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The Dowland Cases #1
Reset
Someone is murdering wealthy metaverse gamers.
RJ Dowland invented the process for players to immerse into the metaverse, living as an avatar inside the computers worlds. But the immersion left some of the players addicted to the impulses in their nerve endings, choosing to remain inside while their bodies wasted away in real life. RJ became one of the addicted.
With his fortune lost, he weaned himself off the games, eking out a life as a socially-inept homicide detective with a partner who calls him names, an ex-wife who will not acknowledge him, and the choice to use other addictions to fight off returning inside the metaverse.
But the FBI has approached RJ because they are investigating a series of murdered gamers who ignored the government regulations and lived inside the computer worlds. They need his game experience and knowledge to catch the serial killer before more are murdered. The agents ask him to enter the metaverse again, putting his life in danger, to chase an old nemesis from his past when he ruled the gaming world.
Now RJ is back inside a game, trapped in a 1930s film noir world as a private detective and searching for the serial killer while negotiating his way through the gangsters, roscoes, and dames. Every step he takes toward meeting his former enemy is haunted by one Even if he finds the killer, will RJ be able to pull himself away from the metaverse worlds that are more real to him than his life?
If you like mystery and murder mixed with a slice of science fiction, virtual reality, and a step into the metaverse, you will love Kirk Dougal’s page-turning thriller!
RJ Dowland invented the process for players to immerse into the metaverse, living as an avatar inside the computers worlds. But the immersion left some of the players addicted to the impulses in their nerve endings, choosing to remain inside while their bodies wasted away in real life. RJ became one of the addicted.
With his fortune lost, he weaned himself off the games, eking out a life as a socially-inept homicide detective with a partner who calls him names, an ex-wife who will not acknowledge him, and the choice to use other addictions to fight off returning inside the metaverse.
But the FBI has approached RJ because they are investigating a series of murdered gamers who ignored the government regulations and lived inside the computer worlds. They need his game experience and knowledge to catch the serial killer before more are murdered. The agents ask him to enter the metaverse again, putting his life in danger, to chase an old nemesis from his past when he ruled the gaming world.
Now RJ is back inside a game, trapped in a 1930s film noir world as a private detective and searching for the serial killer while negotiating his way through the gangsters, roscoes, and dames. Every step he takes toward meeting his former enemy is haunted by one Even if he finds the killer, will RJ be able to pull himself away from the metaverse worlds that are more real to him than his life?
If you like mystery and murder mixed with a slice of science fiction, virtual reality, and a step into the metaverse, you will love Kirk Dougal’s page-turning thriller!
333 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2017
31 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 23, 2022
RESET: THE DOWLAND CASES is a cyberpunk Lit-RPG which I very much enjoyed and recommend to people who enjoy stories set in that genre. As a fan of both Lit-RPG as well as cyberpunk fiction, this is right up my jam and I am sorry it took me so long to read this novel.
The premise is Richard Downland is the creator of a Second Life/World of Warcraft-esque virtual reality system which has become the hottest thing on the market. It's so realistic and enjoyable that a large number of the world's richest citizens spend 24-7 of their lives hooked up to the machine and pay for professional nurses to look after their bodies in the real world.
Unfortunately for these so called "Sleepers", their lifestyle as hooked up coma victims who are immensely wealthy means they're perfect victims for those who want to rob them. Years ago, Richard Dowland suffered a nervous breakdown due to his net-addiction and gave it all up (including his fortune) to become an ordinary cop. With more and more victims showing up every day, the FBI has decided to recruit him for the investigation despite the fact it takes him back to his addiction.
The book has a few flaws with the fact Dowland's life is incredibly implausible and the fact it's hard to think women really would be falling over themselves to date a bitter sex addicted penniless net-jockey slob like they are but that's the noir genre. I loved "The City", though as well as the increasing insanity of the levels. Some addictions can't be overcome, it seems.
In conclusion, I recommend people pick up a copy of RESET if they enjoy LIT-RPG, noir, or cyberpunk and think this could make a decent movie.
9/10
The premise is Richard Downland is the creator of a Second Life/World of Warcraft-esque virtual reality system which has become the hottest thing on the market. It's so realistic and enjoyable that a large number of the world's richest citizens spend 24-7 of their lives hooked up to the machine and pay for professional nurses to look after their bodies in the real world.
Unfortunately for these so called "Sleepers", their lifestyle as hooked up coma victims who are immensely wealthy means they're perfect victims for those who want to rob them. Years ago, Richard Dowland suffered a nervous breakdown due to his net-addiction and gave it all up (including his fortune) to become an ordinary cop. With more and more victims showing up every day, the FBI has decided to recruit him for the investigation despite the fact it takes him back to his addiction.
The book has a few flaws with the fact Dowland's life is incredibly implausible and the fact it's hard to think women really would be falling over themselves to date a bitter sex addicted penniless net-jockey slob like they are but that's the noir genre. I loved "The City", though as well as the increasing insanity of the levels. Some addictions can't be overcome, it seems.
In conclusion, I recommend people pick up a copy of RESET if they enjoy LIT-RPG, noir, or cyberpunk and think this could make a decent movie.
9/10
May 12, 2017
Review copy
"Richard Jefferson Dowland, Jr., 39. Divorced, no children. Goes by Rick but a whole generation of people know him as RJ. Graduated from UCLA with an undergrad in Computer Science at the age of twenty. Co-inventor of the first fully-immersed computer game, The Kindred. He personally registered twenty-nine patents related to computer- human interfaces and games."
Rick is now retired from the gaming industry and finds himself working homicide. When a serial killer starts killing immersive gamers his boss and the FBI ask him to go back in and become a deep sleeper again. Something he swore he'd never do. It's an addiction, a habit he managed to kick once and has no desire to revisit.
"Deep sleepers, the guys that stay inside for weeks or months, they pay someone to take care of their body while they are buried inside. Gamers call them peepers or peeps for short."
For a reader, Reset: The Dowland Cases - One provides instant gratification. The in-game action was fast paced and believable. The story itself was as immersive as a good video game. With Rick having to go into more than one game it gave the author a chance to experiment with various writing styles in the same novel, including crime noir in the game called The City.
Examples...
"The plug-in air freshener tried but there wasn’t enough potpourri in the world to cover up the smell rising from the body on the bed."
"I took a drink of the gin and wondered immediately if the bathtub had been clean when it was made."
"The canary on the mic had a color of blonde hair not found in nature and a dress slit almost high enough to see Cleveland. A few flat notes into thenext song and I understood why the dress needed to be so distracting."
"She stood close enough for me to hear the whisper of her blouse against skin as she breathed. Her perfume wafted into my nose and threatened to cloud my thinking."
So much fun, Of course, there are many red herrings along the way, but in the end, it all makes perfect sense and the set up is there for book two in the series. In the end Reset: The Dowland Cases - One is a tale that left me wanting more in the best possible way. Highly recommended.
Reset: The Dowland Cases - One is available for the Kindle. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge. Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE using the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
From the author's bio - Kirk Dougal has had fiction works appear in multiple anthologies and released his debut novel, DDreams of Ivory and Gold, in May of 2014. His YA dystopian novel, Jacked, was published in 2016. He's currently at work completing the sequel to Dreams, Valleys of the Earth.
Kirk is currently working in a corporate position with a group of newspapers after serving as a group publisher and editor-in-chief. He lives in Ohio with his wife and four children.
June 5, 2017
Well, that was refreshing. A detective story set within a video game. Think Sword Art Online but more realistic -- your body in the real world actually has to be taken care of and nourished or you'll die.
So here's the rundown: Rick Dowland and some close friends developed a method of virtual reality gaming so real that people began becoming addicted to it like a drug, to the point where time limits had to be put in place. When a gamer is 'inside' their physical bodies are immobile, strapped into the gaming equipment -- some hack around the time limits, hiring people to watch over their bodies and make sure they're taken care of.
Some of these 'sleepers' have started coming up dead, both inside the game and out. It's now up to Detective Dowland to solve the case, for he's said to be the best and, the killer sounds an awful lot like someone from his past.
The majority setting, a 1930s style game world, was interesting and came complete with the noir feel and slang terms to really feel out the environment.
I also enjoyed how the POV switches from third to first person while inside the games -- so it's like the reader is actually in this game, first-person or over-the-shoulder view.
Twists, turns, addictions, Lucky Strikes, trench coats, bowler hats, gritty streets, diners, a Poe-influenced murderer, gaming...what's not to like?
So here's the rundown: Rick Dowland and some close friends developed a method of virtual reality gaming so real that people began becoming addicted to it like a drug, to the point where time limits had to be put in place. When a gamer is 'inside' their physical bodies are immobile, strapped into the gaming equipment -- some hack around the time limits, hiring people to watch over their bodies and make sure they're taken care of.
Some of these 'sleepers' have started coming up dead, both inside the game and out. It's now up to Detective Dowland to solve the case, for he's said to be the best and, the killer sounds an awful lot like someone from his past.
The majority setting, a 1930s style game world, was interesting and came complete with the noir feel and slang terms to really feel out the environment.
I also enjoyed how the POV switches from third to first person while inside the games -- so it's like the reader is actually in this game, first-person or over-the-shoulder view.
Twists, turns, addictions, Lucky Strikes, trench coats, bowler hats, gritty streets, diners, a Poe-influenced murderer, gaming...what's not to like?
January 16, 2018
It's not often that novel juxtapositions work...
Mr. Dougal's Reset is a nice combination, litRPG, and the classic American detective story, whether you favor film noir or pulp detective stories. I whole -heartedly recommend this.
Mr. Dougal's Reset is a nice combination, litRPG, and the classic American detective story, whether you favor film noir or pulp detective stories. I whole -heartedly recommend this.
November 1, 2023
Unusual Couples Life and Avatar
A change shared in a life character and an avatar. Both pair of a avatar and real person interact with others to show the different just the same. The book is a great story and very entertaining.
A change shared in a life character and an avatar. Both pair of a avatar and real person interact with others to show the different just the same. The book is a great story and very entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews