Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Ember (Random House)
Pages
310
Description
"Michael is a skilled internet gamer in a world of advanced technology. When a cyber-terrorist begins to threaten players, Michael is called upon to seek him and his secrets out"--
Description
Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.
But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.
But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
Series
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012
Physical description
310 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
0385741405 / 9780385741408
Similar in this library
Lexile
790L
User reviews
LibraryThing member stefferoo
I'll start by saying that I've never read James Dashner before this, but I know his name is well known in the world of Young Adult science fiction with his books in the Maze Runner series. Why I chose to tackle this book instead of starting with The Maze Runner is simple: I was initially drawn to
There are definitely some similarities; the book follows Michael, a young man who spends most of his time in the VirtNet, a virtual reality network that offers total mind and body immersion so that anyone plugged in can experience any one of thousands of fantasy worlds like they are actually there. That's pretty much where the resemblance ends though. In Michael's VirtNet, a new cyber terrorist known as "Kaine" is purportedly hacking the code and trapping people inside games, so that in-game deaths lead to real life casualties and victims becoming brain-dead.
The best part about being in the VirtNet was never having to worry about risking your life, but now all that has changed. VirtNet Security forcibly recruits Michael, a talented and skilled gamer and hacker in his own right, to hunt down this dangerous enemy threatening the whole system. From here on out, the rest of the book is laid out in classic action and adventure format, where the hero and his two friends set out on a quest to find Kaine, picking up clues and investigating leads along the way.
The beginning had me pretty interested. VirtNet system is very well described, especially the setting of the game "Life Blood" serving as the opener. I loved the idea of how realistic and immersive these worlds are, and the infinite possibilities they present. The novel had a great intro, and a quick subsequent build-up to the main part of the story. I really thought this was going to be a winner.
But then something stalled along the way. The tight focus that was maintained throughout the first part of the book gradually unraveled, so that by the time we're in the middle chapters I felt that the story had lost its steam. It almost feels like the author had a clear vision of how the book begins and how it ends, but didn't really plan well for everything that needs to go in between. Michael and his friend's journey felt far too prolonged and lost its direction, leading me to ask myself several times while reading this, "Wait, what are they supposed to be doing again?"
To the book's credit, the ending did indeed hook me back in, but by then it was a little too late for me to feel the full impact. In any case, the big shocking twist at the end was certainly well worth it, though like I said, at that point it did not have the effect that it should have had. I also can't help but wonder if this novel would have been better served told in the first person; I think that would have given me a deeper connection to Michael's feelings, especially during that final revelation.
All in all, not a bad book, but I'm still debating whether or not I would pick up the sequel which is slated for a summer 2014 release. I may end up checking out The Maze Runner before I get a chance to read book two of this series.
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the gamer culture aspect in the description, and it sounded enough like Ernest Cline's Ready Player One (which I loved) to make me even more curious.There are definitely some similarities; the book follows Michael, a young man who spends most of his time in the VirtNet, a virtual reality network that offers total mind and body immersion so that anyone plugged in can experience any one of thousands of fantasy worlds like they are actually there. That's pretty much where the resemblance ends though. In Michael's VirtNet, a new cyber terrorist known as "Kaine" is purportedly hacking the code and trapping people inside games, so that in-game deaths lead to real life casualties and victims becoming brain-dead.
The best part about being in the VirtNet was never having to worry about risking your life, but now all that has changed. VirtNet Security forcibly recruits Michael, a talented and skilled gamer and hacker in his own right, to hunt down this dangerous enemy threatening the whole system. From here on out, the rest of the book is laid out in classic action and adventure format, where the hero and his two friends set out on a quest to find Kaine, picking up clues and investigating leads along the way.
The beginning had me pretty interested. VirtNet system is very well described, especially the setting of the game "Life Blood" serving as the opener. I loved the idea of how realistic and immersive these worlds are, and the infinite possibilities they present. The novel had a great intro, and a quick subsequent build-up to the main part of the story. I really thought this was going to be a winner.
But then something stalled along the way. The tight focus that was maintained throughout the first part of the book gradually unraveled, so that by the time we're in the middle chapters I felt that the story had lost its steam. It almost feels like the author had a clear vision of how the book begins and how it ends, but didn't really plan well for everything that needs to go in between. Michael and his friend's journey felt far too prolonged and lost its direction, leading me to ask myself several times while reading this, "Wait, what are they supposed to be doing again?"
To the book's credit, the ending did indeed hook me back in, but by then it was a little too late for me to feel the full impact. In any case, the big shocking twist at the end was certainly well worth it, though like I said, at that point it did not have the effect that it should have had. I also can't help but wonder if this novel would have been better served told in the first person; I think that would have given me a deeper connection to Michael's feelings, especially during that final revelation.
All in all, not a bad book, but I'm still debating whether or not I would pick up the sequel which is slated for a summer 2014 release. I may end up checking out The Maze Runner before I get a chance to read book two of this series.
