Vaporware

by Richard Dansky

Video game projects get shut down all the time, but when the one Ryan Colter and his team have poured their hearts into gets cut, something different happens: the game refuses to go away. Now Blue Lightning is alive, and it wants something from Ryan - something only he can give it.

And everybody knows how addictive video games can be…

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Ebooks, Paranormal, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

By day, Richard Dansky works as a professional video game designer and writer for Red Storm/Ubisoft, with credits on games like Splinter Cell: Blacklist. By night, he writes fiction, with his most recent book being the short fiction collection SNOWBIRD GOTHIC. Richard lives in North Carolina with his wife and their inevitable cats, books, and collection of single malt whiskys.

Reviews

[Bridgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

VAPORWARD has SUCH a cool premise. And with Rich's beautifully written prose, it's a really fun book. Grab your copy today!

Available on Amazon!

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Info: Genre: Dark urban fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: gamers, those in a relationship with gamers, fans of dark urban fantasy
Trigger Warnings: infidelity, violence, attempted murder

My Thoughts: Honestly, I don't know what to say about this book, and I'm not real sure what I thought of it. Admittedly, being decidedly non-gamerish, I am not the target audience for this one, but I am often a “game-widow”, so it did resonate with me to a certain degree.

The book is very well-written. The characters are well-done, three-dimensional, and the plot moves smoothly. There is nothing technically wrong with this book, and if it sounds like your kind of thing, definitely check it out. But it fell a bit flat for me. Ryan's obsession with his job, Terry's obsession with the game, Sarah's doormattishness, Shelly's pushiness... I didn't really like any of the people, and I didn't like Blue Lightning (although she was very well done as well). So, personally, I didn't care for the book, but I would have no problem recommending it to anyone who might be interested in it. Generally I like most JournalStone books—they publish quality stuff—but this one just wasn't for me. Don't let me turn you off from reading it if you're interested.

Disclosure: I received an e-book ARC from JournalStone through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer's Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Video game projects get shut down all the time, but when the one Ryan Colter and his team have poured their hearts into gets cut, something different happens: the game refuses to go away. Now Blue Lightning is alive, and it wants something from Ryan—something only he can give it.

And everybody knows how addictive video games can be…

[Ravencrantz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy from Library Thing in return for an honest review


*sigh*



I really wanted to enjoy this one. The concept was really interesting. I mean, a video game character coming to life and wreaking havoc on its creators? Come on, that just sounds like it can be so awesome. And I loved getting an inside look on video game development. My problem? This was more about developing a video game and interoffice relations than it was about the actual problem.

We know from the blurb what's going on. We know that Blue Lightning is causing all of these weird things to happen, yet we don't actually get to see her until about halfway through the book. I mean, she's on the cover. You would think she would show up more than she did. I really stopped caring about what happened. It just got so dull and the characters were really flat, I just couldn't continue. I tried, I really did. It seems that I'm giving up on books more often lately, and I don't like that. But let me tell you, had this been a physical book and not on my kindle, it would have found its way across the room a few times because I just got so frustrated.

This book just wasn't for me. It wasn't what was advertised and not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting more action, more to do with Blue Lightning and what I got was just page after page of what video game developers do. I mean, it was cool for the first few pages, and since the author is actually a video game designer, I'm sure he knows his stuff, but I really really don't want to read a whole book about it. It was more a book about game development with a little weirdness going on rather than oh shit there's a blue thing coming out of the computer everyone run with a little bit of game development.

Could have been so much better.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for a review.

I am an avid video gamer. I been playing them as soon as I was able to grasp a controller in my wee little hands as a toddler. I thought the summary was extremely interesting, a video game that comes to life. That's a cool idea, I thought.

Well, it turns out that I was extremely disappointed. I so wanted to like this book but the beginning part was so boring. It was too focused on the main character's office life and drama, which is the last thing I want to read when I spend my entire day sitting at an office desk myself. I want something more exciting like the summary suggested and I had wondered whether I read the right book summary because the story did not live up to my expectations.

I went from reading wholeheartedly to skimming my way past the halfway point, where I stopped completely. I was happy when some excitement came in Blue Lightning finally coming to life halfway through but it was too late for the story to reclaim my interest.

