I’m not a gamer, but I belong firmly in the camp of those who’ve longed to run away to Narnia or Middle Earth, or to ride a unicorn or cross wits with a sphinx. Imagine an entire island amusement park where such adventures come alive! Add high tech monsters and characters and you’ve got a sure hit. What could possibly go wrong? (Shades of Jurassic Park?) To begin with, even before Insula Mirabilis can go online, it goes offline. As in, breaks off all contact with the outside world. When a Coast Guard ship attempts to investigate, it crashes into an invisible force shield and is destroyed. Suspicion for this technological insurrection falls on Dominic, the head designer. At this point, the eccentric billionaire genius behind the project puts together a mercenary team to infiltrate the island and bring it back under his control. He enlists Addie Cox, a literature professor and ardent gamer with special expertise in legends and mythology, to help the team negotiate the built-in quests. The mercenaries, initially skeptical about Addie’s value, soon realize they are in over their heads. Insula Mirabilis is neither predictable nor safe, especially when they venture into areas where the foundational stories break down and supernatural creatures run amok. But Addie’s expertise is not the only reason she’s been offered the job: Dominic, the head designer, is her ex-boyfriend, and she’s probably the only one who can get through to him.

Smooth prose, fascinating details, and pitch-perfect pacing mark this, as other novels by Carrie Vaughn, as a book that will swallow you up in the most satisfying way.

While entertaining, the characters are not developed or have much of any character arc. (The main exception is Addie overcoming her PTSD) The protagonist is likable revealing her weaknesses with Dungeon and Dragon metaphor. The pop culture references aptly serve as sarcastic dialogue . The LARP fell short and was often frustrating. 3 stars.

Somewhere between a LitRPG and Jurassic Park, and yet not really like either of those… Questland wasn’t quite what I expected from the cover and blurb.

The fantasy world in which most of the plot plays out, is given firm roots of realism and a glossy coat of geek-lore: the ‘magic’ and mythological creatures/races that our main character, Addie, encounters are manmade using advanced technology, so are both ‘real’ (people can actually get hurt, actions have actual consequences) but also gamified, as they are intended to form an entertainment experience (think Jurassic Park theme park).

And, of course, similar to its dino-themed predecessor, Questland’s employees have gone rogue and the whole park is out of control and out of contact with the rest of the world, until Addie and the team are parachuted in to troubleshoot the project, but with real guns.

Addie’s narrative is first-person and her PTSD as a school-shooting survivor is handled sensitively and not treated as something that can be easily cured or cheat-coded away; we see it really affect her ability to function when weapons are involved.

A lot of the story is a strike squad thriller, infused with so many geek-culture references that I lost count. The tributes cover games, films, comics, chi-fi, fantasy, dragons, unicorns, wargs, sphinxes, giant spiders… you get the idea!

This is an action-packed, easy read, which leads neatly into a potential sequel at the end, but it feels more of a tribute to the genres it encompasses, rather than a new addition to them.

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Questland is advertised as being for fans of Ready Player One, but the similarities are only in what they do poorly. Sadly, Vaughn catches her foot in the same noisy bucket as Ernest Cline, with Addie’s cultural references reading less like passion for the subject matter and more like awkward shout-outs. It’s a shame, as Addie is otherwise an interesting character — a modern Bilbo Baggins with a compelling story arc — and the passion for said subject matter is clearly there. Nonetheless, it is an entertaining read, and one that fantasy lovers will find at least one touchstone in.

(As reviewed in Sci-Fi Magazine, Fall 2021 edition)

Carrie Vaughn’s Questland is a day-after-tomorrow tale of a fantasy theme park gone very wrong.

Review at Tor.

I really liked the premise of this book. It’s a fantasy island gone rogue. If you are a fan of fantasy literature and movies (I am), you’ll enjoy this. A wealthy billionaire, Lang, engages a team of tech nerds to build a resort island with themes from fantasy RPG stories. There’s a medieval village, a Sherwood Forest, a dwarf cave complex, an elf village, a Sphinx, a magic wardrobe and a castle. There are also dragons, unicorns and flying fez wearing monkeys to name a few. All of these places and mythical creatures have been engineered for the theme resort but the billionaire is also using their developed tech patents to sell commercial products. The tech nerds are engaged in stiff competition to create more and more fantastical objects for the ultimate RPG fantasy quest. The island suddenly goes dark with an impenetrable barrier surrounding it. Lang sends in a tactical team to regain control of the island along with a literature professor who specializes in mythology, fantasy and RPG games. Dr. Cox also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of one of the chief engineers. This is a great premise and the description of the island habitats and mythical animals is great. If you’re into fantasy there are multiple references to famous works. I liked the story but…it was very slow getting started and the pace throughout just plods along. There was very little action or suspense. The RPG quest aspect of the island should have been more prominent in the story. I liked this but it could have been much more exciting and it just wasn’t. I still enjoyed it though. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a fun romp! I loved the characters and all of the references and worldbuilding was brilliant. I wish some of our tech billionaires would get together for a place like this. Every magical theme park you've ever been to, this story is what you wish it had been like.

