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accent. The book became known for combining wacky pop culture references with serious psychological themes. When using references, critic Joanna Kane Larius described Louis
Bulaong as a "subtle artist who challenges his readers to find out what that reference is and its purpose in the story." He used
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references. In his own words, he stated, "I created this novel as a homage to the comics, anime, movies, books, series and video games that I grew up in. I wanted to accurately portray today’s geek culture with tons of pop culture references, pastiches and satires. And similar to what Alan Moore did
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praised the book, saying, "When it comes to writing about geek fiction and culture, Escapist Dream is the king. Even if you take away the pop culture references and its geekiness, it is still the superior book that details the mental and emotional struggles that its characters went through. And all
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gave it a 5 out of 5 rating, stating “I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that this is one of the best GameLit novels I have ever read. The style of writing was compact and concise and every character was really well-written and relatable. Of course, the book is not perfect. It starts too slow and
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The novel received positive reviews from various online publications. Author Kayla Krantz gave it a 4/5, saying, "This is a long read, but definitely immersive. The characters were relatable in their own ways." John Almond from
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the way, you just had to cheer and cry as the story progress and said characters stumble through every adversity. I’ve never read a book that really portrays geeks in a fun and creative way as Louis
Bulaong’s novel."
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that have been plaguing the
Escapist Dream. Charlie and Jim would soon find out how the bugs have caused madness in this place, and must now work together to protect themselves and save the Escapist Dream.
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also ranked the novel at #2 in his list of "5 Next-Level GameLit Style Novels", calling it an "underrated modern classic" and adding that it "demonstrates the genre’s true potential."
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into the story. Many of the characters have suffered from negative life experiences and trauma, which make up most of their personalities and characteristics. The writing style of
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According to the book’s afterword, the novel was inspired by the comic books, anime and video games that author Louis
Bulaong grew up with in his childhood. As a homage, it took
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the ending was a bit stretched. But I assure you the more you read it, the more you will fall in love with the place and the characters if you yourself is a geek."
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named Jim – came to the
Escapist Dream for different reasons. One came to this virtual reality to have fun while the other was sent to fix
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to both praise and mock the styles and traditions of said media. All of his references are specifically tied and integrated to certain
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243:, I also envisioned this book as a time capsule for future geeks who might want to know what geeks back then liked to read about."
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220:. Both Charlie and Jim have to journey through each areas to find and remove the viruses affecting the virtual reality world.
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363:. He added, “Of all GameLit books in history, none is as grand in scale as this one-of-a kind novel.” Sam Fletcher from
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can live a life of superpowered adventures based on their favorite film, comic, anime, novel or video game characters.
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than other similar books of the same genre, where there is a primary focus on character emotions.
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The story takes place in a virtual reality world known as the
Escapist Dream, where all kinds of
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called it a "well-written love letter to all geeks, young and old, of any fandom and medium."
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The world of the
Escapist Dream is divided into different areas: Stan City is a place where
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has been cited by several critics as one of the best of its genre. Roldan Tan from
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included it in his “5 Best GameLit and LitRPG Books”, praising its way of
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and extraordinary abilities. It was written by the author as a homage to
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and published on July 26, 2020. The novel is set in a near future where
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Two individuals – a shy teenage geek named
Charlie, and a serious
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graduate, Louis
Bulaong also included aspects and principles of
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video game culture like trash-talking, using cheats, the
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has become a norm and where geeks can use it to gain
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606:"A Closer Look at Video Game-Inspired Books"
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381:was published by Louis Bulaong, first as a
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651:"5 Next-Level GameLit Style Novels"
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16:2020 sci-fi novel by Louis Bulaong
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406:Young, Pete (February 19, 2023).
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586:"Book Review: Escapist Dream"
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671:"Otaku Girl"
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