If the first half of the book had been cut out and started right before Blue Lightning started appearing, I probably wouldn't have lost interest like I did and would have read all the way to the end.

Vaporware had a great idea and potential but it was told in a way that did not capture my interest or give me the desire to read it through to the end.

[Joe Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters and plot lines are very believable. I've know many of the character types that populate this story and all of them are very believable (with the possible exception of the principle character) but, therein lies the story. I enjoyed recognizing the characters as archetypical for the industry and properly identified by their job titles. The only way to tell them from characters that are currently employed at a functioning Game Software Development Company is by the selection of their given names. Even the games elicited by the company intrigue are typical of those working in their industry today. While the actual happenings with the evolution of their game character is unlikely, the story caught the reader and made me at least want to believe in the character viability. I could feel the emotions the characters shared and in some small way, remember and share them also. I enjoyed the story and the creative elements it contained. It was fun reading and seeing actual characters that you know and love and work work with daily. Good to know someone else recognizes and can so truly characterize the elements in play. Characters to read about and analyze while trying to better understand those you intermingle with in your life. I really enjoyed the whole package without conditions!

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to design video games for as long as I can remember. Naturally, when I saw the chance to snag a copy on LibraryThing, I jumped at the opportunity.

This was my first by Richard Dansky. Although the story is about every game developer's nightmare - the shutdown of his/her project - the story deals more with the central character and his ineptitude where his personal life is concerned. Seriously, this guy's life goes from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. I found myself groaning on more than one occasion, as he encountered one misstep after another. He's definitely book smart but, lacks common sense. (No worries, no spoilers here!)

I didn't particularly like the ending but, I did enjoy this read.

[Heather Fidler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair warning on two counts: I despise video games with the possible exception of Wii Bowling, and I have known Richard Dansky for so long I cannot recall meeting him in the first place. Because of the second fact, I ignored the first one and read this novel. I wasn't disappointed. There were certain aspects of the story that went over my head, but I didn't mind. I knew I wouldn't know anything about video game programming and structure. However, the structure of the plot is solid and compelling. The characters, living or artificial, are three-dimensional. My attention was held strongly enough that I finished the book in a day / two flights and an extended layover in Detroit. Recommended to those who enjoy their geekiness with a twist of jarring horror.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this novel was a great deal of fun. What if a cancelled videogame refuses to be cancelled? And there were some great scenes with high tension. It was obvious that the author really knows the videogame industry and used that background to fuel the story.

But…

The balance of office life and personal life drama to horror situation was skewed in the wrong direction for my taste. Too much, "I have to work with someone I used to date" and not enough "holy crap! my videogame creation is sentient!"

Ryan, the main character, is a problematic dude, and I couldn't figure out why Sarah didn't kick his *ss out or even why she would have dated him in the first place. I kept wanting to grab her and shake her and say, "He's not worth it! You can do better! Hell, being alone is better!"

The ending disappointed me. I didn't buy that the character would have done that. (I can't say more without spoiling it)

Still, Dansky's writing is strong and I would read more from him.

[J Edward Tremlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her name is Blue Lightning, and she was going to be a star.

For quite some time, Ryan Colter — the Creative Director at a small videogame development company — was overseeing her creation. He was the one who thought her up, and then stood up on high and watched every piece of her come together over. He tested her, tweaked her, broke her and put her back together again — day after day, demo after demo, paying more attention to her than he did to his long-suffering, corporate-climbing fiancee and their life plans together.

Blue Lightning was going to be perfect when she was done.

But then word came from the game’s publisher that they were done with her. They gave no real and substantial reasons — just a curt email to the boss about a lack of confidence, no real promise of a kill fee to the company, and contract for newer title that needed porting over to an older system.

Which means that, as CD, Ryan has back up his boss when that man tells everyone what’s happened. He also has to try and convince his troops that, yes, it stinks, but that’s what happens in this business. Games get killed all the time, and when they do you take a deep breath, smile, dump all the artifacts into a locked case, and go on to the next one.

But when you’ve put your heart and soul into something as wholly and completely as Ryan has, this time, it isn’t always so easy to let it go.

