This is a terrifying book. If you have a fear of technology and think this is where we may be heading then don’t pick this up!

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the eGalley. All opinions are my own.

The premise of this book was very intriguing. The parallels between the dystopian society in the book where people are hooked to a device is not far fetched with the disconnect in our current world from smartphones and constant connection that people feel that they need. In this book, the government takes control of these devices to manipulate the public. There are a faction of people that are not going to take this lying down and will fight back. I struggled with the characters and felt they lacked any depth of emotion. The relationships in the book were extremely flat and lacked any connection. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

this was a great scifi novel, the characters were great and I really loved the world that was built. I loved the idea of mind control and how it messes with us. This was a really well done book.

This was really a lot of fun! I couldn't help but think of Snow Crash or Ready Player One since there is definitely an element of the real world vs the virtual world. It is definitely its own story, though, and unlike the other two, the story takes place in the real world, although the virtual world is definitely referenced throughout and you occasionally get a glimpse of what someone is experiencing. I was hooked enough that I ended up reading it in two sittings. It wasn't quite as frenetic as Ready Player One nor as long as Snow Crash, but in some ways, it felt more realistic, even though I don't think the technology is there yet. But it felt possible. Ultimately, the message seemed to say that we need to reconnect with nature and not be connected to technology all the time. Aaron and Clarissa definitely represent one extreme where you should ban all technology, but you can understand that after all their experiences with the negatives of technology that they would feel that way. There was also the implied message of big government and what happens when they get too powerful, and I definitely saw allusions to Nazi Germany. Last month I read 6-7 WWII historical fiction novels, so much of it was on my mind when I read this book. I have no idea whether this was the intent of the author, but that's what I took away from it. Overall, I would recommend this book if you like standalone novels with action, dystopia, and science fiction.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4 Stars!

Flame Tree Press caught my eye with its horror books from some of my favorite authors as well as some writers I have never heard of but there is more to the press than just scares. They also offer science fiction and fantasy and I occasionally like to venture outside of my normal realm of books if something catches my eye. That was the case with The Nirvana Effect by Brian Pinkerton.



It started as a new form of entertainment. Virtual reality had been around for a while but the new chip was thought to be something of a niche. It could send signals from a satellite directly into the brain to cause sensations to be real. But who would want to have surgery for the sake of simple entertainment? Almost everyone, it seems, and what was once considered a niche became the norm. Now the United States was slowly falling into disrepair as more people checked in online and made their reality completely virtual at the cost of the physical world.



Once the government realizes the power of the chip, they make their move and partner with Dynamica, the company that created the chip, to make being chipped mandatory. It would allow the government to protect the citizens by watching their every move. It would make the world a better place. But there were some who did not share this view. Some who still wanted control of their thoughts. Marc was once the head of marketing for Dynamica and helped create the success of the chip. When he learned of the partnership with the government, he had enough and worked to atone for the chip he helped unleash on the world. Aaron and Clarissa had both seen firsthand what the chip and its Nirvana Effect could do to loved ones and were not about to let this happen to the world at large. But how could one group of resistors hope to stand up not only to the government but to the biggest corporation and most powerful technology in the world. Mankind was on the verge of becoming slaves to machines and there were only a select few left to even care.



I was not sure what to expect when I started The Nirvana Effect but I was hoping for a gripping tale and I have to say that my expectations were far exceeded. Pinkerton grabbed my attention from the first page and never let go throughout the course of the novel. The world is retreating from reality and no one seems to care. At least no one with the power to stop it. There are just a few people who seem to see the tide is turning and for a resistance to try to stop it. The start of the novel seems eerily like the modern world with people walking around with their phones in front of their faces and watching reality through a tiny screen. It is easy to see Pinkerton’s world in our own and that is what really makes this novel tick. It seems like something torn from a headline more than fiction.



