Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry & Pete Clark

Posted April 29, 2014 by Lillian in Reviews / 1 Comment

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry & Pete ClarkBackward Compatible by Sarah Daltry, Pete Clark
Published by Self Publish on December 10, 2013
Length: 314 pages
Reviewing eBook from Amazon
Rating:

Not too long ago, in a town that, depending on your current location, is either not super far or actually quite close… It is a time of chaotic hormones. Two nerdy gents home for winter break have discovered a female gamer at a midnight release.

During the break, the gamer trio manages to reveal the game’s secret boss, a hidden enemy with enough power to destroy anything in its path. Pursued by other gamers who want to be the first to beat this boss, George and Katie race to level up, and, in so doing, restore decency and sexual activity to their personal galaxy…

I can honestly say that I have never laughed so hard while reading a book. I literally woke my husband up from a dead sleep because I was laughing hysterically!

Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry and Pete Clark takes a spin on romance and blends it with the gaming world and those who follow it. Katie is a hardcore gamer who while trying to buy a video game at a midnight release (which also included some cosplay) gets the game snatched out of her hands by George who happens to be a guy version of Katie (in my humble opinion).

These are my kind of guys, and I am a girl in a game store. Since I know it won’t result in actual violence, I have no problem playing the boob card. -Katie

I loved these characters and the alternating POV! Katie and George are both home from college for their Christmas breaks and with a new game release plan to spend the break beating this game. When the unfortunate turn of events leaves them fighting over the game (Katie won, playing dirty I might add), a very awkward relationship begins. Katie is awesome! She is awkward, never having dated much, but she is very comfortable in her own skin, not seeming to care what others think and an excellent gamer. George is definitely the insecure guy who has never socialized much, if at all, except for those he knows through Xbox live. In addition to the main characters there are some pretty awesome ancillary characters, such as Lanyon, George’s best friend who reminds me a lot of a friend of mine growing up. He is constantly coming up with one liner jokes and bless him he doesn’t know when to stop.

“Feel my openhanded rage, you petulant nad nibbler,” he taunts me. We’re educated college students. And this is how we spend our nights. Pretty sweet really. -George

The plot of this story is fairly simple and two-fold. 1) Beat the mega-hidden-boss in new video game and be the first group to do it & 2) Get the girl. If you are not a hardcore gamer, that’s ok. You will still understand some of what is happening in this book. If you are a hardcore gamer, you will not only understand what is going on but also get all the hidden jokes and similes which are quite funny. One of my favorite parts is where George, in a sleep-deprived state, decides to write a poem to Katie that basically equates her and his feelings for her to several different games (and I was quite proud of myself that I got them all!) And as a true geek/nerd myself, I think I may have found a new book boyfriend when George crafted Link’s heart and gave it to Katie (((sigh)))

Is this your typical women’s lit romance? Absolutely NOT!!! However, it is enough of a romance to fall into that category. Will you enjoy it? I did. I loved it! But I am also a geek/nerd/former-gamer myself so the jokes, the guy humor, and the all-out pop-culture references to things like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars I totally got and loved. This book must have been written for me because the authors nailed it, in fact I think this would be hilarious (if the authors were involved that is) on the big screen. Awkward at times and laugh so hard you snort this book is well worth the read.

 

About Pete Clark

Pete Clark likes writing, animals, potato chips, and cheese. Midnight Riders is his first published novel, although he can also proudly say he finally finished Helix Crashing, the fantasy novel he has been working on for over a decade. Someday, it will be out. In addition, he has written Across the Barren Landscape, a collection of linked Western short stories, and Tales from Midnight's Graveyard, a collection of unconnected horror, science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural stories. He cowrote Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story with author Sarah Daltry. He also writes plays, both dramatic and comedic. When he is not writing, Pete tends to ignore everyone around him and obsess over sports.

About Sarah Daltry

Sarah Daltry is a varied author, known best for the contemporary New Adult series, ‘Flowering’, a six-title series that explores the complexities of relationships, including how we survive the damage from our pasts with the support of those who love us.

As a former English teacher and YA librarian, Sarah has always loved Young Adult literature and 'Dust', an epic fantasy novel where romance blends with the blood and grit of war, is her second official foray into YA, following the gamer geek romantic comedy, 'Backward Compatible'. Most of Sarah's work is about teens and college students, as it's what she knows well.

Sarah’s passion in life is writing; weaving tales of magic and beauty. The modern and vast social networking world is an alternative universe that she makes infrequent trips too, but when she does, readers will find her attentive, friendly and happy to discuss the magic of stories and reading. Please stop by and say hi @SarahDaltry.

Sarah has moved back and forth between independent and traditional publishing. Her first novel, 'Bitter Fruits', is with Escape, an imprint of Harlequin Australia, and she signed with Little Bird Publishing in the spring of 2014.
Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.

When Sarah isn't writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.

 

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One response to “Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry & Pete Clark

  1. […] Backward Compatible by Sarah Daltry & Pete Clark made me laugh until I cried. In fact, there were times I woke my husband up at night because I was snorting/laughing! It’s a New Adult contemporary romance, light on the romance and heavy on the gaming geekery. As a former gamer myself, I loved it! I would love to see it as a movie. I think it would be a great romantic comedy! […]

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