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LibraryThing member MeganS.B3
*Spoiler Alert!*
The Eye of Minds, by James Dashner, is a very intriguing book which involves Michael (a gamer), his two friends, Sarah and Bryson, Kaine (a mysterious hacker who traps people inside the game), and the Vitrinet (the gaming system itself). The Vitrinet is Michael's whole world. Inside
The Eye of Minds is a lightning-fast novel. It took me less than two days to read it. It was indeed a little too violent for my taste. Nevertheless, it was a very riveting book. It had a healthy dose of action mixed in with suspense. I suppose there will be a sequel because of the way it ended. I am now interested in reading another of the author's books, The Maze Runner.
The Eye of Minds, by James Dashner, is a very intriguing book which involves Michael (a gamer), his two friends, Sarah and Bryson, Kaine (a mysterious hacker who traps people inside the game), and the Vitrinet (the gaming system itself). The Vitrinet is Michael's whole world. Inside
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it, you can experience adventures that only superheroes can, or just hang out with your friends. The story opens up where Michael, for experience points that move him to the next level, is trying to talk a girl out of committing suicide so that Kaine cannot get to her her any longer. Despite his efforts, he actually makes the girl want to do it more, and she rips out her core, a chip inside her brain, that makes deaths in the Vitrinet not real. A few days later, Michael is "kidnapped" by the Vitrinet security and told that he and his two friends are to help track and capture Kaine. Michael seeks information and discovers that there is a hidden portal in the game Devils of Destruction which will lead him to the path; it is dangerous yet the only way to find Kaine. They try to enter the game but figure out that it is rated AO - Adults Only. Michael, being who he is, hacks and forces his way in… and eventually finds the portal. After the long and hard fought travel on the path, Michael is the only survivor. He tries to defeat Kaine, but Kaine reveals his power of taking the brain-dead victims and giving the bodies to tangents, computer programs which act like people. Suddenly, Michael wakes up and realizes that he is not himself. -- he was and always had been a tangent. The worst part is that Kaine is still alive and is not yet finished with his work.The Eye of Minds is a lightning-fast novel. It took me less than two days to read it. It was indeed a little too violent for my taste. Nevertheless, it was a very riveting book. It had a healthy dose of action mixed in with suspense. I suppose there will be a sequel because of the way it ended. I am now interested in reading another of the author's books, The Maze Runner.
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LibraryThing member muddyboy
This is a great new young adult book in which three teenaged "gamers" are asked to enter a virtual reality game to try to help destroy an evil entity named Kaine who is reeking havoc on players. I am an old coot and a book of this nature would almost almost always leave me flat as I am a "gamer" in
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no sense of the word. The writing is so clear and the plot so well developed that I was drawn right in. I loved the book and the ending totally took me off guard in a positive way.. I think this series is really going to take and this should be a must read for any young person who enjoys video games. Show Less
LibraryThing member theokester
I had a lot of fun with Dashner's Maze Runner series so I've kept an eye out for new projects from him. I was intrigued by the premise between The Eye of Minds (even if the title left me a little confused). To some degree the story shares commonality with quite a few books and movies that have come
The high level plot puts us in a future where technology has advanced to the point of having a hyper-real virtual reality game called VirtNet. The VirtNet involves gamers lying down in a technologically advanced sort of sensory deprivation box (lovingly called the "coffin" by gamers). Once inside the box, the gamers are locked away from the real world and are quite literally plugged into the VirtNet via a series of tubes and wires. The technology directly plugs into the gamer's mind and provides very realistic sensations to the point of literally triggering muscle response. It accounts for necessary bodily functions, provides a certain degree of nutrition and support but also allows the gamer to physically experience the sensation of many of the virtual events they experience. In other words, the gamer will feel pain. The only limitation is that within the VirtNet if the gamer "dies", they respawn in the system and their body does not die.
As the book opens and we fall into the plot, we learn that a cyberterrorist named Kaine is hacking his way through the VirtNet to capture and manipulate gamers and has found a way to remove the failsafes and cause serious real world physical damage to players ranging from severe brain damage to actual death. The hero of our story is a teenage gamer named Michael. Michael and his three gamer friends are expert gamers and are also adept at hacking through the code of the game to manipulate elements within VirtNet to their advantage such as providing themselves with extra armor or weapons during gameplay and other such cheats. Michael and his friends are recruited by a covert agency to hack their way through the VirtNet and track down the cyberterrorist.
The book did a great job of quickly hooking and drawing in the readers. We very quickly learn about some of the ins and outs of VirtNet as well as the nature of the cyberterrorist/hacker threat. We are kept off balance alongside Michael as he tries to figure out the new game rules set by Kaine as he works towards something called the Mortality Doctrine. The pacing of real world versus game world left me a little unbalanced at first especially when the lines between real and virtual begin to blur. The world building done here was very well done. We don't spend a lot of time in the "real world" but what interaction we do have there felt natural and believable. When in the game world I really enjoyed the creativity and vibrance of the elements Dashner creates. Within the VirtNet there are a variety of unique and complex worlds and games for players to enjoy. While some were more fleshed out than others. The characters and situations presented inside the game world just provided for a wide breadth of creativity and adventure.
As much as I enjoyed the book, there were a few things that pulled me back and made the experience less than perfect for me. As an worker in the software and technology world, I really had to stretch my "suspension of disbelief" with regards to the way the gamers interacted and hacked through the code. Similar to the behavior in the Matrix, these super hackers just sort of close their eyes and can "see" the code (whether as 1s and 0s or as actual written functions is unclear). Upon seeing the code they are able to notice vulnerabilities and can also manipulate the code somehow. The whole concept is fun and intriguing but from a person who deals with code on a daily basis, the process seemed a little odd. The other point that caught me a little off guard was that this government/corporate agency approaches Michael and his friends to help find this ultra-hacker Kaine. Now, I fully acknowledge that kids are very tech savvy. And I also acknowledge that this is a YA book targeted at teenagers. But to convince me that with a giant threat like this the agency turns to a random, albeit smart, teenager for help seemed a little far fetched. Dashner did account for this skepticism a little bit by having Michael suspect that he wasn't the only person hunting down Kaine and assuming that other people were doing the same thing and he just wanted to be the one to succeed.
On the whole I found the story to be compelling and a lot of fun. It was a thrilling technology filled ride with a lot of great creativity and a lot of variety in tone and theme due to the expansive world opened in the realm of the VirtNet. Throughout the story we are given glimpses of a deeper mystery as Michael tries not only to find Kaine but to determine his motivation. When the full implications of the Mortality Doctrine are revealed I can definitely say I was pleasantly surprised at the trajectory of the story and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series to find out what happens next.
****
4 out of 5 stars
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out over the years. While it leverages a lot of similar ideas in terms of the way the technology works the book still takes the plot and the mechanics in a fresh and fun new direction.The high level plot puts us in a future where technology has advanced to the point of having a hyper-real virtual reality game called VirtNet. The VirtNet involves gamers lying down in a technologically advanced sort of sensory deprivation box (lovingly called the "coffin" by gamers). Once inside the box, the gamers are locked away from the real world and are quite literally plugged into the VirtNet via a series of tubes and wires. The technology directly plugs into the gamer's mind and provides very realistic sensations to the point of literally triggering muscle response. It accounts for necessary bodily functions, provides a certain degree of nutrition and support but also allows the gamer to physically experience the sensation of many of the virtual events they experience. In other words, the gamer will feel pain. The only limitation is that within the VirtNet if the gamer "dies", they respawn in the system and their body does not die.
As the book opens and we fall into the plot, we learn that a cyberterrorist named Kaine is hacking his way through the VirtNet to capture and manipulate gamers and has found a way to remove the failsafes and cause serious real world physical damage to players ranging from severe brain damage to actual death. The hero of our story is a teenage gamer named Michael. Michael and his three gamer friends are expert gamers and are also adept at hacking through the code of the game to manipulate elements within VirtNet to their advantage such as providing themselves with extra armor or weapons during gameplay and other such cheats. Michael and his friends are recruited by a covert agency to hack their way through the VirtNet and track down the cyberterrorist.
The book did a great job of quickly hooking and drawing in the readers. We very quickly learn about some of the ins and outs of VirtNet as well as the nature of the cyberterrorist/hacker threat. We are kept off balance alongside Michael as he tries to figure out the new game rules set by Kaine as he works towards something called the Mortality Doctrine. The pacing of real world versus game world left me a little unbalanced at first especially when the lines between real and virtual begin to blur. The world building done here was very well done. We don't spend a lot of time in the "real world" but what interaction we do have there felt natural and believable. When in the game world I really enjoyed the creativity and vibrance of the elements Dashner creates. Within the VirtNet there are a variety of unique and complex worlds and games for players to enjoy. While some were more fleshed out than others. The characters and situations presented inside the game world just provided for a wide breadth of creativity and adventure.
As much as I enjoyed the book, there were a few things that pulled me back and made the experience less than perfect for me. As an worker in the software and technology world, I really had to stretch my "suspension of disbelief" with regards to the way the gamers interacted and hacked through the code. Similar to the behavior in the Matrix, these super hackers just sort of close their eyes and can "see" the code (whether as 1s and 0s or as actual written functions is unclear). Upon seeing the code they are able to notice vulnerabilities and can also manipulate the code somehow. The whole concept is fun and intriguing but from a person who deals with code on a daily basis, the process seemed a little odd. The other point that caught me a little off guard was that this government/corporate agency approaches Michael and his friends to help find this ultra-hacker Kaine. Now, I fully acknowledge that kids are very tech savvy. And I also acknowledge that this is a YA book targeted at teenagers. But to convince me that with a giant threat like this the agency turns to a random, albeit smart, teenager for help seemed a little far fetched. Dashner did account for this skepticism a little bit by having Michael suspect that he wasn't the only person hunting down Kaine and assuming that other people were doing the same thing and he just wanted to be the one to succeed.
