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Graphic: Confinement, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Classism
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide
Minor: Transphobia
according to the author, in 2045—which is an actual year that will happen in my lifetime—reality will be a dystopian nightmare riddled by climate change and poverty. probably not far off actually, but here’s where he loses me: instead of actually doing anything about it, we’ll all be idealizing the 80s on virtual reality and stalking random women and utilizing the most convenient plot devices in recorded history. which is a very depressing thought.
speaking of the author, it’s clear that this (somehow) published, award-winning work is nothing but an indulgent fan fiction for himself—and its target audience is middle/upper class american nerds born in 1979-1989. this book is completely oversaturated with obscure retro pop culture references that Kids These Days™️ are simply not cool enough to understand, and any semblance of a plot suffocates under the weight of the encyclopedic knowledge of pointless information.
what’s also not cool is misogyny and that’s another thing this book is full of. for instance when the main character gets super fit and muscular in a week(??) to impress the aforementioned girl he’s been stalking on internet forums for years(??). the women in this story are treated as side characters and afterthoughts which is a shame because they could’ve have been decent characters if the author had tried.
misogyny isn’t where it ends, though; the mc’s best friend’s avatar appears as a straight white man for 99% of the book, but she turns out to be a black lesbian in real life. and yes, it tried to be inclusive, but this roundabout representation barely counts as a plot element since it’s in the last 5 pages of the story and we’re distracted with giving the main character good person points for accepting her. if marginalized people still must hide their identities to be safe from homophobia and racism, why are we led to believe this virtual world is a perfect utopia? if the author truly wanted to include a diverse group of characters, he could have just written her as a black lesbian from the start?
all of this inexcusable grossness aside, there could have been an attempt at a coherent plot, and there simply isn’t. the author throws the three act structure out the window to make room for all the times he mentions space invaders; the best example of this being near the end, when our ragtag group of heroes are tragically defeated by the evil video game billionaire who controls the VR world—however, this little roadblock is entirely subverted because they become the first ever people in history to get a free second attempt! for no reason! and they win the game and get a ton of money or something and that’s the end of the book. no moral of the story besides “there will never be another decade as culturally relevant as the 80s.” which is a lesson that is soulless and definitionally false and will leave you bored and vaguely confused.
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Stalking
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Murder
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Murder
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Death, War
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Sexual content, Murder
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Lesbophobia