was a very depressing and disturbing book and the politics were a little too one sided." Read more

"...What I mean by losing the plot is that it became less interesting...." Read more

67 customers mention "Pacing"40 positive27 negative

Customers are mixed about the pacing. Some find the novel well structured, with good pacING, and very moving. They also say the book is dynamic and very precious. However, other customers say the p acing is a little off, and the prose is clunky. They say the story drags on and on, and is slowed down.

"...Otherwise, this is a moving, authentic novel about the experience of playing games with another special person and the conversations and connections..." Read more

"...The result is that the momentum slows, the pacing dies and the story rambles to a predictable ending...." Read more

"I loved the book very much. It arrive in good shape and sooner than expected." Read more

"Parts of this book are very well written. But ultimately it just dragged. Part of my disinterest stemmed from the characters, particularly Sadie...." Read more

Became an instant favorite upon completion
5 Stars
Became an instant favorite upon completion
Apart from being the prettiest book on my shelf (I mean come on, even the spine is beautiful)… it’s totally one of the best books I’ve ever read.It’s so hard to say what it’s about. It’s about two people that played games when they’re kids, and they go on to make games together when they’re older. It’s so much more, though. It’s about life and death, the creative process, how your coworker could possibly be the best you’ve ever had. Art initiating life, life imitating art. Video games, video games, video games.It’s a beautiful, masterfully crafted story. Full of amazing characters that you may not like initially, but I’m positive you’ll grow to love them as I did.I shed one of those grown-man Denzel tears when I read the last sentence. An absolute page turner.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2024
I am a 75 year old woman NOT into gaming at all and have very little knowledge of this industry. The writing style was easy, the characters were interesting as were their relationships and the whole gaming thing was fascinating to me. The story moved through so much in the characters lives that I could not put this book down. One of my best reads so far in 2024.
27 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
I love a book that takes a topic that doesn't particularly interest me (i.e. gaming) but still manages to make it such an interesting and incredible read. I am far from a "gamer", and while this book mostly revolves around the gaming industry and uses a lot of terminology and talk that I wasn't always able to follow, I was still able to feel engrossed in the story and was just as invested in it. Alongside with gaming, this book also does an amazing job at exploring various friendships, relationships, etc. and seeing how they change over time. I really do enjoy a story that takes place over a period of time and seeing how the characters and their relationships change with them, and this book is an excellent example of that.

That being said, I feel like there was a portion of the book where my interest level dropped a little (about after the first 1/3 of the book). I feel like the characters became a little stagnant at that point, seemed like there was a bunch of unnecessary drama, and fell a little flat for me. And I was starting to feel very disconnected from the characters. BUT... then the about 3/4 of the way in.... Gabrielle just hits you with the biggest punch to the gut I've gotten from a book in a while. And I was left with my jaw hanging open, and realized just how close to the characters I was in that moment. All feelings of being disconnected were gone, and I was left with my heart on the floor. But seriously, that chapter (Part VII: The NPC: You are flying. - you know the one), was one of the most tragic, beautifully written chapters I've ever read. Whether you enjoyed the book a lot, or none at all, no one can deny how emotionally impactful that chapter was. I'm still reeling from it.

This was one I listened to on audio, and was definitely a good choice. The narrator was amazing, and did an incredible job at bringing the characters to life. While this book wasn't a knock out 5 stars for me, it was still an amazing read and definitely recommend it to everyone.
16 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024
Apart from being the prettiest book on my shelf (I mean come on, even the spine is beautiful)… it’s totally one of the best books I’ve ever read.

It’s so hard to say what it’s about. It’s about two people that played games when they’re kids, and they go on to make games together when they’re older. It’s so much more, though. It’s about life and death, the creative process, how your coworker could possibly be the best you’ve ever had. Art initiating life, life imitating art. Video games, video games, video games.

It’s a beautiful, masterfully crafted story. Full of amazing characters that you may not like initially, but I’m positive you’ll grow to love them as I did.

I shed one of those grown-man Denzel tears when I read the last sentence. An absolute page turner.
Customer image
5.0 out of 5 stars Became an instant favorite upon completion
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024
Apart from being the prettiest book on my shelf (I mean come on, even the spine is beautiful)… it’s totally one of the best books I’ve ever read.

It’s so hard to say what it’s about. It’s about two people that played games when they’re kids, and they go on to make games together when they’re older. It’s so much more, though. It’s about life and death, the creative process, how your coworker could possibly be the best you’ve ever had. Art initiating life, life imitating art. Video games, video games, video games.

It’s a beautiful, masterfully crafted story. Full of amazing characters that you may not like initially, but I’m positive you’ll grow to love them as I did.

I shed one of those grown-man Denzel tears when I read the last sentence. An absolute page turner.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
8 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2024
One of the best books I've read in a very long time and one of my new all time favorites. This is not my usual genre but I would recommend this to everyone. The stories are beautiful and I love the nostalgia of gaming. It's so detailed, especially about their experience as game creators, it's hard to believe these are fictional characters.
3 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2023
In many ways this novel is about my personal dream life. What happens between Sadie, Sam, and Marx, starting a successful video game company with friends, was my dream for ~30 years from the easily 80s to the just a few years ago. I did start 3 of them but we were not successful though, during my career, I was lucky to have worked on several seminal, classic, successful and respected games. In that sense I could't put this book down because in many ways it's the life I wish was mine, at least the happy parts about successful and respected games. Even worked at a company in Santa Monica in 1999 and a best friend and colleague lived in Venice Beach so all of that hit close to my heart.

On the other hand the writing has all kinds of issues

1. Name dropping. This seems to be a new cliche but it's to name drop things of the era to try to set a mood/tone. I'm not someone who writes fiction so I'm not saying it's easy to do but however it's often done in a poor way in this novel. The way it's written often feels like someone wrote those names in bold and they seem artificially inserted rather than blending into the story. By names I mean which games they were playing, what movies they were watching, etc...

2. List paragraphs. Several times there are list paragraphs where author will write something like "Sadie was into a, b, c, and d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, o, p, q, r, s, t, u ,v, w". These list paragraphs don't work and instead feel like the author trying to show off that they can make a long list on some topic to prove their credentials.

3. Game tech bologna. The author likes the harp on how "game engines" matter. They don't. They don't make games look the same any more than photoshop makes artwork look the same or cameras make photos look the same. Fans love to argue about game engines but what comes out is not up to a game engine and it's disrespectful of the artists, designers, and programmers to credit the engine with any real influence on their work. Take the games Monument Valley, Beat Saber, Return of The Obra Dinn, Hollow Knight, Subnautica, Death's Door, Cities: Skylines, Hearthstone, Ori and the Blind Forest, Cuphead, Valheim. Are you really going to look at those and claim they're all alike because they use the same game engine? And no, it didn't matter in the 90s either.
The point being the author clearly doesn't know what they're talking about when they bring up game engine issues. Maybe that's not important to the average reader but it's important to this game creator.

4. Game tech jargon: There's no such thing as "burning out a graphics card" from game dev. If you could burn out a card then games themselves would burn them out. That doesn't mean graphics cards don't go bad. It's writing like "How'd you do the reflections? Oh, it was so hard, I burned out lots of graphics cards on that" is BS techno-jargon

5. "Rare words", the author likes to show off by using words most people don't know. Nearly every chapter has a few that make you feel like you're studying for the S.A.T. They don't add to the story, they only detract from it.

6. The rom-com level cheesy conflicts - After Sadie and Sam had spent over 600 hours together, Sam discards Sadie because he finds out she was recording her time with him for "community service". No one in the real world would get upset at something like this. No one could spent 600+ hours with someone and share so much and toss it all over such a trivial thing. Real friends would laugh it off as something like "if I hadn't they wouldn't have driven me every day to hang out with you". This a common in bad rom-coms. The writers want some way to introduce a conflict but fail to find something believable so they just write that one character gets upset and expect us to buy it even if no one would be upset but such a thing.
60 people found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

Bruno Ricardo Moreno García
5.0 out of 5 stars Bueno
Reviewed in Mexico on April 24, 2024
Bien y de pasta dura, muy bien enviado sin detalles
Drew.
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2024
I loved everything about this book, couldn't put it down and read it basically nonstop. The story was compelling, the characters felt real and relatable, and most of all their conflicts and tribulations felt real.
JuRob
5.0 out of 5 stars I could not have loved this book more
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2024
This book is sharp, funny, clever, sad - and all things in-between. I learnt so much about how gamers think and work, and the relationships in this book are so beautifully drawn, with all the ups and downs of real life. It felt all along that it was safe in the hands of a master storyteller. I loved it!
Julia Anghel
5.0 out of 5 stars What a gem of a book!
Reviewed in Germany on May 28, 2024
Delightful, heartbreaking and entertaining! I loved it.
Madhu das
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!
Reviewed in India on May 24, 2024
Worth buying

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?