Deep Dive

by Ron Walters

When your reality shatters, what will you do to put it back together again?

Still reeling from the failure of his last project, videogame developer Peter Banuk is working hard to ensure his next game doesn’t meet the same fate. He desperately needs a win, not only to save his struggling company, but to justify the time he’s spent away from his wife and daughters.

So when Peter’s tech-genius partner offers him the chance to beta-test a new state-of-the-art virtual reality headset, he jumps at it. But something goes wrong during the trial, and Peter wakes to find himself trapped in an eerily familiar world where his children no longer exist.

As the lines between the real and virtual worlds begin to blur, Peter is forced to reckon with what truly matters to him. But can he escape his virtual prison before he loses his family forever?

Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Dystopia, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Adult

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2022

About the author

Ron Walters is a former journalist, college registrar, and stay-at-home dad who writes science fiction and fantasy for all ages. A native of Savannah, GA, he currently lives in Germany with his wife, two daughters, and two rescue dogs. When he’s not writing he works as a substitute high school teacher, plays video games, and does his best to ignore the judgmental looks his dogs give him for not walking them more often.

Reviews

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
If you loved Dark Matter then you definitely want to read Deep Dive!

This was such an entertaining pageturner. I read this novel incredibly fast because I desperately wanted to know what was happening. The story was action packed with plenty of intense moments.

The story is easy to read with straightforward prose and fairly simple setup. Yet I was pulled into the narrative by the desperation of this father which made for a compelling story.

This book definitely gave me Dark Matter vibes, but I was pleased that it went into a different sci fi direction. 
I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a new sci fi thriller.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Angry Robot Books. 

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

I don't remember what it's like not to work. First thing I do when I wake up is check my messages. Last thing I do before I go to sleep is check my messages.

The story hooked me immediately. Deep Dive is intense, emotional, and unputdownable. Peter Banuk is failing to balance his career in the gaming industry and his family life. His company's last game, Scorchfell, was a failure. He needs success more than anything.

When his friend calls him to announce he has cracked full immersion, Peter rushes to work to check it out. Think about it. Full immersion in virtual reality. A real experience that engages all the senses and feels as real as reality. Wow. That would be a game-changer!

He tries the headset. It works. And it's amazing. Until it isn't. Something goes horribly, horribly wrong and Peter wakes up, woozy, in his truck. Everything feels off. And when he discovers his life looks much different than he remembers, Peter tries to make sense of it. There are two possibilities - he's either stuck inside a computer simulation or he's lost his mind. Except, there's also the third possibility but I won't tell you a word about it.

The less you know about the plot the better. Peter narrates the story in the first-person present tense. Unexpected revelations are as important as his emotional reactions to them. Peter's emotions feel genuine and intense. Don't get me wrong, I loved the plot and the pacing. Ultimately, though, I cared about the narrator and his family. Intense and skilled storytelling kept me at the edge of my seat.

Walter's direct, accessible writing style immediately engages the reader. Active voice and the sense of immediacy inherent in a present-tense narrative intensify the narrative. The author's knack for quotable sentences makes it a pleasure to read. I highlighted a lot of passages. I'll quote two:

People say the truth will set you free, but they're wrong. The truth fucking sucks. The truth will tear your heart off your chest and crush your soul and splinter your mind until your body is nothing more than a hollow shell.

And this one:

Occam's razor has cut me so many times I've become woozy from blood loss.

Emotional? Yes. Memorable? Yes. At least to me. And there's a genuine emotion of a husband and father doing anything possible to save his family.

As you probably guessed, I loved Deep Dive. Sure, the ending feels rushed and tropey. The resolution didn't awe me. The thing is I don't care. I had a great time reading it and felt satisfied after finishing it. Highly, highly recommended to fans of sci-fi thrillers tackling themes of family, technology, and multiple realities.

ARC through NetGalley

[Anj✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep Dive is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that follows Peter Banuk, a game developer trying to save his company from bankruptcy after Scorchfell, a previous project flopped. So his priorities are a bit skewed, it's work > family and he justifies it by saying he's doing it for his family (which is true). It shouldn't be a surprise when Peter is going to work on his daughter’s birthday to beta test a virtual reality headset.

He tries the headset, awesome! He finds himself in the world of Scorchfell, the video game that flopped. Then something went wrong, he woke up in his truck with no memory of how he got there, and when he came home, Alana says that they never had children and Scorchfell is a huge success. Peter questions his sanity and his memories or is something else going on?

What I like:
- immersive writing style
- well-paced, character-driven, awesome world-building, filled with surprises
- I love how we get so many details on Peter's life which made him realistic and easy to care for.
- it explores the dangers of virtual reality, the difficulty of keeping work/life balance, family

What I did not like:
- the ending felt a little rushed and Peter's predicament was solved easily for my taste.

Overall, Deep Dive is awesome, action-packed, and an unputdownable read! It's one of those books where you say "just one more chapter' then suddenly, you're done with the whole book 😆. If you love Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, you're gonna enjoy this.

Thank you so much Angry Robot Books and Netgalley for the DRC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2022/01/31/...

Deep Dive by Ron Walters is truly the perfect book for the video game lover, but fans of thrillers and stories with deep family themes should also thoroughly enjoy this one.

Our story follows Peter Banuk, a developer for a small gaming company called Omega Studios that is struggling to stay afloat after their last game ended up being a commercial failure. Now Peter is working on a new project, a VR game that he desperately needs to succeed. As a result, work has been dominating his life, to the point where he has been neglecting family obligations, much to the disappointment of his wife Alana and young daughters Evie and Cassie.

The novel opens on Evie’s birthday which should have been Peter’s day off, but when he is suddenly called into the office by his business partner and best friend Bradley with a invitation to check out a ground-breaking new VR technology that could help his game, what choice did he have? After a promise to his daughter that he will be back in time to celebrate her big day, Peter goes to meet with Bradley and discovers that that new tech to be tested involves a highly advanced, top-secret virtual reality headset that his friend had developed. Code named Deep Dive, the headset is the first of its kind, offering full VR immersion. Unable to resist testing out the technology for himself, Peter plugs in…

…And wakes up in his truck in the middle of the night with no recollection of the entire day. All he knows is that he has missed Evie’s birthday and that there will be hell to pay with Alana. But when he arrives home, he is greeted by an unfamiliar place. His daughters are not in their beds. In fact, Evie and Cassie’s rooms don’t exist at all. There’s no evidence in his house that any kids have ever lived there. When he wakes Alana in a panic, she merely confirms his nightmare, looking at him like he’s crazy, telling him that they don’t have children. On the other hand though, his career has taken off, after the runaway success of his last game, the one Peter remembers being a flop. Overwhelmed with grief, terror, and confusion, Peter knows this world can’t be his, and that he needs to find a way out fast—for the longer he stays, the harder it will be to tell what is real or not.

Many similarities have been drawn between Deep Dive and Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, and for good reason. The two books explore a few common themes, and both stories unfold at a breakneck pace. Ron Walters brings a unique hook, however, with his knowledge of video games and his clear enthusiasm for the subject. Granted, you don’t have to be an avid gamer to enjoy Deep Dive, but those who can catch all the references and Easter Eggs from everything like The Last of Us to God of War and what I imagine are some of the author’s favorite games will definitely gain a deeper appreciation for the story.

But what elevated Deep Dive to another level for me was the human element. To put it another way, I came for the gaming angle, but stayed for Peter’s journey to find his way back to his family. I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that I would love the deeper conflict at the heart of this book, because I cannot even imagine waking up one day to essentially find out that everything you thought you knew was but a dream, and to be told that the children you have watched be born, held in your arms, and watched grow up have never actually existed at all. Honestly, I feel gutted just thinking about it, and it is this premise that the novel holds at its core, never losing sight of the fact that seeing his little girls’ faces again is what keeps Peter going. The author does a phenomenal job of conveying his protagonist’s guilt, desperation and love, which made it all the easier to relate to him and root for him.

For all the sullen themes present in Deep Dive though, the story remained positively thrilling. Walters always manages to balance Peter’s complex emotions with his drive to constantly move forward and find answers, which adds up to an action-packed adventure full of mystery and entertainment. If anything, at times I felt the plot was actually moving too fast. That said, even though Deep Dive was not perfect because we do run into a few pacing issues, on the whole I felt it was an excellent debut and a solid four-star book. I’ll be eagerly awaiting his next novel.

[Barondestructo · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re going to cover the same creative ground well-trodden by Blake Crouch in his exceptional novel Dark Matter, you better bring something new to the table, be it a fresh take on the same premise or, preferably, some sort of twist that subverts the reader’s expectations and turns the conceit on its ears. Unfortunately, Deep Dive does neither. Although the “device” that pompts Peter Banuk’s journey is different from a technological - frankly, more implausible - standpoint, it’s not enough to separate this book as a less interesting version of a very similar story. The set-up is interesting, the tale of a man who finds himself in an alternate reality, losing his daughters in the process, but there’s little emotional depth to our protagonist beyond his obvious despair over the loss of his girls. He’s a hard hero to care for, and “hero” is generous given that the major steps in solving his mysterious predicament come about mostly through the actions of outside forces. He is kidnapped, kidnapped again, and fed sporadic insights until a large chunk of the mystery is revealed when he suddenly, and fortuitously, recovers a chunk of missing memory in the nick of time. Overall, I feel like I’ve read it all before - but better.

[Alex (Spells & Spaceships) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely flew through Deep Dive. It’s without doubt one of the fastest paced reads I can remember and I really enjoyed many of the gaming references littered throughout (prior experience not necessary however).

So what is the book about?

Well, Deep Dive actually refers to a virtual reality that has transcended our current day limitations and is able to fully immerse the user in the world they’re experiencing, so much so that it is indistinguishable from reality. There are parallels to other sci-fi – Total Recall for example, but the story stands on its own two feet with an exciting and interesting story.

