"This might be real, but it wasn't true."

Questland is a novel about wish fulfillment, and what can happen if it goes to far - a mashup of Ready Player One (but minus the "virtual" in reality), Jurassic Park, Heart of Darkness, and all of the classic fantasy worlds, with a dose of capitalism thrown in. Insula Mirabilis is an immersive fantasy adventure park being built by a reclusive billionaire tech genius Andrew Lang, but something has gone wrong - no one has had any contact with the teams on the island for months, and a forcefield has been erected that actually kills a Coast Guard crew who tried to get past it. Dr. Addie Cox, assistant professor of literature, is brought along as an "expert consultant" for the 4-person mercenary crew hired by Lang to re-take his property. Lead by Torres, the team also includes the requisite tech wizard, muscle, and medic. As they try to navigate the island to get to the control room in Castle Camylot, they meet up with the other factions on the island (two teams of engineers and designers who have gone native, so to speak), and eventually Dominic Brand, leader of the third faction and Dr. Cox's ex. 

It's not often that an assistant professor of literature is a lead character, but Dr. Addie Cox holds her own throughout her adventures - even though her knowledge was the secondary qualification for being selected for the team going to investigate Questland. Primarily, she is chosen because her ex-boyfriend is one of three team leads on the project, but it's her knowledge in her field that helps the most in a "world" of biomechanical sphinx, Flying Monkeys (TM), and an honest-to-god "One Ring to Rule Them All".

I feel like the tropes and nods to the sci-fi/fantasy/RPG culture COULD have gotten out of hand, but I honestly loved it - unlike Ready Player One, the references were not limited to a single decade, and it felt like coming across old friends.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

I had to DNF Questland because it just wasn't working for me. I thought a D&D quest novel set in the real world might be a really cool idea, obviously eccentric but cool nonetheless, but I wasn't impressed. The premise that this accomplished woman is being sent to the island because she dated the person behind the apparent hostile takeover of this D&D island experience was outdated and unappealing. The main character, Addie Cox, has potential and her backstory was beginning to become so what compelling but I couldn't look past the poor effort to justify her presence in a gun-toting assault on this compromised fantasy island. I would say people who love goofy fantasy mixed with standard action beats might like Questland, as long as you don't worry too much about the how/why of the narrative.

There is an awful lot going on in this book. Admittedly it was hard for me to keep all the players and technical, magical, and fantastical piece all together. But it was an interesting concept and even with not understanding or remembering all the little details, it was a fun time! I would recommend to anyone who likes sci-fi with a dash of romance.

Questland is the story of what happens when a literature teacher with ptsd joins an assault team on a mission to take over a thematic park island that is the jurassic park to lord of the rings die hard fans.
I personally found this book charming and so geeky and as a nerd myself i was very please to understand almost all the references the author threw out in this one.
Very fast paced and with a lot of quests and adventures that left you feeling the need to explore Questland for real.
Recommended to all those D&D and epic fantasy nerds out there

I loved the premise of this book. A reclusive billionaire has created an immersive environment on a remote island, with creatures and role playing that blurs the line between reality and magic. It’s like seeing your favorite fantastical creatures and situations come to life—a Sphinx, wargs.  Red meat for nerds like me! However, the inhabitants of the island, those who are running and creating the program, have mutinied, and an energy barrier has gone up and isolated the island. Harris Lang, the reclusive millionaire has hired a military team, with a civilian female English professor who is the ex-girlfriend of the chief engineer on the island and a survivor of a school shooting and a gamer, as a consult. Very high concept. 

What took me out of the book was the weird military mission tone—it was not believable and I was tired of reading descriptions of this PhD floundering with wet socks in a rainstorm and being rescued by an ex-military alpha male. Not my cup of tea. It also was strangely derivative of Jurassic World. I did like the characters, which were well drawn and empathetic. Ultimately, this was not the book I wanted it to be.

Carrie Vaughn is the author of the only book I managed to read in 2020, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read Questland. I loved the writing, the nerdiness, and Addie, however this book just wasn't what I expected.

