Curl up with a great read during your festive holidays

BY JASON SEGEL AND KIRSTEN MILLER

Who knew Marshall from How I Met Your Mother could write novels?

Obviously, this isn’t really Marshall but rather the actor who played the character, Jason Segel. Alongside published author Kirsten Miller, the first book in this new trilogy was published by the duo in October last year.

While there have been a few comparisons between this Otherworld series and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (or the movie, for that matter), I found the only true similarity being that both stories deal with virtual reality/gaming. And for those who found the gaming references too heavy in Ready Player One, this trilogy will be perfect.

The prequel to Otherearth follows 18-year-old Simon in his mission to rescue best friend Kat from Otherworld — a virtual reality game created by ‘The Company’. The problem is, Otherworld is so much more than a game, and has some pretty big bugs with some of its technology...meaning people can die in real life when their avatar dies in the game. Still following? In Otherearth, the stakes are even higher as Simon and his friends try to rescue the people still held captive by The Company while being hunted for knowing too much.

Otherearth begins at full-pace and doesn’t let up, and the characters are quite well-written.

There is enough background and explanations to allow a reader to begin with Otherearth, however I recommend reading Otherworld first for better understanding.

Otherearth by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller is available from October 30. This writer received an Advance Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.