On the whole I found the story to be compelling and a lot of fun. It was a thrilling technology filled ride with a lot of great creativity and a lot of variety in tone and theme due to the expansive world opened in the realm of the VirtNet. Throughout the story we are given glimpses of a deeper mystery as Michael tries not only to find Kaine but to determine his motivation. When the full implications of the Mortality Doctrine are revealed I can definitely say I was pleasantly surprised at the trajectory of the story and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series to find out what happens next.
****
4 out of 5 stars
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LibraryThing member MadiLeigh
This book was amazing! I really liked the plot and didn't really expect that little twist in the end.
LibraryThing member ShellyPYA
Michael is a skilled internet gamer in a world of advanced technology. When a cyber-terrorist begins to threaten players, Michael is called upon to seek him and his secrets out.
LibraryThing member bookgirl59
It has been a very long time since a book has caught me by surprise. I won't put in any spoilers, but only to say that I had a sense something was going on in the book that I couldn't quite put my finger on and it kept me reading till the reveal at the end. Then, I palmed my forehead and said "OH!
I don't usually get into books that center on computer gaming and virtual reality, but The Eye of Minds sucked me in and kept me reading into the wee hours. Well written. My only criticism would be that the violence is very intense in places. You have to keep telling yourself it's all in the game, It's not real. It's all in the game, It's not real . . .
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That's it, why didn't I see it coming?I don't usually get into books that center on computer gaming and virtual reality, but The Eye of Minds sucked me in and kept me reading into the wee hours. Well written. My only criticism would be that the violence is very intense in places. You have to keep telling yourself it's all in the game, It's not real. It's all in the game, It's not real . . .
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LibraryThing member SheilaCornelisse
An interesting concept of a future civilization where most of our lives are spent living in virtual reality... takes gaming to a whole new level. Three friends are hired on by a government agency to discover who is behind a series of mysterious deaths taking place within a virtual computer game but
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transferring over into reality for the actual players. This is a great suspense novel with surprising twists. A recommended read for fans of dystopian and science fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jessika.C
Honestly I thought I was going to rip this book apart but nope it was pretty cool.
The Eye of Minds follows Michael a true gamer at heart. He lives in a world where gaming simulators are so realistic they can transport your mind into a virtual world (known in the book as the VirtNet) and basically
His online world is suddenly threatened by the presence of a evil genius known as Kaine who threatens to kill minds inside the game so that their physical body will remain in a vegetative state with no mind controlling it. The online version of the CIA recruits Michael and his friends Bryson and Sarah to help them capture Kaine and put an end to his plan. But along the way, there are a few things that Michael discovers about the VirtNet and Kaine that would change his life (online and offline) forever.
I LUV James Dashner, I really enjoyed The Maze Runner series so if you haven't read those books run and go get them now and read them all even the prequel....ANYWAYS, so I liked this book.
The gaming world is near and dear to me because I have brothers who spend a good chunk of their days glued to the screen watching/playing/interacting with the darned games kids play these days. Although I'm not into the computer I do love me some Wii and Xbox time. For me, the world that Dashner created reminded me a lot of the world in that third Spy Kids movie with the Toy Maker and Carmen being lost...Oh god I feel old. If you don't know that movie, basically it's a world where kid's minds are placed into the game but the simulation is real to them. In the movie the Toy Maker threatened to imprison the minds of those kids in the game but in the novel Kaine threatened to kill the minds of the players in the game and with some tinkering that could lead to the brain death of a person in real life.
The book had an interesting start with Michael having his first encounter with a Kaine victim who threatens suicide just to escape his mind games but I felt something was missing in the middle when Michael and his friends start their adventure. It was like they gave in too easily to taking on the task of bringing Kaine down. Not a single question was asked like "why were you approached Micheal? and not one of us?" or "are you even sure it was an agent for the VirtNet security? What if it was Kaine who was secretly recruiting you because he want you to find him on purpose?". But worry not the adventure takes them to places only a handful of gamers had ever been before.
I personally liked Sarah the best, Michael wasn't really that relateable a character for me but once I reached the end it all clicked for me and now I have a new light for him...if that makes any sense which doesn't until you read the book *hint hint* there is plenty of action and for the soft at heart there are also hints of romance but not too much to distract from the bigger picture. And the final twist at the end....I'm still mad at myself for not figuring it out long before my two seconds before it was revealed.
It's a compelling start to a new series, Dashner didn't disappoint in this one and I'm strongly hoping he's learned from his finale to The Maze Runner series and doesn't make the same mistake with The Death Cure.
The Eye of Minds follows Michael a true gamer at heart. He lives in a world where gaming simulators are so realistic they can transport your mind into a virtual world (known in the book as the VirtNet) and basically
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simulate a SIMS life but you actually get to feel it and play some other cool games too. This Michael kid has the best simulator his parents could buy and hops in any chance he gets, in fact he has never even met his best friends in real life because they're always on the VirtNet. His online world is suddenly threatened by the presence of a evil genius known as Kaine who threatens to kill minds inside the game so that their physical body will remain in a vegetative state with no mind controlling it. The online version of the CIA recruits Michael and his friends Bryson and Sarah to help them capture Kaine and put an end to his plan. But along the way, there are a few things that Michael discovers about the VirtNet and Kaine that would change his life (online and offline) forever.
