A review by nathuffman97
Repo Virtual by Corey J. White

3.0

A neat book, which in some ways felt derivative but then in other ways felt really unique. Kind of like [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] except like, good, because I didn't really like that book. The book summary kind of pitches it as a cyberpunk heist but I didn't feel like that was exactly accurate-- there was a heist at the very beginning and one at the very end, but the meat of the story in the middle was more about AI ethics and ecofuturism. I really liked the casual diversity that White brings in, and it was neat to read a scifi book not set in future America (normally, Chicago, NYC, or SF, even if not explicitly named as such...). The philosophy of AI bits were interesting too, even though I guess they felt a little shoehorned. I think the biggest disadvantage of the book is that I didn't feel a real connection to any of the characters. I guess I liked Enda the best, but the whole thing moved so fast that I never really felt like I had an emotional investment in any of them. The ending was satisfying, but not thrilling, and I feel like White didn't spend enough time inside the virtual world that he put so much effort into creating. There was maybe too much worldbuilding for such a relatively short book, something just had to give. Fun but not exceptional.