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Lost in Arcadia
“Prescient, funny, smart, a story to disappear into and come out the other side.” —Alexander Chee, author of The Queen of the Night
“A fascinating and ambitious first novel by a very talented writer.…An indispensable read.” —Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima
The America of 2037 is a country distracted by, infatuated with, and addicted to Arcadia.
The brainchild of reclusive genius Juan Diego Reyes, Arcadia is a wickedly immersive, all-encompassing social-media platform and virtual-reality interface. Although Arcadia has made the Reyes family fabulously wealthy, it’s left them—and the rest of the country—impoverished of that rare currency: intimacy. When Juan Diego mysteriously vanishes, the consequences shatter the lives of the entire Reyes clan.
As matriarch Autumn struggles to hold the family together, siblings Gideon, Holly, and Devon wrestle with questions of purpose and meaning—seeking self-worth in a world where everything has been cheapened. Outside the artificial safety of Arcadia, America has crumbled into an unrecognizable nation where a fundamentalist ex-preacher occupies the Oval Office, megacorporations blithely exploit their full citizenship, and a twenty-foot-high Great Wall of Freedom plastered with lucrative advertising bestrides the US-Mexican border.
In a polarized society now cripplingly hooked on manufactured highs, the Reyes family must overcome the seduction of simulation to find the kind of authentic human connection that offers salvation for all.
411 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2017
1355 people are currently reading
1632 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
June 6, 2017
Pointless Book
Too many characters none are developed. Kept waiting for something to happen. This is the worst kindle first book ever
Too many characters none are developed. Kept waiting for something to happen. This is the worst kindle first book ever
June 9, 2017
I would give this 3.5 stars but I rounded up for Goodreads. I'm really curious to see how others think of it after it's released for the masses. I read it as a Kindle First book.
Overall I enjoyed it. It was like an episode of Black Mirror, so if you're into that you would like this I think. I found myself wanting to read more. I really enjoy books that use mixed media to tell the story and this does this -- blog and news articles and message board threads are weaved within the chapters. I think the author did a good job of utilizing those. Advertising is a big aspect of it. It makes me think of a writing teacher I had once who said to never use a brand like Coke in your story unless you were getting paid by them. I think he forgot how poignant subverting advertising can be.
It's not dystopian to me, even though it's being billed as such. I also wondered if the author was applying a little too much of 2017 to 2035 (I think that's the year it takes place in). A lot of trendy slang now is used, news sources like Buzzfeed and Slate are referenced, the NYT is the liberal fake news, and people drive Prisus's which I don't 100% buy, but maybe I'm being overly critical. I mean we still drive Accords from the 90's and say "hella". But I thought there was space to create a new generation and instead it seemed like 20-something Millennials placed 2035 and the setting in time became meaningless.
I found the characters realistic and relatable. I especially liked Teresa. I liked the role race played, which was often used to point out hypocrisy and racism. It seemed realistic and scary. Other reviews have pointed out their lack of character development, which I can understand. I wish Autumn's character was more developed. I think Gideon especially was painted with a broad brush without a lot of critical thought. I think he was in many ways the character it centered around and I ended up hating him. Ultimately everyone is an anti-hero, but isn't that life?
This was definitely written from a perspective of a liberal man and there's nothing wrong with this but I want to read Margaret Atwood's version of it too.
I found the ending abrupt. Maybe because I grew up on Disney films, I want this to have a sequel with some redemption and someone to fight against the man. If you are looking for asskicking, this is not the book to read.
I can see why people would have problems with it but so far everyone I've read who disliked it didn't like it because of the use of "fuck" or the sex worker (cam girl) aspect of it or maybe are just Trump voters who are uncomfortable with the way this book reflects the way they voted and our countries trajectory back at them.
Overall I think it's worth the read.
Overall I enjoyed it. It was like an episode of Black Mirror, so if you're into that you would like this I think. I found myself wanting to read more. I really enjoy books that use mixed media to tell the story and this does this -- blog and news articles and message board threads are weaved within the chapters. I think the author did a good job of utilizing those. Advertising is a big aspect of it. It makes me think of a writing teacher I had once who said to never use a brand like Coke in your story unless you were getting paid by them. I think he forgot how poignant subverting advertising can be.
It's not dystopian to me, even though it's being billed as such. I also wondered if the author was applying a little too much of 2017 to 2035 (I think that's the year it takes place in). A lot of trendy slang now is used, news sources like Buzzfeed and Slate are referenced, the NYT is the liberal fake news, and people drive Prisus's which I don't 100% buy, but maybe I'm being overly critical. I mean we still drive Accords from the 90's and say "hella". But I thought there was space to create a new generation and instead it seemed like 20-something Millennials placed 2035 and the setting in time became meaningless.
I found the characters realistic and relatable. I especially liked Teresa. I liked the role race played, which was often used to point out hypocrisy and racism. It seemed realistic and scary. Other reviews have pointed out their lack of character development, which I can understand. I wish Autumn's character was more developed. I think Gideon especially was painted with a broad brush without a lot of critical thought. I think he was in many ways the character it centered around and I ended up hating him. Ultimately everyone is an anti-hero, but isn't that life?
This was definitely written from a perspective of a liberal man and there's nothing wrong with this but I want to read Margaret Atwood's version of it too.
I found the ending abrupt. Maybe because I grew up on Disney films, I want this to have a sequel with some redemption and someone to fight against the man. If you are looking for asskicking, this is not the book to read.
I can see why people would have problems with it but so far everyone I've read who disliked it didn't like it because of the use of "fuck" or the sex worker (cam girl) aspect of it or maybe are just Trump voters who are uncomfortable with the way this book reflects the way they voted and our countries trajectory back at them.
Overall I think it's worth the read.
June 9, 2017
Eh. Not well written., it reads like a third draft, not a published novel. Very disjointed and poorly edited. On the surface and incredibly interesting topic, and that is what drew me in. The characters are mostly, flat without any depth. There are parts of the storyline that were written out of order, fine, but were never placed in the correct order. Events jump around and repeat, especially in Devon's timeline. This book could have used a good editor before being published. The author has a political point of view, and it is very easy to see it. I found the political agenda a major turn-off because it lacked well-educated and researched support. The agenda was incredibly surface level. The economics touched on in the novel were based on opinion, and not vey accurate. A little more polish and this would have been a really good read.
June 9, 2017
Terrible. Probably one of the most pointless books I've ever read. Can I give zero stars? Cause thats what this book deserves. 10/10 would not recommend.
June 27, 2017
I have not had good luck with these Kindle First books.
This book was far too disjointed--too many characters, too many plot points, too much focus on social commentary--that nothing seemed well-developed.
Also--spoiler alert--WHY introduce a killer virus AND a completely undeveloped concept of AI in the last 15% of the book??? It made the first 85% of the book seem completely unnecessary if that's the ultimate goal.
Ugh. This book made me so mad. I can't believe I read this whole thing when I could have been reading anything else instead.
This book was far too disjointed--too many characters, too many plot points, too much focus on social commentary--that nothing seemed well-developed.
Also--spoiler alert--WHY introduce a killer virus AND a completely undeveloped concept of AI in the last 15% of the book??? It made the first 85% of the book seem completely unnecessary if that's the ultimate goal.
Ugh. This book made me so mad. I can't believe I read this whole thing when I could have been reading anything else instead.
July 7, 2017
About 60% in, I was wondering, "where is this story going"? It finally took off then abruptly ended. Slightly disappointing. Similar to other reviews, the setting says 2037, but is just an enhanced version of 2017. Loads of current day references and assumptions of what could be. It was a nice read, but left me wanting more.
June 8, 2017
Save yourself and don't waste the time. Disjointed, confusing... Why was this written?
June 10, 2017
Where's the rest?
I hate when books don't have a real ending. Just because GRRM gets away with it, doesn't mean every author should try it. Yes it's a really mesmerizing book. Great writing excellent plot, I would happily give it 5 stars, except for that missing resolution at the end.
I hate when books don't have a real ending. Just because GRRM gets away with it, doesn't mean every author should try it. Yes it's a really mesmerizing book. Great writing excellent plot, I would happily give it 5 stars, except for that missing resolution at the end.
January 14, 2020
There was so much I didn't like in this book. 1) My biggest issue, this book reads more like a set of loosely connected short stories, then like an actual novel. There seemed to be no overarching plot until the last quarter of the book. If you like short stories, you may like this book more than I did. 2) The author had extremely disgusting, gruesome descriptions of stuff that added absolutely nothing to the plot line. It felt like he was purposely throwing in stuff just to try to shock his audience. 3) There was almost no character development. All the main characters were despondent, very selfish, and/or mentally disturbed. I couldn't connect with any of them, and hence didn't care about any of them. 4) There were a lot of impossibilities in this book. I don't mind suspending disbelief for the sake of the story line, but this author took it to the extreme. For example: a character who survived an unsurvivable accident in a completely unbelievable way, an accident so severe the character had to get a face transplant, but no brain damage; A character who decides to literally board themselves up in a room of their house without letting anyone know, and the person they live with, instead of calling the police or ambulance to see what was wrong, responds by shutting off the electricity and internet (but conveniently left the water on.) 4) There was no end to the book! The book actually ends with none of the plot lines being resolved. Granted there wasn't much of a plot line, but all of the characters in the book are left without any resolution. 5) There appeared to be no purpose to this book. The author would hint at a purpose, but never developed it. Was the author trying to point out that people become depressed and cut off from reality the further they are immersed into an online world? Was the author trying to point out that he thinks Trump is a despot with the similarities between Trump and the right-wing president in the book? Was the author trying to point out the shallowness and the danger in allowing everything to be an advertisement? Was the author trying to say genetically modified food will kill us all? Or was the point that life is so shallow it is just a series of short stories, and not an actual novel? These are all my guesses based on what the author briefly hinted at, but never actually developed in the story. Whatever the authors purpose in writing this book, it was not conveyed in the book.
Still, there was the positive that the author does know how to craft with words. The book was coherent, and the sentence structure well-done. I suspect the author could write excellent short stories.
Still, there was the positive that the author does know how to craft with words. The book was coherent, and the sentence structure well-done. I suspect the author could write excellent short stories.
July 12, 2017
I'll be honest. It's hard for me to find a book that I truly dislike. The plot was bland and so were the characters. It was really hard to keep up with the story and I never felt it was going anywhere. The excessive use of f-bombs and other inappropriate language was annoying even for a teenager like myself. The idea of the book was great and I genuinely liked it, but the execution was really poor. The most disappointing thing for me though was the ending, it was so empty it felt like the author gave up on the book. I definitely think the title fits though, I was so lost in the story all the time and even after I finished, I'm still confused. I can count with one hand the books I have disliked, this is one of them. Do not recommend.
Edit: Another disappointing thing is that the book gets mildly exciting at about 90% with a killer virus. But it felt sort of disconnected and in a way, the author seemed to run out of ideas of how to keep going. Unfortunately only the last 10% of the book was relatively ok. That's why I give it 2 stars and not 1.
Edit: Another disappointing thing is that the book gets mildly exciting at about 90% with a killer virus. But it felt sort of disconnected and in a way, the author seemed to run out of ideas of how to keep going. Unfortunately only the last 10% of the book was relatively ok. That's why I give it 2 stars and not 1.
June 11, 2017
Science Fiction turned Fact in this frightening portrait of the near future. Characters who don't need full development because we see so much of our weakest selves in them. While being written before the 2016 election, so much of this world seems to be Trump's America in an errily short amount of time.
The writing style may not be for everyone, but if you can let yourself be submerged into it, this becomes a book you won't want to put down. Even finished, I can't stop thinking about this book.
The writing style may not be for everyone, but if you can let yourself be submerged into it, this becomes a book you won't want to put down. Even finished, I can't stop thinking about this book.
July 1, 2017
Hundreds of pages of. . . .nothing. I kept waiting and waiting, and this was just a bunch of rambling that went nowhere. Glad I got it for free.
June 12, 2017
This novel takes place in the near future -- 2037 to be exact. It's an America run by an autocratic, bible-thumping buffoon; obsessed with online interactions to the detriment of real relationships; distracted by slick, mass produced "culture" with no real depth or integrity. In other words, it's just like now. Only more so.
The social commentary in this book is razor sharp. The author has a definite point of view and presents it with biting wit and a clear-eyed understanding of modern America. He holds up one of those 10X magnifying makeup mirrors to our face and forces us to see all our flaws blown up big and wide.
Unfortunately, other than that the book isn't very interesting. The plot is almost non-existent, the characters are essentially unlikable, and the novel is full of content that serves no useful purpose other than slinging political barbs. The fact that those barbs hit hard and accurate can't completely make up for a lack of story driving the whole thing forward.
Rating: 3 stars
Length: 150,000 words
Violence: Moderate
Sex: Suggestive Content
Drugs: Yes
The social commentary in this book is razor sharp. The author has a definite point of view and presents it with biting wit and a clear-eyed understanding of modern America. He holds up one of those 10X magnifying makeup mirrors to our face and forces us to see all our flaws blown up big and wide.
Unfortunately, other than that the book isn't very interesting. The plot is almost non-existent, the characters are essentially unlikable, and the novel is full of content that serves no useful purpose other than slinging political barbs. The fact that those barbs hit hard and accurate can't completely make up for a lack of story driving the whole thing forward.
Rating: 3 stars
Length: 150,000 words
Violence: Moderate
Sex: Suggestive Content
Drugs: Yes
July 8, 2017
Good read
I enjoyed it and it definitely pulled me in. The end arrived a little abruptly but overall am enjoyable read. Definitely a timely comment on our current social and political realities
I enjoyed it and it definitely pulled me in. The end arrived a little abruptly but overall am enjoyable read. Definitely a timely comment on our current social and political realities
July 25, 2017
Tedious and unsatisfying
This book rambles on and on without really getting anywhere. The characters were hard to empathize with and not really fleshed out very well. It felt like half the story was missing at times. And just as anything exciting happened, the book ended very abruptly. It was like the author needed to finish the book by a certain date and was running late, so the end got thrown together and seems very unfinished.
This book rambles on and on without really getting anywhere. The characters were hard to empathize with and not really fleshed out very well. It felt like half the story was missing at times. And just as anything exciting happened, the book ended very abruptly. It was like the author needed to finish the book by a certain date and was running late, so the end got thrown together and seems very unfinished.
July 20, 2017
While the prose was mostly adequate—even good in places—much of the narrative struck me as careless and poorly considered. I didn’t get a strong sense of either Albuquerque or the futuristic setting. The epistolary entries and large blocks of nothing but dialogue were annoying. Worst, this seems the opening salvo of a series/trilogy, which only became obvious toward the end, as the author failed to put his little squiggle on things. The first book of a series (every book of a series) needs to be clearly marked as such, or needs to contain its own fully developed arc. Since I have no intention of reading a second book (and had no idea that I’d signed up for what appears to be a never-ending story) I probably should mark this as “abandoned” and give it a rating of 1. I did however make it to the putative end.
did-not-finish
September 11, 2023This felt like someone tried to create a literary version of Ready Player One by squeezing out all of the fun and interesting bits.
DNFed at 8%
DNFed at 8%
June 27, 2017
Long drawn out with no reward
The concept of this book intrigued me. I love to read about not so different future and the fact that it almost paralleled events in our current time was even more compelling. But I found the storyline for the characters so dismal and no real plot. I kept waiting for something to happen and it just never did. There were some interesting takes on how our future could play out but sadly not enough to make me glad I read it.
The concept of this book intrigued me. I love to read about not so different future and the fact that it almost paralleled events in our current time was even more compelling. But I found the storyline for the characters so dismal and no real plot. I kept waiting for something to happen and it just never did. There were some interesting takes on how our future could play out but sadly not enough to make me glad I read it.
June 25, 2017
Why did the author have to set it in the future? Nothing in this felt like it was the year 2037. I know that sometimes progress can come slow but come one, there was even a reference in there to Theresa buying video tapes online! Really, I'm supposed to believe that people are still buying video tapes in the future to do yoga instead of streaming? I really give this 2.5. The premise was interesting but he really could have done more with it. Why not set it in the current time? Certainly feels like it could happen now with our current president.
October 3, 2019
Set in the not too distant future, this book doesn't concern itself with flying cars, advanced weaponry, and other things typical of the setting. Instead it focused on what's far more likely. That being a world controlled by corporate advertising and internet gaming. It warns against becoming overly engrossed in alternate realities, either virtual or within your own mind. In a way I would say it speaks to the dangers of isolationism even if only on a personal level. There are many characters that perhaps could've been developed with more depth, and narratives that could've been more fully explored, but that would've taken away from feeling it rendered. Certainly the feeling it left me with anyway which was one that though many of the characters could easily be described as unfeeling beings, that is more a product of the world they live in rather than any neglect on the part of the author.
The overall rating for this book is well below 3 stars at this time which I find to be far too low, especially when compared to the drivel I've read that was rated much higher on here.
The overall rating for this book is well below 3 stars at this time which I find to be far too low, especially when compared to the drivel I've read that was rated much higher on here.
July 8, 2017
As part of my Amazon Prime account I discovered I get one free book a month from a selection of six in their Kindle First program. This is how I found "Lost in Aradia".
This is Mr. Gandert's first novel and it is a fun cyber-punk/dystopian trip from 2025 jumping to 2037 with several familiar tropes from gaming, to marketing and a xenophobic president as a backdrop.
The story unfolds through a dysfunctional family of 3 siblings, the mom, the missing father and a 'cam-girl'. Each unhappy in their own way. Some nice twists and turns with the characters throughout the novel.
A lot of promise here; I look forward to watching Mr. Gandert grow his skills over the coming years.
This is Mr. Gandert's first novel and it is a fun cyber-punk/dystopian trip from 2025 jumping to 2037 with several familiar tropes from gaming, to marketing and a xenophobic president as a backdrop.
The story unfolds through a dysfunctional family of 3 siblings, the mom, the missing father and a 'cam-girl'. Each unhappy in their own way. Some nice twists and turns with the characters throughout the novel.
A lot of promise here; I look forward to watching Mr. Gandert grow his skills over the coming years.
October 5, 2017
Clever and somewhat surreal...
I really liked the characters, the near future setting, and the extreme cynicism of what that near future would look like. While there are technical / science-fiction elements, it is really a character-driven novel, which are my favorite kind. I developed real sympathy for the Reyes family, while still being shocked at their behavior, and wanting some of the situations to work out positively, even though there was no realistic way for that to happen.
I really liked the characters, the near future setting, and the extreme cynicism of what that near future would look like. While there are technical / science-fiction elements, it is really a character-driven novel, which are my favorite kind. I developed real sympathy for the Reyes family, while still being shocked at their behavior, and wanting some of the situations to work out positively, even though there was no realistic way for that to happen.
September 2, 2017
For the most part I enjoyed this book. It jumps between characters pov, but there are so many characters that it's sometimes hard to remember how everyone is connected, but it's cool to see that they are in some way connected. The end of the book feels sudden, new plot elements are introduced so close to the end they don't have time to be fully developed. I would read a sequel just so I know what happens to some of the characters beyond my own deductions.
July 9, 2017
FINALLY! A Kindle First book that was actually good!
Often jarring, sometimes amusing, once in a while thought provoking - a story of the near future where advertising has run a muck and video games have taken away our young (and some adults). I enjoyed some of the unique ideas and scenarios, the ending not so much. But it was still a good read.
Often jarring, sometimes amusing, once in a while thought provoking - a story of the near future where advertising has run a muck and video games have taken away our young (and some adults). I enjoyed some of the unique ideas and scenarios, the ending not so much. But it was still a good read.
February 25, 2019
This book had an interesting premise, but it just wasn't executed well.
Any or all of the characters could have made up an interesting novel, but they're all really done as caricatures of characters in the story. Or perhaps part of the lack of cohesiveness of character was a device meant to demonstrate the differences between the way we comport ourselves in our head, internet interactions, and real life, and I just didn't get it? But the big problem for me the illogical plot holes that wouldn't exist if the worst case scenario happened in all the instances the author alludes to, like tech having access to all aspects of life, the extreme government, etc. He went all the way without thinking of the all of the aspects that would line up to each extreme occurance happening.
I don't want to rant against it, but it is just frustrating that I thought it had promise to begin with, and then just flopped hard.
I received a copy free through Kindle First, or whatever Amazon is calling it this month.
Any or all of the characters could have made up an interesting novel, but they're all really done as caricatures of characters in the story. Or perhaps part of the lack of cohesiveness of character was a device meant to demonstrate the differences between the way we comport ourselves in our head, internet interactions, and real life, and I just didn't get it? But the big problem for me the illogical plot holes that wouldn't exist if the worst case scenario happened in all the instances the author alludes to, like tech having access to all aspects of life, the extreme government, etc. He went all the way without thinking of the all of the aspects that would line up to each extreme occurance happening.
I don't want to rant against it, but it is just frustrating that I thought it had promise to begin with, and then just flopped hard.
I received a copy free through Kindle First, or whatever Amazon is calling it this month.
July 26, 2017
Albuquerque 2037 looks surprisingly like Albuquerque of 2017 in Sean Gandert's Lost in Arcadia. All the same restaurants seem to be operating and Albuquerque continues to be a city of extremes. Though there are a few notable differences in the future.
First off, the majority of Americans spend most of their time in a virtual world called Arcadia, earning credit by paying games and watching advertising. The developer of Arcadia, Juan Diego Reyes, is the patriarch of the family at the heart of the novel. Though Juan Diego had pretty much abandoned his family to focus on his work. His oldest son Gideon, was a marketing prodigy that helped come up with the way to pitch the Great Wall Of Freedom on America's southern border, whose popularity has allowed the appropriately named President Haight to not only won his first election, but to enjoy three consecutive terms. Gideon goes on to then create a hugely successful rap artist named Gravedigger, that unbeknownst to the public is an entirely fictional, virtual character. His latest project is to come up with new spokesperson for Christianity, as evidently Jesus isn't cutting it anymore.
The middle child, Holly, is a struggling artist who seems unable to sell her work and lives in the shadow of her successful artist husband. Holly also fights with her mother Autumn, the matriarch who is a driven UNM professor but who has tries to keep her family together while carving a meaningful life out for herself.
The youngest child, Devon, is your typical high school kid about to enter college struggling to find his way and much more content to play games in the virtual world of Arcadia than deal with his peers in real life. When he does finally meet up with friends for a graduation party/Dungeons and Dragons game things don't go well.
These are just a few of the characters in the novel. Arcadia is similar in many ways to Ernest Cline's OASIS in Ready Player One, but where Ready Player One is tightly plotted, Lost In Arcadia, while definitely not short on ideas, rambles and had more ideas than it fully develops. Still it was worth reading due to the near future description that takes all that is happening in the world today to the worst next logical step.
First off, the majority of Americans spend most of their time in a virtual world called Arcadia, earning credit by paying games and watching advertising. The developer of Arcadia, Juan Diego Reyes, is the patriarch of the family at the heart of the novel. Though Juan Diego had pretty much abandoned his family to focus on his work. His oldest son Gideon, was a marketing prodigy that helped come up with the way to pitch the Great Wall Of Freedom on America's southern border, whose popularity has allowed the appropriately named President Haight to not only won his first election, but to enjoy three consecutive terms. Gideon goes on to then create a hugely successful rap artist named Gravedigger, that unbeknownst to the public is an entirely fictional, virtual character. His latest project is to come up with new spokesperson for Christianity, as evidently Jesus isn't cutting it anymore.
The middle child, Holly, is a struggling artist who seems unable to sell her work and lives in the shadow of her successful artist husband. Holly also fights with her mother Autumn, the matriarch who is a driven UNM professor but who has tries to keep her family together while carving a meaningful life out for herself.
The youngest child, Devon, is your typical high school kid about to enter college struggling to find his way and much more content to play games in the virtual world of Arcadia than deal with his peers in real life. When he does finally meet up with friends for a graduation party/Dungeons and Dragons game things don't go well.
These are just a few of the characters in the novel. Arcadia is similar in many ways to Ernest Cline's OASIS in Ready Player One, but where Ready Player One is tightly plotted, Lost In Arcadia, while definitely not short on ideas, rambles and had more ideas than it fully develops. Still it was worth reading due to the near future description that takes all that is happening in the world today to the worst next logical step.
September 21, 2017
I almost quit on this book, something I almost never do, because it is VERY slow starting. It took 200 pages to get me really interested, with main characters doing a lot of sitting around doing nothing but playing computer games. OK, that's kind of the whole point of the book, but the character development is simply too slow.
The premise: in the not-too-distant future, a tech genius has developed a program called Arcadia that encompasses just about every aspect of life, and people can't get enough.
The danger, of course, is that the public will be manipulated and sacrifice reality to technology. And finally, more than halfway through the book, we see the true danger of that point being driven home.
Unfortunately, the ending left me hanging. Nothing seemed to be really resolved, and it seemed very rushed, exactly opposite of the first half. We're left to guess what happens to most of the characters, and the teaser given by Arcadia's developer for a truly mind-boggling plot twist, which could have been spectacular, isn't addressed at all.
There was a lot of potential here. Unfortunately, most of it was never realized.
The premise: in the not-too-distant future, a tech genius has developed a program called Arcadia that encompasses just about every aspect of life, and people can't get enough.
The danger, of course, is that the public will be manipulated and sacrifice reality to technology. And finally, more than halfway through the book, we see the true danger of that point being driven home.
Unfortunately, the ending left me hanging. Nothing seemed to be really resolved, and it seemed very rushed, exactly opposite of the first half. We're left to guess what happens to most of the characters, and the teaser given by Arcadia's developer for a truly mind-boggling plot twist, which could have been spectacular, isn't addressed at all.
There was a lot of potential here. Unfortunately, most of it was never realized.
December 30, 2017
I was reluctant to start this book because of what I had seen in the other reviews. However, it sounded like an interesting story so I gave it a shot.
Here's the good: The writing is very good. Gandert does a great job of painting a picture and weaving different stories together. He also does a great job of using different story-telling techniques without making the story seem choppy. The characters were fairly interesting and creatively flawed. The topics and concepts were very relevant to our society today and there were some great parallels that made you think about the world we live in.
The not so good: The story literally went nowhere. There was no ending. It just stopped. I like a good vague ending as much as the next person that lets you contemplate what might happen next. This wasn't that. It felt as if there were about three of four chapters that just accidentally got left off the end of the book.
I'm not completely disappointed because I did enjoy the actual reading of the story. Particularly the interplay between different backstories. But I am left with a very unsatisfied feeling. If you really like those stories that let you draw your own conclusions, then this one is for you. If not, this likely won't be your cup of tea.
I received this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. This did not impact my review.
Here's the good: The writing is very good. Gandert does a great job of painting a picture and weaving different stories together. He also does a great job of using different story-telling techniques without making the story seem choppy. The characters were fairly interesting and creatively flawed. The topics and concepts were very relevant to our society today and there were some great parallels that made you think about the world we live in.
The not so good: The story literally went nowhere. There was no ending. It just stopped. I like a good vague ending as much as the next person that lets you contemplate what might happen next. This wasn't that. It felt as if there were about three of four chapters that just accidentally got left off the end of the book.
I'm not completely disappointed because I did enjoy the actual reading of the story. Particularly the interplay between different backstories. But I am left with a very unsatisfied feeling. If you really like those stories that let you draw your own conclusions, then this one is for you. If not, this likely won't be your cup of tea.
I received this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. This did not impact my review.
December 23, 2019
This isn’t Ready Player One, and it isn’t supposed to be - this book has a lot of what I think are unfairly low ratings, and most of the reviews focus on the slow pace of the book.
This book is first and foremost a social commentary, and the characters and the plot are manipulated around that. The characters are not meant to be strictly relatable, and the plot is not enthralling or action packed. It’s a mirror for where the world could be headed in 20 years - overly reliant on technology and advertisement. The characters are motivated by their own emptiness in response to it. It’s heartbreaking to see how self aware they are of their own situation while slowly being sucked further into their despair. Don’t read this if you want to see kick butt video games and scrawny teenagers take over the world, because that’s not the point.
That said, I think this would be so much stronger if the author had chosen to end the book 25 pages sooner and left the characters fates more in the balance. Introducing a plague and the first step into the singularity is a hefty thing to take on at such a late stage.
This book is first and foremost a social commentary, and the characters and the plot are manipulated around that. The characters are not meant to be strictly relatable, and the plot is not enthralling or action packed. It’s a mirror for where the world could be headed in 20 years - overly reliant on technology and advertisement. The characters are motivated by their own emptiness in response to it. It’s heartbreaking to see how self aware they are of their own situation while slowly being sucked further into their despair. Don’t read this if you want to see kick butt video games and scrawny teenagers take over the world, because that’s not the point.
That said, I think this would be so much stronger if the author had chosen to end the book 25 pages sooner and left the characters fates more in the balance. Introducing a plague and the first step into the singularity is a hefty thing to take on at such a late stage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2017
Talent wasted
I will cut right to the point this book was well written and parts of it very engaging. However parts of the book were hellish to push through especially the part about the younger son and his arrest. That entire subplot was mind numbing. The book which in parts was excellent and entertaining, well at other times was infuriating and silly. I never read a book that was so good and so bad and cried for a decent editing. This book was too long and to short at same time. Well large portions of the book were unnecessary and took away from a very imaginative story, the book simply ends adding to the unfulfilled promise that some parts of the storyline needed to resolved. There were times I could not put this book down and other time I almost threw in the towel and even began another book before fighting my way to where the book stopped. It didn't really end and there was little closure.
I will cut right to the point this book was well written and parts of it very engaging. However parts of the book were hellish to push through especially the part about the younger son and his arrest. That entire subplot was mind numbing. The book which in parts was excellent and entertaining, well at other times was infuriating and silly. I never read a book that was so good and so bad and cried for a decent editing. This book was too long and to short at same time. Well large portions of the book were unnecessary and took away from a very imaginative story, the book simply ends adding to the unfulfilled promise that some parts of the storyline needed to resolved. There were times I could not put this book down and other time I almost threw in the towel and even began another book before fighting my way to where the book stopped. It didn't really end and there was little closure.
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