Award-winning author Jeanne Thornton’s latest novel A/S/L is about video games, three queer friends and the code(s) they learn to survive. Who better to give us their top five books about video games?
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
How can this not be first? I’m moved by this story of creative friendship-as-ludography, especially the intricate period details worked into each capsule history-of-video-games setting, plus beautiful hidden Easter eggs (are the secret highways real?).
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Regarding an intelligent digital ‘primer’ that provides a personalised, gamified education – think Duolingo meets Castiglione – intended for a daughter of privilege, fallen into the hands of an outcast. Edtech engineers love this book.
- Why we need a video game about homelessness
- How two men outran the KGB to bring Tetris to the world
- A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess on why if you can find the time to play and create, it’s worth it
Slug and Other Stories by Megan Milks
These very queer, very trans stories are very good. Notably a choose your own teenage twin adventure and a story about dying the thousand video game deaths of queer adolescence. Ludic, lurid and lush.
Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Ni’an
A deep cut! This 14th-century Chinese novel is the origin point for the gorgeously twisty Suikoden jRPG series and has true bolder-than-brass character vibes. Following awful injustices, 108 outlaws slowly gather in Liangshan Marsh to build society and plot revenge. Picaresque, bawdy and full of devastating weapon techniques.
Constellation Games by Leonard Richardson
Finally, a hilarious, morbidly imaginative SC adventure about first contact with aliens, followed by first contact with alien video games, all filtered through the critical acumen of a cynical retrogamer. So much thought regarding how societies encode values in video games, plus one of the characters is basically a dinosaur: yes!
