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the cloud diver: level 1
How's Johnny Wheeler was perfectly happy being a diver in Void Life. One fateful day doing his job in cyberspace he ends up finding a secret floor in the tower, and finds a woman with a Gunblade walking towards an ancient storage system known as the cloud. Johnny follows her and gets a file that everyone from zombie mobsters to unicorns that farts rainbows are after. Johnny's only escape from this adventure business is that girl with the Gunblade (who may or may not like him very much.)
145 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 16, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2020
I received an ARC of this book from the author. Just to put all the cards on the table here, while I do know the author to a degree, this is the first book of his that I've read. I'll review Cloud Diver as unbiased as I can. So, please take my perspective with a grain of salt if you must. I'm only one person.
Also, there are some spoilers in my review so keep that in mind!
**
Cloud Diver is a book that has an interesting premise in that Johnny works for, what I assume is the government, at a place called VoidLife. He encounters a woman only referred to as 'Gunblade' who manages to turn his world upside down.
I felt conflicted with Cloud Diver for a number of reasons.
The Good:
I do like a number of details about the novel. For one thing, I'm a video gamer and spend my time doing game reviews or press releases, so I appreciated the nods to the everyday gamer. I'm talking about the 'inside jokes' as it were... For example at one point one of the characters says "A/S/L?" which is a reference to "age, sex, location." (And if you were cheeky, you would respond with a false age, 'yes', and none of your business because that's how I roll.) Another direct reference to all gamers worth their salt is Joshua's reference to the Konami Code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, select, start.) These inclusions made me smile in a big way and these things kept me invested in Cloud Diver.
Another point that I enjoy about Cloud Diver is the beginning VoidLife updates which appear at the start of each chapter. At first, I was confused as to why these were included in the novel, but I found myself understanding them as I progressed further in the book. I gather that the VoidLife updates were Joshua's nod to social media platforms like Twitter. By including the VoidLife updates, he managed to give life to the novel in a way that is unconventional because to me, the rest of the book pretty well failed.
The Not So Good:
I'll try to explain my issues with Cloud Diver in a way that makes sense. (I don't like to give criticism without explaining why I had issues.) For one thing, I felt like the novel was very 'dot to dot'. It felt like the entire novel missed needed transition sections that breathe life into a world. The description was lacking in many places and if it wasn't for the fact that I am a user of Cloud storage or Cloud gaming, I would have been entirely lost. You see, Johnny is a hacker (a point that is mentioned) and I presume he is a White Hat because he works for the government, so that means he gains access to all kinds of information stored in the Cloud. Also, I assume he is a White Hat because he doesn't go after information on his own accord nor for his own malicious uses. Johnny is basically an office drone and a person who has little experience. Sure, he goes into the Cloud with his trusty tablet, but what does he actually do? In many scenes he doesn't seem to be able to fight his way out of a wet paper bag, let alone get through any kind of a complex antihacking program. It takes most of the novel for VoidLife security to find Johnny and his rebel band of followers, but the reality is that hackers tend to have a signature. However, none of that is actually addressed properly. So, I found that the story lacked a lot of depth.
To piggyback on the above, Cloud Diver felt too much like it was a story to tackle current issues of the Pandemic, information rights, privacy issues, and the digital world. It makes reference to 'ancient technology' referencing current hard drives, CDs, etc.. giving the sense that everything is on the Cloud (which has perks and detriments). I feel like Joshua tried valiantly to create a more updated 'Tron' premise, but missed the mark. And it borrowed too much on pop culture references.
Another thing that bothered me is that I felt no connection to any of the characters. It didn't matter to me that Stevie Y had information that was restricted or illegal. I also felt nothing for Johnny nor Gunblade because there wasn't enough reason for me to. And in the end, since the book failed to grab me with the characters, I felt like the plot climax also failed. Any of the characters could have died and I wouldn't have batted an eye.
The TL;DR of my impression is this: Cloud Diver felt bland. The author really needed to dive deeper into his own story for me to find it compelling enough for book two. I wanted to sing the praises of a friend of mine and felt like this book needed more love. I give it a three because of the nods to pop culture references and amusement that Johnny had his butt handed to him in a scene with Gunblade, but it offered little else. I know the author worked hard on Cloud Diver and I'm hoping that book two will have much more depth to it.
Also, there are some spoilers in my review so keep that in mind!
**
Cloud Diver is a book that has an interesting premise in that Johnny works for, what I assume is the government, at a place called VoidLife. He encounters a woman only referred to as 'Gunblade' who manages to turn his world upside down.
I felt conflicted with Cloud Diver for a number of reasons.
The Good:
I do like a number of details about the novel. For one thing, I'm a video gamer and spend my time doing game reviews or press releases, so I appreciated the nods to the everyday gamer. I'm talking about the 'inside jokes' as it were... For example at one point one of the characters says "A/S/L?" which is a reference to "age, sex, location." (And if you were cheeky, you would respond with a false age, 'yes', and none of your business because that's how I roll.) Another direct reference to all gamers worth their salt is Joshua's reference to the Konami Code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, select, start.) These inclusions made me smile in a big way and these things kept me invested in Cloud Diver.
Another point that I enjoy about Cloud Diver is the beginning VoidLife updates which appear at the start of each chapter. At first, I was confused as to why these were included in the novel, but I found myself understanding them as I progressed further in the book. I gather that the VoidLife updates were Joshua's nod to social media platforms like Twitter. By including the VoidLife updates, he managed to give life to the novel in a way that is unconventional because to me, the rest of the book pretty well failed.
The Not So Good:
I'll try to explain my issues with Cloud Diver in a way that makes sense. (I don't like to give criticism without explaining why I had issues.) For one thing, I felt like the novel was very 'dot to dot'. It felt like the entire novel missed needed transition sections that breathe life into a world. The description was lacking in many places and if it wasn't for the fact that I am a user of Cloud storage or Cloud gaming, I would have been entirely lost. You see, Johnny is a hacker (a point that is mentioned) and I presume he is a White Hat because he works for the government, so that means he gains access to all kinds of information stored in the Cloud. Also, I assume he is a White Hat because he doesn't go after information on his own accord nor for his own malicious uses. Johnny is basically an office drone and a person who has little experience. Sure, he goes into the Cloud with his trusty tablet, but what does he actually do? In many scenes he doesn't seem to be able to fight his way out of a wet paper bag, let alone get through any kind of a complex antihacking program. It takes most of the novel for VoidLife security to find Johnny and his rebel band of followers, but the reality is that hackers tend to have a signature. However, none of that is actually addressed properly. So, I found that the story lacked a lot of depth.
To piggyback on the above, Cloud Diver felt too much like it was a story to tackle current issues of the Pandemic, information rights, privacy issues, and the digital world. It makes reference to 'ancient technology' referencing current hard drives, CDs, etc.. giving the sense that everything is on the Cloud (which has perks and detriments). I feel like Joshua tried valiantly to create a more updated 'Tron' premise, but missed the mark. And it borrowed too much on pop culture references.
Another thing that bothered me is that I felt no connection to any of the characters. It didn't matter to me that Stevie Y had information that was restricted or illegal. I also felt nothing for Johnny nor Gunblade because there wasn't enough reason for me to. And in the end, since the book failed to grab me with the characters, I felt like the plot climax also failed. Any of the characters could have died and I wouldn't have batted an eye.
The TL;DR of my impression is this: Cloud Diver felt bland. The author really needed to dive deeper into his own story for me to find it compelling enough for book two. I wanted to sing the praises of a friend of mine and felt like this book needed more love. I give it a three because of the nods to pop culture references and amusement that Johnny had his butt handed to him in a scene with Gunblade, but it offered little else. I know the author worked hard on Cloud Diver and I'm hoping that book two will have much more depth to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2020
Have you ever wondered what a technology-driven world of the future would be like?
I have, and so has Joshua Pantalleresco, author of The Cloud Diver. Some people live in towns scattered throughout the wilderness. Some people live in large buildings owned by the company they work for, and food options are controlled by the company. Unfortunately, I can't tell you very much more than that, not because I don't want to give away spoilers, but because it simply wasn't in the book. The main character, Johnny, works for a large company because he wanted security in his life, but I'm really not sure why. Is food scarce? Are jobs hard to come by? Are they under attack by a vague yet menacing enemy? He has enough spare change to get drunk and have hardware installed in his body on a whim, so surely they're not doing too badly out there.
I also still am not entirely sure what a Diver is. Considering that a large amount of the action takes place in the virtual world, surely someone who is interested enough in technology to mod their cerebral cortex to hold more data would have at least one useful skill to use in their adventures? It would have been interesting to see him do at least a little bit of his regular job before his life got dragged off course. As it is we only get to see Johnny, forcefully dragged out of his comfort zone, be whiny, incompetent and unfit. It isn't a particularly flattering combination.
My big, big problem with this book is that it isn't finished yet. Okay, yes, it has a beginning, a middle and an end. But it isn't done. The start of the book is riddled with changes in tense, and the very first page contains the phrase "insert random link here". I'm fairly sure that's not deliberate. Sometimes it reads smoothly and I'm engaged with what's happening, and sometimes you're confused because you've just met a character and suddenly she's called Yelena without even being introduced.
Here is an excerpt from (for me) page 93:
'The car stopped in front of us and one of the doors opened to reveal one of the smallest men I've ever seen. ... She climbed into the passenger's side of the vehicle and motioned for Atlas to start moving.'
That would be fine, but here is an excerpt from page 94:
'I looked at the driver and was surprised at his size. I couldn't help but stare at him. ... But this man was human like me, only smaller in stature. For all I knew, he had a giant heart of gold. Who knew what weights of the world a man like him carried?
...
"You're awfully quiet,"Atlas said.'
To me, this seems like this scene has been re-written and not properly proof-read. The whole book, in fact, is just riddled with weird sentences that throw the reader out of the story. Sentences like "Our difference[sic] engines change, but the information stays the same" are scattered throughout. It's like the world's worst treasure hunt. My personal favourite part is on page 5, where he states a grand truth about entertaining the masses and then refers to it as questions[sic]. Johnny, mate, are there no schools in Golden? Do you know what a question is?
Also, no creature should ever exhume anything from its bottom.
These are all things that are fixed by going back and having a proper read of what's been written and editing some more. No, editing isn't glamorous, but neither is a book full of typos.
Look, apart from the fact that this isn't quite finished yet, it's not a terrible story. If it was awful, I wouldn't have wanted to know more about the world or the characters. I liked Stevie Y. He had personality, a reason for existing, and both good and bad habits. He was the only one that I was really interested in what happened to him. I especially didn't give a damn about Lisa or whatever her name was, and spent that whole hospital scene hoping that Johnny's dumb ass would get sick too. Give me people, not paper cut-outs whose only importance is their relationship to some useless guy.
I really wish the author had given this a bit more time and effort before releasing it into the world. It isn't up to standard yet.
Disclaimer: I received this book as a free review copy through Voracious Readers Only.
p.s. if it were me I'd also take out the reference to vantablack. It's definitely trademarked and also Anish Kapoor is a jerk.
I have, and so has Joshua Pantalleresco, author of The Cloud Diver. Some people live in towns scattered throughout the wilderness. Some people live in large buildings owned by the company they work for, and food options are controlled by the company. Unfortunately, I can't tell you very much more than that, not because I don't want to give away spoilers, but because it simply wasn't in the book. The main character, Johnny, works for a large company because he wanted security in his life, but I'm really not sure why. Is food scarce? Are jobs hard to come by? Are they under attack by a vague yet menacing enemy? He has enough spare change to get drunk and have hardware installed in his body on a whim, so surely they're not doing too badly out there.
I also still am not entirely sure what a Diver is. Considering that a large amount of the action takes place in the virtual world, surely someone who is interested enough in technology to mod their cerebral cortex to hold more data would have at least one useful skill to use in their adventures? It would have been interesting to see him do at least a little bit of his regular job before his life got dragged off course. As it is we only get to see Johnny, forcefully dragged out of his comfort zone, be whiny, incompetent and unfit. It isn't a particularly flattering combination.
My big, big problem with this book is that it isn't finished yet. Okay, yes, it has a beginning, a middle and an end. But it isn't done. The start of the book is riddled with changes in tense, and the very first page contains the phrase "insert random link here". I'm fairly sure that's not deliberate. Sometimes it reads smoothly and I'm engaged with what's happening, and sometimes you're confused because you've just met a character and suddenly she's called Yelena without even being introduced.
Here is an excerpt from (for me) page 93:
'The car stopped in front of us and one of the doors opened to reveal one of the smallest men I've ever seen. ... She climbed into the passenger's side of the vehicle and motioned for Atlas to start moving.'
That would be fine, but here is an excerpt from page 94:
'I looked at the driver and was surprised at his size. I couldn't help but stare at him. ... But this man was human like me, only smaller in stature. For all I knew, he had a giant heart of gold. Who knew what weights of the world a man like him carried?
...
"You're awfully quiet,"Atlas said.'
To me, this seems like this scene has been re-written and not properly proof-read. The whole book, in fact, is just riddled with weird sentences that throw the reader out of the story. Sentences like "Our difference[sic] engines change, but the information stays the same" are scattered throughout. It's like the world's worst treasure hunt. My personal favourite part is on page 5, where he states a grand truth about entertaining the masses and then refers to it as questions[sic]. Johnny, mate, are there no schools in Golden? Do you know what a question is?
Also, no creature should ever exhume anything from its bottom.
These are all things that are fixed by going back and having a proper read of what's been written and editing some more. No, editing isn't glamorous, but neither is a book full of typos.
Look, apart from the fact that this isn't quite finished yet, it's not a terrible story. If it was awful, I wouldn't have wanted to know more about the world or the characters. I liked Stevie Y. He had personality, a reason for existing, and both good and bad habits. He was the only one that I was really interested in what happened to him. I especially didn't give a damn about Lisa or whatever her name was, and spent that whole hospital scene hoping that Johnny's dumb ass would get sick too. Give me people, not paper cut-outs whose only importance is their relationship to some useless guy.
I really wish the author had given this a bit more time and effort before releasing it into the world. It isn't up to standard yet.
Disclaimer: I received this book as a free review copy through Voracious Readers Only.
p.s. if it were me I'd also take out the reference to vantablack. It's definitely trademarked and also Anish Kapoor is a jerk.
November 2, 2020
In this lively and engaging story about a hapless hero, a diver (as in Cloud Servers) finds a mysterious section of the web where ancient treasures (information) hold the key to a cure for a mysterious plague that threatens the disenfranchised citizens of the world. Along his journey, he meets mentors and old friends that help him realize his true, heroic potential.
Cloud Diver contains flavours found in many animes, somewhat reminiscent of Sword Art Online and similar other works. The humour has a sweetness to it, and many hat tips directed at other authors in the indie writers' community are peppered throughout. This is obviously written from the heart, slowly revealing insightful philosophies without being overly pedantic. Well done.
Cloud Diver contains flavours found in many animes, somewhat reminiscent of Sword Art Online and similar other works. The humour has a sweetness to it, and many hat tips directed at other authors in the indie writers' community are peppered throughout. This is obviously written from the heart, slowly revealing insightful philosophies without being overly pedantic. Well done.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews