Real-time age

An elite Viennese boarding school, housed in the former summer residence of the Habsburgs, with a class teacher who is an antiquated and despotic man. What can one learn for life here? Till Kokorda finds little to relate to in the canon or the snobbish environment. His passion lies in computer games, specifically the real-time strategy game Age of Empires 2. Without anyone around him knowing, he is, at fifteen, an online celebrity, the youngest top-10 player in the world. But how real is such happiness? Tonio Schachinger tells a story of youth caught between gaming and classic literature, of a desire for freedom that must prove itself against fervent traditionalists – and of the unpredictable remainder that presents unseen challenges not only to the graduating class of 2020. The twists are surprising, his humor is unpretentious and approachable: Echtzeitalter is both an example and proof of the timeless power of a good story. And a great social novel.