Without trying to give too much away, our main character Peter tries a prototype model of a Deep Dive headset, and immerses himself in the world. On opening a doorway within the virtual world, he abruptly wakes up in his truck outside, feeling a little worse for wear. The reality he wakes up to however, is shockingly different to his memory – namely his two daughters don’t exist.

We spend most of the book trying to decipher whether he’s still in the virtual world, or whether he never had any children in the first place.

As a parent especially, this really does pull at the heartstrings and help us empathise with Peter’s situation. Imagine having family members you love, only to have to consider the possibility that you had imagined them all along and that they never existed? A soul destroying possibility. The other possibility – that they do exist but that Peter won’t be able to see them again, is perhaps equally traumatic, and Peter spends most of his time desperately trying to find a way back to them, in one way or another.

This forces Peter to look inwardly at himself as a parent and ask himself whether, although his job provides for his family, if putting so much time in at work is/was really worth it when it causes him to miss family events. It means for me, Peter started off in the initial chapter as fairly unrelatable and unsympathetic – the distant workaholic Dad, but a character I developed much more affection for as the story progressed. It feels like the author is issuing a warning to those susceptible of being a little consumed by their work, at the expense of their family and it will definitely make those parents or guardians reading to want to run over and hug their kids!

The story really immerses you and certainly provides that ‘one more page’ quality, with clever twists and turns throughout I really enjoyed.

I only have one piece of constructive criticism for the whole book; I felt the plot resolution came across a little too implausible and convenient within the context of the rest of the story, which made the pacing of the ending feel a little rushed. Perhaps the effect is increased because the lead up is so carefully constructed and because it all feels so plausible (and therefore scarier). Nevertheless, the way the story is wrapped up is imaginative and interesting despite emphasising the Fi in Sci-Fi more than the rest of the book. Some readers will of course prefer this, and enjoy a more unexpected and imaginative conclusion – see what you think!

The book as a whole is particularly memorable because there are so many moments where Walters encourages you to think more deeply, about the nature of our world, modern society, technology and ethics.

The author’s really adept at making you feel as the main character does, too. We share in his turmoil, hope, despair and determination as his world falls apart around him, the cracks desperately papered over only for a new challenge – and glimmer of hope to arrive. It’s especially effective if you have young children or young people you care for, with this heavy sense of loss underpinning events.

It’s not a depressing book, though. There are a number of humorous or witty moments and the whole ride was a lot of fun. Walters has a fantastic imagination and much of the book felt like a blockbuster action drama, with assassinations, shady organisations and exciting edge of your seat sequences. It really helps you just sit back and enjoy, pages absolutely flying by without a conscious effort.

It’s this combination of thought provoking ideas combined with fast based action and storyline that really hooked me and made this a particularly memorable read.

To me, good science fiction asks questions about life, society, culture, philosophy – something that sticks with you, giving you ideas and thoughts to take away and reflect on long after you’ve finished the story. Deep Dive achieves this and more – an exciting and enjoyable debut from an author I’ll definitely read more from!

[Michael Mammay]

This is an outstanding Sci Fi thriller, filled with twists that legitimately gave me chills. I can't give away too much, because almost everything I could say would be a spoiler. It explores the idea of virtual reality being so real to the brain that it becomes hard to distinguish from actual reality. It gave me serious Total Recall vibes. There were multiple times where I was like, WTF is going on here (in the best possible way). It's a fast read -- I blew through it in three sittings. The prose is tight and the action is non-stop. It pulls you in...one of those books where it's late at night and you're like...'just one more chapter.'

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could say I found Deep Dive entertaining at least in that "so bad it's good" kind of way ridiculous disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow, 2012 and Geostorm are....but nope, I didn't. Instead, a relatively promising premise was bogged down by way, WAY too many similes, metaphors and gaming references, weirdly teen-angsty characterizations and inner psyches, juvenile dialogue and derivative plot. The whole thing actually read to me like fan fiction written by a high school kid excited he could get away with using the F-bomb by calling it "literature," which based on some author background info I read doesn't actually sound all that far off...

[Aaron McQuiston · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite way to go into some books is blind. I did not read much about the story except a quick skim of the synopsis, picking out keys words instead of an idea of the story. I did know that this would be good because Deep Dive is being published by Angry Robot and their quality of books has been elite.

I started the first few pages of the novel and I was hooked. Peter Banuk is trying to save his video game development company from bankruptcy because their last project bombed. His balance between home and work life does not exist, and before he knows it, Peter is going to work on his daughter’s birthday to test an experimental virtual reality headset. The next thing he knows, Peter is waking up in the middle of the night in his truck to a life that does not look familiar at all. The rest of the novel is him trying to figure out what has happened and how he was going to return to his family, while many people are trying to stop him from talking, by any means necessary. While he tries to navigate his new reality, he is also trying to figure out how to get back home to his wife and children. This road is filled with danger, secrets, and things he just does not remember, and the peril that he faces keeps the novel moving at a incredibly high speed.

