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ltsang08's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexism, and Sexual violence
joelteon's review
4.0
What an awesome ride! I know it was only 250 pages but I still devoured it in less than a day. I thought maybe I wasn't liking it as much as I was at about 25% of the way because there were a few info dumps but once those issues cleared up, wowza. I wasn't even irked by the switch between first and third person POVs. It was awesome to spend time inside of Ada's head while experiencing the other characters actions from an outside perspective.
I literally had no clue who was driving the events and it was so enthralling trying to guess who was telling the truth and who was messing with me. Is there more to come in this series Tim? Please tell me I get to experience more cases involving Ada and Joon.
I don't know what to say, this truly was a techno thriller blend of Ready Player One and Silence of the Lambs and I am so here for more of that. I do not care for or like the trend of VR becoming more a part of our everyday lives and seeing how people might explore a more permanent life in the Holos was like, yeah whatever, but I totally get how people would escape in such a way.
I am so glad I chose this as my next read on a stacked TBR. Do yourself a favour if you live a good quick paced, insane mystery and read Thrill Switch now. I will look forward to what Tim has to write next especially if it involves foul mouthed Ada and germaphobe Joon.
I literally had no clue who was driving the events and it was so enthralling trying to guess who was telling the truth and who was messing with me. Is there more to come in this series Tim? Please tell me I get to experience more cases involving Ada and Joon.
I don't know what to say, this truly was a techno thriller blend of Ready Player One and Silence of the Lambs and I am so here for more of that. I do not care for or like the trend of VR becoming more a part of our everyday lives and seeing how people might explore a more permanent life in the Holos was like, yeah whatever, but I totally get how people would escape in such a way.
I am so glad I chose this as my next read on a stacked TBR. Do yourself a favour if you live a good quick paced, insane mystery and read Thrill Switch now. I will look forward to what Tim has to write next especially if it involves foul mouthed Ada and germaphobe Joon.
bookwyrmknits's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
In my SPSFC3 reading, I've come across a few books that felt like they could easily be movies: this is one of them. It's fast paced and has a similar tone to a big summer blockbuster action movie. However, this one would probably be rated R or even NC-17, depending on how much the director chose to show... see the CWs I listed for why. Even with those CWs, though, this isn't a horror story. It's firmly a science fiction thriller.
Our main character Ada is a cop in her mid-to-late-20s, and she hasn't been into the Holos (aka the virtual world) since her first trip... which is when her father was killed by a serial killer. So naturally, this book's murder case requires her to go back into the Holos for the first time in years. I really enjoyed watching her experience it all essentially for the first time.
I think my favorite characters, though, were the ones who spent a lot of time in the Holos. Joon and Sabi in particular were favorites of mine. I really felt like they captured some of the identity and self-creation themes presented in this book. As you can probably guess, that was my favorite part of the book's plot, too. I really enjoyed following where the psychological aspect of the plot went.
No content warnings were provided for this book that I saw, but I really think they were needed. There were times I felt like the book got much more intense than it had forecast at the start of the book. I am a big supporter of CWs, so I would always rather have them provided.
Additionally, the book does end on a slightly unfulfilling note. There is a nice resolution to the book-specific story, and theoretically this could be read as a standalone book with a slightly off-balance ending. However, while not really ending on a cliffhanger exactly, it is perfectly clear that there is more of this story yet to come.
I guess a quick summary of my experience with this book is this: I enjoyed the plot and pacing a lot, and the characters grew on me quickly. The messaging in a lot of this book was fascinating. The darker themes in the story resulted in me getting thrown out of the flow, though. I would have enjoyed the philosophical aspect and the way the book pushed the boundaries of reality a lot more had the dark scenes not been as intense as they often were.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
I read this book as part of the judging process for the 3rd Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), and I was provided a review copy for judging purposes. My opinions are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of my SPSFC3 team or the competition as a whole.
Our main character Ada is a cop in her mid-to-late-20s, and she hasn't been into the Holos (aka the virtual world) since her first trip... which is when her father was killed by a serial killer. So naturally, this book's murder case requires her to go back into the Holos for the first time in years. I really enjoyed watching her experience it all essentially for the first time.
I think my favorite characters, though, were the ones who spent a lot of time in the Holos. Joon and Sabi in particular were favorites of mine. I really felt like they captured some of the identity and self-creation themes presented in this book. As you can probably guess, that was my favorite part of the book's plot, too. I really enjoyed following where the psychological aspect of the plot went.
No content warnings were provided for this book that I saw, but I really think they were needed. There were times I felt like the book got much more intense than it had forecast at the start of the book. I am a big supporter of CWs, so I would always rather have them provided.
Additionally, the book does end on a slightly unfulfilling note. There is a nice resolution to the book-specific story, and theoretically this could be read as a standalone book with a slightly off-balance ending. However, while not really ending on a cliffhanger exactly, it is perfectly clear that there is more of this story yet to come.
I guess a quick summary of my experience with this book is this: I enjoyed the plot and pacing a lot, and the characters grew on me quickly. The messaging in a lot of this book was fascinating. The darker themes in the story resulted in me getting thrown out of the flow, though. I would have enjoyed the philosophical aspect and the way the book pushed the boundaries of reality a lot more had the dark scenes not been as intense as they often were.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
I read this book as part of the judging process for the 3rd Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), and I was provided a review copy for judging purposes. My opinions are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of my SPSFC3 team or the competition as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Torture
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
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