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Oasis.EXE
Luca Juniper is about to lose his mind. He’s tired of his routine – if only he knew what was coming. Nestled within the mountains, Luca’s home is one of the last remaining habitable zones left on the planet. It is a paradise managed by an artificial intelligence coined the Machine. Luca is simply going through the motions until he and his friends stumble into a sinister plot after a celebration gone wrong. Now, Luca must fight to save something closer to him than he could have ever realized. Memory, love, and betrayal mark this 2022 LGBT sci-fi debut novella of author Braydon Conell.
128 pages, Paperback
Published July 25, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 13, 2024
A fun read that peeks under the curtains of a utopian city! I love reading small Nebraskan authors (sorry Timothy and Kava, I'll get to you eventually), so I jumped at the chance when I saw Oasis.EXE at my local bookstore! The second in the duology just came out this October, and I'll have to make a point to pick it up :)
Conell's Oasis is a rich world with a lot of moving parts. Few strongholds have existed since the nuclear war, and Oasis is one of the largest. Headed by a powerful AI called The Machine, the utopic city is split into Hunger Games-esque districts with civilians free to roam via a robust public transit system. But lurking underneath are secret societies, those who seek power, and an anti-technology terrorist organization seeking the end of The Machine. We finish the novella on the rising tension with enemies on all sides but with new information and allies on our side.
Oasis.EXE is a good time to kill an afternoon reading. Conell's writing isn't the strongest but it isn't horrific either. There is a lot of repetition of names that it gets to be almost silly how much space on a page was taken up with just character names. And going between calling the main character's grandmother "Gigi" or "Helen" made me very confused for a second there! There is a lot of "Tell Don't Show", which can be hard when trying to cram such a fleshed-out world into a novella. About the third chapter or so, everything stops cold in its tracks for a confusing history lesson rife with colors and industry which I think could have been better suited inside the story as we progress, not outside.
The plot, while an interesting concept, gets a little silly as well. The only sort of "police" Oasis seems to have is the Oasis Response Team, but instead of sending them to deal with the terrorists...they ask for children (19-year-olds) with ZERO training to volunteer to go with a 23-year-old... TO TAKE OUT THE BIGGEST/ONLY TERRORISTIC THREAT YOU'VE EVER FACED? It boggled my mind. They gave these people stun guns and grenades and just said "have at it children". It's honestly a very interesting choice- because instead of our protagonist being "a chosen one", or a trained rebel, he was just some guy who worked there and was like "hell yeah I'll fight"... and no one said, "why are we giving Luca from the coding dept. a gun and letting him go after a terrorist?". But a college advisor also gave an undergrad funding to create the first sentient artificial intelligence, so anything goes
With more practice, I think Conell's easy writing style and mind for world-building could grow into something great! Nebraska has a great queer literary tradition, and I'm excited to see Conell's addition to the canon!
Conell's Oasis is a rich world with a lot of moving parts. Few strongholds have existed since the nuclear war, and Oasis is one of the largest. Headed by a powerful AI called The Machine, the utopic city is split into Hunger Games-esque districts with civilians free to roam via a robust public transit system. But lurking underneath are secret societies, those who seek power, and an anti-technology terrorist organization seeking the end of The Machine. We finish the novella on the rising tension with enemies on all sides but with new information and allies on our side.
Oasis.EXE is a good time to kill an afternoon reading. Conell's writing isn't the strongest but it isn't horrific either. There is a lot of repetition of names that it gets to be almost silly how much space on a page was taken up with just character names. And going between calling the main character's grandmother "Gigi" or "Helen" made me very confused for a second there! There is a lot of "Tell Don't Show", which can be hard when trying to cram such a fleshed-out world into a novella. About the third chapter or so, everything stops cold in its tracks for a confusing history lesson rife with colors and industry which I think could have been better suited inside the story as we progress, not outside.
The plot, while an interesting concept, gets a little silly as well. The only sort of "police" Oasis seems to have is the Oasis Response Team, but instead of sending them to deal with the terrorists...they ask for children (19-year-olds) with ZERO training to volunteer to go with a 23-year-old... TO TAKE OUT THE BIGGEST/ONLY TERRORISTIC THREAT YOU'VE EVER FACED? It boggled my mind. They gave these people stun guns and grenades and just said "have at it children". It's honestly a very interesting choice- because instead of our protagonist being "a chosen one", or a trained rebel, he was just some guy who worked there and was like "hell yeah I'll fight"... and no one said, "why are we giving Luca from the coding dept. a gun and letting him go after a terrorist?". But a college advisor also gave an undergrad funding to create the first sentient artificial intelligence, so anything goes
With more practice, I think Conell's easy writing style and mind for world-building could grow into something great! Nebraska has a great queer literary tradition, and I'm excited to see Conell's addition to the canon!
February 10, 2024
Not typically a genre I tend to go for, but I honestly really enjoyed it! This was a great, quick read that kept me entertained and wanting more at the end.
October 25, 2024
Loved reading this novella! It was such an easy read and the story kept me hooked and wanting more. Can’t wait for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews