A blunt, fast-moving, entertaining tale set in a steampunk virtual reality world.
A young convict gets dropped into a deadly video game in this YA SF novel.
In the dystopian People’s Republic of California, convicts aren’t sent to prison but rather forced to compete in the Games—virtual reality video games—for the entertainment of the masses. Sounds fun, right? The only problem is, if you die in the Games, you die in real life. And Donovan Riley has just been sentenced to 15 years of play. Adopting the handle BrokenChains, Donovan is plunked into a mountainous steampunk world called God’s Staircase and told that if he can make it to the top, he will be set free. Of course, he’ll have to fight his way there, past computer-generated enemies and the other convicts he shares the world with. “They really threw hardened murderers in here with the low-level offenders?” Donovan asks a fellow prisoner shortly after he arrives. “Sure did,” the old hand tells him. “And no consequences for killing anyone in the game. Constitutional rights of every inmate are suspended. We’re not people again until our sentence is served.” Donovan soon hooks up with a crew of like-minded prisoners looking to escape the game—though they have no notion of what the game will do to keep them right where they are. In this series opener, Smith and Lisec’s prose is descriptive, if a bit sophomoric. For every clever line (“You want to murder a noob, you must go through me”), there are a couple of clunkers (“I don’t take orders from anyone who looks like the server messed up and swapped his butt with his face”). Still, as the book is primarily about people beating one another with swords in order to level up, such writing suffices. The authors manage to make the world of the Games feel real even as they constantly remind readers that it is all a simulation. The fact that Donovan and the others can die at any moment helps up the stakes yet there is a lightness to the tone that keeps things feeling more or less like a video game. It’s a novel for a niche audience, but fans of the genre will likely enjoy this unsubtle offering.
A blunt, fast-moving, entertaining tale set in a steampunk virtual reality world.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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