Coma Kings by Jessica Barber

This was a heart warming story that seemed to go in one direction then made a quick twist into vulnerability.

I know that’s not much of a review.

What’s it about? You might ask. 

Jacking into a VR game and how easy it is to be lost in it. 

But that would have been too easy to write. Instead there is a poingnancy to it that was unexpected. 

It was very well done. 

It just goes to show that genre fiction can be much more than cliché. 

Anda’s Game by Cory Doctorow

A wonderful and inspiring story.

Since I agree with Doctorow’s stance with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, I enjoy reading these very same problems played out and solved in his fiction. 

Anda is a young English girl who loves gaming but struggles with the male-dominance of the culture. She is also struggling with her own real-world self-esteem. 

The story tackles balancing an in-game life with the real world.  And how the real world can intrude in the game world. 

There are some important subjects explored here, which makes reading it so very satisfying to me. 

Recommended. 

Cory Doctorow's website - https://craphound.com/

RECOIL! by Micky Neilson

This was a terrific, fast-paced thriller.

If you liked the first Die Hard movie you'll get an idea of the structure of the story.  There is even a quick reference to the movie.

Jimmy is a young man who has been allowed to work on a new first-person shooter by a friend.  He is allowed to create textures for the game, after hours at the office.  One day he gets engrossed in simply playing the game in its "alpha" phase.  He loses track of time and when he finally stops he discovers that the office is taken over by armed thugs.

What follows is a cat and mouse situation where Jimmy just wants to get out of danger.  But then the circumstances change.

The story was a stand out in the collection.

Micky Neilson's website - http://www.mickyneilson.com/

Micky Neilson

All of the People in Your Party Have Died by Robin Wasserman

This story was completely unexpected and touching.

It was much less about a computer game, although there is one, than about trust, and love.

I found myself completely taken by the story and enjoyed it very much.

Robin Wasserman's website - http://www.robinwasserman.com/about/

Robin Wasserman

Roguelike by Marc Laidlaw

What at terrific romp!

We all know what it's like to work through a game hundreds of times to get to the end.  This was exactly that.

Here we read the results of many attempts of a first person shooter to save the emperor.  The game is actually a training simulator.

When the end is reached the reward is not what you'd expect.

Fun.

Marc Laidlaw's website - http://www.marclaidlaw.com/

Marc Laidlaw

The Relive Box by T. C. Boyle

Oh, my. What a good story.

Not because it’s uplifting, it dives deeply into obsession and addiction. 

But it goes to illustrate how any kind of  addictive compulsion can destroy lives. 

A single father is trying to cope with his compulsive use of a technology that allows him to access past memories and relive any moment he chooses.  

The danger with the tech is that people can get sucked in to reliving the past to the exclusion of the here and now. 

The father is deplorable in his struggle with the tech. He was completely unlikeable but the story was so well written I could not put it down. 

Terrific, disturbing stuff. 

T.C. Boyle's website - https://www.tcboyle.com/

TC Boyle

Save Me Plz by David Barr Kirtley

This was an alright story. A play on the theory that we are all living inside a simulation.

If that’s true then why should we remain in the “real” world full of dullness, poverty and pain. Why not live in a computer game filled with adventure, mystery and clarity?

Like I said, it was alright. It landed a bit flat but that’s okay too. 

David Barr Kirtley's website - https://davidbarrkirtley.com/

David Barr Kirtley

< end game > by Chris Avellone

I don't know what to think of this story.

I enjoyed the text-based game play of it.  It read as if the reader is playing the game, typing the commands into the computer.

It soon becomes a game-within-a-game story but somehow the end just was not satisfying for me.  There is something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it.

It was well done but just did not work for me.


Chris Avellone's Wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Avellone

Chris Avellone

Outliers by Nicole Feldringer

I liked this story.

What happens when a smart, dedicated gamer plays a game meant to help crunch data to model global warming weather patterns?

When a flaw in the game is discovered we get to see how game design is affected by political desire.

I believe the story gives us a glimpse into the machinations of political influence of what we hear in the media about the Climate Change.

Nicole Feldringer's webpage - http://www.nicofeld.com/

Nicole Feldringer

REAL by Django Wexler

This was a cool, dark story.

A mysterious person goes looking for a recluse game designer who helped create one of the most addictive and believable games. 