There are many underrated subgenres of horror, some of them not even considered horror at all. Many might not think of Deep Dive as a horror novel, but there is nothing more frightening than the predicament Peter Banuk finds himself in. Technological horror, waking up from an experiment in a life that is not familiar, without any knowledge of why or how you got there, is a very scary proposition to me. The more advanced technology gets, the more likely it is that one of the pieces will malfunction to disastrous results. Even though many people will not think of this first as a horror novel, this fits in with some of the greatest technological horror stories of all time. I think about The Fly with Jeff Goldblum, Videodrome, and Possessor as films that line up with this subgenre of horror. Needless to say, I get sucked into these stories quickly because they all feel like they could happen in the near near future.

I see Deep Dive as a great sci-fi novel but also a great horror novel. I only thought I was going to read the first few pages that first day, but ended up reading half of it. I read the other half the second day, and I have been trying to get everyone I know to pre-order copies for themselves. This is definitely a novel that can be used as an example of a good technological thriller, but also good technological horror. This makes this story unique and exciting. I could not put it down until the end.

I received this ARC from Angry Robot and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Ross Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just shy of a full four stars but rounded up

Today's review is another one from @angryrobotbooks
, This one was written by Ron Walters. It's a fast paced sci fi story that will appeal to those familiar with Blake Crouch , gaming, Reddit or the internet in general

The book had a very interesting premise, that reminded me somewhat of the VR episode of Black Mirror , where we see our struggling video game developer MC and family man testing out a new headset that malfunctions , leaving him in a world where his children no longer exist. It's filled with some interesting characters , and a constant state of wonder as to what's going on or how he's going to get out of it . We're drip fed twists and tidbits of info that keeps the story engaging

Some of my criticisms for this one are of an entirely personal preference nature. This book contains plenty of cheesy americanisms, something I've noted before that doesn't really hit the mark for me. There's some details that, unless you're a seasoned gamer, may go over your head. While I enjoyed these references for the most part, there were a few dialogue choices that seemed a bit forced and made me cringe a little.

The end of the book gets a bit chaotic ,with some inconsistencies and conveniences. However, it drives the story towards an interesting finale , that opens up worlds of possibilities. Overall, it's well formed and enticing.

I'd certainly recommend checking out this book, it's short, fast paced and exciting. It's got good characters and familiarities (for me) that I mostly enjoyed

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely outside of my usual choices for reading, but I read this as a buddy read.

Feels like the author threw all of the world building in the last 30 pages and then I had no idea what was going on. I’m still not entirely sure I understand what happened…

[Yev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Both the author and readers have compared this to Blake Crouch's Dark Matter. I haven't read Dark Matter and probably won't ever. If I had looked into this book a bit more I wouldn't have read it, and overall that would've been for the better. I went into this with the wrong expectations. It's only nominally science fiction at best and only marginally about videogames. As the author notes, it's not even really a technothriller, though I don't seem to like those either. This is primarily a book where the protagonist is just along for the ride and the plot progresses due to external forces. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the pivotal plot point is him arguing on Reddit.

Pop culture, mostly videogames and movies, are regularly namedropped for decorative effect. There were times where it felt like he was trying to meet a quota and was just shoehorning in references. Based on what the author says in this interview I'm going to assume that this was written by the author with the hope it would be published because it supposedly copies a relatively very popular book and the publisher thought people would buy it for the same reason.
https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-inter...

Walters does have some strengths in his writing, but for whatever reason his weaknesses are showcased instead. I'd certainly give him another chance if he wrote a book that was about what he does well, namely family life and psychological horror somewhat similar to PKD. Instead, what I got was a bait and switch and arguably a misrepresentation. I blame marketing.

The ending is awful. It's one of the worst I've read in years. It ruined whatever enjoyment I had. I don't know if there's a word for it, but it's in the uncanny valley of plausibility between the metaphorical and literal. It isn't abstract enough to where you can take it on faith and enjoy it for what it is. It also isn't logical enough to where hopefully anyone would believe it's a reasonable explanation. The ending is so bad that I'm glad that I didn't like rest of the book more because then it would've severely painful rather than disappointing.

I was reluctant to write this, because as it says in the book:

People say the truth will set you free, but they’re wrong. The truth fucking sucks. The truth will tear your heart out of your chest and crush your soul and splinter your mind until your body is nothing more than a hollow shell.

A List Of Namedrops & References

Games:
Animal Crossing
Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Doom Eternal
Ghost of Tsushima
God of War
Gran Turismo
Halo
Horizon Zero Dawn
Mario Kart
Mass Effect
Metal Gear Solid
Nier: Automata
Red Dead Redemption
Senua's Sacrifice
Silent Hill
Skyrim
The Last of Us

Movies:
Back to the Future
Die Hard
Fight Club
James Bond
Terminator
The Family Man
The Matrix
The Thirteenth Floor
Total Recall
Tron
WarGames

[Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3.5 really.

Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.

