After 2,000 years of existence, however, the 'game' has become alive, and is pretty much a universe in its own right. The sequel to Epic is Saga, a much Darker and Edgier story set in a virtual world which was originally designed to be like Epic, only Cyberpunk as opposed to Heroic Fantasy. The protagonist of Epic is Erik Haraldsson, who lives in a small village that produces olives, and whose fate is about to turn for the worse: his mother has had little luck in the game, having just 'died', and so they are about to be forcibly moved to an assignment in the salt fields or coal mines, when Erik decides to defy a trope and creates a new character. And to compound matters, high-level equipment, spells and skills are almost exclusively in the hands of Central Allocations, a group of nine people, which dooms most appeals against their decisions to failure.Įpic is also the colony's only outlet for any sort of conflict violence is seen as absolutely despicable, and merely the act of striking another human is enough to warrant exile onto a small island.

To make matters worse, Epic is Nintendo Hard - once your character is dead, all their stuff is gone as well, and you have to start all over again. Social status and personal wellbeing all depend on your character's level, equipment and status. Loss in in-game tournaments gets you assigned to worse jobs. The game's currency is valid for real resources. With them they brought Epic, a vast fantasy game originally invented to prevent psychological problems from isolation and boredom during the long travels through space in a semi-frozen state, and which now dominates the colony's culture.

Epic is set 20 Minutes into the Future, on New Earth, a planet 'somewhere in the universe' which human colonists have settled on long ago.

In a World… where skill in a massive, intricate MMORPG has become the way through which matters of economic and juristic disputes are settled and where high-level players reign supreme, both in the virtual and real world, a small boy from a coastal village bets all and wins high - but the system has its issues with that.Įpic is a novel by Conor Kostick, published in 2004. The Avatar Chronicles is a trilogy of young adult novels by Conor Kostick.

Epic kostick