I kept expecting something to break loose in the story. With a mix of "advanced science equals magic", an ultra-wealthy tech giant running behind the scenes, and one ex-boyfriend, there are a lot of tropes that were available to explore, but the story neve quite gets there.

With 'Questland,' Carrie Vaughn has turned out an interesting nugget of a book. Though it reads like a breezy, fun thriller (techno-fantasy thriller?), it actually has more layers and food for thought than the typical mainstream thriller/beach read category. Vaughn herself has described the book as "Jurassic Park, but with Tolkien," and there will be the obligatory comparisons with 'Westworld,' and 'Ready Player One,' but Questland offers something a bit different. It's not nearly as dark or hard to follow as Westworld, and not as eyerollingly self-serving and referential as Ready Player One. But beyond that, it differs from Westworld because the questions and commentary it makes about society are a bit more metafictional in nature, touching on themes of fandom, intellectual property, ownership, and the like. It differs from Ready Player One because, while there are easter eggs and references, the point of the novel is not to simply string together referential elements, but rather to examine the implications of the way we fans engage with pieces of our beloved fiction and lore. Also, it differs from Jurassic Park in the political and socio-cultural milieu of the novel's publication; namely, eccentric bazillionaires with the means to create something like the island that is the setting of the novel are much more of a reality today, with guys like Musk and Besos running around with more money and resources than dozens of entire countries.

And still, it is a fun, engaging story with a relatable and likeable central protagonist and oodles of geeky deliciousness.

3 Stars; recommended

This was my first Carrie Vaughn book, and all I have to say is Wow. I really enjoyed this book. Not a gamer, but it was close enough to all the fantasy books I read to be very enjoyable. Wanted to go there. Will need to check out other books by Carrie Vaughn. #Questland #NetGalley

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/07/29/questland-by-carrie-vaughn/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I am a fan of this author, but I am not a gamer.  <strong>Questland</strong> is a gamer fantasy with plenty of nods to different pantheons like Dungeons & Dragons,  Lord of the Rings and many, many more.  I am certain I missed several references because I am not familiar with them.

Our point of view is Addie Cox who is a college professor in literature.  A company is creating a master game park on an island and things have gone wrong.  Because of her history with one of the designers and gaming, she is hired to go there to try to fix things.

While I didn't grasp the references, I loved having Addie who was like an expert guide.  It was great to hear her thoughts but this was strenuous for her.  There was a bit of not being able to trust anyone but at least the fixit team protected her.  She still got pretty banged up.

This felt like a survival dystopia to me and I love that atmosphere.  I liked getting to know the characters a bit but I had the most sense of Addie.  She had her flaws but I liked her.  I could certainly relate to her being exhausted, hungry and afraid at times.  But there was also her wonder at the technology on the island bringing unicorns and dragons to life.

I had to start this a couple times but when I actually started it, I was engaged. I really enjoyed the story. If you have some gaming experience, I would think it would be even more fun.

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This could have been so much better. It is basically Westworld for fantasy lovers with some mild peril and a very tepid heroine. I've loved many of Carrie's other books but this one just did not do it for me and I did not feel engaged or entertained,

I’m sad to say that I’m not the fastest reader now, but I got through this book so quickly and I loved it! It may be a little quirky but isn’t that what makes books fun? The characters were fun and complex (the g.i. joe squad being my favorites) and the plot was so innovative and interesting. Addie’s trauma legitimately affected her all the time and wasn’t just used as a plot line and I’m so glad this wasn’t a romance because Dominic was an absolute asshole. While reading this, I laughed, cried, I had to scream out in excitement and frustration, and I just had the funnest time. I would also literally kill for a novella of the Squad playing DND please and thank you

I saw several people commenting on the similarities to Ready Player One. I haven‘t read that book, only watched the movie. Mighty media tycoon, ok. But they do not delve into a digital world here. It‘s rather like the first Jurassic Park, with an actual entertainment park, with unicorns and dragons instead of dinosaurs. A real-life game of D&D. That‘s the plan, anyway, but contact to the island breaks off, a coast guard boat tries to go to the island and everybody on the boat is killed when they hit an energy shield surrounding it. An adventuring party is sent to investigate.

Straight forward, linear story telling. A bit like a dungeon crawler. One mystery and obstacle after another. Check, next one. Don’t forget to pick up all the loot, it might come in handy later. Our heroine is a nerd and knows her way through a dungeon crawler. She has a bunch of soldiers in tow. Or rather, they have her in tow and she helps them to find their way to the center of the island, for the final big reveal.

There’s a lot of Tolkien references. I suppose this qualifies as LitRPG… the writing is good, but I didn‘t find it terribly suspenseful or interesting. I guess I expected more adventure and thriller elements. This was fairly slow paced. Definitely something for lovers of epic fantasy, RPGs, Disney animals and seekers of unicorns and dragons. If you are looking for action-driven suspense and a touch of Michael Crichton, this isn‘t it. I wasn‘t exactly bored, but didn‘t feel a driving need to pick it up and find out the next mysterious thing. Somewhere in the middle I started a little skimming, wanting to get to the end already… which turned out to be pretty unsatisfying. There was a proper ending, no cliffhanger and the good guys won, as expected. The loose ends were tied, everything was explained. The End. Pretty meh.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Questland is a standalone modern fantasy by Carrie Vaughn. Released 22nd June by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 304 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.

