Just finished reading
Only You Can Save Mankind and thought a few of you might enjoy it as well. Doesn't apply to all gaming types,
mostly just space shooters, but the thought and era references are pretty decent and the story moves at
a fast pace. Like a lot of the reviews say, don't get put off by the guide that says it's a "kids book".
Summary from Amazon:
Johnny Maxwell's life is full of conflict. His parents are going through trying times, and the 1991 Gulf War is raging on his television every night, looking more like his computer war games than a news broadcast. A new game, provided by his hacker friend, Wobbler, is not what he expects. Only You Can Save Mankind is supposed to be an adventure-packed game of killing aliens, but on the first play, the game's newtlike female ScreeWee captain surrenders to Johnny, asking for safe conduct for aliens across the game borders. Now other gamers find only empty spaces when they fire up the game; there's nothing to kill. Johnny's heroic endeavors to save the aliens is a wild ride, full of Pratchett's trademark humor; digs at primitive, low-resolution games such as Space Invaders; and some not-so-subtle philosophy about war and peace. Readers will recognize some of the gamer types--among them, Johnny's sidekick Wobbler, who never plays computer games, preferring instead to crack the codes.
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The references devoted to Space Invaders are indeed plentiful, and actually
made me want to go back and play that game even MORE.. (I was never
one for more "peace"). Have a go, you won't be disappointed.