The game has a deadly quality that the designer investigated and tried to correct. But then other powers worked against him. 

Once the narrator finds the designer the truth is revealed. 

I loved the dark quality of the city and found the writing captivating. 

It was another terrific entry in what is becoming a favourite anthology of mine. 

Django Wexler's website - http://djangowexler.com/

Django Wexler

Survival Horror by Seanan McGuire

At first I groaned when I began the story.  I am no fan of fantasy, magic and weird creatures.  I am never in the mood.  Although I like science fiction, and you can certainly see the parallels, I at least enjoy "plausible" SF.

A couple teenagers are in the basement reading comics and installing a new computer game.  Once loaded all the lights go out and the evil magic begins.  The my groaning began.

But there was always a line of humour in it that kept me reading.

I certainly enjoyed how, when the parents got involved, everything got mundane and still quite funny.

It was a good story because the twist ending worked well for me.

Seanan McGuire's website - http://www.seananmcguire.com/

1Up by Holly Black - Short Story Reviw

Oh!  This was terrific fun.

A trio of gammer friends, who have never met in real life, travel together to the funeral of another internet friend.

Proving that friendships can and do form online, the trio go on an adventure to unravel a mystery.  There are clues in the dead boy's room that lead them to a computer game that leads them out into the real world.

This could easily be made into a movie.  It reminded me very much of Ready Player One.

Holly Black's website - http://blackholly.com/

Holly Black

Rat Catcher's Yellows by Charlie Jane Anders

50/150/2016

This was a sad/hopeful story. 

Or maybe it was hopeful/sad.

Nope.  It was sad then a little bit hopeful in a sad and defeated kind of way.

Shary is suffering from a degenerative mental disease and Grace, her wife, is coping with it as best she can.

Grace introduces her to an immersive video game that she connects to quickly.

Somehow this game connects with others suffering from the same condition.

It was a heart breaking story that will ring true with anybody who has a loved one suffering from dementia.

The collection can surprise in that there is some real depth in the story selections.  I am very impressed with the scope the editors have included in this volume.

Charlie Jane Anders - http://allthebirdsinthesky.tumblr.com/

Desert Walk by S. R. Mastrantone

49/150/2016

This is the first story in the collection that did not work for me.

The focus of it is a long-lost video game where the player is walking in the middle of the desert.  Nothing really happens in the game although the player sometimes runs across an object but mostly there is just the walking.

Somehow it is a very addictive game and our narrator plays it for hours at a time without noticing the passage of time.

He seeks out the game designer and it is there that the story takes a turn into the paranormal that immediately lost my interest.

The ending itself seemed forced and simply silly.

Too bad because it was very good until then.

I usually look for an author's web page after I've written the review.  The paranormal thing about the story should come as no surprise if you are familiar with the author; he seems to write quite a bit of it.  It is a genre I tend to stay away from, just like I do with fantasy.

In any case, you can find the author here:  http://thewrittenabsurd.blogspot.ca/

Respawn by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

48/150/2016

This was a terrific read.

Written by the guy who wrote the novel that became the movie Edge of Tomorrow.

Here Sakurazaka takes the same premise; becoming reborn the instant you die but puts the mind of the narrator in the body of the person who kills his previous self.

It was a mind-twisting notion as the narrator continues to inhabit new bodies he also inherits their lives.

I simply loved the story, however I did not understand the ending.  Since it was such a fun ride to the last sentence I really did not care if the ending did not live up to the rest.

It was wonderfully imaginative.

NPC by Charles Yu

45/150/2016

This was an interesting story that worked well on a couple levels.

Life of our narrator is "in game," living as a character in a MMORPG.  Having never played a massive multiplayer online roleplaying game I can imagine how a person can become stuck in a rut.

It is an actual rut that gets our hero out of his.

But then the author deepens the story by exploring the emotional consequences of leveling up.

It was a very good read.  Yu obviously has real talent.

God Mode by Daniel H. Wilson - A Short Story Review

42/150/2016

This was a trippy little exploration of the interpretation of reality.

A young couple meet and fall for each other.  Meanwhile, strange things are happening all around them.  The stars are winking out, one by one.  Details of the city are turning grey.

And then there is a strange voice.

Nicely done.  I enjoyed my time with this story.

Daniel H. Wilson - http://www.danielhwilson.com/

Daniel H. Wilson