I really thought this was a very unique story that is unlike anything I've read recently. The gaming and VR aspects of this story is really something I know nothing about, but it kept my interest for the whole time and I wanted to know more. The writing was also very good, with a knack for evoking a very physical feeling with the descriptions that made me feel like I was there in person, seeing and feeling all of it. So well done on that point. If I have one teeny tiny complaint, there is a lot of jargon in the book that I didn't understand, but it wasn't enough to make me stop reading or not understand what was going on. I think this is a great one for anybody who likes things along the lines of Ready Player One.

Rating: 3/5 dragons killed from the inside

Format:
eBook. I’d like to thank NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

What it's like:
It reminded me a bit of Ready Player One, but the violence, cursing and feminism themes were more like Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.

To sum up:
This story features a badass female gamer stuck in a futuristic dystopian society. A lot of people in this world play THE INFINITE GAME, which is a virtual reality type of game where players can wear “hoods” or an entire “suit” that has amazing realistic feedback to make them feel like they are really in the game. Interestingly, there are also “spheres” players can play in so that the motions their avatar performs are actually performed by them in the sphere as it moves around them. This means that the best players are also super fit, making The Infinite Game more like a real sport. Unfortunately, there is a real toxic masculinity situation going on in the virtual world, as well as the real world. Our main character, Ash, has to deal with constant physical and verbal abuse from men who find her performance (or just existence really) threatening. Then, when it appears gamers might be being used to fight a real war using some new, dangerous tech, Ash gets pulled into a conspiracy that GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. With help from her SunJewel Warrior gaming crew and some family friends, Ash tries to do everything she can to save the ones she loves, even if that might mean saving her shitty town along with them.

What I loved:
I was expecting some cool tech and some action-packed plot, but I wasn’t expecting to feel deeply for our main character Ash. She is so relatable and admirable, I couldn’t help but start rooting for her from the first page. She has a lot of responsibilities and she juggles them with efficiency, determination, and sass that any fellow Aries and Type A person would admire haha She reminds me a lot of Mia Corvere from Nevernight. She is fiercely loyal to those she loves, doesn’t take any shit, and knows how to defend herself. I loved what the author had to say about what it is like to be a woman (or a person of color, although I don’t have experience with this personally) in this world. It felt real and I felt like he really understood the fear that can permeate your life when you’re in a toxic environment and ultimately, how to keep on fighting even if you don’t think you can. I was also really surprised by some of the twists, this book was hard to put down.

What was meh:
I think the weakest point for me was actually in the action scenes, which was surprising to me. The author uses a lot of tech and societal jargon/nomenclature that seemed to pile up to a point where I couldn’t understand meaning from context anymore. The action sequences felt disjointed, but also over described in ways that didn’t quite flow for me. I found myself skimming them after about a third of the way through the book and I don’t feel like much was lost, unfortunately.

On that note, I had a lot of questions about how Ash’s city got the way it did, and whether it was like that all over the world. The focus is pretty narrow for most of the book, but when they did mention things outside their city, I had a hard time visualizing the specifics of space/distances and imagining what their wider world looked like. It wouldn’t be too big of a point to leave vague, except that her city (and later the world) and it’s dynamics are pretty crucial to the plot so I just wanted more concrete storytelling about that. I think maybe he tried to explain it in the beginning, but it was too much information and too much jargon for me to really absorb it? I might have to reread it to gain a better understanding.

Who I'd recommend it to:
Fans of Nevernight, Ready Player One, Snowcrash, and anyone looking for a virtual reality thriller with a dash of fantasy.

Favorite lines:
Turns out people love watching displays of incredible physical prowess all the more when there’s no actual risk of traumatic long-term injury, no messy cleanup of battered heroes who’ve outlived their glory.

The socials have never been welcoming for those without a pale-skinned dick.

Kiro has no idea the turrets exist, has never had to worry about some things I’ve had to worry about. Must be nice having a dick.

“I didn’t do anything to them, bro. I just happen to be better than they are at something they think is important, and I’m a girl. They’re a lot of boardshits out there living shitty lives, and blaming women’s their only escape. Same as it ever was.

War never changes, but it sure as hell changes us.

I lean the slightest bit farther forward, a deliberate motion, putting myself into his space, letting the words come out in a whisper, adrenaline singing its arpeggio across nerves and sinew and blood. “Lastly, you’re in front of me. You say you saw what I did to the boardshits, Sawyer? Then let’s go, round two, pick your fucking tune. I love to dance.”

I am Ashley, Ash, Ashura, Ashura the Terrible, and if ever there was a time to don that mantle, it’s now. Do the job, because there’s no one else to do it, and you find a way, even if it breaks you.

A dystopian American where ‘the real’ and AR battle for everyone’s attention. Ashley Atachi lives in Ditchtown, the spires built on the remnants of a destroyed Miami. She is the captain of the highest ranking gaming team on the globe, but her personal life is wracked with strife. Her veteran mother is hit hard with PTSD, he brother hides himself in the game, and jealous gamers are trying to out her and worse.

The majority of her life is spent in the Haps: hapsphere chambers that provide the total immersive experience for gamers… and soldiers. Days and days of drone kills destroyed Ashley’s mother’s ability to tell the real from the fake. And it’s those medical bills that drive Ash the most. She needs to make that money and she’s done some special jobs at the government’s request. Yet, when one of those jobs uncovers a dark tech that has compromised a friend’s intellect. Ashley is given a chance with her team’s help to get revenge and find out the answers.

Kluwe has a gift for worldbuilding. In a crowded dystopian genre, he creates unique tech and a new way of looking at the world. I had a lot of fun with this character and all the action. But there’s more to this book than just some shoot em up. It hits on important topics that are central to gaming as well as all the technology that surrounds us.

I would say that there are a few PG-13 scenes and would rec this book for a more mature middle school and/or high school student.

A page-turning coming-of age-tech thriller. I’d definitely recommend it to my students and my librarian.

Pick this one up for an immersive futuristic story that introduces a young woman who is forced to take punches, but is more than willing to fight back!

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

So, Chris Kluwe wrote a novel. And you know something? It was pretty damn good.

I picked up an eARC of Otaku a while back, courtesy of the fine folks at NetGalley, and I was very impressed by Kluwe’s fiction debut. While it wasn’t the first time he’d published a book, Otaku was a bold step in a new creative direction.

In a world ravaged by the Water Wars (or the Dubs), only one thing keeps the general public entertained: Infinite Game. Infinite Game is the ultimate virtual reality experience, fully immersive, played in a full-body haptic feedback suit. Players strive for physical fitness because real world skills transfer one-to-one into gameplay. And in the world of Infinite Game, one guild stands above the rest: the Sunjewel Warriors. Their leader, Ashura the Terrible, is one of the top-ranked players in the world, and people in-game and out are willing to do whatever they can to stop her. Threats of death and sexual violence follow her everywhere.

Ashura, aka Ashley or Ash, lives in Ditchtown, a series of massive towers that soar above the raging waters where Miami used to be. Her dad hasn’t been in the picture for years, and her mom was never the same after her time fighting in the Dubs. Most of Ash’s income goes to paying for her mother’s treatment. Then there’s Kiro, Ash’s younger brother. A newbie in Infinite Game, Kiro is struggling to find his own place, outside of his sister’s long shadow. She’s doing well enough in Infinite Game, with her streams bringing in viewers (and revenue) like never before, but things are still hard. So, to supplement her game income, Ash occasionally engages in real-world operations. Working through some members of her mom’s old unit, she puts her Infinite Game skills to the test, flying drones, conducting recon missions, and so on. No one needs to know.

Things take a drastic turn when one of Ash’s guildmates, Brand, vanishes, only to reappear on the opposing side of one of Ash’s less-than-public missions. Sent to infiltrate a supply shipment, Ash finds haptic suit components that override the gamer’s own control, leading them out into the real world while still believing themselves to be immersed in Infinite Game. Soon, people are dying, and Ash and the rest of the Sunjewel Warriors are “recruited” to find out who is trying to turn gamers into their own private army.

Reminiscent of Ready Player One and Snow Crash, Otaku is a great debut novel, full of clever technology, intense action, and badass women setting out to save the world. While Kluwe’s prose is not as strong as it has the potential to be, he’s off to a good start. His own experiences in online gaming (in World of Warcraft, League of Legends, etc.) and social media definitely shine through. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

This is the first book I have read by Chris Kluwe, but after reading it I hope it is not the last. If, like me, you first heard about this book on MPR, you may know that this is a story of a dystopian future. There have been wars over water and beliefs that have wrecked the world. The major groups remaining are the 'gummies' (religious fundamentalists), the 'silkies' (megacorporations), and a smattering of smaller groups and those on the periphery of society. The only way those not born into power can achieve major money and fame is through an immersive online experience called "The Game." Our protagonist and point of view character is Ash who, along with her online clan, is recognized as one of the best players of the game. The fact that she is such a good player though is a problem for many because she is female and dark skinned. We learn that Ash's combat skills are not just in virtual reality, but in the real world as well and that she needs them because her prowess has her receiving regular threats both within the game and in real life. She becomes embroiled in a battle to keep the world from another nuclear holocaust or worse.

The characters in this book are interesting. We only get to know a few of them well (especially Ash), the rest we see as somewhat one dimensional. This is a product of the perspective of the main character. We ate encountering each character through her eyes and only as she considers their perspectives do we learn about them. These worst characters are unfortunately the ones that are some of the most believable... these are the "boardshits", groups of males who regularly threaten Ash and other female players both in-game and in the real world. These reprehensible beings are believable because they already exist and behave exactly as described in the book. In fact, they are part of the reason the book was written... to draw attention to the problems of doxing and violent misogyny that can so frequently be found online. In the world of this book, it is aided by the laws and traditions of the "gummies", whose version of male superiority is straight from the ugliest of Christian fundamentalism. Sadly, in the real world, as in the book, they are also tacitly aided by those who just won't believe it is happening or will make excuses... even claiming that the victims are overreacting or deserving of the treatment.

The book is a page-turner and a quick read. This is both because it is a YA Sci-fi book and because it is very actin oriented... moving the story quickly along. That being said, I could not help but compare it to "Ready Player One" based on the tech. I feel like this book had a slightly more realistic premise and better social commentary however. I was worried about it being a book with a black (bi-sexual?) female protagonist written by a white man, but in doing some research I found that Mr. Kluwe made sure that some of his pre-readers were females of color and he used their advice to make the book more honest from their perspective. I respect that decision a lot.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian sci-fi. I think it would appeal most to those in their mid teens to early twenties and women especially. I wish I could say that men would enjoy it as much (they should, it is a good book), but I fear that many would write it off as overly dramatic in some scenes and would have trouble seeing the truth in the writing.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of this book.

According to the Cambridge Dictionaire an Otaku is “a young person who is very interested in and knows a lot about computers, computer games, anime (= animated films), etc., but may find it difficult to talk to people in real life”. My kindle dictionaire also mentioned that an Otaku might have problems separating the real from the computer world. In Otaku, the real and the virtual world are heavily intertwined and combined with a standard dystopian setting.

I think that was what disappointed me most in the novel. There are evil corporations and some fractions but other than a bit of info dump right at the beginning, I didn’t learn anything about the different fractions and they all seemed about as bad to me. Because I thought the world was rather bland, even though it was apparently on water and there had been something that was called The Water Wars, I had a hard time connecting to the story or the characters.

There’s a lot of tech-talk and I got lost in it sometimes, making that I couldn’t really get into it or enjoy it. I think it’s safe to say this wasn’t for me, unfortunately.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Kluwe's debut fiction shows his passion for gaming and showcases his imagination as well. Recommended for fans of Snow Crash.

3.5/5 stars

Kluwe’s debut novel, Otaku, follows Ashley. resident of Ditchtown. Ash is also Ashura the Terrible, leader of the SunJewel Warriors and the scoreboards within Infinite Game, a virtual world requiring physical prowess and militant excellency. Stumbling upon a conspiracy that threatens to bring the virtual and the real worlds violently crashing and collapsing into each other, Ash and her team set out to save the world.

Some Notes
The first chapters of the novel felt a bit like Kluwe ranting. I enjoy a feminist rant as much as the next angry feminist killjoy, but I felt like the points he was having Ash state (over and over again) could have been woven in more eloquently. The conflict within the first portion of the novel consists of a lot of men attempting to unsuccessfully sexually assault the protagonist. Ash kicking their asses (among other body parts) is fun, but it got a little redundant.

I think I was a little disappointed in the villain behind the nefarious plan. Perhaps I wanted something bigger? The various bad guys throughout the novel were often made to look like bumbling idiots, which I suppose is accurate, but it doesn’t make for as interesting of a read.

I was also a bit confused by the last few paragraphs - someone tell me who it is!

Overall, Otaku is a feminist, kick-in-the-groin response to #gamergate, and a nod to gamers everywhere. Kluwe has a talent for description and for action-packed storytelling. If you’re into unapologetic female protagonists who can take care of themselves and save the world this may be your next sci-fi read.

Warning
This book doesn’t shy away from graphic violence, language, and difficult topics like sexual assault.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley “Ash” is a superstar in Infinite Game, a virtual gaming platform. After becoming well known from defeating an impossible dragon, she is recognized and tracked outside of the game in the real world, known as the “Real”. Ash ends up uncovering a conspiracy that threatens her life and those that she loves.

To be honest, this book was just okay for me. It had a really strong open, I loved the initial scene with Ash and her team of warriors battling the dragon. It was intense and so well detailed to make me feel like I was in the game itself right along with them. But then, they exited the game and it kind of fell apart for me. I didn’t enjoy a lot of chapters with Ash in the real. The love interest felt awkward at first but did eventually grow on me. The conspiracy and how it played out near the end was interesting to me.

This book has a beautifully designed cover that bodes well with the content of the book. This is my first Chris Kluwe and I would opt to pick something else up from him.

Thank you to Tor Books for providing a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 18%

When a book is pitched as "reminiscent of Ready Player One," I had high hopes. However, I could not get past the issues I had with this book. The author really tried to hook you in with the first big fight in the VR world (which I have to admit was not written horribly); however, the main character's fixation of the technical aspect of fighting/exercise (like her muscles' oxygen debt) kept taking me out of the fight.
After we move out of the VR world, everything else I read up until I DNFed was info-dumping. That is one of my big pet peeves in books, and I could not continue.
While I sure some people will really like this book, it didn't live up to expectations for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let's get one thing straight - former NFL player Chris Kluwe can write. His sentences ebb and flow, evoking feelings of Stephenson, Dick and Gibson. He crafts his prose to fit the characters; pulling from their backgrounds and social status makes each feels real, their actions logical and true to their development. The world he has built feels (at times) too real, brimming over with that important piece of all good science fiction - the element of actual potentiality. You can see how Kluwe has designed this world, expanding upon societal trends and actions, layering in choices and technological advancements, but nothing outside the realm of possibility. The protagonist draws masterfully from Kluwe's experience within video games; surviving the tormentors and detractors, internalizing the drive to excel, having the willingness to push the envelope, and leaning heavily upon the bonds built among long-time friends and allies. You feel that he's been there, and really understands Ash (the protagonist) and her struggles. If I have a gripe, it would be that I want to see more of the game that frames Otaku, but I understand that the game is meant to be a framework, not a playground (a la Ready Player One). All in all, Otaku is a book I would recommend without reservation (other than some content warnings).

Action packed book with a lot of tech and gaming references (felt a bit lost at times with the tech vocabulary tho), I felt the author tried too hard to make this book for teenagers and young adults and for that reason it wasn't as much enjoyable as it should have been. I also felt that the story dragged quite a bit and that the book could've been smaller.
Overall it was a nice read but I feel like this book was pretty forgetful.

I thought this book tried to hard to connect with kids that like to floss, play Fortnite, and watch stupid videos. The problem is the shelf life is going to be short and forgotten.

Contemporary and timely yet cult classic-esque; Kluwe's "Otaku" not only has a kickass main character, but mainly it's got action and humor, it truly feels like a nonstop thrill ride from the get-go.