From the Publisher
Richard Garriott has inspired me to explore and create since I was a teenager. I never would’ve written Ready Player One if I hadn’t grown up playing the games he created as Lord British. This is the book I’ve been waiting to read for a long, long time.” — Ernest Cline, New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player One
“Fascinating.... Demystifies an industry and a man so instrumental in it.... A rich compendium of stories from an extraordinary life.” — Eurogamer.net
“Lively and entertaining.... [Garriott] embeds puzzles and games in the book for those who want to take it beyond the simple experience of reading.... Those looking for glimpses into an adventurous life should be pleased.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Explore/Create is a chronicle of wonder, and the many wondrous things the future may hold. Richard and I have long shared a passion for space. Perhaps one day our kids will create and play games on a new world!” — Elon Musk, CEO, SpaceX and Tesla Motors
“Richard and his partners at Zero-G took me on my first flight into weightlessness. ... I applaud his spirit and have enjoyed the fruits of his labor.” — Stephen Hawking
“I was so taken by Richard Garriott’s game Ultima that I was nearly speechless when I met him at a pizza joint in Chicago. Now finally, Richard has shared his compelling story with the rest of us in Explore/Create.” — Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple
“Richard and I are both among the first private astronauts, and we have used our unbound power of imagination to take us to new heights. This book will take you on an insider’s journey into Richards fascinating mind from creating virtual worlds and characters to exploring the cosmos. Buckle up!” — Anousheh Ansari, 1st Muslim woman to go into space
“Garriott’s enthusiasm for his passions is evident and... even inspirational.” — Booklist Online
“Telling. ... Learn [Garriott’s] secret to staying creative and gain valuable insight into his crazy-interesting history.” — Brit + Co
“An entertaining book that describes Garriott’s twin passions to explore (not just space but also the deep sea and Antarctica, among other places) and create.” — The Space Review
Eurogamer.net
Fascinating.... Demystifies an industry and a man so instrumental in it.... A rich compendium of stories from an extraordinary life.
Ernest Cline
Richard Garriott has inspired me to explore and create since I was a teenager. I never would’ve written Ready Player One if I hadn’t grown up playing the games he created as Lord British. This is the book I’ve been waiting to read for a long, long time.
Stephen Hawking
Richard and his partners at Zero-G took me on my first flight into weightlessness. ... I applaud his spirit and have enjoyed the fruits of his labor.
Steve Wozniak
I was so taken by Richard Garriott’s game Ultima that I was nearly speechless when I met him at a pizza joint in Chicago. Now finally, Richard has shared his compelling story with the rest of us in Explore/Create.
Anousheh Ansari
Richard and I are both among the first private astronauts, and we have used our unbound power of imagination to take us to new heights. This book will take you on an insider’s journey into Richards fascinating mind from creating virtual worlds and characters to exploring the cosmos. Buckle up!
The Space Review
An entertaining book that describes Garriott’s twin passions to explore (not just space but also the deep sea and Antarctica, among other places) and create.
Booklist Online
Garriott’s enthusiasm for his passions is evident and... even inspirational.
Brit + Co
Telling. ... Learn [Garriott’s] secret to staying creative and gain valuable insight into his crazy-interesting history.
Elon Musk
Explore/Create is a chronicle of wonder, and the many wondrous things the future may hold. Richard and I have long shared a passion for space. Perhaps one day our kids will create and play games on a new world!
Kirkus Reviews
2016-10-20
Game designer, entrepreneur, and adventurer Garriott de Cayeux explores a number of his escapades.The author, who describes himself as a "serial enthusiast" with an "almost desperate need for adventure," is best known as the creator of the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game, "Ultima Online." During his Dungeons & Dragons-playing youth in the 1970s, he learned how to program computers; along with his brother, they began crafting video games, including a large number of "Ultima" games. His descriptions of the challenges of dealing with the surprising success of "Ultima Online," though disappointingly brief, make up the most fascinating portion of the book. The author is clearly exhilarated to find ways to make his world more detailed and fend off those attempting to destroy it, and he is astonished to observe the growing intersection between the economy of his world and the real-world economy. With the fortune he made in his various companies, he has gone on to put his dreams into action: he built a haunted house for himself in Austin, Texas, rode in a submarine down to where the Titanic rests (and almost got trapped in the process), and, most famously, bought a two-week sojourn in the Russian section of the International Space Station, an experience he discusses mostly in relation to the difficulties of using the restroom in space. This is not a book in which other people feature heavily or in which the dots are connected, though the author's stories are lively and entertaining. He embeds puzzles and games in the book for those who want to take it beyond the simple experience of reading. Not so much a conventional memoir as a series of anecdotes. While its insights are limited, those looking for glimpses into an adventurous life should be pleased.
