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cosymilko's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoy Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant and this isn't really an exception to that rule. I have read enough of her books to see her telltale hooks. A problem with authors who write in the same universe or in the same vein (intense sci-fi with emotionally damaged strong female leads, anyone?) is that everything starts to become similar.
You could take the main characters from this and replace them with the lead from most of her other books. I have a feeling that these books all appeal to the bookish females dreaming of doing something big. I am one of those females most days. The other days I'm actually doing my something big, so there's that.
I felt that Seanan has been inserting herself into her books. This time it was painfully obvious that this was a self fulfilling need for her. There's was clearly something she had to work through and got paid to do this.
Despite this, it was an enjoyable ride and there were a few things in there I felt made it somewhat unputdownable.
I don't know that I'll keep picking up the short stories that she puts out unless there's a new hook. To be honest, I'll probably settle for the same hook with a new paint job.
You could take the main characters from this and replace them with the lead from most of her other books. I have a feeling that these books all appeal to the bookish females dreaming of doing something big. I am one of those females most days. The other days I'm actually doing my something big, so there's that.
I felt that Seanan has been inserting herself into her books. This time it was painfully obvious that this was a self fulfilling need for her. There's was clearly something she had to work through and got paid to do this.
Despite this, it was an enjoyable ride and there were a few things in there I felt made it somewhat unputdownable.
I don't know that I'll keep picking up the short stories that she puts out unless there's a new hook. To be honest, I'll probably settle for the same hook with a new paint job.
bookish_withsky's review against another edition
3.0
It definitely has Grant's amazing writing style and an intriguing premise. However, there are a few things that don't feel like they quite add up? We have a character who we're told is at odds with another, yet she agrees to go into this situation without any argument in the slightest, only a bit of hesitation. The 'at odds' aspect only lasted the first few pages of the book, which wasn't bad. The book went on to be even more interesting. It just felt like two possible ideas combined and it didn't work out in every aspect.
rebelkiss's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy for an honest review.
I wanted to read this book just for the title and author. I knew nothing about the book going in. The narrator was delightful and I would listen to more books from her.
This book had a mix of sci-fi and horror. A gal, with guilt about her dad, goes to a place that VR therapy place. She goes in and sh!t hots the fan. I enjoyed the ‘scary’ element but wish there had been more with the ending.
I wanted to read this book just for the title and author. I knew nothing about the book going in. The narrator was delightful and I would listen to more books from her.
This book had a mix of sci-fi and horror. A gal, with guilt about her dad, goes to a place that VR therapy place. She goes in and sh!t hots the fan. I enjoyed the ‘scary’ element but wish there had been more with the ending.
czoltak's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“We’re not monsters. We just make imaginary ones.”
⭐️⭐️
Sci-fi isn’t really my thing so I’m not that surprised I didn’t enjoy this more. The concept was super intriguing: virtual reality horror scenarios as a form of therapy. However, this is a case in which I actually wish this would’ve been a full fledged novel. It was hard to truly understand the technology and follow two different storylines in such a truncated amount. If we had gotten more background information and more time with these characters I think I would’ve enjoyed the story more and had a better understanding sooner.
kookykoi's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
alligracestory's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
roboxa's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted on Queen of Blog Style
This might just be me, but I felt that the description of this book is slightly misleading. Misleading in that it indicates that the focus is going to be on the technology and its consequences, but I found that it mostly focuses on the horror movie like scenario that the main character gets thrown into.
I was really excited to read this book. The premise of VR being used as a therapeutic technique was intriguing to me, and what I really wanted and expected was a close look at what the possible ramifications of this type of therapy would be with an interspersed horror element to it. Sadly, the book doesn't delve into the theoretical as much as I wanted it to, leading me to feel like I was reading a horror novella that could have been so much more.
That being said, I didn't dislike this book. I still found it an enjoyable and slightly disturbing read that I believe readers who are fans of the genre will greatly enjoy. The action was fast-paced and the authors decision to include moments in which it seems Esther and Dr. Webb were becoming lucid during the scenario was clever, if sometimes clumsily executed.
There were many elements to this story that were really interesting, which kept me reading and let me enjoy the book. However, I couldn't help but feel that there were multiple elements that I really wish had been fleshed out more. It sometimes felt that Grant was attempting to introduce all of these interesting angles in too short of a book. It touched on a lot, but never really examined any of them. I believe I would have enjoyed this book more had it been a longer novel, however, as a horror novella, it's affective. The fact that I still enjoyed this book despite it not being what I was expecting it to be speaks to this.
This might just be me, but I felt that the description of this book is slightly misleading. Misleading in that it indicates that the focus is going to be on the technology and its consequences, but I found that it mostly focuses on the horror movie like scenario that the main character gets thrown into.
I was really excited to read this book. The premise of VR being used as a therapeutic technique was intriguing to me, and what I really wanted and expected was a close look at what the possible ramifications of this type of therapy would be with an interspersed horror element to it. Sadly, the book doesn't delve into the theoretical as much as I wanted it to, leading me to feel like I was reading a horror novella that could have been so much more.
That being said, I didn't dislike this book. I still found it an enjoyable and slightly disturbing read that I believe readers who are fans of the genre will greatly enjoy. The action was fast-paced and the authors decision to include moments in which it seems Esther and Dr. Webb were becoming lucid during the scenario was clever, if sometimes clumsily executed.
There were many elements to this story that were really interesting, which kept me reading and let me enjoy the book. However, I couldn't help but feel that there were multiple elements that I really wish had been fleshed out more. It sometimes felt that Grant was attempting to introduce all of these interesting angles in too short of a book. It touched on a lot, but never really examined any of them. I believe I would have enjoyed this book more had it been a longer novel, however, as a horror novella, it's affective. The fact that I still enjoyed this book despite it not being what I was expecting it to be speaks to this.
karleighreads's review against another edition
4.0
3.5*
This was an interesting take on final girls. I really liked the idea of being able to make someone go to sleep and create false memories and have them relive situations to help with their trauma. That would be really interesting to go through coming from someone who has some past trauma. I wouldn't say this is the best thing that Mira Grant has written but it's far from bad. I will always pick up anything by Mira Grant!
This was an interesting take on final girls. I really liked the idea of being able to make someone go to sleep and create false memories and have them relive situations to help with their trauma. That would be really interesting to go through coming from someone who has some past trauma. I wouldn't say this is the best thing that Mira Grant has written but it's far from bad. I will always pick up anything by Mira Grant!
rcd229's review
tense
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? Yes
4.0