And sometimes, it won’t let you go, either, which is why Ryan starts to be electronically haunted by his abandoned creation.

First she’s messing with his music when he’s driving in his car. Then she’s playing havoc with his phones when he tries to call his girlfriend and tell her he’s going to be late. And then she’s crawling out of his monitor — somewhere between Lara Croft and the girl from The Ring — and asking him to love her as much as she loves him.

A rational sort of fellow, Ryan’s willing to chalk all this up to overwork. Only he’s not the only one who’s seen this e-specter. In fact, she’s herself a number of admirers, all of whom are working away at a “black project” on the company’s time, trying to complete her game. Maybe if they can finish her, they can have her all to themselves.

And maybe if Ryan helps, she can love him the way he wants to be loved — in a way that his non-creative fiance can’t, and his ex-girlfriend (and current coworker) never could…

What happens next is the subject of this deliciously-slow and quite creepy fable about the personal price of creativity, reminiscent of M.R. James, Frankenstein, and “Fatal Attraction.” A long-time veteran of many creative corporate environments (RPGs and video games, especially), Dansky is uniquely-qualified to tell a tale about what happens when the different aspects of one’s life get badly out of balance with one another.

(It is also an intriguing look at how videogames are made — or not — with inside stories that, I am duly informed, are the ones we can only barely believe, as opposed to the ones we’d swear were made up for shock value.)

That said, while Vaporware is a good read, one feels it is not as good as it could have been. It has a problem with focus at times, and while one comes to understand that the personal and professional have created the supernatural, a little more of the latter one and less of the former two might have made this work better. That said – as the masterful Firefly Rain showed us — Dansky knows how to build dread, drop the climax, and write an ending that, while it might not be happy, is exactly what this book, and its main character, truly need and deserve.

In regards to other critiques this unique work has received, I think this is a case where the cover of the book (and some of its reviews) have done its contents a massive disservice. Readers expecting crackling blue breasts, constant jump-shocks, and spurting, red blood are going to be very disappointed, because Richard Dansky doesn’t write those kinds of books. His scares are more surgical, requiring some work on the reader’s behalf to think on what’s been read, and the true meaning behind it.

Indeed, while Blue Lightning can be an outright terrifying presence, the real horror of this book is watching Ryan’s life fall apart one bad and broken keystroke at a time. This fact is subtly manifested in the crackling and taut denouement, though some may miss it in expectation of a bodycount.

[Frank Errington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Copy

Wikipedia defines Vaporware as a term in the computer industry that describes a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually released nor officially cancelled. In this instance that would be Blue Lightning, a First Person Shooter, that is being developed by a small game developer on spec for a big video game publisher.

Things are looking great until, for no reason, the publisher pulls the plug and funding. Fortunately there is other work available and it's on to the next project. Of course not everyone is OK with the decision, including Blue Lightning.

Ryan Colter, project lead and the driving force behind Blue Lightning is a workaholic trying to juggle long hours and life with his girlfriend with whom he has a house. The fact that he has a history with one of his team leads, just further complicates the story.

Vaporware is as much about being married to your job and the consequences of that choice as it is about a game taking on a live of its own. Dansky obviously writes about what he knows here, having been a former game developer for White Wolf, Inc. where he worked as developer on several successful game lines.

The story intertwines working in a high pressure industry nicely with the mysterious occurrences surrounding the shut down of the Blue Lightning project. I very much liked the comradery between Ryan, Michelle and Leon even when things got messy.

Dansky takes his time in building the relationships between his characters and does a nice job with increasing tension and revealing what is happening with Blue Lightning. The story does require the reader to be able to suspend disbelief, but once you do, be sure to wear a seat-belt as this is one wild ride.

The copy I read was an ARC I received through LibraryThing.com and there were a number of things which I hope were caught in proofreading prior to publication. Aside from that, I can definitely recommend Vaporware, especially for gamers.

[Michael Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received my copy of Vaporware in exchange for a review and I'm very happy to recommend it. Video games are the emergent art form of the moment, but are rarely afforded the prestige that deserves – I know, for example, a few people will have just scoffed at my use of the word "art".

We've all got an idea how films are made, what theatrical rehearsals look like and have probably sat through a few pretentious lectures on the artistic process of the literary novelist. Though it sells itself as sci-fi horror, Vaporware's far more interesting as a book about the pettinesses and pressures of the modern gaming industry.

The author is apparently a game developer and you get the sense he's letting a lot of frustration out here. The blue sexy lady is a generic threat, but she's really only a hook/metaphor for the rest of it. The characters are sympathetic enough and their problems sufficiently compelling that the book doesn't need that fantastical impetus. But perhaps it would have been a less marketable commodity without her; after all, very few people take video games seriously.

[Crystal Hutchinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives away the secrets that lie inside of a man's skull. I found myself wondering, "why is the main character making these decisions?" It seemed like typical male behavior. I'm not a feminist, I just found the logic behind the character hard to relate to. This was a very well written book. I love all the information about video game creation. Even someone who did not give a care about gaming designers will find it interesting. I was so mad when the main character, Ryan, exhibited some bad behavior ( I will not spoil it for you). I was hopping mad. A good writer with good writing style evokes that type of emotion from the audience. The ending was phenomenal with the unraveling of who Ryan really was, without spoon feeding the reader. We just realize who Ryan really is inside, even if Ryan himself doesn't know it or acknowledge it. So, why only 4 a star rating? It was too loooong. There were a few areas that I was trudging through, yes I understand, yes it's fascinating, but it just made me feel like some scenes would never end. This is an excellent writer. This book is good for adults and YA. I can't wait to read more by Dansky.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received Vaporware by Richard Dansky through Library Thing Early Reviewers. Vaporware is about video gamer developer Ryan Colter and the problems he has when his project, "his baby" Blue Lightning gets the plug pulled on her by the company BlackStone. The games main character (called Blue Lighting) refuses to die and wreaks havoc on Ryan and everybody who works for him. Blue Lighting causes major problems in Ryan's work and personal life.

I enjoyed Vaporware. I liked reading about Ryan's work life and the fact that every office, no matter where you work has office politics. I thought that the details of the relationship between Ryan and his girlfriend Sarah were realistic and added to the plot of the book. The book had many suspenseful moments. I will never look at video games the same again. after reading this book.

[Deb McNally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaporware - A Game Programmer's Delight or Greatest Fear, Which Will It Be for You?

Vaporware by Richard Dansky brings you into the development side of gaming. When what appears to be the best game they have ever made is suddenly shelved by the company many are disappointed. But no one more so than the lead designer, Ryan. Well, that's what Ryan thought. This was his baby, he put his heart and soul into the game and to have it shelved is awful. Ryan throws himself into the next project to try to bring the entire team on board only to have the sidelined project come back to haunt him.

A great thriller for the gamer and programmer alike. An interesting storyline that keeps you interested.

Disclaimer: I received Vaporware as an early review copy on LibraryThing.

[Kell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing read, it sucked me in rather quickly. The story follows a game programmer working on a revolutionary new game with a large team of people who are in love with the idea of this game and bringing it to life. But, when the project gets kicked for another game, the game decides that it needs to be completed, so it takes matters into it's own hands.

There were a fair few of typographical errors in my preview copy, but hopefully, they'll run it past an editor once more before releasing the final copy. The concept was really unique and interesting. I liked getting the insider view into the game making process, being a gamer, myself. I would recommend reading this book to those who like video games and those who like books involving oddities outside the "normal" world.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Disclosure: I worked with Richard Dansky on the promotion of this book; however, I read it before I did the work, and these are my thoughts*

I would have given it five stars, but I will admit I thought there would be more of the supernatural/horrific bad guy moments than there were. One strength I found in this novel was that by the end of the book I had a lot to question about who the hero actually was, and who the antagonist really was. I won't say more than that, but I think the answers will surprise you. This book is definitely worth it, but make sure you're expecting a portrait of very real, very flawed human beings who happen to have some strange stuff come into their lives.

[Nathanael Ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads.

As a professional game developer I was quite excited to read this book.

Richard Dansky does a great job of capturing the essence of life as a game developer. I thought the characters were believable, even if they bordered on cliché a few times. The book is a bit slow at the beginning, but it builds to a satisfying finish. The how of Blue Lightning coming alive was not explained and I think the book was better for it.
The book is not without its flaws but overall it was an enjoyable read.

[Gökçe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll post a longer review, these are my thoughts right after the last page.

I liked this book. The concept of a game character becoming real and getting out of monitors to the real world was interesting. I was looking for more of a thriller. But it wasn't a thriller. It's somewhat a memoir. An allegory about game development and losing yourself in work.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was fine. If you're working on software projects or any other job where your life is defined by what you do, read this. You'll find important insights.

[Christopher Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Video game projects get shut down all the time, but when the one Ryan Colter and his team have poured their hearts into gets cut, something different happens: the game refuses to go away. Now Blue Lightning is alive, and it wants something from Ryan - something only he can give it.

And everybody knows how addictive video games can be…

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! A great read for anyone, and particular fun for video game lovers. Full of industry slang and geeky references, it draws you into the world of long, caffeine-filled nights and grainy, itchy, monitor-burned eyes. The outcome is predictable, but the ride is still tons of fun. I'll be reading this one again and again!

[Red Hand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a copy of the audio book for free, with only a request for a review.

So the first thing that I will say is that Rich doesn't write loveable characters. He writes troubled, conflicted, and sometimes bone headed characters. Which is cool. The flaws in the characters drive the story, instead of random deus ex machine tropes. I like that.

This book needed a likeable character, though. Ryan is the main character and he is likeable enough...but then he cheats on his girlfriend and I disconnected with him so hard there was nearly an audible pop. He seems like a nice guy, but he's so selfish and dense that I just couldn't like him. Which is fine.

What was a little less than fine was the characterization of the women. Michelle seems a lot more unstable and obsessed with Ryan (despite him being, in her words, "an asshole") and basically falls back into bed with him for exactly that reason. Sarah is the perfect woman and isn't given a whole lot of characterization outside of her relationship with Ryan. Then... there's Blue.

Blue Lightning was a really interesting idea, as most of Rich's ghosts are. She's the ghost of a video game given life by the love of her devs and intent on bringing herself to completion.

That is cool as all hell.

But I was disappointed with how she is basically just a sex kitten crossed with a dominatrix. Exploring the idea would have been so amazingly cool.

In the end, she may be the most sympathetic character. Much like in the case of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", Blue is what she was made. She was made to be sexy and dangerous and powerful. Much like the monster of that book, she chooses a pyre rather than the half life she has achieved.

I'm a sucker for Frankenstein references.

But the strangeness with the character motivations costs an otherwise fun book a bit. All in all, an enjoyable read. Just not my favorite by Richard Dansky.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I start reading a Richard Dansky book, I cannot put it down. This was no exception. The writing is always very approachable but forward driving, and I just can't stop until the story is complete.

The story centers around video game development, but it's the same story for every tech company in terms of office politics and culture. I'm a tech person myself, so the office culture was just so very familiar there. And the lure of being always at work -- funny enough, I was reading this story while dealing with a work emergency that kept me working on a Sunday, so I was very much relating to the central theme of losing sight of work/life balance. And that, of course, is the central theme -- losing yourself in work so much it becomes the other woman. It's just that in the case of this book, the other woman becomes much more than allegorical.

I see other reviews that were clearly looking for a really cool AI gone wild on a cool game development studio, and that is not what this book is. It's more of a classic thriller where you start out with life being its usual routine, but hints of what is to come, and those hints grow larger and larger as life starts to collapse into it. If you do like thrillers that keep you trying to find out what happens next, this is absolutely for you. Also, if you need a reminder to keep your work/personal life balanced, this is also for you.

[Dorian's Pictures · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darker delve into game development

Game development can be a personal experience into which creators pour in their hopes, dreams, and fantasies. Many times those dreams are shelved. When Ryan and his team experience this and are pushed into fueling a passionless project instead, they cannot seem to shake the longing for Blue Lightning. That longing to reunite... is mutual.