Pros: High-octane ride full of surprises and interesting (if far-fetched...but hey, that's the thing with sci-fi 😉) VR concepts.
Cons: The premise, when revealed, needs you to suspend your disbelief. You get the sense early on that, despite the number of possibilities (and of ways to get closure), there's only one ending that you may expect...
Will appeal to: Those who like a sci-fi story with a strong thriller edge, but with familial love at its core.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Angry Robot for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

CLASSIC WITH A TWIST

When I requested Deep Dive, I thought I knew, more or less, what I was getting into...I was expecting a Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle scenario (minus the random avatars - and the jungle, of course 😉) and a classic quest story, if with a prominent family angle...but the combo of virtual reality + alternate one was too alluring for me to resist. Now, without spoiling the book, what I can tell you is that the story is far more creative than I expected (and much wilder - but more about that below). VR does play a big role in the plot (duh), but not exactly in the way you might think. And while there's something familiar in Walters' version of the cyberspace - at least for those of us who consume VR-related media - he sure put his own spin on it. I loved the broader scope of the virtual scenario and its inner workings, and I was a little bummed that we didn't get more of that (mind you, rightfully so, since 1) it's not what the story is about, and 2) it's part of a late reveal), because it was really cool. 10/10 would read another book set in the same universe. [...]

Whole review here.

[Sherron Wahrheit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about virtual reality and the setting is recognizable as similar to today’s 2020s. 3.5 bumped up to four.

The main character is a game designer/developer and his best friend/inventor has just developed VR goggles that provide a seamlessly immersive experience.

He tries out the VR goggles and enters another dimension that is confusingly similar to real life but also dangerous. His experiences are narrated in the first person present, so the prose packs a punch as we step into his shoes rather than keeping a writerly distance.

Even with all the action it’s clear the main character is thoughtful, contemplating what makes a well-lived life, instead of avariciously wanting that greener grass.

The story is exciting and the pace is breakneck and I could not eat, drink, or put the book down until I finished it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my feedback.

[Reid Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not many books can handle reality shifts well; you tend to either get "new reality is entirely different" books (with exploration and attempts to get home) or "new reality only has slight differences and the protagonist doesn't notice right away" type novels (horror especially likes this). Ron Walters' Deep Dive straddles the line between the two expertly, and slowly releases more and more information through the eyes of his protagonist, and when the reveal hits, wow. Walters' characters are genuine and well-based, with decisions and actions flowing cleanly from their histories. The book seems to flow quickly, but that's just because of how well you're pulled in to the story by the crisp writing and fast-paced story. Definitely one worth a read.

[Andy Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nigh on impossible to review without spoilers (but the blurb tells you all you need to know). A cracking SF/VR thriller that finds a man, Peter, trialling a new VR headpiece and finding, when he wakes up, that his kids have never existed. Is he lost online or going crazy?

I found a lot to like with this novel. The science was understandable and there were enough twists and turns to keep me wrong footed without straining my disbelief. The ending may have been a tad baffling in places but it all worked out. 3 days reading that I have very much enjoyed

[Benedict Cahill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thrilling and intriguing plot that was fun to read but didn’t love the narration voice through most of the novel. Odd tech/gaming culture references felt shoehorned in throughout and characters at times felt like very forced and one-dimensional approximations of the role they played.

Still had a great time reading this! I would recommend to anyone who is ok with somewhat unrefined writing style in exchange for a fairly entertaining sci-fi romp.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep Dive by Ron Walters is a great sci-fi virtual reality techno-thriller. Imagine testing an experimental VR headset, blacking out, and then discovering the world has changed in significant ways from the life you remember. This book was a lot of fun. It’s like Total Recall meets Ready Player One meets It’s A Wonderful Life. The “reveal” was slightly jarring, but overall I really enjoyed this one. The audiobook narrator, Stefan Menaul, did an excellent job. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep Dive 3.5 stars

This book is constantly compared to Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter or Recursion, and it totally lives up to that comparison.

Is it amazing? No. Did I still blaze through it in a few days? Yes. 🍿

[Meredith Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come!

[Jodie]

No.

[Lukakje · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 prima boek

[Andrew F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deep Dive is a compulsively readable and I had a good time, but I had some problems with the originality and the ending of the book that kept me from really loving it.

In the video game world, if another game borrows a lot of game mechanics from a very popular game, it's often called a clone. For example, Mario clones for platformers, Doom clones for first person shooters, or World of Warcraft clones for MMOs. Of course these other games brought something different to the table, but it's the original that fans remember over time. And Deep Dive feels like a clone of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. On top of that, there were small elements of Recursion by the same author as well, invoking the same concept of False Memory Syndrome. Maybe that was an homage since otherwise those two books aren't really alike.

I won't go into Dark Matter in order to not spoil the plot of that book, but the parallels are there and ultimately Dark Matter was a bit more believable in the science and handled the premise better. Despite the similarities, Deep Dive does enough unique things, especially it's take on VR and commentary on the video game industry, that it still stands on its own. It's not a beat for beat copy of Dark Matter and the I'd say Deep Dive is lighter in tone, though there are some dark moments.