I try very very hard not to compare authors or books to one another. This book does have its own rhythm and style and of course, the author is capable, prolific, and adept with the more technical aspects of writing. That being said, the comparisons to Westworld and Jurassic Park (and Ready Player 1) are not far off. I've enjoyed much of Vaughn's oeuvre and this one is also skillfully written with good use of dramatic tension and a satisfying denouement. The very last scene seems to possibly hint at forthcoming future stories, which would be interesting.

It's a locked room sandbox SF/Fantasy mystery with a band of adventurers including mercenaries, a minstrel/lorist (whose day job is English Professor), a tech billionaire who may be hiding some stuff and a fantasy island doing its level best to kill the adventurers.

The action rolls along at a good pace; I never found it dragging or tiresome. I did skim some of the many action scenes. This will be a good choice for readers who love nerdy in-jokes and Easter eggs in their stories. The cultural tie-ins and spoofs are plentiful and varied. The language is variable and roughly R-rated.

Four stars. Readable and a lot of fun.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Questland
by Carrie Vaughn
HMH, $15.99, 304pp
Published: June 2021
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BUNCH OF TECH GEEKS AND FANTASY NERDS DON’T REALIZE THE GAME IS FOR REAL?

Dr. Addie Cox is a literature professor living a happy, if sheltered, life in her ivory tower when Harris Lang, the famously eccentric billionaire tech genius, hires her to guide a mercenary strike team to his island retreat off the northwest coast of the United States. Cox is puzzled by their need for her, until she understands what Lang has built. It’s said that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and Lang wanted to prove it. On this distant outpost, he has created an enclave full of fantasy and gaming tropes made real, with magic rings that work via neurotransmitters, invisible cloaks made of nanotech smart fabric, and mythological creatures built from genetic engineering and bionics.

Unfortunately for Lang, the designers and engineers hired to construct his Questland have mutinied. Using an energy field, they've cut off any communications and are preventing any approach to the island. Lang must retake control before the U.S. military intervenes. The problem? The mutiny is being led by the project’s chief designer, Dominic Brand, who also happens to be Addie Cox’s ex-boyfriend. It’s up to her to quell the brewing tensions between the tech genius, the armed mercenaries, and her former lover before the island goes up in flames.

Dr Addie Cox is hired by eccentric billionaire Harris Lang to help his mercenary team invade his magical resort island off the northwest coast of the United States. Lang has the belief that he can make real the theory that any advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic but the developers he hired to create his theme park have gone rogue and the island is cut off with a force-field. Assuming they can get through the force-field Addie will be useful because of her literature degree, long-term gaming experience and because the suspected head of the developer’s rebellion is her ex-boyfriend. Once they get on the island Addie’s expertise is useful as the trek across the island often resembles a classic D&D campaign with magical creatures like the Sphinx, unicorns and dragons. The developers have split into three distinct factions that are at odds with each other as well as with Harris Lang.

This was a surprisingly quick read, or maybe it is just that I was so immersed in the adventure that I did not realize time was passing in the real world. I read this in one sitting and was sad to see the end. I am sad that there is not a real island resort like this one, I long to meet the dragon Addie meets. I highly recommend this book.

2.5/5. I was very excited to read this book after reading the description, and I ended up coming away a little disappointed. I did not exactly like Ready Player One, but for different reasons - however the vibes were relatively the same. It was trying too hard, the characters were interesting but I found myself a little bored. It was not what I expected, but that's okay!

This is a great read for fantasy movie buffs and gamers who play RPGs like D&D. Fans of fantasy stories like Harry Potter will get a kick out of it. The concept is like Jurassic Park meets Lord of the Rings (sorta). The character Addie is a blast to follow as she embarks on an adventure to an island full of creatures that blend fantasy and technology. The book is so much fun. There are lots of D&D, fantasy and pop culture references here to spark a wave of nostalgic feeling as the story progresses. A wonderful read!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I enjoyed this book though the characters didnt have a lot of depth. There were many gaming and fantasy references that I didnt get and had to lookup...and probably even more that I didnt even get.

I found the main plot conflict a bit weak to really drive the story and the resolution at the end was very predictable, but still found it to be an enjoyable read.

Ebook/Fantasy: I'm a big fan of the Kitty and Bannerless series, so I wanted to try this one. I finished Kitty's House of Horrors and I was expecting it to be a lot like a lock & Key mystery. I also have seen Questland on some must-read lists for the summer.
It was okay, but didn't snatch up my imagination like I was hoping. It's an easy first person read and Carrie Vaughn is such a great writer. I will admit I skipped over a lot of the action scenes. The book reminds me of West World (the original) meets Jurassic Park meets Mario World. There are a lot of mild red herrings and mild misdirection. I started out looking for inconsistencies to figure out the bad guy instead of enjoying the read.