World Leader Pretend

The Realm is the fictional on-line world vividly created by author James Bernard Frost in his first novel World Leader Pretend. It is a naked peak into the cyber-lives of otherwise ordinary people. Who would you be if you could be anyone else? How many orcs can you take down with how many troops? How's your Queen, your Wizard, your Dragons? And what about the pesky thing called "Real Life"? Which one is more important to you? I don't play games like this but I have often wondered about them and who it is that has so many free hours that they disappear into their computers. Frost is a madman. I like this book. Buy it.

I loved this book. I'm kind of a lazy book shopper - I typically only buy books that certain friends have recommended or that have received (or nearly received) awards - because I don't have time to read bad books. But something made me pick up this book, read a few paragraphs, and buy it ... and I'm super glad that I did. The story is engaging, the characters are interesting, and the prose extremely well-written. I'm used to reading books with little gold seals on them ... and with any luck, World Leader Pretend will soon be one of those.

It's not easy for me to review a friend's book, especially fiction (as you'll see from my other reviews, I've exclusively posted reviews of non-fiction). I've known Jim for about a dozen years so it was kind of a guilty voyeuristic experience to read the book and try to pry out the biographical from the pure flights of fancy. Some of the objective reasons why I think it's a worthwhile read and why others may love it as much as I did: - the writing style and observations are very quirky and catch you off-guard. Without fraying, the plot weaves between multiple points of view, locations and story lines. It is complex but coherent. - the characters each really have something special about them. They are presented in a consistent manner throughout and remain true to themselves and their journey. Each one speaks, thinks and behaves both in the virtual world of the game they are playing and in the "so-called real world" in a way that is truly genuine. The characters have their limitations and flaws and moments of sef-reflection. - the underlying message seems to be that we matter, all of us. That our thoughts and actions, whether online or in-person, have ripple effects and form bonds with other lives. In this last respect, I was reminded of Malcolm Gladwell's THE TIPPING POINT and BLINK where the social impacts of individual actions and the power of context on the individual are described. It was a really engrossing experience to stay up almost all night reading WORLD LEADER PRETEND and feeling that giddy unreality that gamers experience after pulling an all-nighter with head buried in some virtual world.

This book lures the reader into the world of anonymous internet relationships in contrast with relationships in the real world, in complete honesty. The book describes how much easier it is to converse and interact with people who are literally virtual and how this affects one's real-life social relationships. The characters are strikingly unique, interesting and full of grit. The detail leaves you entranced. A book full of characters you want to know everything about and then some.

This thoughtful, engaging novel is about much more than virtual gaming -- it's about the marginalization of creativity in society, and it's about the ways in which people desperately seek to connect in an increasingly fragmented world. Anyone who has ever been excited to see a comment on their blog or website will immediately relate to the themes of connection, disconnect, and definitions of reality. The prose style is vivid, with an edgy contemporary rhythm; the characters are deftly-drawn, and the book is full of heart and thought. Although it's entertaining, there is also much here for the reader to ponder long after the final page has been turned.