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mactammonty's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book.
The kick ass main character, who was not a princess, to the bad guys were all well done. A world based on today's problems from climate change, to sexual harassment on and off line, and streaming video games that draw large online followings. The plot was very believable. The morals were not heavy handed either.
It was very much all show and no tell in this well written story.
I am going to be watching this author for more great stories like this one.
The kick ass main character, who was not a princess, to the bad guys were all well done. A world based on today's problems from climate change, to sexual harassment on and off line, and streaming video games that draw large online followings. The plot was very believable. The morals were not heavy handed either.
It was very much all show and no tell in this well written story.
I am going to be watching this author for more great stories like this one.
theybedax's review against another edition
4.0
This was intense from start to finish with Kluwe never stopping to pull his punches. This felt like a scifi manifesto showing a mirror to just how messed up our world is. The lack of belief or complete downplay in harassment of female gamers, false prophets slinging judgement in the name of Jesus, corporations at war and more than willing to use whatever human causalities they deem necessary, PTSD and how we drop our soldiers once they're back, big brother watching everything you do - not to protect but to control.... When I write it all out this is seeming more like realistic fiction. Oh! And there are mech suits and complete immersion into game play, including pain receptors......so totally scifi.....
balise's review against another edition
4.0
Got a copy through NetGalley (my first NetGalley, wooo!).
In Otaku, we get to meet Ash and her friends and family in a post-climate-change world where everything kind of broke down to several levels. Ash is one of the world’s best player of the Game – think all-you-can-think-of MMORPG with haptic suits as a controller. She deals with more than her share of abuse for it, and essentially tries to scrape by – until she accidentally stumbles on something much larger than her.
I thoroughly enjoyed Otaku. The world-building is great, the action scenes are spectacularly written, and special kudos to the Game action scenes in particular – those felt real, as in “yes, this is something I could definitely imagine gaming going to”. The pacing also really worked for me – rapid, but not hectic, with some breathing time allowed between tougher scenes. It also needs to be said that there’s a fair amount of graphical violence depicted in this book – weirdly enough, it didn’t bother me, but I could see it being a problem for other readers.
As for the things I wasn’t so enthusiastic about… The characters, especially the secondary ones, could have done with a bit more fleshing out – I don’t think it lacked MUCH, but a tiny bit more would have been a good thing. What bothered me most was that the stakes of the late plot felt way too high for the context – I think a smaller scale could have been used for the same dramatic effect while feeling less exaggerated.
Still - this was a very enjoyable read, I had a very hard time putting it down when it was time to sleep. Interestingly, I probably wouldn't have picked a book with that title if not for the Big Idea piece I read at Scalzi's - https://whatever.scalzi.com/2020/03/06/the-big-idea-chris-kluwe-2/ - and I'm happy I did eventually :)
In Otaku, we get to meet Ash and her friends and family in a post-climate-change world where everything kind of broke down to several levels. Ash is one of the world’s best player of the Game – think all-you-can-think-of MMORPG with haptic suits as a controller. She deals with more than her share of abuse for it, and essentially tries to scrape by – until she accidentally stumbles on something much larger than her.
I thoroughly enjoyed Otaku. The world-building is great, the action scenes are spectacularly written, and special kudos to the Game action scenes in particular – those felt real, as in “yes, this is something I could definitely imagine gaming going to”. The pacing also really worked for me – rapid, but not hectic, with some breathing time allowed between tougher scenes. It also needs to be said that there’s a fair amount of graphical violence depicted in this book – weirdly enough, it didn’t bother me, but I could see it being a problem for other readers.
As for the things I wasn’t so enthusiastic about… The characters, especially the secondary ones, could have done with a bit more fleshing out – I don’t think it lacked MUCH, but a tiny bit more would have been a good thing. What bothered me most was that the stakes of the late plot felt way too high for the context – I think a smaller scale could have been used for the same dramatic effect while feeling less exaggerated.
Still - this was a very enjoyable read, I had a very hard time putting it down when it was time to sleep. Interestingly, I probably wouldn't have picked a book with that title if not for the Big Idea piece I read at Scalzi's - https://whatever.scalzi.com/2020/03/06/the-big-idea-chris-kluwe-2/ - and I'm happy I did eventually :)
neverendingbooklist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and War
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
chukg's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely some similar feel to [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)|Ernest Cline|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500930947l/9969571._SY75_.jpg|14863741], but I thought the writing was better and the story was more engaging. Lots of scenes in the game and some of that training extending in to real life scenarios.
urlphantomhive's review
2.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
According to the Cambridge Dictionaire an Otaku is “a young person who is very interested in and knows a lot about computers, computer games, anime (= animated films), etc., but may find it difficult to talk to people in real life”. My kindle dictionaire also mentioned that an Otaku might have problems separating the real from the computer world. In Otaku, the real and the virtual world are heavily intertwined and combined with a standard dystopian setting.
I think that was what disappointed me most in the novel. There are evil corporations and some fractions but other than a bit of info dump right at the beginning, I didn’t learn anything about the different fractions and they all seemed about as bad to me. Because I thought the world was rather bland, even though it was apparently on water and there had been something that was called The Water Wars, I had a hard time connecting to the story or the characters.
There’s a lot of tech-talk and I got lost in it sometimes, making that I couldn’t really get into it or enjoy it. I think it’s safe to say this wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
According to the Cambridge Dictionaire an Otaku is “a young person who is very interested in and knows a lot about computers, computer games, anime (= animated films), etc., but may find it difficult to talk to people in real life”. My kindle dictionaire also mentioned that an Otaku might have problems separating the real from the computer world. In Otaku, the real and the virtual world are heavily intertwined and combined with a standard dystopian setting.
I think that was what disappointed me most in the novel. There are evil corporations and some fractions but other than a bit of info dump right at the beginning, I didn’t learn anything about the different fractions and they all seemed about as bad to me. Because I thought the world was rather bland, even though it was apparently on water and there had been something that was called The Water Wars, I had a hard time connecting to the story or the characters.
There’s a lot of tech-talk and I got lost in it sometimes, making that I couldn’t really get into it or enjoy it. I think it’s safe to say this wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
emma_zimmerman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
jasminenoack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
thenthomwaslike's review against another edition
2.0
A little disjointed, a little derivative, but fun and full of personality nonetheless. Most characters are well realized and I can't understate how much I laughed at the bridge fight. I sometimes found myself rooting against Ashura and wish the world building had been better explored outside of the preface.