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Every Version of You
In late twenty-first century Australia, Tao-Yi and her partner Navin spend most of their time inside a hyper-immersive, hyper-consumerist virtual reality called Gaia. They log on, go to work, socialise, and even eat in this digital utopia. Meanwhile their aging bodies lie suspended in pods inside cramped apartments. Across the city, in the abandoned ‘real’ world, Tao-Yi’s mother remains stubbornly offline, preferring instead to indulge in memories of her life in Malaysia.
When a new technology is developed to permanently upload a human brain to Gaia, Tao-Yi must decide what is most a digital future, or an authentic past.
Never Let Me Go meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Murakami surrealism thrown in, this is speculative literary fiction at its best.
When a new technology is developed to permanently upload a human brain to Gaia, Tao-Yi must decide what is most a digital future, or an authentic past.
Never Let Me Go meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Murakami surrealism thrown in, this is speculative literary fiction at its best.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2022
90 people are currently reading
2721 people want to read
About the author
Grace Chan
21 books73 followersI’m a speculative fiction writer and doctor. My writing explores brains, minds, technology, space, and identity.
My debut novel, Every Version of You, uses virtual reality and mind-uploading to explore identity, love, migration, change, and the future of humanity.
My short fiction can be found in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Fireside, Space and Time Magazine, Black Cranes, Going Down Swinging, Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways, and many other places.
I have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards, Norma K Hemming Award, and Viva la Novella VII.
My other interests include salt-and-vinegar anything and secretly filming my friends’ NYE karaoke highlights. I am terrible at conveying sarcasm. In a decaffeinated state, I may cease to exist.
My debut novel, Every Version of You, uses virtual reality and mind-uploading to explore identity, love, migration, change, and the future of humanity.
My short fiction can be found in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Fireside, Space and Time Magazine, Black Cranes, Going Down Swinging, Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways, and many other places.
I have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards, Norma K Hemming Award, and Viva la Novella VII.
My other interests include salt-and-vinegar anything and secretly filming my friends’ NYE karaoke highlights. I am terrible at conveying sarcasm. In a decaffeinated state, I may cease to exist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
May 6, 2025
The debut novel from Australian author – and psychiatrist – Grace Chan who’s already established herself as a respected SF short-story writer. Her novel follows Malaysian Chinese Australian woman Tao-yi who’s based in late 21st century Australia, a member of what’s often referred to as Gen Virtual. Tao-yi and partner Navin spend most of their time, like their friends, immersed in a virtual world known as Gaia. A VR sim released seven years earlier in the midst of catastrophic climate change on Earth. The air is so polluted that lung disease is rife, water’s rationed, trees are a distant memory and sightings of animals or birds are rarer than rare. But in Gaia Tao-yi’s avatar has access to new horizons, there she can work, party, even if she desires buy property kitted out with designer furniture. At first, it’s a welcome respite particularly from Tao-yi’s anxieties about her flailing mother who’s struggling with her health, while for Navin it distracts from a chronic, debilitating condition. But then Gaia moves into a new phase, one Tao-yi is reluctant to embrace, threatening to sever her ties to friends and to Navin.
Chan’s atmospheric, moving narrative shifts backwards and forwards in time, charting Tao-yi’s relationship with Navin, growing up in Malaysia with her mother, and her feelings about herself as someone caught between identities and countries. Tao-yi’s experiences open up an underlying commentary on issues around the nature of existence and what it is to be human. Chan touches on consumerism and capitalism – the poor are excluded from Gaia. She also reflects on aspects of the mind-body problem and Bostrom’s simulation hypothesis. But this is less about philosophy and science as it is about attachments and emotions – Chan cites Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go as a key influence, although I much preferred Chan’s book. So this is very much speculative fiction of the literary variety – I suspect that hardcore SF fans may find Chan’s worldbuilding too hazy or restricted at times. I found myself wondering, for example, about the economics of Gaia which is clearly a capitalist venture not dissimilar to Peter Thiel’s vision of futuristic, private cities. As well as wondering about the finer points of what had happened in Australia and elsewhere.
However, I found Chan’s story fluid and immersive enough to carry me past any uncertainties. It’s sensitively told, tender and insightful. And works well as a variation on the conventional migrant narrative. I also thought Tao-yi’s character was exceptionally sympathetic and relatable: her confused attempts to reconcile her love for Navin with her own wants, her rootedness in what he dismisses as “meatspace.” For Tao-yi the real world links her to her heritage, the generations that came before her, something alien to Navin. And I’m already hoping for a sequel to find out what's next for her.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Verve Books for an ARC
Chan’s atmospheric, moving narrative shifts backwards and forwards in time, charting Tao-yi’s relationship with Navin, growing up in Malaysia with her mother, and her feelings about herself as someone caught between identities and countries. Tao-yi’s experiences open up an underlying commentary on issues around the nature of existence and what it is to be human. Chan touches on consumerism and capitalism – the poor are excluded from Gaia. She also reflects on aspects of the mind-body problem and Bostrom’s simulation hypothesis. But this is less about philosophy and science as it is about attachments and emotions – Chan cites Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go as a key influence, although I much preferred Chan’s book. So this is very much speculative fiction of the literary variety – I suspect that hardcore SF fans may find Chan’s worldbuilding too hazy or restricted at times. I found myself wondering, for example, about the economics of Gaia which is clearly a capitalist venture not dissimilar to Peter Thiel’s vision of futuristic, private cities. As well as wondering about the finer points of what had happened in Australia and elsewhere.
However, I found Chan’s story fluid and immersive enough to carry me past any uncertainties. It’s sensitively told, tender and insightful. And works well as a variation on the conventional migrant narrative. I also thought Tao-yi’s character was exceptionally sympathetic and relatable: her confused attempts to reconcile her love for Navin with her own wants, her rootedness in what he dismisses as “meatspace.” For Tao-yi the real world links her to her heritage, the generations that came before her, something alien to Navin. And I’m already hoping for a sequel to find out what's next for her.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Verve Books for an ARC
October 16, 2022
Although there were elements that I enjoyed, including the small details such as calling the real world “meatspace”, ‘Every Version of You’ fell a little flat.
The author tries to incorporate various elements to critique such as virtual reality, mortality, climate change and poverty to name a few. All of which are only briefly mentioned and then subsequently discarded to make way for the protagonist Tao-Yi to flutter through life with no real purpose or meaning.
Depression is another topic that is discussed but then never actually explored to it’s full potential. For a virtual world where everything is possible, nothing interesting happens.
There could have been so many compelling points of view that the author could have explored, such as those poverty stricken unable to enter the VR world of Gaia, a person who was actually uploaded and hated it or
At one point in the novel Tao-Yi goes on a ‘journey’ however nothing is described to us extensively and it just feels pointless and rushed. Nothing she does seems meaningful or explained properly.
There was one scene that I thoroughly enjoyed and do agree that it added a Murakami element to the text, the origami section. I would have liked to have had more of these types of elements, very Matrix-esc.
I loved how it was set in Melbourne (I’m a Geelong local) and enjoyed lines such as these which demonstrate the authors writing talent; “she slurps hot broth from the morsels innards”. A line discussing eating noodles and it slaps! It makes you hungry, rolls off of the tongue and is also somewhat grotesque. I wish Chan included more of her obviously incredible talent!
‘Every Version of You’ left me expecting more than I was delivered. The vast majority of the text read like a Young Adult book and there were just too many missed opportunities that the author failed to explore.
The author tries to incorporate various elements to critique such as virtual reality, mortality, climate change and poverty to name a few. All of which are only briefly mentioned and then subsequently discarded to make way for the protagonist Tao-Yi to flutter through life with no real purpose or meaning.
Depression is another topic that is discussed but then never actually explored to it’s full potential. For a virtual world where everything is possible, nothing interesting happens.
There could have been so many compelling points of view that the author could have explored, such as those poverty stricken unable to enter the VR world of Gaia, a person who was actually uploaded and hated it or
At one point in the novel Tao-Yi goes on a ‘journey’ however nothing is described to us extensively and it just feels pointless and rushed. Nothing she does seems meaningful or explained properly.
There was one scene that I thoroughly enjoyed and do agree that it added a Murakami element to the text, the origami section. I would have liked to have had more of these types of elements, very Matrix-esc.
I loved how it was set in Melbourne (I’m a Geelong local) and enjoyed lines such as these which demonstrate the authors writing talent; “she slurps hot broth from the morsels innards”. A line discussing eating noodles and it slaps! It makes you hungry, rolls off of the tongue and is also somewhat grotesque. I wish Chan included more of her obviously incredible talent!
‘Every Version of You’ left me expecting more than I was delivered. The vast majority of the text read like a Young Adult book and there were just too many missed opportunities that the author failed to explore.
October 3, 2022
This was a complete departure from what I typically read. But I was in the mood to shake things up. Chan poses the most interesting questions about consciousness and the self in this speculative novel with climate grief and class in its heart. The novel is immersive and the world building is multidimensional. I was hugely impressed and quietly terrified (in a good way) by this debut novel.
February 19, 2023
Australia, circa 2080: life is increasingly lived inside the virtual world Gaia, but our protagonist, Tao-Yi, is a little more reluctant than most of her peers. When the concept of ‘Uploading’ – transferring a person’s consciousness to Gaia in its entirety – is launched, things get more complicated, especially as Tao-Yi’s boyfriend Navin is immediately enchanted by the idea. Every Version of You reminded me of books like
Chosen Spirits
and Moxyland, which colourfully depict future worlds, but with a much more focused plot and strong emotional core. It pulls off something rare for this type of story: the tech is thoughtfully written and Tao-Yi feels like a real person whose relationships (with her friends and her mother as well as Navin) actually mean something. I loved the closing chapters’ account of the post-Gaia real world, full of desolation, glimmering with hope.
August 12, 2022
An incredible debut novel by Australian author Grace Chan. This book hit me hard in so many ways. Sci-fi mixed with dystopian, it analyses how technology changes our society and what it means to exist. LOVED IT 🖤
March 5, 2023
Very immersive and really well written. If you like some good old doom and dread while reading then I would recommend.
Some of the slang did feel a bit forced (some hit well though so that’s much of a muchness) and some themes (and concepts in general) could’ve been fleshed out a lot more. Overall a decent take on our “dystopic” future.
3/5
Some of the slang did feel a bit forced (some hit well though so that’s much of a muchness) and some themes (and concepts in general) could’ve been fleshed out a lot more. Overall a decent take on our “dystopic” future.
3/5
March 16, 2023
Great premise with lots of flourishes that threatened, but ultimately failed, to leave the station. Reads like a work that would have gotten an HD in creative writing class and impressed the underpaid casual academic but also one that didn't make enough critical adjustments in the revisions to hammer down the deeper ideas into a proper story. Felt like someone excited to eat their favourite packet of crisps from the servo as a treat who upon opening realises there's much less of them than anticipated and a number of them are stale.
This book suffers from the curse of the novella. Not quite sharp enough for a short story. Not connecting the bigger ideas into a cohesive story for a proper novel. It gets stuck in neutral almost immediately and the 200ish pages were more of a chore to read than they should have been. It badly mangles too many ideas about the coming techno/apocalypse into too short a number of pages that I get whiplash looking back at it.
It got to the point that I could not believe the world that had been created nor the choices the characters were making. Environmental collapse in Australia whilst unheard of virtual technology advancement continues? A story thats kind of vaguely "about" classism and privilege that occurs under techo capitalism and makes nods to systemic issues with resourcing but then has no character do anything of note about it? Complex family dynamics that are anachronistic? Idiot 2 dimensional friends and almost romantic partners who don't really exist as much more than talking heads? Meaningless debate about ""what it means to be human" instead of showing what it means to be human through stories and relationships? What was it all for?
2.01 dead pixels on the 5 matrices
This book suffers from the curse of the novella. Not quite sharp enough for a short story. Not connecting the bigger ideas into a cohesive story for a proper novel. It gets stuck in neutral almost immediately and the 200ish pages were more of a chore to read than they should have been. It badly mangles too many ideas about the coming techno/apocalypse into too short a number of pages that I get whiplash looking back at it.
It got to the point that I could not believe the world that had been created nor the choices the characters were making. Environmental collapse in Australia whilst unheard of virtual technology advancement continues? A story thats kind of vaguely "about" classism and privilege that occurs under techo capitalism and makes nods to systemic issues with resourcing but then has no character do anything of note about it? Complex family dynamics that are anachronistic? Idiot 2 dimensional friends and almost romantic partners who don't really exist as much more than talking heads? Meaningless debate about ""what it means to be human" instead of showing what it means to be human through stories and relationships? What was it all for?
2.01 dead pixels on the 5 matrices
March 9, 2023
2023 Stella Longlist
What a Novel!
There's something a little off and mildly depressing about the inhospitable, high tech, world these people are living in, during the not too distant future. Then a mind expanding utopia opens up and the world population sees a better way to live. Or is it living? Is it evolution? Or is it something else? The cognitive dissonance is mind-bending and fascinating. About halfway into the story I was completely invested and the few hours it took to finish the story flew by without me noticing where the time had gone once I turned the last page. It's not often that a novel does that for me. I can't even comment on the writing style because it melded into story so well. I'd need to read it again to be able to comment on that.
I had picked this up before it was longlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize because I'm interested in novels that deal with aspects of climate change. This is certainly one of the best. I'm currently attempting the complete longlist, which appears to be a very strong list this year with some very diverse content. If this one was to win, I would be very happy with that.
What a Novel!
There's something a little off and mildly depressing about the inhospitable, high tech, world these people are living in, during the not too distant future. Then a mind expanding utopia opens up and the world population sees a better way to live. Or is it living? Is it evolution? Or is it something else? The cognitive dissonance is mind-bending and fascinating. About halfway into the story I was completely invested and the few hours it took to finish the story flew by without me noticing where the time had gone once I turned the last page. It's not often that a novel does that for me. I can't even comment on the writing style because it melded into story so well. I'd need to read it again to be able to comment on that.
I had picked this up before it was longlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize because I'm interested in novels that deal with aspects of climate change. This is certainly one of the best. I'm currently attempting the complete longlist, which appears to be a very strong list this year with some very diverse content. If this one was to win, I would be very happy with that.
October 15, 2022
“She’d thought that, in staying behind, she was clinging to something akin to her humanness. But it seems she has been left behind. They have become more human, and she has become more monstrous, more other.”
It’s 65 years into the future. The physical world is becoming less and less habitable and, increasingly, people are spending more and more time online in a virtual world called Gaia.
.
The opportunity comes to completely upload. Do you do it, or cling to the physical world? A digital future or an authentic past?
.
Don’t answer that until you’ve read this stunning debut. Once you have then let’s talk.
.
As a thought experiment imagine yourself 65 years in the past and someone tells you about life in 2022. What would you imagine yourself thinking? What would you be excited about? What would you shake your head at with a 1957 mindset?
.
Bravo Grace Chan. An extraordinary examination of the behaviour of humans in a rapidly changing world and our desire to belong.
.
Extraordinary literary speculative fiction that I want to press into everyone’s hands.
It’s 65 years into the future. The physical world is becoming less and less habitable and, increasingly, people are spending more and more time online in a virtual world called Gaia.
.
The opportunity comes to completely upload. Do you do it, or cling to the physical world? A digital future or an authentic past?
.
Don’t answer that until you’ve read this stunning debut. Once you have then let’s talk.
.
As a thought experiment imagine yourself 65 years in the past and someone tells you about life in 2022. What would you imagine yourself thinking? What would you be excited about? What would you shake your head at with a 1957 mindset?
.
Bravo Grace Chan. An extraordinary examination of the behaviour of humans in a rapidly changing world and our desire to belong.
.
Extraordinary literary speculative fiction that I want to press into everyone’s hands.
August 29, 2022
What, a read.
A beautifully written book that attacks numerous themes and evokes so many emotions.
I was immersed in Tao-Yi’s life, and how decision-making and influences around her made a huge impact on how she would live the rest of her life.
This book was just mind-bending and will probably stay with me for a while.
4.5
A beautifully written book that attacks numerous themes and evokes so many emotions.
I was immersed in Tao-Yi’s life, and how decision-making and influences around her made a huge impact on how she would live the rest of her life.
This book was just mind-bending and will probably stay with me for a while.
4.5
September 19, 2025
Would you upload yourself into a virtual reality if you had the chance? That’s the dilemma the main character, Tao-Yi, faces in this story.
Pitched as Black Mirror–esque sci-fi, I’d say it delivers. Set in late 21st-century Australia, Gaia - the virtual world where people spend most of their lives - feels both ridiculous and terrifyingly believable. You might drop £30k on a sofa that isn’t real, or insure your most precious possession: a video game storyline you’ve played for hundreds of hours. As the story develops, we see the shift as more and more people choose to abandon their bodies entirely and live on Gaia forever.
I found the premise convincing and appreciated the way it explored the ethical angles of such a society - privacy, consent, environmental issues, disability, age.
I preferred the second half of the book, even though the whole story is tinged with bleakness. At times it felt a little dry, perhaps intentionally so, when I wanted more emotion. I would probably have enjoyed the book more if I read it at a different time but it was very intellectually stimulating.
If you’re into speculative sci-fi or intrigued by the idea of uploading your life into a simulation, this is worth picking up.
⭐ 3.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Pitched as Black Mirror–esque sci-fi, I’d say it delivers. Set in late 21st-century Australia, Gaia - the virtual world where people spend most of their lives - feels both ridiculous and terrifyingly believable. You might drop £30k on a sofa that isn’t real, or insure your most precious possession: a video game storyline you’ve played for hundreds of hours. As the story develops, we see the shift as more and more people choose to abandon their bodies entirely and live on Gaia forever.
I found the premise convincing and appreciated the way it explored the ethical angles of such a society - privacy, consent, environmental issues, disability, age.
I preferred the second half of the book, even though the whole story is tinged with bleakness. At times it felt a little dry, perhaps intentionally so, when I wanted more emotion. I would probably have enjoyed the book more if I read it at a different time but it was very intellectually stimulating.
If you’re into speculative sci-fi or intrigued by the idea of uploading your life into a simulation, this is worth picking up.
⭐ 3.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
May 20, 2025
I loved this book so much! This story was like a balm for my soul and a caress to my heart. The main character was authentic and so very human. I clicked with Tao-Yi instantly and her doubts, worries, uncertainties were also my own in some way.
I found this story very compelling as like the protagonist I look at the future with hope, whilst retaining my eye firmly in the past. It is a clever speculative fiction, an exploration of transhumanism from different sides. Through Tao-Yi and the other characters the reader gets a glimpse of what it means to transcend humanity and all its positives, but also what it means to choose to stay behind and slow down, appreciating the present.
I was enthralled by this book and I appreciated how the writer managed to give us a full picture of humanity and its evolution. The pace of the book also gave me time to ponder all the various events and meanings, and truly look inward.
In addition, there is an underlying theme of grief and loss associated with change, any type of change, be it situational or a literal change of state and being. I do relate with that a lot, as I struggle with change and it takes a lot of mental capacity out of my brain to adjust to it.
I have to admit, I came into this book with a pretty clear stand on the evolution of humanity and its interlinkages with technology, but I came out of it with a more nuanced position and I think I might have retraced my steps a bit. As always, I won’t elaborate more to not spoil it, but I really recommend this book for any fans of science fiction and speculative fiction with loveable characters and a very creative worldbuilding!
Thanks to the author and Verve Books for a copy and this is my honest opinion.
I found this story very compelling as like the protagonist I look at the future with hope, whilst retaining my eye firmly in the past. It is a clever speculative fiction, an exploration of transhumanism from different sides. Through Tao-Yi and the other characters the reader gets a glimpse of what it means to transcend humanity and all its positives, but also what it means to choose to stay behind and slow down, appreciating the present.
I was enthralled by this book and I appreciated how the writer managed to give us a full picture of humanity and its evolution. The pace of the book also gave me time to ponder all the various events and meanings, and truly look inward.
In addition, there is an underlying theme of grief and loss associated with change, any type of change, be it situational or a literal change of state and being. I do relate with that a lot, as I struggle with change and it takes a lot of mental capacity out of my brain to adjust to it.
I have to admit, I came into this book with a pretty clear stand on the evolution of humanity and its interlinkages with technology, but I came out of it with a more nuanced position and I think I might have retraced my steps a bit. As always, I won’t elaborate more to not spoil it, but I really recommend this book for any fans of science fiction and speculative fiction with loveable characters and a very creative worldbuilding!
Thanks to the author and Verve Books for a copy and this is my honest opinion.
August 31, 2022
If you’ve recently loved TV shows like ‘Upload,’ ‘Severance,’ and ‘Made for Love’ for how they tapped into discussions of 'consciousness' and virtual reality, then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!
Australia needs more of our own SciFi for adult audiences, and I think Grace is part of an exciting new wave of Speculative Fiction authors breaking this genre open for our literary landscape
Australia needs more of our own SciFi for adult audiences, and I think Grace is part of an exciting new wave of Speculative Fiction authors breaking this genre open for our literary landscape
May 19, 2025
A sci-fi story set in a futuristic dystopian world where the Earth has become too hot, and AI and Virtual Reality are key to survival.
The human race lives most of their life through a Virtual reality world called Gaia, their jobs, socialising, everything is mainly done online. As the Earth becomes less habitable, someone discovers a way of uploading a person's conscience onto a VR system and allowing a person to carry on living without the need of their human form.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Firstly, there are times where it's heavy with the science and talk about VR, how the mind works, that I found difficult to understand. I also had a hard time visualising the VR worlds that were described.
What I did enjoy was the human connections in the real-world side of this story. How we connect, love, and need that physical connection to one another. It follows Tao-Yi's relationship with her sick boyfriend Narin. As Narin wants to move more into that VR because it's easier to live pain-free in there than in the real world. Tao-Yi is torn between following him or staying with her mum.
It did get me asking a lot of questions about VR, the possibilities of our futures and how far it could be taken. There were a few questions left unanswered and story threads that weren't explored and seemed pointless.
On the whole, I loved the exploration of the human side and the psychology of our minds. The VR/science talk was a bit too much to keep up with.
Thank you, Verve Books, for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.
my opinions are my own.
The human race lives most of their life through a Virtual reality world called Gaia, their jobs, socialising, everything is mainly done online. As the Earth becomes less habitable, someone discovers a way of uploading a person's conscience onto a VR system and allowing a person to carry on living without the need of their human form.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Firstly, there are times where it's heavy with the science and talk about VR, how the mind works, that I found difficult to understand. I also had a hard time visualising the VR worlds that were described.
What I did enjoy was the human connections in the real-world side of this story. How we connect, love, and need that physical connection to one another. It follows Tao-Yi's relationship with her sick boyfriend Narin. As Narin wants to move more into that VR because it's easier to live pain-free in there than in the real world. Tao-Yi is torn between following him or staying with her mum.
It did get me asking a lot of questions about VR, the possibilities of our futures and how far it could be taken. There were a few questions left unanswered and story threads that weren't explored and seemed pointless.
On the whole, I loved the exploration of the human side and the psychology of our minds. The VR/science talk was a bit too much to keep up with.
Thank you, Verve Books, for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.
my opinions are my own.
November 17, 2022
Absolutely petrifying reality, especially as a Melbournian and a healthcare worker seeing those two aspects of life changing. The writing was absolutely remarkable, every single aspect of this book focussing on something so difficult to truly explore but managing to do so with such ease? And still be a reasonable 275 pages despite having so much depth?
Honestly, this felt like the most accurate representation of a digital future I’ve read about, and I am equally horrified by the way that uploading is literally a physical death and yet no one seems to consider it that in this society? And the way the children are being uploaded, absolutely horrific - so much room for ethical debate in every single aspect, but touched on just enough to show how despicable such a thing is. Just entirely thrilling and terrifying, especially since I know I would eventually succumb to uploading to not be left behind but I would never be able to accept the reality of leaving the wonders of the physical world. Who could fathom leaving such a beautiful place? Especially Tao-yi being a person involved in touring the wonders of nature herself? I wish I was a Tao-yi, but I know I’m more of an Evelyn in reality.
Plus don’t get me STARTED on the way the world had the potential to rebuild itself because of the way everyone had a decided to upload - I could see another book in the future about the rich masses of people who would return to “meatspace” simply to bask in the return to nature. There’s just so much further exploring that could be done, but it was such a perfect ending. Incredible. I have SO MANY THOUGHTS!!! And now I’ll have a signed copy to keep in my library forever, thank you for this piece of art. Incredible.
Honestly, this felt like the most accurate representation of a digital future I’ve read about, and I am equally horrified by the way that uploading is literally a physical death and yet no one seems to consider it that in this society? And the way the children are being uploaded, absolutely horrific - so much room for ethical debate in every single aspect, but touched on just enough to show how despicable such a thing is. Just entirely thrilling and terrifying, especially since I know I would eventually succumb to uploading to not be left behind but I would never be able to accept the reality of leaving the wonders of the physical world. Who could fathom leaving such a beautiful place? Especially Tao-yi being a person involved in touring the wonders of nature herself? I wish I was a Tao-yi, but I know I’m more of an Evelyn in reality.
Plus don’t get me STARTED on the way the world had the potential to rebuild itself because of the way everyone had a decided to upload - I could see another book in the future about the rich masses of people who would return to “meatspace” simply to bask in the return to nature. There’s just so much further exploring that could be done, but it was such a perfect ending. Incredible. I have SO MANY THOUGHTS!!! And now I’ll have a signed copy to keep in my library forever, thank you for this piece of art. Incredible.
February 15, 2025
I was looking for science fiction similar to Ted Chiang, Ken Liu, and Alexander Weinstein, and this one hit the right spot in terms of tone, plot, and characters.
'Every Version of You' is bleak and dystopian.
It explores the impact technology might have on a society that's faced with ecosystem collapse.
It's set in 2087 Melbourne, in an increasingly virtual world. Due to climate change, the temperatures outside have become unbearable, and the air is unbreathable without oxygen masks.
Just like most humans, Tao-Yi and her partner Navin now work and socialise in an entirely virtual world called Gaia.
Navin, who is disabled and suffers from chronic pain, finds life in Gaia liberating, while Tao-Yi seems unsure about it.
Technological advances soon make it possible for people to completely upload themselves online and leave their bodies behind. Tao-Yi and Navin's opposing views on the controversial new tech start to tear them apart, and Tao-Yi can't accept the reality of permanently leaving the physical world.
'Every Version of You' is bleak and dystopian.
It explores the impact technology might have on a society that's faced with ecosystem collapse.
It's set in 2087 Melbourne, in an increasingly virtual world. Due to climate change, the temperatures outside have become unbearable, and the air is unbreathable without oxygen masks.
Just like most humans, Tao-Yi and her partner Navin now work and socialise in an entirely virtual world called Gaia.
Navin, who is disabled and suffers from chronic pain, finds life in Gaia liberating, while Tao-Yi seems unsure about it.
Technological advances soon make it possible for people to completely upload themselves online and leave their bodies behind. Tao-Yi and Navin's opposing views on the controversial new tech start to tear them apart, and Tao-Yi can't accept the reality of permanently leaving the physical world.
December 14, 2023
Every Version of You is science fiction, a genre I don’t read often.
I found it all too convincing - the depiction of the slide into this fake world. Environmental destruction, powerful companies and ideas that don’t have our best interests at heart, a free-for-all capitalist approach to technology. Human interests are all ignored along the way.
So while it wasn’t a novel I exactly enjoyed reading, I found it really engaging and thought provoking. I’ve thought about a fair bit since I finished reading it.
Even though it’s a dystopian world, I didn’t find it scary. It more strengthened my resolve to do my part so that the world does not end up like the world depicted here, with most people entirely living in some fake reality.
I found it all too convincing - the depiction of the slide into this fake world. Environmental destruction, powerful companies and ideas that don’t have our best interests at heart, a free-for-all capitalist approach to technology. Human interests are all ignored along the way.
So while it wasn’t a novel I exactly enjoyed reading, I found it really engaging and thought provoking. I’ve thought about a fair bit since I finished reading it.
Even though it’s a dystopian world, I didn’t find it scary. It more strengthened my resolve to do my part so that the world does not end up like the world depicted here, with most people entirely living in some fake reality.
September 7, 2025
Grace Chan's debut, Every Version of You, focuses on a couple, Malaysian-Chinese Tao-Yi and Taiwanese-Chinese Navin, who already spend most of their time in a virtual reality called Gaia. When technology advances and humans are now able to upload their selves into Gaia, leaving their physical bodies behind to be destroyed, Tao-Yi and Navin, along with their friends and relatives, have to decide whether to stay or go. The idea of a fully immersive virtual world is a familiar one in SF, with the most famous recent examples being Ernest Cline's Ready Player One and the Black Mirror episode 'San Junipero', both of which treat the concept with ambivalence: there is worth in both real and virtual existence. Every Version of You, in contrast, goes dystopian, and this is both its strength and its weakness.
Chan has some interesting things to say about the rollout of this technology. I was especially fascinated by the idea that parents might choose to upload but refuse to take their children with them, believing that it's important that children have a real-world upbringing even if they upload as adults. So nursery robots ferry groups of kids around a polluted and ravaged Earth so they can spend time offline and visit their parents in the evenings. This social observation seems to me to be absolutely spot-on - we so often force ideals onto our children that we would love to live up to ourselves but aren't able to (see: the idea that children should be screen-free, while parents are addicted to their phones). The justifications people make about uploading themselves also ring true, with many of Tao-Yi's friends falling back on the idea that we have multiple selves anyway, and so even if the version of ourselves that is translated into Gaia is a bit different - with higher processing power but the loss of input from the body - this is the same kind of evolution that happens throughout our lives.
I wished, therefore, that this book had been paced differently. It takes us 40% of its length to reach the central dilemma, and that first 40%, while perfectly readable, treads very familiar ground about what the near-future might look like ('another spray of notifications [in her mind's eye]... a customer satisfaction survey for her new brand of vitamin pills; a medicentre buzz... a flood of new social media posts'). Then, when uploading becomes a possibility, the decisions made by Tao-Yi's group end up feeling rushed. I found it difficult to believe that literally everybody other than a few outliers would so eagerly seize on this technology and be happy to let their physical bodies die. Perhaps that was the point of the lengthy set-up - Chan depicts a world where people spend a lot of time out-of-body anyway and where real-world environments are grim - but if so, it didn't convince me. Tao-Yi's doubts end up making her feel too much like an extra-special protagonist rather than one of a larger minority who would surely have been uncertain. The other job of the first 40% is to make us invest in Tao-Yi's ties, and for me it was partially successful. Tao-Yi herself is compelling, and her relationship with her ageing mother is beautifully but not sentimentally depicted. Sadly, as so often in fiction, I felt that we were being told that she is in love with Navin rather than shown it. Apart from one vivid scene where we witness their first date, I just didn't feel their connection: indeed, Tao-Yi's scenes with minor characters like Zach and Isaiah were more convincing.
Many of my hesitations about Every Version of You are probably down to me rather than the novel, however, as I found myself wishing it was a different kind of book as I was reading, which is not a fair criticism. I do think we desperately need near-future stories that are more hopeful. SF proper is often good at this but speculative literary fiction - a sub-genre that I absolutely love - tends to be much grimmer. Every Version of You never admits that anything at all could be better in the future. To be fair, it builds towards a brave ending that echoes Arthur C. Clarke's classic Childhood's End and Tim Weed's recent The Afterlife Project, and there is a speck of hope there in the potential for Earth to recover from the damage humans have caused. The last chunk of the book is far more memorable than the first. Still, I wanted more messiness, more uncertainty, rather than the vast majority of humanity simply submitting to their fate, and I also want more novels to explore the benefits, as well as the harms, of new technologies, even if that's only a way of showing why so many people are beguiled by them. That wasn't what this novel was trying to do, and I do hope it finds the readers who will truly resonate with it. 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher for review.
Chan has some interesting things to say about the rollout of this technology. I was especially fascinated by the idea that parents might choose to upload but refuse to take their children with them, believing that it's important that children have a real-world upbringing even if they upload as adults. So nursery robots ferry groups of kids around a polluted and ravaged Earth so they can spend time offline and visit their parents in the evenings. This social observation seems to me to be absolutely spot-on - we so often force ideals onto our children that we would love to live up to ourselves but aren't able to (see: the idea that children should be screen-free, while parents are addicted to their phones). The justifications people make about uploading themselves also ring true, with many of Tao-Yi's friends falling back on the idea that we have multiple selves anyway, and so even if the version of ourselves that is translated into Gaia is a bit different - with higher processing power but the loss of input from the body - this is the same kind of evolution that happens throughout our lives.
I wished, therefore, that this book had been paced differently. It takes us 40% of its length to reach the central dilemma, and that first 40%, while perfectly readable, treads very familiar ground about what the near-future might look like ('another spray of notifications [in her mind's eye]... a customer satisfaction survey for her new brand of vitamin pills; a medicentre buzz... a flood of new social media posts'). Then, when uploading becomes a possibility, the decisions made by Tao-Yi's group end up feeling rushed. I found it difficult to believe that literally everybody other than a few outliers would so eagerly seize on this technology and be happy to let their physical bodies die. Perhaps that was the point of the lengthy set-up - Chan depicts a world where people spend a lot of time out-of-body anyway and where real-world environments are grim - but if so, it didn't convince me. Tao-Yi's doubts end up making her feel too much like an extra-special protagonist rather than one of a larger minority who would surely have been uncertain. The other job of the first 40% is to make us invest in Tao-Yi's ties, and for me it was partially successful. Tao-Yi herself is compelling, and her relationship with her ageing mother is beautifully but not sentimentally depicted. Sadly, as so often in fiction, I felt that we were being told that she is in love with Navin rather than shown it. Apart from one vivid scene where we witness their first date, I just didn't feel their connection: indeed, Tao-Yi's scenes with minor characters like Zach and Isaiah were more convincing.
Many of my hesitations about Every Version of You are probably down to me rather than the novel, however, as I found myself wishing it was a different kind of book as I was reading, which is not a fair criticism. I do think we desperately need near-future stories that are more hopeful. SF proper is often good at this but speculative literary fiction - a sub-genre that I absolutely love - tends to be much grimmer. Every Version of You never admits that anything at all could be better in the future. To be fair, it builds towards a brave ending that echoes Arthur C. Clarke's classic Childhood's End and Tim Weed's recent The Afterlife Project, and there is a speck of hope there in the potential for Earth to recover from the damage humans have caused. The last chunk of the book is far more memorable than the first. Still, I wanted more messiness, more uncertainty, rather than the vast majority of humanity simply submitting to their fate, and I also want more novels to explore the benefits, as well as the harms, of new technologies, even if that's only a way of showing why so many people are beguiled by them. That wasn't what this novel was trying to do, and I do hope it finds the readers who will truly resonate with it. 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher for review.
March 16, 2023
Onward with more Indie Book Awards 2023 reads.
3.5 stars.
I so wanted to give this book a higher rating, but I found the writing style didn't let me into the story as much as I wanted. Also, for a sci-fi, it's light. It's speculative, so maybe hits that sub-genre, but the author opts out of giving us immersive detail. What detail we have of the virtual word is lyrical and vibrant, but it does lack on imagination and daring. We're being invited into a virtual world set in the future, where we're told anything is possible. Unfortunately, we're presented with basically a copy of normal. I have a feeling the author maybe trying to portray a sense for things lost, but I don't buy into that totally as the virtual world is not about what's lost, but about the current period.
Things I did like were the themes on existence - when is life life? What is life? Can life be virtual and not organic? That interested me, and I thought this story explored those questions well. Also, the ethics on should technology permit organic death to create immortal digital life? I think one day those questions will be discussed widely. I'm not sure it will be when this novel is set, but one day it will occur.
Yet, while I did enjoy those themes, I thought the story rushed the narrative some, squeezed it into a tighter timeframe that seemed true. This novel could have spanned a longer space, and still been as good. Maybe even better. It seemed a race to empty the world, and as much as I want to accept the author's take on this, I tend to think it would be more a crawl. Still, you can't say Grach Chan doesn't lack for imagination, because this story certainly shows a structured story that speculates the notion of digital existence succeeding organic life.
3.5 stars.
I so wanted to give this book a higher rating, but I found the writing style didn't let me into the story as much as I wanted. Also, for a sci-fi, it's light. It's speculative, so maybe hits that sub-genre, but the author opts out of giving us immersive detail. What detail we have of the virtual word is lyrical and vibrant, but it does lack on imagination and daring. We're being invited into a virtual world set in the future, where we're told anything is possible. Unfortunately, we're presented with basically a copy of normal. I have a feeling the author maybe trying to portray a sense for things lost, but I don't buy into that totally as the virtual world is not about what's lost, but about the current period.
Things I did like were the themes on existence - when is life life? What is life? Can life be virtual and not organic? That interested me, and I thought this story explored those questions well. Also, the ethics on should technology permit organic death to create immortal digital life? I think one day those questions will be discussed widely. I'm not sure it will be when this novel is set, but one day it will occur.
Yet, while I did enjoy those themes, I thought the story rushed the narrative some, squeezed it into a tighter timeframe that seemed true. This novel could have spanned a longer space, and still been as good. Maybe even better. It seemed a race to empty the world, and as much as I want to accept the author's take on this, I tend to think it would be more a crawl. Still, you can't say Grach Chan doesn't lack for imagination, because this story certainly shows a structured story that speculates the notion of digital existence succeeding organic life.
August 4, 2025
assurdo, sinceramente per ¾ di libro mi sono chiesta:"che cazzo sto leggendo". mi è esploso il cervello, ma in un modo piacevole
mi sono spaventata perchè l'idea che il mondo potrebbe davvero diventare così non è poi così lontana (SCARY AF)
ho apprezzato la storia ma avrei preferito un po' più di 'spiegazioni' e di caratterizzazione dei personaggi
mi sono spaventata perchè l'idea che il mondo potrebbe davvero diventare così non è poi così lontana (SCARY AF)
ho apprezzato la storia ma avrei preferito un po' più di 'spiegazioni' e di caratterizzazione dei personaggi
May 19, 2025
⭐️⭐️.5
Really gutted because I had such high hopes for this one with it having such an interesting premise but for me it just didn't deliver. This story should have had such an emotional impact but it was all just very flat, I felt absolutely nothing. 😭
Really gutted because I had such high hopes for this one with it having such an interesting premise but for me it just didn't deliver. This story should have had such an emotional impact but it was all just very flat, I felt absolutely nothing. 😭
October 12, 2022
I'm surprised by all the reviewers who unreservedly loved this book. While I was really compelled by the future world put forth here, I felt at such a distance from the characters, especially our protagonist. I had no idea what she was feeling or why she was making the choices she did. This made for a frustrating read. I was also surprised by the nonexistence of stakes. In this world, I could imagine much more interesting points of view and more compelling storylines than the one that was ultimately chosen. The blurb also made it seem like the main character's mother would be a major character with her own point of view, which would have been really interesting, but this avenue was not taken up. It was really unclear why the main character cared about her boyfriend, Navin, or her mother at all, since her actions were so affectless and unexplained (and she barely visited her mother, and when she did, they barely spoke). Ultimately, this book disappointed me, but I was very engaged in the world created (even as I personally disagreed with the way the author thought people would act in such a world).
November 17, 2022
Dystopia in "meat space" , the real world, and utopia in the virtual reality world "Gaia". I liked that it was set in Melbourne and that the heroines heritage was Malaysian Chinese and there were also biracial characters. Touched on ableism and disability, eg don't judge disabled for wanting to upload themselves & live entirely in Utopian Gaia. Interesting that Gaia is "crime free'" no mention of scams/violence so not like today's internet/video games. However there are so many themes that could be brought into this type of fiction,I think the author chose wisely which themes appear in the book
January 6, 2023
A fascinating take on the dystopian future. A bit too techno-babble-y for my liking but I did enjoy the human story. To upload with everyone else, all those you love, or stay with the dead & dying, what a question. Do you become less human by remaining? What makes the human in humanity? All very D & M. I'm not sure which road I would take.
Mostly we are left to guess at Tao-Yi's motivations from her actions, Xin-Yi & Navin being the most obvious stressors for her, but I think we need to see a bit more into her reasonings. I'd also like to know more about what's happening in the 'meat space' world. There is room for continuation, so perhaps we will learn more.
Mostly we are left to guess at Tao-Yi's motivations from her actions, Xin-Yi & Navin being the most obvious stressors for her, but I think we need to see a bit more into her reasonings. I'd also like to know more about what's happening in the 'meat space' world. There is room for continuation, so perhaps we will learn more.
Want to read
June 25, 2025UK release 22 May 2025
with hopefully a better cover.
with hopefully a better cover.
June 6, 2023
I can see this doing wonderful things for the Australian sci-fi scene, but sadly I didn't love this as much as I was hoping.
Very interesting topics of the Metaverse, capitalism, disability, climate change, and the nature of humanity itself. I just don't think it did quite enough on any one of these topics - the climate was probably the most prominent but I feel it could have engaged with these ideas more. I think it could have done this by having the book be vignettes about characters in different situations - our current protagonist Tao-Yi but also Nivan as someone seeing the digital sphere as a way to escape pain and the limitations of the physical body; someone who gave up everything for a digital life but then realised immortality and Gaia weren't for them; someone too poor to afford the technology; or someone who lives off grid and finds out one day no one is in their small town anymore because they've all gone digital. I think following multiple characters could have breathed more life into this world and gone more in depth on the big - and very relevant - themes that the book covers.
Not to say Tao-Yi's story wasn't interesting, but it did feel like we were being held at a bit of a distance. I didn't really feel invested in her relationship with Nivan, but I did like that the idea of not going digital helped her want to connect more with her family that she never really knew and now never will. It reminded me a bit of The Memory of Animals and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - but like Memory of Animals I wanted it to really GO THERE, and like Tomorrow x3 there wasn't quite the emotional punch I was hoping for.
Would be really interested to see where this author goes from here, and I am glad this book is getting a lot of attention and praise. If nothing else I feel it would be a great conversation starter and is an incredibly prescient warning about what our lives might soon look like.
Very interesting topics of the Metaverse, capitalism, disability, climate change, and the nature of humanity itself. I just don't think it did quite enough on any one of these topics - the climate was probably the most prominent but I feel it could have engaged with these ideas more. I think it could have done this by having the book be vignettes about characters in different situations - our current protagonist Tao-Yi but also Nivan as someone seeing the digital sphere as a way to escape pain and the limitations of the physical body; someone who gave up everything for a digital life but then realised immortality and Gaia weren't for them; someone too poor to afford the technology; or someone who lives off grid and finds out one day no one is in their small town anymore because they've all gone digital. I think following multiple characters could have breathed more life into this world and gone more in depth on the big - and very relevant - themes that the book covers.
Not to say Tao-Yi's story wasn't interesting, but it did feel like we were being held at a bit of a distance. I didn't really feel invested in her relationship with Nivan, but I did like that the idea of not going digital helped her want to connect more with her family that she never really knew and now never will. It reminded me a bit of The Memory of Animals and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - but like Memory of Animals I wanted it to really GO THERE, and like Tomorrow x3 there wasn't quite the emotional punch I was hoping for.
Would be really interested to see where this author goes from here, and I am glad this book is getting a lot of attention and praise. If nothing else I feel it would be a great conversation starter and is an incredibly prescient warning about what our lives might soon look like.
April 22, 2025
- Found the world building really vivid and interesting and the speculation about the future was really creative but believable
- wasn’t sure how author would end it and was slightly unsatisfied by the conclusion though not sure how I would have ended it but didnt particularly like the end part of Tao-Yi’s ‘journey’ as it felt slightly underdeveloped
- good conflict in myself as I kept having this desire for the main character to succumb to the call of Gaia but perhaps this was more that I found the scenes where Tao-Yi was in Gaia more interesting than when she was in the decaying world.
- some descriptions were a bit flowery and obscure but for certain purposes this really worked, like it felt fitting in the virtual world, specifically the ‘immies’ and having mind-bending scenes
- Tao-Yi herself fell slightly flat or at least didn’t feel explored too deeply, while I understood that she herself did not have a solid grasp of her identity as it felt disjointed and disconnected from her ancestry, I didn’t feel as though this crisis for her was explored in depth. This was also how I felt about the discussion of depression.
- certain things that were quite fascinating were brushed over quite quickly, such as the immortality of the ‘Uploaded’ and what that meant for reproduction, or the freedom of a consciousness that is not tethered to a physical body which has the potential to hither life experience, but perhaps these things are left very very open as they pose questions to the reader
- By the end I felt as though the message was that suffering and imperfection are part of what feels authentically human and to feel alive in a human sense is to ‘live to survive’ as Tao-Yi says as some point in the book. But that perhaps as a species we might overcome those challenges, and evolve past the limitations of a physical world
- wasn’t sure how author would end it and was slightly unsatisfied by the conclusion though not sure how I would have ended it but didnt particularly like the end part of Tao-Yi’s ‘journey’ as it felt slightly underdeveloped
- good conflict in myself as I kept having this desire for the main character to succumb to the call of Gaia but perhaps this was more that I found the scenes where Tao-Yi was in Gaia more interesting than when she was in the decaying world.
- some descriptions were a bit flowery and obscure but for certain purposes this really worked, like it felt fitting in the virtual world, specifically the ‘immies’ and having mind-bending scenes
- Tao-Yi herself fell slightly flat or at least didn’t feel explored too deeply, while I understood that she herself did not have a solid grasp of her identity as it felt disjointed and disconnected from her ancestry, I didn’t feel as though this crisis for her was explored in depth. This was also how I felt about the discussion of depression.
- certain things that were quite fascinating were brushed over quite quickly, such as the immortality of the ‘Uploaded’ and what that meant for reproduction, or the freedom of a consciousness that is not tethered to a physical body which has the potential to hither life experience, but perhaps these things are left very very open as they pose questions to the reader
- By the end I felt as though the message was that suffering and imperfection are part of what feels authentically human and to feel alive in a human sense is to ‘live to survive’ as Tao-Yi says as some point in the book. But that perhaps as a species we might overcome those challenges, and evolve past the limitations of a physical world
August 11, 2025
Thanks VERVE Books and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy!
It’s 2048 and Tao-Yi and her partner Navin are dividing their time between real-life and an immersive, consumerism-first virtual reality utopia called Gaia. While their real, ageing bodies are suspended in cramped apartments, amongst a crumbling society and end-stage climate crisis, they log on, work, socialise and frolic in Gaia. The story revolves around Tao-Yi as she navigates a new technology – the ability to permanently upload a human brain to Gaia. Will she remain with her mother, who is resolutely offline and tackling health problems? Or will she embrace a digital future?
I am a big fan of speculative sci-fi that entwines with dystopia, and this one has plenty of that. As an elder millennial, I enjoyed the conversation of feeling torn between an authentic past away from screens, which cannot be returned to, and embracing a new, digital future. Oh, and I always love when I spot mentions of Ipoh – Dad’s hometown! – in books, since I have endless happy memories there. It turns out: Tao-Yi and her mother are from Ipoh! This opened up some lovely explorations of identity paralysis and the sense of home. Sadly, the book otherwise fell flat in a few areas for me: while, yes, there were many great topics included in Every Version of You, it didn’t go deep enough into any of them. Some ideas were introduced only to never be alluded to ever again, and others just didn’t fully hit the mark for me. I liked the exploration of human autonomy and being caught between capitalism and morals, as well as the debate on mortality and having control over your body when it came to health problems. Plus, as we step deeper into the AI revolution, I enjoyed the exploration of relationships in the age of AI and what is seen as normal or nostalgic. Yet, overall it could’ve been nice to have a fuller focus on at least one or two ideas.
It’s 2048 and Tao-Yi and her partner Navin are dividing their time between real-life and an immersive, consumerism-first virtual reality utopia called Gaia. While their real, ageing bodies are suspended in cramped apartments, amongst a crumbling society and end-stage climate crisis, they log on, work, socialise and frolic in Gaia. The story revolves around Tao-Yi as she navigates a new technology – the ability to permanently upload a human brain to Gaia. Will she remain with her mother, who is resolutely offline and tackling health problems? Or will she embrace a digital future?
I am a big fan of speculative sci-fi that entwines with dystopia, and this one has plenty of that. As an elder millennial, I enjoyed the conversation of feeling torn between an authentic past away from screens, which cannot be returned to, and embracing a new, digital future. Oh, and I always love when I spot mentions of Ipoh – Dad’s hometown! – in books, since I have endless happy memories there. It turns out: Tao-Yi and her mother are from Ipoh! This opened up some lovely explorations of identity paralysis and the sense of home. Sadly, the book otherwise fell flat in a few areas for me: while, yes, there were many great topics included in Every Version of You, it didn’t go deep enough into any of them. Some ideas were introduced only to never be alluded to ever again, and others just didn’t fully hit the mark for me. I liked the exploration of human autonomy and being caught between capitalism and morals, as well as the debate on mortality and having control over your body when it came to health problems. Plus, as we step deeper into the AI revolution, I enjoyed the exploration of relationships in the age of AI and what is seen as normal or nostalgic. Yet, overall it could’ve been nice to have a fuller focus on at least one or two ideas.
September 19, 2025
4.75 ⭐️
In late 21st-century Australia, Tao-Yi and her partner Navin spend nearly all their lives in the virtual world of Gaia, while their real bodies lie forgotten. Her mother, Xin-Yi, clings to the fading real world. When scientists develop technology to live in Gaia forever, Tao-Yi must decide: abandon reality for a perfect digital life, or hold onto the messy, imperfect real world.
As someone with a very conflicted relationship with technology and the digital age we live in, I found myself so deeply engrossed in this dystopian world that questions the cost of convenience and connection. It really made me think about how much of ourselves we’re willing to hand over to screens and systems, and what we might be losing in the process.
I felt deeply connected to Tao-Yi, who came across as so human and relatable, especially in her uncertainty about who she really is, something I think most of us can relate to. Her struggle over whether to join her loved ones in the digital world or remain in the “dull” reality struck a chord with me, though in a slightly different way. I often catch myself wondering if being constantly and chronically online is worth the mental exhaustion that comes with it. I have even tried living offline at times, but it is not exactly realistic, at least not for me. Instead, I think the only sustainable way forward is to find some kind of balance.
In the same way Tao-Yi longs for both worlds, I think balance lies in using technology to connect and create, without letting it replace the small, imperfect moments of real life.
Overall, this book left me unsettled in the best way. It held up a mirror to our own world and asked hard questions about identity, mortality, and what it means to be truly alive. If you enjoy thought-provoking dystopias that blur the line between reality and technology, like Ready Player One and Black Mirror, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
Thank you Jonathan Ball Publishers for this gifted review copy! Although it left me with a lingering sense of despair, I truly enjoyed it and appreciated the change of genre.
In late 21st-century Australia, Tao-Yi and her partner Navin spend nearly all their lives in the virtual world of Gaia, while their real bodies lie forgotten. Her mother, Xin-Yi, clings to the fading real world. When scientists develop technology to live in Gaia forever, Tao-Yi must decide: abandon reality for a perfect digital life, or hold onto the messy, imperfect real world.
As someone with a very conflicted relationship with technology and the digital age we live in, I found myself so deeply engrossed in this dystopian world that questions the cost of convenience and connection. It really made me think about how much of ourselves we’re willing to hand over to screens and systems, and what we might be losing in the process.
I felt deeply connected to Tao-Yi, who came across as so human and relatable, especially in her uncertainty about who she really is, something I think most of us can relate to. Her struggle over whether to join her loved ones in the digital world or remain in the “dull” reality struck a chord with me, though in a slightly different way. I often catch myself wondering if being constantly and chronically online is worth the mental exhaustion that comes with it. I have even tried living offline at times, but it is not exactly realistic, at least not for me. Instead, I think the only sustainable way forward is to find some kind of balance.
In the same way Tao-Yi longs for both worlds, I think balance lies in using technology to connect and create, without letting it replace the small, imperfect moments of real life.
Overall, this book left me unsettled in the best way. It held up a mirror to our own world and asked hard questions about identity, mortality, and what it means to be truly alive. If you enjoy thought-provoking dystopias that blur the line between reality and technology, like Ready Player One and Black Mirror, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
Thank you Jonathan Ball Publishers for this gifted review copy! Although it left me with a lingering sense of despair, I truly enjoyed it and appreciated the change of genre.
February 24, 2025
Every Version of You
This is a thought-provoking story and scarily tells a future that goes beyond Virtual Reality and AI.. with the way that the world is heading with climate change and all that, is migration to an online universe the way we are heading?
I actually found the first third of the book quite difficult and jarring as the story kept trying to explain futuristic concepts whilst trying to let the narrative flow seamlessly… this is quite a tricky skill to do in a sci-fi book I guess… but once the majority of the futuristic language was more or less concluded, I started to get a feel for the book..
.. and so the book had the sci-fi, futuristic backdrop, it really revolved around Tao-Yi – her life, her relationship with Navin, her ancestry and their values, her thoughts – all this combined to provide conflicting emotions about whether Tao-Yi should upload to this online, immersive digital world..
Much of the storyline gave glimpses of possible futuristic advances – some sound wildly exciting but others sound utterly terrifying – including the question about our own existence – if technology and AI can upload the whole of you – including all your memories, thoughts and personality traits – and where the online you is 100% better with no ageing, no illnesses and faster responses, is there a real need for a physical being anymore? Can we “upload” to this digital universe and still exist as “humans”?
The description of the book is given as “Never Let Me Go meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Murakami surrealism thrown in” and I wholeheartedly agree with that and it has given me much food for though about where we are heading and the moral and ethical beliefs that are very much being questioned.. I very much enjoyed this thought-provoking story, and I was captivated with the futuristic concepts – it just, for me, tried a bit too hard in explaining these theories whilst trying to keep the narrative flowing – but on the whole, I enjoyed this debut novel by Grace Chan.
Many thanks to Verve Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
This is a thought-provoking story and scarily tells a future that goes beyond Virtual Reality and AI.. with the way that the world is heading with climate change and all that, is migration to an online universe the way we are heading?
I actually found the first third of the book quite difficult and jarring as the story kept trying to explain futuristic concepts whilst trying to let the narrative flow seamlessly… this is quite a tricky skill to do in a sci-fi book I guess… but once the majority of the futuristic language was more or less concluded, I started to get a feel for the book..
.. and so the book had the sci-fi, futuristic backdrop, it really revolved around Tao-Yi – her life, her relationship with Navin, her ancestry and their values, her thoughts – all this combined to provide conflicting emotions about whether Tao-Yi should upload to this online, immersive digital world..
Much of the storyline gave glimpses of possible futuristic advances – some sound wildly exciting but others sound utterly terrifying – including the question about our own existence – if technology and AI can upload the whole of you – including all your memories, thoughts and personality traits – and where the online you is 100% better with no ageing, no illnesses and faster responses, is there a real need for a physical being anymore? Can we “upload” to this digital universe and still exist as “humans”?
The description of the book is given as “Never Let Me Go meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Murakami surrealism thrown in” and I wholeheartedly agree with that and it has given me much food for though about where we are heading and the moral and ethical beliefs that are very much being questioned.. I very much enjoyed this thought-provoking story, and I was captivated with the futuristic concepts – it just, for me, tried a bit too hard in explaining these theories whilst trying to keep the narrative flowing – but on the whole, I enjoyed this debut novel by Grace Chan.
Many thanks to Verve Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
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