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astrangewind's review
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Disclaimer that I read an advance reader's copy of this book.
The authors had an idea, but they didn't have a plot. The Otherworld - a universe full of creatures that started as blocks of code but then developed real intelligence, formed societies, and even started a war to protect their kind - has so much potential as a literary setting and as a moral touchstone. The authors could have explored the beautiful, interesting creatures; the moral implications of killing a creature in the "game"; the moral implications of putting lives at risk to advance medical technology; the ease with which one succumbs to addiction; or the creature-to-human relationships, even within the waged war. Some of these topics were explored at the most superficial level - for example,Simon killed a Child in cold blood, and justified it by saying it's just a block of code. Simon occasionally had thoughts about "killing is bad," but some genericisms are hardly an "exploration." In fact, it seemed as though the authors wanted to write a dark story for the sake of it. Simon engages in killing Children and guests, even when he doesn't know if the guests are headset players or not. Apparently, he has no problem with personally killing others, so much so that he finds himself needing to swallow the addiction. That's not how real people work. There is no 18-year-old - unless they're a psychopath, which Simon is clearly not - that is just OK and totally not traumatized by killing another living thing. This is edginess for the sake of edginess.
Simon, the main character, is an incredibly arrogant, annoying 18-year-old. Maybe he wasn't meant to be likable. Some protaganists aren't likable, but they're still done well. Simon wasn't. He had very few realistic traits, and none of them were redeeming, or even consistent.One minute he's saying he trusts Busara, and the next he doesn't know if he can. (But then does what she says anyway, with literally no qualms.) He doesn't develop as a person - by the end, he's still ragey and angry and making stupid decisions.
In fact, *none* of the characters were likeable. *None* of the characters developed. The three primary female characters, Kat, Busara, and Carole, were so stereotyped that I almost gagged every time I had to read about them. (This book fails the Bechdel test, by the way.) At first, Kat was introduced as a rugged tomboy who loved the woods, which made me almost like her. But by the end, it was clear she was a "savior" type character: always saying the right thing andnearly sacrificing her life for Simon . Busara is *technically* queer, but she's blatantly the stereotype of aroace people being heartless androids. And while Gorog and Arkan had personalities (albeit shallow ones), Carole was the voice of reason. That's it. No other defining characteristics. (Besides the mom outfit, I guess.) Even Arkan had a decent backstory of his girlfriend dying in the same car accident that landed him in the Otherworld . Even the "villains" - Martin, Todd, and Wayne - weren't convincing as villains. Even the ones that were introduced at the beginning of the book I had totally forgotten about by the end, so I really couldn't even discern their motivations. The motivations of most of the characters were a complete mystery to me.
That was the theme of the whole book - everything that happened was so milquetoast that I forgot about it by the end. It's like the authors discovered the plot 3/4s of the way through the book. Honestly, when I had made it halfway through, I felt like it should've been over. Somehow, nothing and too much were happening at the same time. Not only was it boring in most parts, but it was practically Swiss cheese with the number of plot holes. I remember a point whereSimon didn't want to kill a cliff-dweller, so he specifically aimed his dagger throw to the right shoulder instead of the heart. WHERE in HELL did that scrawny kid learn to throw a dagger? Did he get superhuman abilities being in the Otherworld? And besides that, why did he have issues with killing someone there - someone he knew was a headset player - but killed other guests when he didn't know if they wore headsets or not? I honestly don't get his hesitation there . Some other plot holes I found: no foreshadowing to indicate the identities of several characters, like the orchestrator of the facility or the Clay Man; Simon not using a headset after the first time, even though it would have prevented him from actually dying in the Otherworld ; Simon practically jumping into the line of fire when dealing with the cliff-dwellers despite having JUST been told that he needs to guard his life with everything he's got ; the cliff-dwellers being cannibals after developing a taste for flesh, despite being established as headset players; Simon's ability to grow three hands to carry three swords (seriously, how did he carry those!?), and then immediately complaining he didn't grab the spears, even though he was still literally right there; not immediately telling Gorog his life was in danger; and there's still the fact I still don't get the Big Bad's motivation for it all. It really just doesn't make sense. Wayne Gibson doesn't seem like the type to want to help people.
These things might be forgivable, if the writing was any good. Don't get me wrong - for some people, the edgy, casual 18-year-old POV is funny and interesting. I did think it was funny at times. But when writing - especially in a setting that could be so rich with life - you want to *show*, not *tell*. And there was so much telling. I wanted to see the world, the creatures, the way the war is affecting them - and all I got was an annoying 18-year-old who glossed over pretty much every descriptive detail. The POV was supposed to be first-person, but at points it slipped a little bit, such that the narrator (Simon) mentioned things that he had no way of knowing, and no lead up to how he would know it (e.g. "He was searching for contraband" (telling) vs. "He took his time searching the van, checking every crevice, looking for something. What even qualifies as contraband here?"). Fortunately, I was able to finish it rather quickly, so at the very least it wasn't a *total* slog to get through.
Instead of reading this book, I would recommend reading literally anything else.
The authors had an idea, but they didn't have a plot. The Otherworld - a universe full of creatures that started as blocks of code but then developed real intelligence, formed societies, and even started a war to protect their kind - has so much potential as a literary setting and as a moral touchstone. The authors could have explored the beautiful, interesting creatures; the moral implications of killing a creature in the "game"; the moral implications of putting lives at risk to advance medical technology; the ease with which one succumbs to addiction; or the creature-to-human relationships, even within the waged war. Some of these topics were explored at the most superficial level - for example,
Simon, the main character, is an incredibly arrogant, annoying 18-year-old. Maybe he wasn't meant to be likable. Some protaganists aren't likable, but they're still done well. Simon wasn't. He had very few realistic traits, and none of them were redeeming, or even consistent.
In fact, *none* of the characters were likeable. *None* of the characters developed. The three primary female characters, Kat, Busara, and Carole, were so stereotyped that I almost gagged every time I had to read about them. (This book fails the Bechdel test, by the way.) At first, Kat was introduced as a rugged tomboy who loved the woods, which made me almost like her. But by the end, it was clear she was a "savior" type character: always saying the right thing and
That was the theme of the whole book - everything that happened was so milquetoast that I forgot about it by the end. It's like the authors discovered the plot 3/4s of the way through the book. Honestly, when I had made it halfway through, I felt like it should've been over. Somehow, nothing and too much were happening at the same time. Not only was it boring in most parts, but it was practically Swiss cheese with the number of plot holes. I remember a point where
These things might be forgivable, if the writing was any good. Don't get me wrong - for some people, the edgy, casual 18-year-old POV is funny and interesting. I did think it was funny at times. But when writing - especially in a setting that could be so rich with life - you want to *show*, not *tell*. And there was so much telling. I wanted to see the world, the creatures, the way the war is affecting them - and all I got was an annoying 18-year-old who glossed over pretty much every descriptive detail. The POV was supposed to be first-person, but at points it slipped a little bit, such that the narrator (Simon) mentioned things that he had no way of knowing, and no lead up to how he would know it (e.g. "He was searching for contraband" (telling) vs. "He took his time searching the van, checking every crevice, looking for something. What even qualifies as contraband here?"). Fortunately, I was able to finish it rather quickly, so at the very least it wasn't a *total* slog to get through.
Instead of reading this book, I would recommend reading literally anything else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Animal death, and War
Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Acephobia/Arophobia, Drug use, Misogyny, Car accident, Mental illness, Genocide, and Gun violence
calvin_zuniga's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, and Violence
giraffestickers's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Colonisation
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