I expected to love this book, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I’m a big nerd and I loved that this hit that note, but it never really felt committed. With Ready Player One, the book was absolutely dripping with references, whereas this book is kind of elementary with the whole thing? It felt more like a fantasy reader 101 reference. It should’ve read like someone that truly loved nerdy shit, but it simply didn’t. Addie’s character never rang true to me, and all of her emotions felt over the top and forced. Additionally, the ending was rushed and Addie never actually proved herself to be important to the mission. She didn’t really even learn anything about herself.

I really liked this book. As a former D&D player I was really interested in the synopsis of this book and I wasn't disappointed.

I was so excited to read this book- Carrie Vaughan is a fav of mine! The story was very good- can’t wait to read more from this author!

This was so much fun, action packed and smart. Dungeons and Dragons, Harry Potter, Tolkien and any other fantasy adventure or character you could imagine or all present on this Disneyland like island. But not all is as it seems. What an adventure. I want to go there.

I was so excited to read this book. A book that combines reading and Dungeons and Dragons, yes please! However, I just could not get into it. I felt like it dragged on a bit.

Questland is a novel by Carrie Vaughn, the author of the Kitty Norville series. While the Kitty Norville books are paranormal (Kitty is a werewolf!), Questland is more fantasy-based.
The protagonist of the book is Addie Cox, a literature professor who loves fantasy and RPGs. She also may have PTSD from something that happened to her when she was much younger. Addie is contacted by technology billionaire Harris Lang. Lang was creating a fantasy enclave on an island that was going to be the ultimate vacation spot. However, not only has he lost contact with his team, but a force field has appeared around the island that caused the death of members of the U.S. Coast Guard. The main designer of the project is Addie’s ex-boyfriend, so Lang wants Addie to join a team of mercenaries who are heading out to take back the island.

I really enjoyed this book. It sucked me in pretty quickly and kept my attention. I loved Vaughn’s Kitty Norville novels so I was very excited to check this book out as well. It’s completely different but still awesome. A great “beach read” 

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a free e-copy of this book.

I recieved an e-ARC of this book in exchange of my honest review.

This book was very intriguing, it has some topics that are attractive to me, this book really sold it with the plot, so it was so great to have read this book, and enjoyed it a lot

The little child in me was filled with excitement and aspiration as I read the synopsis. Having a
fantasy island such as the Insula Mirabilis was the dream of every fantasy dreamers. The
ultimate utopia for gamers and adventurers as such.

Dr. Addie Cox was just having her regular day teaching when she was approached by a well-
suited woman. What she needs from Dr. Addie was not clear. The only clear thing is that she
needs Dr. Addie to come with her and had donated a sum of money to the department of Dr.
Addie just to show that it is a matter of urgency. Addie was not to be bribed as she thinks so, but
the money would benefit a lot of people in her department, so she comes with the woman and is
greeted with an NDA before meeting the person who needs her, Harris Lang. A billionaire tech
guy who funded the fantasy island. Harris Lang showed a picture of a unicorn to Dr. Addie
saying that is not a drawing but a true unicorn roaming on an island, the Insula Mirabilis. She
was needed to be a guide to the journey to get the island back from its developers who have
mutinied. Dr. Addie was still puzzled why she was picked but everything sounded different when
the name Dominic Brand was mentioned. He was Dr. Addie`s ex, the one that led her to the
world of Lang. She then agrees to cooperate as she wants to see the unicorn and intrigues what
was the reason Dominic had done such a thing. My only problem with the story is that it was too
fast. Everything is happening too fast. But that’s just it. Even though the ending was like what
you have had imagined. Everything else was likable and made with wonders. From the journey
to the quests and puzzles to solve. It was indeed a fantasy island.

“This is how the stories always go.” An ending just like any other quests that involve mutiny.
Acceptable but rather had a different ending. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this as it brings
me to a world full of mythical creatures, dungeons, castles, and quests that I can only
experience in games.

Questland by Carrie Vaughn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Carrie Vaughns trek into LitRPG territory is a solid run even if it feels like a half-attempt to legitimize the sub-genre by giving it fairly extensive SF roots, a real-world base, and economic "reasons".