Vaporware starts out on the slower side but quickly morphs into a well paced sci-fi thriller. I enjoyed the flawed characters and how real they truly felt. I found their struggles engaging and realistic but could have done without Ryan's love interest. I found myself wishing he would go back to his ex simply because I could not stand her. As in life, you sometimes do not jive with a personality. I was not a huge fan of the audible narration but also felt the writing and story overcame this.

Overall Vaporware deserves a play through.

[Louise Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

For full disclosure the only reason I had listened to this was because the author kindly gave me an audible code. It isn’t really a genre I would pick up.
However, I’m glad he did and I got to experience this story. Was a slow burn to begin with but I really enjoyed the “ghost in the machine” feels.
We all know AI has more of a mind of its own than we’d like to admit and in this story the AI most certainly did.
Will be looking up more of Richard Danskys work

[Clarinet · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extended metaphor teaching a lesson...

...that I don't want to spoil. Worth a read. It's written in the quick-witted familiar voice of co-workers and friends.

[Kyle Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a solid symbolism of the obsession of game developers and writers working on their project.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vaporware by Richard Dansky

Review by Don Doell

Vaporware addresses issues of work, obsession and interpersonal relationships. With Dansky`s background in game design, I suspect an attempt to write about his inner concerns stemming from that particular head space.
The story details how a game takes on a life of its own as the various people deal with their own particular part of its overall development. Dansky appears to be dealing with a subject that he understands from the inside out, not just as a novelist who has studied a topic, a location, a historical period, but as someone who has lived a long time with the intricacies of computer/system game development.
As such, the details of the humdrum workplace fit well with the flow of the plot. He does not romanticize that aspect of his job. But, to make a novel, he has personalized the game itself. As a plot device, this works well; as a picture of reality, well, it works as a plot device or the background of a horror film.
Obsessions will do that though; make life into a nightmare, something you would rather not experience, but something you also can’t just stop by wishing. Vaporware works for, and appeals to people who want to live through this vicariously. I would not use this as a textbook and look for great insights though. Dansky is writing fiction, not a psychological treatise, nor is he an artiste writing literature.
He draws his characters well, most of them being more than cardboard cut-outs. The protagonist, Ryan Colter, is the Creative Director (It feels like Dansky has done this irl.) and a not a particularly likable person, although I found him a likable character. Numerous times and by numerous others, he is called ‘ass hole’ ‘prick’ and other uncomplimentary terms. Yet, he seems to have people willing to follow him, follow his vision. I have a boss in my own past that resonates with this depiction, both positively and negatively.
I’m not particularly drawn to read more by Dansky, though I would not reject reading more of his work. Too much seems to be simple telling, description for description’s sake. The metaphors and similes are not particularly striking and there are too many copulas, too many ‘He was tired’, ‘She was blue’. The very first paragraph for example:

The woman onscreen was blue. She was also faceless, lithe and predatory in her stance and graceful in her movements. Her softly glowing flesh was covered, barely, in what looked to be skintight body armor, beetle-black and iridescent. In her hand was a lethal-looking pistol, smoke drifting from the barrel as she gazed down upon her victim.
“[W]as blue” “was also faceless” “was covered” “was a lethal-looking weapon” and finally “as she gazed” the only action verb of the paragraph. OK, let’s give him “what looked to be”, but it is passive mode which again takes it away from being active, action-oriented.
The proof-reading (which is commented on in the introduction, that is, that several people have read and helped him improve the book) is not as accurate as I would hope for. I have listed here 15 different items that should have been caught, that I did catch.

All in all, I would be pleased to have produced a work of this quality had I written this myself. As I have already said, I would be willing to read more of Dansky’s work, should any more be forthcoming. But I would not call this book a game-changer, a prize-winner. Dansky shows promise, he is willing to make flawed characters and to have them work through issues. The story arc is also satisfying, he does not leave you feeling that there should have been more or that the story is incomplete or unfinished; the characters feel like they will carry on with the next day of their lives, even if we do not get to see it…if we want to see more.

I received this ebook from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program which requires a book review to be posted. No other compensation or requirement exists.

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook and at first, wasn't sure how I was going to feel, but that very quicky changed lol .

I also received this from the author to review, so thank you for that.

