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  • Masters of Doom

  • How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
  • By: David Kushner
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (913 ratings)
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Masters of Doom cover art

Masters of Doom

By: David Kushner
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Summary

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to produce the most notoriously successful game franchises in history - Doom and Quake - until the games they made tore them apart. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry - a powerful and compassionate account of what it's like to be young, driven, and wildly creative.

©2003 David Kushner (P)2012 Audiobooks.com

Critic reviews

"Compelling . . . Masters of Doom succeeds on several levels. It's just great storytelling, with perfect pacing, drama and characterization. It's also an excellent business book, a cautionary tale with the kind of insider detail that other writers working in the genre should envy." ( Houston Chronicle)
“Kushner’s mesmerizing tale of the Two Johns moves at a rapid clip . . . describing the twists and turns of fate that led them to team up in creating the most powerful video games of their generation. . . . An exciting combination of biography and technology.” ( USA Today)
“Meticulously researched . . . as a ticktock of the creative process and as insight into a powerful medium too often dismissed as kids’ stuff, Masters of Doom blasts its way to a high score.” ( Entertainment Weekly)

What listeners say about Masters of Doom

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must read for 90s gamers

After finishing 'Ready Player One' also read by Wil Wheaton I was on a bit of a downer thinking that I would not find a book as amazing as that and everything else would fail in comparison. I was wrong. Hello 'Masters of Doom'!

With Quake and Quake II being a massive part of my life not only selling it as my job at the time but also playing Death Match with my Team Fortress clan until the wee small hours of the morning this book brought back so many great memories as well as delivering such a great insight to how ID came into being and end up making legendary ground breaking games. The two John's, Carmack and Romero, are great characters and their story really comes alive with a Wil Wheaton's narration. I love the little call out to female gamers like myself as well and shows that this book covers everything in ID's history.

If you grew up with video games in the 80s and 90s then I would highly recommend listening to 'Masters of Doom'. Now that I've finished it I am now back on a downer again until I find my next awesome listen but at least now I'm inspired to dig out my Q2 cd to keep me busy until then (as well as day dreaming that the next time I move there will be a Pacman cabinet in the back of the truck that no one wants).

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

"Suck It down!" Well written, superbly read

Would you consider the audio edition of Masters of Doom to be better than the print version?

Will Wheaton adds some dramatic flair to his reading, giving every character a unique voice. Clearly he had a great deal of enthusiasm for the story while narrating, and it really shows

What did you like best about this story?

It covers a wide range of well known celebrities/characters going through a very high profile period of their lives, but maintains the "friendship story" as the core focus throughout the book, which in my opinion makes the story much more grounded.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A more well rounded sense of character, largely thanks to Will's voices (one for each character) and the fervour he brings to his narration

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the two John's first experiment with the prototype of the Wolfenstein engine, you get a real sense of Romero's excitement about the design potential of such an engine and Carmack's lust to develop the technology even further.

Any additional comments?

Superb book, even for those unfamiliar with the gaming scene of the 90s. Will Wheaton brings his all to bring this book to life.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very inspiring

I never usually buy books about people's lives, I tend to find them over the top and overly glorifying of the person. The fact is though nothing could over glorify the story of ID software, these guys made the gaming industry we have today and whenever they make something it tends to change the entire industry.



So I bought the book, what I found was an inspiring tale of a group of rebels that beat empires. These guys all had bad childhoods yet managed to make themselves successes but that's when the real drama begins.



The narrator is good and you can tell he put his heart into reading this, very energetic voice perfect for this book.



I recommend this audiobook to anyone it's a great listen, I've listened to many different types of book and this is by far one of my favourites

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love it

third time hearing it, still love it.
Wil is a grade A+ reader looking forward to hearing more from both author and reader.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Not just read, performed

This is a compelling story - particularly the early chapters leading up to the release of Doom. As narrator, Wil Wheaton is clearly invested in the subject matter and dramatises the book, rather than just reading it. I found it hard to stop listening once I'd started.

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iD recommend it !

A fascinating and insightful look at iD software and arguably the rise of gaming in pop culture. Definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in gaming and gaming culture.

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Really enjoyable

Once I started listening, I dropped everything else. It was compelling, largely due to the fact that I was reliving my early childhood experiences with the id games. The ending was lack luster but what was to be expected? I would like some additional chapters for the intervening years that have passed since.

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An idiots guide to the gaming industry

This is the perfect, accessible and entertaining narrative that's perfect for those who don't know much about the games business. If you're wanting to get into games development and need inspiration, or want to educate someone else on it without giving them boring articles, this is perfect. I want a movie from this goddam book so more people understand how crazy and un-defined the business is. Wil Wheaton does a perfect impression of John Carmack btw

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Back on Quake within hours on listening.

For anyone of a certain age that saw the rise of PC gaming this is an incredible listen. It bought back all the memories of the era and I was back in front of the PC eating pizza and destroying demons within days of listening. Perfect amount of story, background, tech talk and humour. Extremely well narrated to. I’d love to see an updated version now that online gaming is so dominant in the gaming world, and it all started in this story.

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Must- have for any 90s gamer

I was too young to be aware of the circumstances around Doom and Id software in the mid 90s, but old enough for the game to have a massive impact on me. This is the whole story behind John Romero and John Carmack, growing up, getting into programming, the ballistic rise to success with Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom, then the arguments, failed projects and eventual downfall of the partnership. It goes into enough tech detail behind Carmack's programming genius and the 3D graphics breakthroughs of the time enough to satisfy any coder, but isn't too heavy on it. A riveting book well read by Wil Wheaton, who you can tell loves the subject matter.

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