I LUV James Dashner, I really enjoyed The Maze Runner series so if you haven't read those books run and go get them now and read them all even the prequel....ANYWAYS, so I liked this book.
The gaming world is near and dear to me because I have brothers who spend a good chunk of their days glued to the screen watching/playing/interacting with the darned games kids play these days. Although I'm not into the computer I do love me some Wii and Xbox time. For me, the world that Dashner created reminded me a lot of the world in that third Spy Kids movie with the Toy Maker and Carmen being lost...Oh god I feel old. If you don't know that movie, basically it's a world where kid's minds are placed into the game but the simulation is real to them. In the movie the Toy Maker threatened to imprison the minds of those kids in the game but in the novel Kaine threatened to kill the minds of the players in the game and with some tinkering that could lead to the brain death of a person in real life.
The book had an interesting start with Michael having his first encounter with a Kaine victim who threatens suicide just to escape his mind games but I felt something was missing in the middle when Michael and his friends start their adventure. It was like they gave in too easily to taking on the task of bringing Kaine down. Not a single question was asked like "why were you approached Micheal? and not one of us?" or "are you even sure it was an agent for the VirtNet security? What if it was Kaine who was secretly recruiting you because he want you to find him on purpose?". But worry not the adventure takes them to places only a handful of gamers had ever been before.
I personally liked Sarah the best, Michael wasn't really that relateable a character for me but once I reached the end it all clicked for me and now I have a new light for him...if that makes any sense which doesn't until you read the book *hint hint* there is plenty of action and for the soft at heart there are also hints of romance but not too much to distract from the bigger picture. And the final twist at the end....I'm still mad at myself for not figuring it out long before my two seconds before it was revealed.
It's a compelling start to a new series, Dashner didn't disappoint in this one and I'm strongly hoping he's learned from his finale to The Maze Runner series and doesn't make the same mistake with The Death Cure.
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LibraryThing member kellymariet6
Really enjoyed this book. I'm not really into video/computer games and considering this book was about just that i'm surprised how much I enjoyed it. It's about a virtual game/games called the virtnet, people can experience the game as if its real life, so if you get punched in the game you can
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feal it as though it was happening in real life. there's this thing called the nerve box and depending on how real you want the experience to be is depending on how much you pay for them. The characters who use the nerveboxes call them the coffins. The nervebox attaches wires into your body so you can feel everything that is happening in the game. The characters in this book are all teenagers and are called Micheal, Sarah and Bryson, they are friends only in the virtnet and not in real life. This trio is recruited to go on a mission within the game to stop someone called Kaine from doing some real bad things within the game that will effect real life. I love the bond between the friends because even though they have not met in real life they are willing to help each other out no matter what. The ending was the best part for me and left me wanting more, Its my favourite part because it made me want to really read the second book, cant wait for it to be released!! It was a shock to read that last chapter as I didn't expect that ending and I had loads of ideas on how it would end and none of my ideas came close to how it ended! loved it! I would recommend this book to anyone wanting abit of an adventure, it doesn't matter what kind of books your into I think most people would enjoy this book, so if you got the chance to read it defiantly pick a copy up :D Show Less
LibraryThing member Mirandalg14
3.5 stars.
This was interesting, and the ending was surprising to me. But I felt the writing tended to skew younger than the intended audience, although the subject would probably be beyond younger readers comprehension.
This was interesting, and the ending was surprising to me. But I felt the writing tended to skew younger than the intended audience, although the subject would probably be beyond younger readers comprehension.
LibraryThing member acargile
The Eye of Minds is book one in James Dashner's new series.
Michael is the main character who has two best friends whom he has never met in person: Sarah and Bryson. They met and know each other from the VirtNet. They put themselves in what is called a "coffin," hooked up to feeds that make the body
People from the VNS (VirtNet Security) recruit Michael to work for them and capture Kaine. He's allowed to get Sarah and Bryson to help him. The three must work together to discover where Kaine is hiding in the VirtNet and try to "kill" him. As they go deeper and deeper in, they learn about the secrets of Kain, the VirtNet itself, and the VNS.
If you like The Matrix movie or the book Ready Player One, you will like this. I greatly enjoyed The Maze Runner, but I have to admit this novel was painful for me. I do not like science fiction unless it's a really good story that pulls me in. I hate novels/movies about living inside a computer that is hooked up to your mind. it's so stupid to me. I cannot suspend disbelief and think that lying still and living in your mind is better than living in real life. Why doesn't Michael go meet Sarah and Bryson? It seems silly to only meet in a computer game when they live in the same town. The twist at the end didn't surprise me nor did I particularly care. This novel is not for everyone by any means.
Michael is the main character who has two best friends whom he has never met in person: Sarah and Bryson. They met and know each other from the VirtNet. They put themselves in what is called a "coffin," hooked up to feeds that make the body
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feel like you are physically experiencing what you are going through in your mind in the VirtNet. The VirtNet is a computer game where you can do all sorts of things--hang out at a cafe, play various games, etc. Michael is obsessed with getting to Lifeblood Deep, the highest level of the VirtNet but only the best gamers can get there. When Michael has to save a girl from suicide, he discovers that she is truly committing suicide and not just as her "gaming" self. She tells him about Kaine, a guy trying to take over the VirtNet and he is an evil guy.People from the VNS (VirtNet Security) recruit Michael to work for them and capture Kaine. He's allowed to get Sarah and Bryson to help him. The three must work together to discover where Kaine is hiding in the VirtNet and try to "kill" him. As they go deeper and deeper in, they learn about the secrets of Kain, the VirtNet itself, and the VNS.
If you like The Matrix movie or the book Ready Player One, you will like this. I greatly enjoyed The Maze Runner, but I have to admit this novel was painful for me. I do not like science fiction unless it's a really good story that pulls me in. I hate novels/movies about living inside a computer that is hooked up to your mind. it's so stupid to me. I cannot suspend disbelief and think that lying still and living in your mind is better than living in real life. Why doesn't Michael go meet Sarah and Bryson? It seems silly to only meet in a computer game when they live in the same town. The twist at the end didn't surprise me nor did I particularly care. This novel is not for everyone by any means.
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LibraryThing member JJS.B3
The characters are in the Vert Net. The Vert Net is not reality but a game the only way to kill yourself is by hacking to your core,and you don't just commit suicide in the game when you rip out your core, you do in real life.The reason why i liked the “Eye of the Minds”, it caught your
The “Eye of the Minds” is about a group of teenagers named Sarah, Bryson and Michael.They go on a crazy adventure inside the Vert Net.They were trying to seek out Kaine. Kaine is a gamer just like them but he has been trapping people in the Vert Net to where they can’t get out. The VNS hired the Sarah, Bryson, Michael to seek out or find Kaine. On their adventure they found out about The Path to find where Kaine is. When they got onto the path it was hard they finally found the portal in three days in the game. When they got onto the path they were in a endless hallway. They finally decided to bust through the wall, when they did they found just darkness and a stairwell. when they got to the bottom of the stairwell they found a door.when they opened the door there was a pale man and a pale woman staring at them against the wall not just one but thousands.Every time they made any noise the pale people would twitch. When they got closer to the door Bryson whispered in Michals ear “What if Kaine isnt a person?”. It came out louder than expected and all the pale people came after Bryson killing him. Sarah and Michael ran through the door and slammed it behind them and Bryson was screaming in pain as he died. Their surroundings was now a forest with a strange man. THe man lead them to his house and let them eat , but what was strange was the talking animals that prepared their dinner and cooked it. THe strange man woke them up and said the demons are coming so he lead them to the living room. and the strange man said I will go get my friends. He went and got the animals and gathered them all together and he said “Demons arise”. THe animals flesh went inside out and started attacking them. They went to the steeple and found a weak spot and found a portal. When they went through the portal they were in a black round tunnel. They started walking down the tunnel and starting to see magma and molten rock. Sarah died by the volcano shooting lava at her. Michal then found a portal and went through. On the other side was a white room with a man but not a man a silver robot. The robot said that this was the point of no return. hands started to come out of the ceiling grabbing ichal and ripping out his core. Then the robot said if you die now its for real. Then the room turned dark and two signs above doors one saying EXIT THE PATH and the other saying HALLOWED RAVINE. Michael then went through the door named hallowed ravine. Hallowed ravine is where Kaine is. After MIchael dies he wakes up in a place that is not his own. A person tells him that you were not human but now you are you were just part of the game playing with real people.
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attention right at the start. It caught your attention by the book jumping straight into action. . It jumped straight into action by the main character trying to save a girl’s life when she was trying to kill her self or committing suicide. One of the other reasons why I liked it was it was always in action and at the end of every chapter it has a cliffhanger, for example at the end of chapter 11 in the last paragraph it says, “In the late afternoon of the third day, Sarah found the Portal”.The “Eye of the Minds” is about a group of teenagers named Sarah, Bryson and Michael.They go on a crazy adventure inside the Vert Net.They were trying to seek out Kaine. Kaine is a gamer just like them but he has been trapping people in the Vert Net to where they can’t get out. The VNS hired the Sarah, Bryson, Michael to seek out or find Kaine. On their adventure they found out about The Path to find where Kaine is. When they got onto the path it was hard they finally found the portal in three days in the game. When they got onto the path they were in a endless hallway. They finally decided to bust through the wall, when they did they found just darkness and a stairwell. when they got to the bottom of the stairwell they found a door.when they opened the door there was a pale man and a pale woman staring at them against the wall not just one but thousands.Every time they made any noise the pale people would twitch. When they got closer to the door Bryson whispered in Michals ear “What if Kaine isnt a person?”. It came out louder than expected and all the pale people came after Bryson killing him. Sarah and Michael ran through the door and slammed it behind them and Bryson was screaming in pain as he died. Their surroundings was now a forest with a strange man. THe man lead them to his house and let them eat , but what was strange was the talking animals that prepared their dinner and cooked it. THe strange man woke them up and said the demons are coming so he lead them to the living room. and the strange man said I will go get my friends. He went and got the animals and gathered them all together and he said “Demons arise”. THe animals flesh went inside out and started attacking them. They went to the steeple and found a weak spot and found a portal. When they went through the portal they were in a black round tunnel. They started walking down the tunnel and starting to see magma and molten rock. Sarah died by the volcano shooting lava at her. Michal then found a portal and went through. On the other side was a white room with a man but not a man a silver robot. The robot said that this was the point of no return. hands started to come out of the ceiling grabbing ichal and ripping out his core. Then the robot said if you die now its for real. Then the room turned dark and two signs above doors one saying EXIT THE PATH and the other saying HALLOWED RAVINE. Michael then went through the door named hallowed ravine. Hallowed ravine is where Kaine is. After MIchael dies he wakes up in a place that is not his own. A person tells him that you were not human but now you are you were just part of the game playing with real people.
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LibraryThing member kirathelibrarian
Michael is a teenage games and hacker who likes to spend all his time in the VirtNet. The VirtNet provides total mind and body immersion without the risk of death. One gamer-Kaine-decides to take this to the next step. Kaine figures out how to take hostages and lives. The VNS (VirtNet Security)
This fast-paced sci-fi thriller will have you on the edge of your seat. The characters are intense, and likable. With no purple prose (fluff scenes), every scene has a purpose in the book. With a well-developed plot that has twists that keep you guessing, this must-read novel will go down in history with Ender’s Game. Too bad you’ll have to wait until October to read it.
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recruits Michael and his friends to find and stop Kaine. Can Michael out think the best programmer to grace the Grid?This fast-paced sci-fi thriller will have you on the edge of your seat. The characters are intense, and likable. With no purple prose (fluff scenes), every scene has a purpose in the book. With a well-developed plot that has twists that keep you guessing, this must-read novel will go down in history with Ender’s Game. Too bad you’ll have to wait until October to read it.
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LibraryThing member kevinl.b4
eye of minds is a great book if you like futuristic books. this book has a great story line. the characters were great such as michael, etc
LibraryThing member AngelaCinVA
Interesting premise and story. But the hyperbolic, over-the-top writing got to me after a while. It seemed like someone had brainstormed a series of increasingly horrible experiences and strung them together as a sort of obstacle course for the characters. I didn't really connect with any of them
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and don't feel any desire to read the next book in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member JaFi14
Michael (a gamer), his two friends, Sarah and Bryson, Kaine (a mysterious hacker who traps people inside the game), and the Virtnet (the gaming system itself). This book was just as amazing as his other series, The Maze Runner. The plot was awesome and its clear that this book took a while for the
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author to write and I have to say that I'm so glad that he did. Can't wait to read the next one! Show Less
LibraryThing member elizabeth1929
I picked this book up because of two things: the synopsis was very creative and unique, and James Dashner wrote it. I read the Maze Runner series, and I adored it very much, so, seeing that James Dashner wrote another series, I had high expectations that this series would be equally as fantastic.
WHAT I DISLIKED:
It was confusing, extremely confusing. The first chunk of the book, I was struggling with the terminology and the way everything worked. I was confused with what tangents were supposed to be, and all things technology. I was not enjoying the book, at all.
Another thing I disliked was all the descriptions. I know many people love it when authors describe things in great detail so that the reader can picture in their mind what things looks like, but for me, it didn't work as well. I know you must feel like I'm horrible for doing this, but I found myself constantly skimming the details and descriptions until I reached conversations or until something interesting caught my eye. After I started skimming through the boring parts, I found myself appreciating the complexity of it much more.
WHAT I LIKED:
After I got over my initial boredom of this book, and started only reading the parts that interested me, (don't worry, I still read at least 80% of the book, so I know most of what I'm talking about :D )I started understanding the book, and enjoyed it a lot more. I liked the originality of this book, since I've never read anything like this before. Although it did take some getting used to.
Friends. Michael's friends, Bryson and Sarah, were great additions that made the book that much better. I liked that Michael wasn't hiding things from his friends, and they were mostly all on the same page.
I don't usually leave a series unfinished, but I don't think I'm in a rush to read the next book, although I will read it, eventually. Overall, not too bad, but I really wished it could have been better.
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Much to my dismay, my expectations were not reached.WHAT I DISLIKED:
It was confusing, extremely confusing. The first chunk of the book, I was struggling with the terminology and the way everything worked. I was confused with what tangents were supposed to be, and all things technology. I was not enjoying the book, at all.
Another thing I disliked was all the descriptions. I know many people love it when authors describe things in great detail so that the reader can picture in their mind what things looks like, but for me, it didn't work as well. I know you must feel like I'm horrible for doing this, but I found myself constantly skimming the details and descriptions until I reached conversations or until something interesting caught my eye. After I started skimming through the boring parts, I found myself appreciating the complexity of it much more.
WHAT I LIKED:
After I got over my initial boredom of this book, and started only reading the parts that interested me, (don't worry, I still read at least 80% of the book, so I know most of what I'm talking about :D )I started understanding the book, and enjoyed it a lot more. I liked the originality of this book, since I've never read anything like this before. Although it did take some getting used to.
Friends. Michael's friends, Bryson and Sarah, were great additions that made the book that much better. I liked that Michael wasn't hiding things from his friends, and they were mostly all on the same page.
I don't usually leave a series unfinished, but I don't think I'm in a rush to read the next book, although I will read it, eventually. Overall, not too bad, but I really wished it could have been better.
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LibraryThing member mamzel
Like The Maze Runner series, we have teens running an amazingly complex and seemingly reasonless obstacle course to serve a purpose they only learn of at the end.
Michael is a teen who is totally involved in the VirtNet, a virtual world with every type of adventure conceivable. He is approached, or
Lots of running through various peril-filled scenarios ensue.
After a while I was tired of the paces these kids were put through. Enough already! I get it!
Fans of The Maze Runner will enjoy this story. Having already read TMR, I didn't want to repeat the experience again just with different scenery.
Michael is a teen who is totally involved in the VirtNet, a virtual world with every type of adventure conceivable. He is approached, or
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rather kidnapped, by an organization and asked to hunt down someone only known as Kaine because he was supposedly causing people to lose their real minds in this virtual world. He talks two online friends (who he had never met FTF) into joining up with their hacker skills to hunt down this entity.Lots of running through various peril-filled scenarios ensue.
After a while I was tired of the paces these kids were put through. Enough already! I get it!
Fans of The Maze Runner will enjoy this story. Having already read TMR, I didn't want to repeat the experience again just with different scenery.
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LibraryThing member Mrslabraden
Eye of Minds reminded me of The Matrix and Avatar. In this futuristic story, people spend a lot of time in the VertNet, which is a virtual reality internet where people get into a "coffin" in order to experience realistic game play. It seems as though everyday lives are lived only to earn money to
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buy game time. The main character, Michael's only friends are Sarah and Bryson, who he has only met through game play but not in real life. Everything in Michael's life changes when he is contacted by the VNS - a kind of VerNet police force - to help them track down a programmer named Kaine who has become a security risk. Reluctantly, Michael agrees and with the help of his two friends goes on a harrowing VertNet quest to lead the VNS to Kaine. The huge twist at the end of the book almost made it worth the read. James Dashner is obviously an excellent science fiction writer, but for me, stories succeed or fail based on character development, and in this one there is almost none. I didn't really enjoy reading this book, so it is unlikely that I will read the sequel, The Rule of Thoughts. Show Less
LibraryThing member celesteporche
Non stop action. Not my taste, but if you love action movies and games or suspense, then you will love this series by the author of the Maze Runner. Great characters and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end, check this out if you are looking for an intense sci fi thriller. Grade 6 and
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up. Show Less
LibraryThing member EdenSteffey
Really good.
LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
I loved "The Maze Runner" series by this author, so was keen to read his latest novel. However, while the concept was clever, the story was slow and tedious. It was only in the last third of the book that I started to really enjoy it, with all its twists and turns. The ending was great (and not
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only because I finally finished!), but I will not be continuing the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member YukiNatsuo
Personally I found this to be slightly better series than Maze Runner :} It's a cool not-so-distant kinda future reading where Michael enters the VirtNet where it's a *duh* virtual world where you can manipulate to your desire. Michael and his friends, Sarah and Bryson, were sucked into an
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unexpected albeit sometimes scary journey to go further into the VirtNet to find Kaine, the supposedly evil gamer who is offing of other gamers. Nearing to the end was an unexpected twist which now makes me look foward to the next book in the series *waiting with bated breathe* Show Less
LibraryThing member TheYodamom
This one has similar elements to his Maze Runner series (a great series), no existent parents, teens who are smarter than the adults and a world that is on the brink of death, and a computer based world. Where it changes is that this one takes place in a virtual world, mostly. It's perfect for the
I thought I knew the answer.I thought I saw the pattern in the game. No, I was blindsided, and holy nightmare twist ending ! I loved it, never expected it and can't wait for book 2
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gammer who breaks away long enough to read. I loved it, the mystery and the content twists and me guessing wrong all through the book. I thought I knew the answer.I thought I saw the pattern in the game. No, I was blindsided, and holy nightmare twist ending ! I loved it, never expected it and can't wait for book 2
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Awards
Colorado Blue Spruce Award (Nominee — 2015)
Young Adult Favorites Award (2014)
Call number
YA B Das