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Virtual Heaven, redux
Why live, when dying brings you straight to heaven? The mysterious tech firm Broumgard pioneers a new form of virtual reality that mirrors, even exceeds, real life. Before long, people are dying to escape their humdrum lives for the virtual ecstasy of the Lobby. Literally. When the world discovers that dying while connected to the Lobby might mean an eternity in virtual heaven, people are willing to do anything to get inside. Alex Cutler is the only one who can stop the madness he helped create, unless the world is too far astray?
341 pages, Paperback
Published July 29, 2019
41 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 4, 2019
Virtual reality vs. Spiritual idealogy
A pleasantly fresh take on the concept of virtual reality. Detailed world and character building. Could have used a bit of editing, and a few characters were left hanging, but not so bad as to detract from the story. The ending was unexpected, a true rarity in days of the cliched "twist", and left me gasping in surprise! Nice job Taylor Kole!
NOTE: If you have strong religious beliefs, you may want to take a pass.
A pleasantly fresh take on the concept of virtual reality. Detailed world and character building. Could have used a bit of editing, and a few characters were left hanging, but not so bad as to detract from the story. The ending was unexpected, a true rarity in days of the cliched "twist", and left me gasping in surprise! Nice job Taylor Kole!
NOTE: If you have strong religious beliefs, you may want to take a pass.
April 27, 2020
If there existed a variety of incredible, realistic virtual realities - ones where you were free of physical ailments, had the strength and energy you could only dream of, and could immerse yourself in anything from a day at the beach to fighting off invading aliens - how much time would you choose to spend there? Just your downtime? Every waking moment? Forever?
When Alex Cutler is brought on to help a mysterious tech company, he never imagined the impact it would have on his life and the rest of the world. While most can't get enough of the pleasures provided by the Lobby, there are others who see it as a distraction and diversion from God’s plan. Does the Lobby make your life better or steal it? Alex’s world comes crumbling down when an unexpected event has the world whispering rumors about what the Lobby can do.
The descriptions of being inside the Lobby were my favorite parts, and I wish there had been even more of that; I loved the details of how it all worked and what a person could do with it. The first time Alex was invited, I couldn't get enough - I may have been as excited as he was! The story is told mostly from Alex’s point of view, but we also get insight into the mind and lives of the people who oppose the Lobby, which I appreciated. The story was easy to get through and never dragged for long. My only real problem with the story was that we didn’t get to see how and why Alex and Rosa fell for each other, and I couldn’t understand why two people who seemed so different and seemed to have opposing values and interests could work as a couple. I don’t think Rosa, as a character, was developed much at all, so I had a hard time connecting with her. An added chapter from Rosa’s point of view - maybe as they were dating - may have made me more sympathetic to her.
This was such a fun read - one I'll be thinking about it for a very long time.
*Minor complaint: there were typos, grammatical, and factual errors which had no real impact on the story, but were bothersome, nonetheless. For instance, one character comes from Rwanda and calls himself African American, and the leader of Iran is introduced as President Reza Shah. “Shah” is equivalent to “king”, so adding “president” to the title doesn’t make sense, and there really existed a Reza Shah who ruled Iran from 1925 until 1941, but the book takes place well after that - I think that character should be renamed to avoid confusion.
When Alex Cutler is brought on to help a mysterious tech company, he never imagined the impact it would have on his life and the rest of the world. While most can't get enough of the pleasures provided by the Lobby, there are others who see it as a distraction and diversion from God’s plan. Does the Lobby make your life better or steal it? Alex’s world comes crumbling down when an unexpected event has the world whispering rumors about what the Lobby can do.
The descriptions of being inside the Lobby were my favorite parts, and I wish there had been even more of that; I loved the details of how it all worked and what a person could do with it. The first time Alex was invited, I couldn't get enough - I may have been as excited as he was! The story is told mostly from Alex’s point of view, but we also get insight into the mind and lives of the people who oppose the Lobby, which I appreciated. The story was easy to get through and never dragged for long. My only real problem with the story was that we didn’t get to see how and why Alex and Rosa fell for each other, and I couldn’t understand why two people who seemed so different and seemed to have opposing values and interests could work as a couple. I don’t think Rosa, as a character, was developed much at all, so I had a hard time connecting with her. An added chapter from Rosa’s point of view - maybe as they were dating - may have made me more sympathetic to her.
This was such a fun read - one I'll be thinking about it for a very long time.
*Minor complaint: there were typos, grammatical, and factual errors which had no real impact on the story, but were bothersome, nonetheless. For instance, one character comes from Rwanda and calls himself African American, and the leader of Iran is introduced as President Reza Shah. “Shah” is equivalent to “king”, so adding “president” to the title doesn’t make sense, and there really existed a Reza Shah who ruled Iran from 1925 until 1941, but the book takes place well after that - I think that character should be renamed to avoid confusion.
January 18, 2020
Great Read.
Very interesting plot. This book is a cool concept of heritage and religion versus the growing technologies of the "lobby." Worth your time - it's sure to get you hooked early.
Very interesting plot. This book is a cool concept of heritage and religion versus the growing technologies of the "lobby." Worth your time - it's sure to get you hooked early.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews