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Head Case
Allyson has been in a coma for the last nine months. What’s worse, she can hear everything the doctors say. She knows they’re keeping her in a coma and that she’s at the mercy of the hospital's First-in-Human trial—a VR system implanted in her brain for a second chance at life.
Attached to the VR, Ally discovers worlds unlike home. She can do whatever she wants, but she misses her parents. With help from Harrison, a rabbit-eared boy, they work together to free themselves from Aishwarya, the mad queen of the world. But when Harrison wakes up and doesn’t come for Ally, she’ll split her soul to the brink of death to save herself.
Attached to the VR, Ally discovers worlds unlike home. She can do whatever she wants, but she misses her parents. With help from Harrison, a rabbit-eared boy, they work together to free themselves from Aishwarya, the mad queen of the world. But when Harrison wakes up and doesn’t come for Ally, she’ll split her soul to the brink of death to save herself.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 12, 2018
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8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 24, 2018
Niki Cluff has done it, again! Fabulous YA reading that is clever, thought-provoking and filled with incredible imagination!
HEAD CASE had me riding a roller coaster of emotions, from sadness to fascinated reading bliss to sadness and finally, to that last page...
Imagine being in a coma for nine months, no recovery in sight, or so the doctor is telling your heartbroken parents. But you know better, because you may not be able to communicate or move, but there is nothing wrong with your hearing and you’ve been privy to a diabolical plot to keep you comatose long enough for you to be given “a second chance at life,” in the virtual reality world. What parent could say no to that?
Ally will soon discover she has done more than fall down the rabbit hole, she has become part of a world where anything can happen and it isn’t always good, because nothing is perfect, not even VR.
What Ally will find is how far she can and will go to free her newfound friends and a boy she once only knew via computer gaming.
Once again, Niki Cluff embodies the persona and voice of teens caught up in a world of virtual reality that is far more deadly than the games they play. Ally is that teen who would do anything for her friends, including die in the real world as she risks her life in VR to save others trapped and powerless in real world comas.
What a ride! Brilliantly drawn characters, a battle of good versus a damaged evil! Wonderful young adult reading that speaks to their age group, as well as their computer savvy!
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Evernight Teen!
Publisher: Evernight Teen (September 12, 2018)
Publication Date: September 12, 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Print Length: 209 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
HEAD CASE had me riding a roller coaster of emotions, from sadness to fascinated reading bliss to sadness and finally, to that last page...
Imagine being in a coma for nine months, no recovery in sight, or so the doctor is telling your heartbroken parents. But you know better, because you may not be able to communicate or move, but there is nothing wrong with your hearing and you’ve been privy to a diabolical plot to keep you comatose long enough for you to be given “a second chance at life,” in the virtual reality world. What parent could say no to that?
Ally will soon discover she has done more than fall down the rabbit hole, she has become part of a world where anything can happen and it isn’t always good, because nothing is perfect, not even VR.
What Ally will find is how far she can and will go to free her newfound friends and a boy she once only knew via computer gaming.
Once again, Niki Cluff embodies the persona and voice of teens caught up in a world of virtual reality that is far more deadly than the games they play. Ally is that teen who would do anything for her friends, including die in the real world as she risks her life in VR to save others trapped and powerless in real world comas.
What a ride! Brilliantly drawn characters, a battle of good versus a damaged evil! Wonderful young adult reading that speaks to their age group, as well as their computer savvy!
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Evernight Teen!
Publisher: Evernight Teen (September 12, 2018)
Publication Date: September 12, 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Print Length: 209 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
September 23, 2018
I was given an e-ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
So, for me, Head Case is a hard book to rate. I’m going for a 3.5 because while there were many things I liked about it, there were a few things that just seemed off, and a couple of things that just didn’t suit me as a reader.
The plot of this book is, based on my personal reading experience, original (though I haven’t read many other books of a comparable genre), and I found it refreshing. The opening chapter immediately had me hooked, and I was eagerly reading. The writing is, on the whole, well-written, and characterisation is good.
The imagery is also really great. I particularly loved the image of the old woman waiting in the corner of the hospital room, and how Ally reacted to her. That really infused personality and atmosphere into the scene.
Unfortunately, I had quite a few of issues with the pacing—particularly when Ally reaches the new game world, the pacing seemed slow and the writing got a little heavy with description and threw me off a bit. All the tension that the author had built up started to disappear at that point, and I was a little saddened as up until then I’d felt really invested. It made it a little harder to get back into the story, but I ploughed on. And I’m aware this could be my personal preference as I do prefer fast-paced books.
The other big thing that I didn’t like was how easy it was for Ally to get her parents to believe her when she astral projects to them (particularly the first time) and tells them what the doctors are really doing. It just seemed a bit too easy and I didn’t really believe it. And similarly, there was the same thing with Harrison’s parents too. I would’ve liked a bit more of an obstacle there, some sort of added layer of conflict, rather than keeping the conflict sources as the doctors and Ash.
Ally herself was a great character and really well developed. She felt real, and I liked finding out about her hobbies and interests—especially as they are so different to mine. I went into this book thinking it would be more dystopian sci-fi than it is, and I think that it was these expectations that meant I couldn’t quite get into the book as much as I wanted to as it’s centred around these hobbies—computer coding (which I don’t know much about) and gaming (and I’m not a gamer)—and it assumed some prior knowledge, especially for terminology linked to the coding. I haven’t read other LitRPG novels so this book felt a little “unknown” to me and I personally found it harder to understand the worldbuilding (despite being an avid sci-fi fan) but it was interesting.
Head Case also has an Alice In Wonderland vibe with many of the characters relating in some way to Lewis Carroll’s. This is something that I wasn’t really expecting and I found I really liked it, especially with how the author has put a slant on it. It also helped greatly with the characterisation of the other characters, and made them easier to remember and distinguish once I realised it, as up until then I’d been getting a couple of them mixed up.
Overall, this is a book I think fantasy gamers will enjoy greatly.
So, for me, Head Case is a hard book to rate. I’m going for a 3.5 because while there were many things I liked about it, there were a few things that just seemed off, and a couple of things that just didn’t suit me as a reader.
The plot of this book is, based on my personal reading experience, original (though I haven’t read many other books of a comparable genre), and I found it refreshing. The opening chapter immediately had me hooked, and I was eagerly reading. The writing is, on the whole, well-written, and characterisation is good.
The imagery is also really great. I particularly loved the image of the old woman waiting in the corner of the hospital room, and how Ally reacted to her. That really infused personality and atmosphere into the scene.
Unfortunately, I had quite a few of issues with the pacing—particularly when Ally reaches the new game world, the pacing seemed slow and the writing got a little heavy with description and threw me off a bit. All the tension that the author had built up started to disappear at that point, and I was a little saddened as up until then I’d felt really invested. It made it a little harder to get back into the story, but I ploughed on. And I’m aware this could be my personal preference as I do prefer fast-paced books.
The other big thing that I didn’t like was how easy it was for Ally to get her parents to believe her when she astral projects to them (particularly the first time) and tells them what the doctors are really doing. It just seemed a bit too easy and I didn’t really believe it. And similarly, there was the same thing with Harrison’s parents too. I would’ve liked a bit more of an obstacle there, some sort of added layer of conflict, rather than keeping the conflict sources as the doctors and Ash.
Ally herself was a great character and really well developed. She felt real, and I liked finding out about her hobbies and interests—especially as they are so different to mine. I went into this book thinking it would be more dystopian sci-fi than it is, and I think that it was these expectations that meant I couldn’t quite get into the book as much as I wanted to as it’s centred around these hobbies—computer coding (which I don’t know much about) and gaming (and I’m not a gamer)—and it assumed some prior knowledge, especially for terminology linked to the coding. I haven’t read other LitRPG novels so this book felt a little “unknown” to me and I personally found it harder to understand the worldbuilding (despite being an avid sci-fi fan) but it was interesting.
Head Case also has an Alice In Wonderland vibe with many of the characters relating in some way to Lewis Carroll’s. This is something that I wasn’t really expecting and I found I really liked it, especially with how the author has put a slant on it. It also helped greatly with the characterisation of the other characters, and made them easier to remember and distinguish once I realised it, as up until then I’d been getting a couple of them mixed up.
Overall, this is a book I think fantasy gamers will enjoy greatly.
September 25, 2018
When Allyson is being forcefully kept in a coma for the benefit of the hospital, all she can do is lie there and listen to what is going on around her. Unable to tell her worried parents what is really happening, Ally is helpless as she overhears them agree to a decision that will place her in a new virtual reality program that's for coma patients to participate in which allows them to live a life, albeit a fake one. With no way of telling anyone what is really going on, Allyson is whisked away and undergoes a surgery to have a chip implanted in her.
"Welcome to your simulated world. Would you like to play the tutorial?"
Upon her arrival in the new virtual world, Ally is introduced to many other players. Among them are Chester, a cat-like mischievous boy and a rabbit-eared Harrison who Ally can't help but feel like she knows. When the self-proclaimed red queen of this new world meets Ally, Ally discovers this world is not the safe haven it appears to be and that although the world is fake in many aspects, some consequences can be very real.
This was a really fun book to read! I was not expecting it to be a spin on the classic Alice in Wonderland but was pleasantly surprised. Ally is a great protagonist, real and likable and the side characters were great also. I wish the character development could have gone a bit more into depth, specifically, Ally’s hacking skills. I feel it would’ve really added to the story. The pacing was a bit all over with it being slow, then quick, then just right. However, the setting of the virtual world was described very realistically and Niki’s writing is vivid and thorough. I loved the ending and with that cliffhanger I am hoping for a sequel!
*I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Thank you Niki for the opportunity to read this!
"Welcome to your simulated world. Would you like to play the tutorial?"
Upon her arrival in the new virtual world, Ally is introduced to many other players. Among them are Chester, a cat-like mischievous boy and a rabbit-eared Harrison who Ally can't help but feel like she knows. When the self-proclaimed red queen of this new world meets Ally, Ally discovers this world is not the safe haven it appears to be and that although the world is fake in many aspects, some consequences can be very real.
This was a really fun book to read! I was not expecting it to be a spin on the classic Alice in Wonderland but was pleasantly surprised. Ally is a great protagonist, real and likable and the side characters were great also. I wish the character development could have gone a bit more into depth, specifically, Ally’s hacking skills. I feel it would’ve really added to the story. The pacing was a bit all over with it being slow, then quick, then just right. However, the setting of the virtual world was described very realistically and Niki’s writing is vivid and thorough. I loved the ending and with that cliffhanger I am hoping for a sequel!
*I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Thank you Niki for the opportunity to read this!
October 9, 2018
Coma patients and their families rely on the advice of their doctors. What happens when the doctors they rely on have an agenda of their own, one that has nothing to do with the well being of the patient? Experimental research and programs that will pad pocketbooks exist in every field. Niki Cluff gives us a frightening view of what could happen with mismanaged coma patients!
Ally doesn't know how long she has been in the hospital, in this coma, but she does know things aren't right. She can hear what happens around her, and knows the nurses give her medicine to keep her sleeping. Her coma may have started with her accident, but she would have woken up on her own if they hadn't started giving her the shots in her IV.
Now things are about to get worse. Ally's doctor has convinced her parents that she would be better off enrolled in a new program. Ally will need a surgery to have a chip inserted into her brain stem, after that she will be able to join a VR. The doctor's main selling points to her parents were that Ally could lead a "normal" life even if only in a virtual reality, go to school, pursue a career, have friends, instead of just laying in a bed in the dark. How can Ally trust anything this man says, when he is the one keeping her in a coma? How many others is this happening to?
Join Ally in her VR and find out if it is a paradise or a prison.
Ally doesn't know how long she has been in the hospital, in this coma, but she does know things aren't right. She can hear what happens around her, and knows the nurses give her medicine to keep her sleeping. Her coma may have started with her accident, but she would have woken up on her own if they hadn't started giving her the shots in her IV.
Now things are about to get worse. Ally's doctor has convinced her parents that she would be better off enrolled in a new program. Ally will need a surgery to have a chip inserted into her brain stem, after that she will be able to join a VR. The doctor's main selling points to her parents were that Ally could lead a "normal" life even if only in a virtual reality, go to school, pursue a career, have friends, instead of just laying in a bed in the dark. How can Ally trust anything this man says, when he is the one keeping her in a coma? How many others is this happening to?
Join Ally in her VR and find out if it is a paradise or a prison.
October 12, 2018
Great read, well written with a great plot and characters. I really enjoyed this read! Ally is really relatable she is a drum major, she is into anime, video games and loves computer programming. The Dr's are telling Ally's family that she will lead a normal life in VR. But, do the Dr's have their own agenda? Ally is in a coma and she is going to have a surgery for a chip to be put in her brainstem that will allow VR. I also like Chester and Harrison whom Ally meets in VR. There is a ciffhanger so hopefully there will be another book. This is a unique take on Alice in Wonderland, and I loved it! I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
September 1, 2023
In exchange for an honest review, new and up-and-coming author, Niki Cluff, provided me a free digital ARC of her newest YA novel, Head Case!
When Niki first reached out to me about reading and reviewing Head Case, I was so excited! An author actually liked one of my reviews and reached out to me, a newbie blogger and reviewer!
Even better, when I read the blurb for Head Case and felt an Alice in Wonderland vibe coming off of it, I knew that I just had to read this book.
Check out my full review on my blog, https://rainydaysbooksandcoffee.wordp... !
When Niki first reached out to me about reading and reviewing Head Case, I was so excited! An author actually liked one of my reviews and reached out to me, a newbie blogger and reviewer!
Even better, when I read the blurb for Head Case and felt an Alice in Wonderland vibe coming off of it, I knew that I just had to read this book.
Check out my full review on my blog, https://rainydaysbooksandcoffee.wordp... !
August 3, 2019
Despite not being a gamer or a fan of Alice in Wonderland (I'm weird), Niki Cluff still sucks me in and delights me with an intricate world full of surprises, action, and romance.
In Head Case, Allyson--gamer and hacker extraordinaire--is left in a coma after a terrible car accident. Able to hear sense everything going on around her, she discovers the doctors are forcing her coma for an experimental "treatment" that would give coma patients a virtual chance to live a full life. At first, the VR world seems great, but Ally misses her family, socialization, and real life. She hacks into the VR system and uses astral planing to communicate with the living in hopes to be woken up. A big no-no it seems, so she is thrown into another world where a mad queen rules, a boy with rabbit ears steals her heart, and another whom is half cat befriends her. The problem is the mad queen Aishwarya has her heart set on the bunny-boy Harrison as well. Soon Ally and her friends are racing to escape the mad queen and are fighting for their lives both virtually and in reality.
This book is definitely for teen and adult readers who are into technology. Some of the references were lost on me when it came to gaming, but Cluff does make and effort to slip in some old school titles us adults who don't play anymore would recognize. The world building is phenomenal. From describing the sensations of being in a coma without being able to see anything, to a Sims world, to a fantastical place inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Cluff shows a penchant for world building. I felt completely immersed in the game as if the imagery was projected right in front of me. The plot is refreshing and not predictable. The beginning sucks the reader in, then admittedly there is a lull before action resumes, but I felt it was necessary because the fantasy VR world and characters are so intricately detailed that a lot of the novel's strengths would be lost if the book was merely plot-centered.
Overall, the world building, descriptions, and plot make this a great read.
In Head Case, Allyson--gamer and hacker extraordinaire--is left in a coma after a terrible car accident. Able to hear sense everything going on around her, she discovers the doctors are forcing her coma for an experimental "treatment" that would give coma patients a virtual chance to live a full life. At first, the VR world seems great, but Ally misses her family, socialization, and real life. She hacks into the VR system and uses astral planing to communicate with the living in hopes to be woken up. A big no-no it seems, so she is thrown into another world where a mad queen rules, a boy with rabbit ears steals her heart, and another whom is half cat befriends her. The problem is the mad queen Aishwarya has her heart set on the bunny-boy Harrison as well. Soon Ally and her friends are racing to escape the mad queen and are fighting for their lives both virtually and in reality.
This book is definitely for teen and adult readers who are into technology. Some of the references were lost on me when it came to gaming, but Cluff does make and effort to slip in some old school titles us adults who don't play anymore would recognize. The world building is phenomenal. From describing the sensations of being in a coma without being able to see anything, to a Sims world, to a fantastical place inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Cluff shows a penchant for world building. I felt completely immersed in the game as if the imagery was projected right in front of me. The plot is refreshing and not predictable. The beginning sucks the reader in, then admittedly there is a lull before action resumes, but I felt it was necessary because the fantasy VR world and characters are so intricately detailed that a lot of the novel's strengths would be lost if the book was merely plot-centered.
Overall, the world building, descriptions, and plot make this a great read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews