"The Eye of Minds"

I was talking about this blog to my friends at work the other day and one of my girl friends told me that she had a book for me to read. She wasn't sure if I would like it, but I'm not very picky when it comes to books, so I asked to borrow it. Good thing she sits right next to me because she had to cover for me while I read this book at work. "The Eye of Minds", by James Dashner, is the type of book that I carried in my purse with me everywhere and pulled out to read in every free minute I could find. It's about a young boy, named Michael, who is a serious gamer. Almost all of his free time is spent in his coffin - a box that allows his brain to go into the virtual world while his body is being pumped with fluids and things to make every virtual experience feel absolutely real. In a world where you bounce between what's 'real' and what's 'virtually real' it's easy to get confused about what is actually real. There is a rumor being whispered through the virtual world about gamers being trapped there, while their bodies back in the real world become brain dead. For an expert gamer, hacker, programmer like Michael, these rumors aren't a concern. Until he has a run in with the VNS - VirtNet Security. They ask him to go off grid and find out exactly what is happening to these gamers. It will be dangerous, and he'll have to do some pretty illegal things without any help or backup from the VNS, but a gamers gotta game right? And this would be the most exciting and challenging game of all.

 I have never read a book like this before, it showed me a world that I know very little about. The way the author describes the virtual world reminds me of reading a book; You get sucked in and it's almost like that becomes your reality and the real you doesn't exist. The characters are fun, it's well-written, and it's clean. I couldn't ask for more in a book. It does have some parts that are pretty scary, I wouldn't suggest anyone younger than high school age read it. I know it's labeled for young adults, and maybe because I'm not a gamer myself I might be a little sensitive to the content, but I just can't imagine a 14-year old reading this book. However if you have a child that is already playing games where they kill people and fight monsters then maybe they would enjoy this book. That's your call. It will probably only take a few days to a week to get through, so go get a copy and get started! Keep your eye out for its sequel, "The Rule of Thoughts". I'll have that on here soon!