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belacqua's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Reading the character Dread's passages made my eyes glaze over. He's such a lame villain.
j7410's review against another edition
3.0
When I write it all out I'm like, man, there's a lot going on in this book. And I think that helps to keep it engaging even if no individual storyline is blowing me away. There's still a lot of mystery around Otherland and the people who made it. Holding on to see the payoff to that.
This really shows that the first book was just an intro. We didn't even get into Otherland until the end and now we're just there all the time. The bug simluation was weird. Then Renie and Xabbu get separated into a weird dystopian Wizard of Oz world. Meet a virtual woman who says she's been impregnated by an other citizen. Until Xabbu opens a portal to a backdoor dimension and they can reunite with a lot of the party.
Orlando and Fredericks also get separated. End up in a pretty suspect cartoon world where there's an indian matchstick. I still like them, but not too much to say about that plot. Although we do get Catur Ramsey investigating Orlando's situation. Cool how Beezle ends up finding a way to talk to Orlando briefly in while he sleeps, and forms a little duo with Catur.
Paul Jonas, I was right to skim a lot of his stuff in book 1. He's finally getting more involved in the story, meeting a guy from the Circle, realizing he's in VR and wanting to get out.
Martine and crew end up wandering through bug world and then this flying world. Dread in the real world is in one of their sims, we do not know who yet. But that's a fun little bit of intrigue. Also makes Calliope and Stan Chan the most exciting real world storyline. They're investiagting a five year old murder and if thay can close in on Dread maybe he won't kill all of our group.
The other thing is Olga Pirofsky. Old woman who works as Uncle Jingle, she connects to Catur but also has her own thing going on with VR headaches and trying to get to the bottom of that.
This really shows that the first book was just an intro. We didn't even get into Otherland until the end and now we're just there all the time. The bug simluation was weird. Then Renie and Xabbu get separated into a weird dystopian Wizard of Oz world. Meet a virtual woman who says she's been impregnated by an other citizen. Until Xabbu opens a portal to a backdoor dimension and they can reunite with a lot of the party.
Orlando and Fredericks also get separated. End up in a pretty suspect cartoon world where there's an indian matchstick. I still like them, but not too much to say about that plot. Although we do get Catur Ramsey investigating Orlando's situation. Cool how Beezle ends up finding a way to talk to Orlando briefly in while he sleeps, and forms a little duo with Catur.
Paul Jonas, I was right to skim a lot of his stuff in book 1. He's finally getting more involved in the story, meeting a guy from the Circle, realizing he's in VR and wanting to get out.
Martine and crew end up wandering through bug world and then this flying world. Dread in the real world is in one of their sims, we do not know who yet. But that's a fun little bit of intrigue. Also makes Calliope and Stan Chan the most exciting real world storyline. They're investiagting a five year old murder and if thay can close in on Dread maybe he won't kill all of our group.
The other thing is Olga Pirofsky. Old woman who works as Uncle Jingle, she connects to Catur but also has her own thing going on with VR headaches and trying to get to the bottom of that.
the_pale_woman's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.5
I think I like the concepts and ideas in this book rather than the actual story. There's a lot you can do with a virtual reality setting, and this book travels through a few compelling places. I like thinking about how I would build my own personal virtual playground. I know it would be cooler than what these milk toasts came up with in this book, but maybe it would come across as a nightmare to an outside observer. When you create the monster, it's not as scary.
This VR world hopping takes center stage in this book, and everything else takes a back seat. I didn't feel any movement with the plot or characters. I actually like most of the characters, and I find their situations interesting. The problem is that I don't feel like there is any real development happening. Their relationships feel static, and the plots move so slow that they might as well not be there. By the end, I'm like, did we get anywhere? No. I'm starting to think this story is just a bunch of vibes. I think I'm okay with that, but I can't help wanting more out of it.
This VR world hopping takes center stage in this book, and everything else takes a back seat. I didn't feel any movement with the plot or characters. I actually like most of the characters, and I find their situations interesting. The problem is that I don't feel like there is any real development happening. Their relationships feel static, and the plots move so slow that they might as well not be there. By the end, I'm like, did we get anywhere? No. I'm starting to think this story is just a bunch of vibes. I think I'm okay with that, but I can't help wanting more out of it.
kordidarling's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
laileanah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Meh, this feels like a middle installment more than I like.
I also think this was a bit more bloated than necessary.
Still I love the characters I loved in the first novel and am enjoying their adventures.
In many ways the world building occurring outside of the simulation feels jarring and much less interesting than the computer simulated worlds.
This has dated/inappropriate language in describing fictional computer program characters.
I also think this was a bit more bloated than necessary.
Still I love the characters I loved in the first novel and am enjoying their adventures.
In many ways the world building occurring outside of the simulation feels jarring and much less interesting than the computer simulated worlds.
This has dated/inappropriate language in describing fictional computer program characters.
subgirl's review against another edition
2.0
I really really really really hated these. It was so overwrought and idiotic and ugh. But I have a thing where if I start a series, I finish it, but this was pure agony. I nearly didn't but was sort of interested in how bad it could get.
corinth113's review against another edition
3.0
I think I loved Otherland I so much because it was so imaginative and novel, so then when it didn’t really have closure…and then just kept going in this book…and then THIS book didn’t have closure, I just got bored!
amanda_serenity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5