The start was slow but I realized I was hooked in too late, and i did not want to stop my audiobook to sleep or make dinner, responsibilities basically anything other than finishing.

This reads a little more scifi to me then horror, but I personally like sci-horror, its such a underrated sub-category.

Also I did NOT know how I felt about our MC the whole damn book lol I was so conflicted do I feel bad for him, or can this dude stop making his own life harder, honestly it felt very real life, conflicted, and not everything is black and white.

And then Sarah or Shelly ????
Fuck Eric, did not like him from the first meeting .

I don't know how I even hoped it would end, do I want everyone to die, do I want the computer to take over, do i hope they just burn the damn building to the ground and hope for the best??
I raced through this as fast as i could listen, and i do recommend it to anyone who does like the scifi horror type books, leaning heavy on the tech.

You will like this if that interests you , I personally will be reading a few more books by this guy, it was a really nice change of pace for me.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This Kindle book was received via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer giveaway.

The story starts out with a good look at a video game director who is very heavily invested in his work. Like all workaholics, his life outside the office deteriorates and frustration over the lack of control spirals in. For the first entire half of the book, we see the effects of overbearing stress and repetitive stupid, stupid decisions on Ryan, our intrepid hero. His ingenious work, destined to revolutionize the gaming industry, is canceled due to game producer (read: beancounter) bottom line risk aversion, and he's forced to work on a brainless and talentless port of a crappy franchise piece guaranteed to bring in millions for the production company but bring nothing new to the table. Our boy Ryan is an arrogant egotist with very poor social and decision-making skills; a cardboard cutout stereotype of an outcast gamer geek somehow done well for himself. He's got the dream girl, he's got the dream job, he's got the horrible unlikability...

When the supernatural events promised by the front cover actually do take place at the halfway point of the book, I was interested once again. Perhaps this new player would liven things up. I get the whole "project takes on a life of its own" allegory and it had potential, but there's very little escalation by our Blue Lightning entity that cannot be attributed to Ryan's idiocy. I started to think this was less a supernatural/sci-fi AI manifestation and a narrative breakdown in Ryan's sanity, delving into some neat interactions with coworkers as the mental break progresses. I wish it were that good.

The confrontation prior to the climax was enjoyable but the resolution was extremely -- EXTREMELY -- disappointing. There's only so far I'm willing to go with my suspension of disbelief and when that quota is nearly used up beforehand, the ending had best be at least logical within the confines of the world that was created. There were glimmers of potential throughout but nothing truly came together during the book and all of it was dashed by the ending. With another work or two and some serious work on creating likable characters, Dansky may be able to flip my opinion. Until then, this one gets a pass.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite excited to be given this book. As a longtime resident of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, vaporware is a term well known to me. Although I think it's more ghost in the machine than vaporware, I think it's a great hook.

If you've glimpsed my rating, you already know that this book did not live up to my expectations. The plot is an intriguing premise in which videogame developers are building a game, shunned by the money people, as a 'black project." And if you look at the cover pictured here, it is no spoiler to write that the game involves a woman (blue lightning) who creates a life for herself outside the code and outside of the machine.

Here are some issues: the first 250+ pages read slowly and not very compellingly. It reads more like a first-draft than a polished work. It has too many dull and leaden moments. And is also very weak on good character development. As the author is a talented videogame developer who lives in a binary universe, this is not all that surprising. I was working hard to conjure images in my mind and the writing should do that for me. The last 100 pages are more finished and make for some compelling reading, even though the author does not exactly roll out a new bag of tricks for his readers. In addition, the writer also really shortchanges his female characters making them into little more than caricatures, we have the geek girl and the very successful businesswoman. He should not have to be stingy with them to render Blue Lightning a more vivid character. So, it descends into male cliche, the fantasy woman men believe exists compared to the women with whom they interact. Pretty sorry and offensive.

Also, my copy was very sloppily put together and the writer should find a new editor and/or publisher. The text is rife with typos and missing words which also adds to the reader's exasperation.

I think there may be a talented writer residing somewhere within Richard Dansky. Sadly, this book is not up to snuff. Dedicated videogaming guys may enjoy this read, but I really cannot recommend it to others.