Of course, most of the LitRPGs I've read don't bother with any of that. They just go straight into the adventure and let us have all the *ding* level-ups we want, letting us revel in the adventure and learn the basic gaming rules as we go with easy-to-follow diagrams. :)

Vaughn's is more along the lines of Ready Player One, but with a more devoted eye to direct LoTR mythology and normal myths that aren't limited to '80s schwag. I LIKED that. I even liked the idea that a PHD in Literature got the leading role.

So what didn't I like? The plot. Maybe the first half was okay because it's standard journey stuff, but once we got into the evil corporation arrogance and the rats trying to steal all the company cheese, I either wanted it to go out with a big bang or defy my expectations. It did neither.

It wasn't bad, but it didn't wow me, either.

Literature professor and geek Addie Cox is summoned by billionaire Harris Lang and given an opportunity she can['t refuse: accompany a special forces team as they infiltrate the fantasy theme park Lang is developing. Insula Mirabilis has been cut off from the mainland by a force shield for five months; obviously something has gone very wrong. Addie's former boyfriend is the lead developer on the project, and Land hopes that she can get through to him.

When the team arrives, they find marvels: sphinxes, unicorns, dragons both playful and terrifying. They also discover that their maps are out of date, the safety protocols have been turned off, some of the developers have gone native, and did I mention the dragons?

This isn't quite fantasy (none of the magic is real, although Addie sometimes has trouble remembering that). It's closer to very-near-future science fiction, although it isn't quite that, either. Mostly it's just fun.

A decent fantasy tale. I didn't grow many of the characters which reduced my enjoyment. But I think this will work for some fantasy fans. It includes an imaginative plot and good pacing and action.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

Having been an avid reader of the Kitty series, I was very happy to receive the ARC of this new book by the great Carrie Vaughn. 
I enjoyed this book, action-packed and written in the utterly enjoyable style the author is known for. However, it has its flaws too,  The tech required probably some additional research to be more credible, but characters are really great. At the end, a recommended quarantine read.

Huge thanks to #netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing #questland (my first ARC ever! Yaaaay!) in exchange for an honest review! 
4.5
It’ll hit the shelves on 22 Jun 2021 and if you’re obsessed with fantasy literature this will be just your cup of tea! There is a wealthy man, and he decides to turn an island into every fantasy reader’s dream place with dragons, castles, unicorns, etc. with a bunch of geek and nerd (aka tech so advanced that seems like magic). But at some point (before its opening) he loses touch with the island, so he decides to send a group of mercenaries and our protagonist (Dr. Addie Cox – Professor of Literature) to figure out what’s going on and take control of the island back. Imagine Westworld, Ready Player One, Jurassic Park and add all of your fantasy references wasted ‘till now and mash them together to find sth base of that novel! If it’s not sth appeals to you I honestly don't know what would!
I have some minor issues with it and with zero knowledge of D&D, I guess I miss lots of references but, without them, it would be a total 5 star read but still It was a great beginning for a new year! First of my problems with that is; I’d love to know side characters better, especially Torres and Rucker. They felt shallow and robot-like. Secondly, Addie acts so out of character in the last part that I couldn’t help myself to felt distanced from the developments while annoyed by her. And lastly, when you have that much source I imagine you can create things in a wider range, not %85 LOTR based. I would like to see more worlds in it. For example; there could be something from Indian mythology, Dune, The Wheel of Time, or Discworld.

Basic premise, billionaire CEO pays for an island and then gets scientists and engineers to implement tech so advanced it seems like magic. But then they lose contact with the island. Enter Dr. Addie Cox who is a professor of literature, combining the deep classics with modern fantasy to help a team of mercs figure out what happened.

Also don't there is always a reason someone is your ex.

Its Fantasy Jurassic Park and I'm here for that. I enjoyed the references as well as the fact that it wasn't masturbatory with them like some novels can be. Great pacing and it keeps the idea of what is real and does it matter brought up.

One issue I had with it was the representation of some of the military folks. Every SEAL I have met is a giant nerd.

Slight spoilers, I would take that dragon. Like, I'm coming at you like a spider monkey for that bracer.