Even if you've read Dark Matter or other similar books, I still would recommend Deep Dive because it does keep you guessing and it's a well paced thriller. I think in particular if you are a gamer, you will enjoy many of the video game references in the book. The main character, Peter Banuk, is the head of a video game development company trying to recover from a recent video game flop. Panned by gamers and industry critics he's determined to make the next game a success. He plans for the next game to use VR so he partners with his best friend and CEO of a tech company developing VR software. When the prototype for a full sensory immersion VR set is ready to test, he asks Peter to check it out. During the VR simulation something goes wrong and Peter ends up in a world that is similar to his own but not quite the same. When he comes home to find only his wife but no evidence of having children, Peter knows something is terribly wrong.

For those that have read Dark Matter, this is a very familiar premise. From this point, it's best to go blind as spoilers will ruin the experience. Despite the similarities with Dark Matter, it's very hard to guess what is actually going on in the plot. The book does a good job making you wonder what if the beginning of the book is a simulation and Peter's current life is reality. For me, I kept guessing what could potentially be happening until the end. And then the main character suddenly remembers what happened revealing all to the reader in an inner monologue of recollection.

Not my favorite way to reveal the plot twist, but at least in this book, the temporary amnesia is adequately explained if convenient. I guess in thrillers, you just have to accept temporary memory loss to create unfamiliar situations for characters. It's a trope that exists and I think this book handles it reasonably well. But regardless, it's never going to be the most elegant way to surprise the readers. There is also a narrative trick the author uses by withholding information making you think certain events happen a certain way but they actually don't. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think I'm ok with it because the twist feels more fun than feels like you've been cheated out of info. It can work or it can backfire with the reader, but this time it worked for me.

And while the ending was fine, it felt a little rushed and how the main character got out of his situation felt a little too easy for my taste. I think the final confrontation could have been written a little more creatively to force the main character to be more proactive in securing the outcome. But I will say Reggie is awesome. If you've read the book, you know.

Ok that was way more negative that I wanted to be. I guess it's easier to focus on what didn't work so I'll quickly explain what I overall enjoyed the book. I think the book did a good job of revealing what it's like to work for a video game company and the enormous pressures employees work under, particularly during crunch periods in the final months of development. It delivered a fast paced and fun plot, if slightly derivative of Dark Matter. I was invested in the story and kept wanting to find out what's really going on. The main character is also likeable and the book does a good job of showing a father's love toward his young daughters. If you like Blake Crouch's books, you'll likely have a good time with this. It's unique enough and offers it's own spin that I think it stands on its own, but the similarities with Dark Matter are still hard to ignore.

[Gabriela Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was given an ARC for a blurb

A brilliant, quick-paced read.

Ron Walters’ sci-fi debut, Deep Dive, packs an emotional punch while delivering believable, seamless world-building.

For a parent, there’s nothing more cold-sweat-inducing than imagining a world where your kids are erased from existence; just a blip on your mind, and absent from everyone else’s.
But that’s exactly the horror facing Peter, who must find a way to reclaim a life only he seems to remember.

[Graham | The Wulvers Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got the opportunity to read Deep Dive by Ron Walters, a fast-paced sci-fi enigma that kept pulling me in with every turn of the page. Deep Dive is a reminder that warped reality can still be executed particularly well in the right environment and Walters has pulled this off in a twist of action and angst.

Deep Dive is a novel about game developer Peter Banuk who works hard to ensure his latest game does not fail like his last project. In an effort to justify the time away from his family, his genius partner offers a beta test of a new VR headset and Peter jumps at the chance. But during the trial something goes wrong and Peter wakes to find himself in a familiar world where his children no longer exist. He must now escape this virtual environment and get back to his children but what if there are no lines between real and virtual?

This was a colourful, impressive idea that was executed incredibly well. I soared through this relentlessly and Walters definitely had the writing ability to keep me excited but stressed when trying to unravel the mystery that surrounds Deep Dive. Filled with twists that left me guessing, this explores the idea that virtual reality can be so vividly real and it is a testament to Walters writing that I felt this way. Walters described fantastical scenarios with crisp ease that kept a fast-paced story flowing genuinely well.

This was definitely worth the read and is a great novel for those wanting a slow-release science fiction story that straddles the line between "what if" and "reality.

[Amber (seekingdystopia) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep trying to think of reasons to give this book less than five stars because I like to be stingy with that rating. But it feels so wrong giving this book anything less than a full five!

This is a sci-fi thriller that is perfect in virtually every way. It follows Peter, a video game developer, who tries a fully immersive VR headset developed by one of his business partners. After removing the headset, he finds himself in a world where his own memories don't match with the memories of everyone around him.

The writing style is easy to read and flows nicely. The dialogue feels natural and the story never felt either too rushed or too slow.

The thing that knocks this book out of the park for me is how strongly we could feel Peter's emotions, especially his desperation to get back to his children, through the writing. My heart was constantly pounding and I NEEDED to know what happened next.

While this was definitely a plot-driven book, another reason that Peter's feelings felt so real was that we learned so many details about his life that made us deeply care for Peter's desire to get back home.

I will be recommending this like crazy!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the gifted eARC!

I would say that the concept itself isn't entirely innovative, but the execution is absolutely flawless.

[Chris Panatier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book for a possible blurb. What a read.

If extremely fast-paced, sci-fi tech thrillers are your thing, then Ron Walter's debut, DEEP DIVE, is a must get. It's Blake Crouch's DARK MATTER, filled with Tal Klein's THE PUNCH ESCROW, rolled up and lightly dusted with MYTHIC QUEST. This was a tightly crafted, super fun, and original take on the virtual reality rabbit hole, and I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough.

[Akshaya (shae_reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC

Am so very glad I read this book! This is the third book that I read this year and so far my streak is going awesome. All three books were very good and am more than pleased. Now, let’s not tempt the Universe any more and dive in for the review..

Deep Dive by Ron Walters is a character driven, fast paced sci-fi thriller that explores virtual reality and true immersion as its central concept.

I don’t remember what it’s like not to work. First thing I do when I wake up is check my messages. Last thing I do before I go to sleep is check my messages.

The book follows the story of Peter Banuk, a video game developer, husband and father of two daughters, who’s trying to succeed in his new VR videogame project Starflung and hence keep his company Omega Studios afloat after his previous project failed. His priorities at the moment are in the same order as above, the project followed by the family. He convinces himself that he’s doing it for them; doing it so he could show them that their father could be successful and of course so that he does well financially. But that’s no reason for being an absentee father and he knows it and it low-key guilts him. So, when he’s called in to beta-test a new state-of-the-art virtual reality headset on his daughter’s birthday, he goes in with the same guilt. Much to our dismay, something goes wrong in the beta-testing and he wakes up to realize that he’s in an eerily familiar world where his children no longer exist. What happens from there on is a tense, well paced, character driven tale with high stakes and higher rewards.

I love it when science fiction books are character driven. And it’s a treat if there’s a well established internal or emotional conflict on top of a strong character and Deep Dive delivers it. The story is set in first person narrative and Peter’s voice is quick to reel us in. The other characters, Peter’s wife, children, friends and associates are all three dimensional and nice from his lens and support the story well. The prose is on point and dialogues are well done. Peter’s interactions with his friends and colleagues are off the bat fun and delightful to read, keeping the story in its bubble and moving it forward.

I also liked how some of the dialogues came close to breaking the fourth wall, be it a character referencing the sci-fi concept to a movie, or talking of the plot as a mix up between movies and such. In context, it came close to a self-aware, self-deprecating analysis of the book in itself and it was nice.

“That’s right, you’ve got nothing. So do me a favor,” he says, settling back on the couch. “Suspend your disbelief and listen to what I’m telling you.”

There were quite a few gaming references which were wasted on me (alas, a non-gamer), but I was able to appreciate them contextually. I also suspect that there were nods given to other sci-fi authors and their work as well, especially Blake Crouch?, but it’s just a suspicion (which I wish were true, since I love Blake Crouch’s work) and let me leave it at that. I don’t want to start or spread random rumors.

One point that acted as both the pro and con for the story is how much Peter thought, felt and acted as a father. In the first 60-65% of the story, through Peter’s internal monologues and thoughts, we clearly see how much he defines himself on the basis of his parenthood. Cut to next 15-20%, the narrative attention wavers between all the action slash showdown and the emotional tension the book steadily wove through the first half and more. Peter hovers dangerously close to acting out of character? This is not to say that it was jarringly apparent, but just something that I felt as a reader. Of course, the book ended on an emotionally satisfying note (last 15%) and all that ends well is well, but if I have to say a con, this would be it.

Overall, Ron Walters is definitely an author I plan to follow going forward and I recommend reading Deep Dive to any of you who like a well paced, character driven sci-fi novel with solid prose, good banter and fun moments!

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nitty-gritty: Deep Dive is a fast-paced, science fiction thrill ride with an engaging mystery and some interesting twists.

Deep Dive was such a thrilling read, and I could not tear my eyes away from the page. Ron Walters’ story is a twisty, mind-bending sci-fi thriller that keeps the reader guessing. It evokes both The Matrix and Total Recall at times, so if you’re a fan of either of those movies, you’ll probably love this.

Peter Banuk is a video game developer who works for a company called Omega Studios. He’s an obsessive workaholic who spends a lot of time at the office, much to the chagrin of his wife Alana and their two children, Evie and Cassie. When the story opens, Peter’s best friend Bradley has just invited him to beta test the highly secret hardware he’s been working on, a virtual reality headset called Deep Dive, which Bradley claims will be the first ever fully immersive VR experience. If it’s successful, Bradley wants to partner with Peter and market the headset, a deal that will put Omega Studios back on the map. Although it’s Evie’s birthday and he’s promised her a special birthday dinner, Peter can’t resist the temptation of testing out Deep Dive for himself, but he promises Evie he’ll be back soon to celebrate.

When he arrives at the Boundless offices, Bradley’s company, Peter isn’t prepared for just how amazing Deep Dive really is. He finds himself in the world of Scorchfell, the video game he developed, the one that flopped spectacularly when it was released. But before he can emerge from the simulation, Peter opens a door and steps through—and enters a nightmare. He wakes up in his truck with no memory of how he got there, and when he goes home to his family, Alana claims that they don’t have children—and never have. Other things are different too. Bradley is dead, and Scorchfell is a huge success. Is Peter going crazy? Has he lost his memories? Or is something more nefarious going on? Peter swears with every fiber of his being that Evie and Cassie exist, but no one believes him. All Peter wants to do is to get back home to his real family, but it’s not going to be easy.

Deep Dive was an absolute blast of a reading experience. The story is narrated by Peter, and we follow his first person point of view as he navigates the unfamiliar world he’s been thrust into. I thought this was a good choice because the reader is just as much in the dark as Peter is, which creates some intriguing mysteries.  The author draws out those mysteries for quite a while, although some readers may guess what’s going on. I had some ideas myself, but the story played out in unexpected ways, so I ended up being surprised at some of the interesting twists. The action is fast-paced and relentless, full of conspiracies, secrets, and danger, and there isn’t a dull moment in the entire story.

Ron Walters is clearly a big video game fan, and I loved the immersive experience of reading about a VR world that changes into something more sinister. I’m not a gamer myself, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying video game-centric stories, and I’m fascinated by virtual reality and the idea of sinking into different worlds. I also loved the real world elements of running a video game company, the competition involved, and the high stakes business of releasing a new game into an already flooded market.

But my favorite parts of the story, not surprisingly, center around Peter’s love of his family and his emotional state when faced with the fact that his beloved children might not be real after all. Walters deftly captures Peter’s raw emotions, and I’ll admit some scenes were very hard to read (and will be for other parents as well). Peter has to come to terms with what's most important in his life—being successful in his career, or being a good father and husband. Part of what makes this story so successful is Peter’s mental state and his reactions to the strange world he finds himself in. When everyone around you is calling you crazy, what do you do? I thought Walters handled it brilliantly.

The only thing preventing me from rating this higher is that I felt the last twenty percent or so was a little rushed. A lot happens in the second half of the story, and I wouldn’t have minded more pages to stretch out those final scenes and give them more time to develop. But despite this small complaint, Walters hits just the right emotional notes at the end and wraps up his story perfectly.

I can hardly wait to read Ron Walters’ next book, especially if it’s as fun and thrilling as Deep Dive.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

[For The Novel Lovers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review

Title: Deep Dive by Ron Walters

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I have a love/hate relationship with sci-fi thrillers and this is mainly due to the sci-fi element not suiting my tastes but Deep Dive blew me away with its VR and immersive technology elements that really enhanced the thriller elements of the novel. Deep Dive is an intensely emotional novel that had me hooked from the very beginning. We are introduced to Peter Banuk who has been failing to get his career in the gaming industry to really take off and he is failing to balance this with his family life. His last project, Scorchfell was a failure and he wants and needs a success more than anything right now. His friend ends up calling him to announce that he has cracked the secret to a full immersion game and Peter rushes over to check it out and this is where the novel really kicks off.

When we think about it, VR exists in our reality and something like full immersion is something that might be in our future and it would change the face of our world. I have read a few novels with the premise and many of you probably have as well but don’t write off Deep Dive give it a chance because it will surprise you. Peter ends up trying out the headset and it is amazing but pretty soon something goes horribly wrong, and when doesn’t it in novels like these. When Peter wakes up he is in his truck but something feels really off to him and he discovers that his life looks very different to how he remembered it and he is desperately trying to make sense of it all. He theorizes that there are two possibilities; one is that he is stuck inside the simulation or he’s gone crazy and either one is viable right now, except that there is a third possibility that I am not going to discuss. I honestly believe for this novel the less you know about it the better as I went in blind and adored it. Peter narrates the novel as he tries to navigate this new world and unexpected revelation and Peter’s emotional reactions to them are extremely important to pay attention to as you are reading. One thing Walters does well is making you care about the character’s and their families with some intense and brilliant storytelling that had me hanging onto the edge of my seat for the majority of the novel.

Walter’s direct writing style made the novel very accessible to people new to the sci-fi genre and also hardcore fans of the genre. Overall, I found the novel to be an emotional and memorable experience that I won’t be forgetting any time soon especially since we realise that Peter is a husband and father willing to do anything to protect the people he loves. However, the novel did feel a little rushed towards the end and was very tropey in places. The ending also didn’t blow me away like the rest of the novel had. I did have a great time reading the novel and was satisfied after I finished it but it wasn’t a five star, amazing read for me. I would highly recommend this book to fans of sci-fi and thrillers novels that centre around family and family ties and for people that like sci-fi with a hard technology element that explores themes and ideas that could be appearing in our reality in the near future.