While I thought the novel did lose a little bit of steam going into the second half, it never lost my interest. Pinkerton creates a world of intrigue that feeds on the fears of everyone who worries about the long-term impact of technology. It is all too easy to see our world reflected in this novel. While the ideas behind the story are nothing new, there have been stories about the dangers of technology forever, Pinkerton keeps it fresh and feeling just a touch too real for comfort. From the politics to the general lethargy of society as a whole, The Nirvana Effect creates nothing of the promised feeling in the title but left me with a sense of dread that the book may be too prophetic for my comfort.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. The Nirvana Effect is available now.

The Nirvana Effect is a scary look at what the near future may hold. A new technology uses an implant to stream content directly to user's brains. People quickly become addicted to this virtual reality, only coming out of the feeds to eat or tend to bodily functions. A few people refused to get the implants, preferring to live in reality. Once the government steps in and makes the implants mandatory, those against the implants are forced into hiding.

The Nirvana Effect is all too possible, considering our attachments to our phones, tablets and computers. How much freedom would you be willing to give up to keep your smart devices? Would you even think about it at all?

Set in the "near future" this story focuses on where our society seems to be heading. Everyone is constantly staring into their cell phone screens and people have lost the ability to interact with each other on a daily basis, there seem to be few that know how to unplug and enjoy their surroundings.
In The Nirvana Effect, this is taken a step further. The majority of people have opted to be 'chipped.' This is a virtual reality technology that allows people to live their every fantasy and desire out, within their own head and in complete isolation from others. Then the government steps in taking it even further. The chip is mandatory and they will regulate certain downloads, for the "Good of the people." Any one who continues to opt-out of the chip is now considered non compliant and a criminal.

This story is told mainly from two POV's. The main character's stories are well developed and I especially enjoyed Marc's narrative. Marc, formerly the chief marketing officer at Dynamica, the developing company of the chip technology, abruptly leaves the company and becomes public enemy number one, after the announcement of the government's intention to become involved.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this exciting e-ARC.

I would describe THE NIRVANA EFFECT as a plot-driven narrative wherein a new fad of escapism takes the form of an addictive virtual high that divides society into groups of chippers and anti-chippers—add a dash of politics and a pinch of conspiracy theories--and you have a compelling read. . . .

What would you do if offered a means to escape the natural world through virtual reality technology, the lure of a promised utopia in which you too can exchange your freedom for false pleasures?

Would you say yes?

What would you do if saying no wasn’t an option?

‘The Nirvana Effect has taken over. . . What started as a playful diversion turns deadly. The future of the human race is at stake.’

Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Flame Tree Press, for loaning me an eGalley of THE NIRVANA EFFECT in the request for an honest review.

Released – April 20, 2021

Nirvana Effect was better than I thought it would be. Set in a dystopian world where people are obsessed with technology and virtual reality, the government uses this to its full advantage and a small group of people is fighting for their lives and humanity.

This novel has an original and cool concept. It deals with timely issues where technology reigns in the near future. The events in the books felt realistic and unsettling as this was set a few years from now and how people are so fixated with technology. Nirvana Effect is well-written, action-packed, full of plot twists, and a hint of romance.

I actually almost DNF this book but decided to linger for a few more pages. Some dialogues and pacing were a bit choppy. Some parts were a bit redundant and I can’t connect with some characters.

Overall, Brian Pinkerton is a promising author of this genre. Would watch out for more of his works. This was a good and chilling read. I would recommend this to those who like dystopian or sci-fi.

Thank you, Brian Pinkerton, Flame Tree Press, and Netgalley for the e-ARC of Nirvana Effect. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the ARC of this awesome title!**

Virtual reality, ultra controlling government, and a collapsing society? Sign me up. This book touched on a lot of my major fears for the direction the world is heading in and really hit home for me.

Aaron, one of the main characters in The Nirvana Effect, is anti-chip and refuses to have the sensational virtual reality chip installed in his body. The story follows him as he describes the world around him and the impact that chip technology has had on his fellow humans.

The world is in SHAMBLES as more and more people elect to spend the vast majority of their time in the chip world rather than the real world. Once Dynamica (manufacturers of the chip) receives a government contract, and talks of mandatory chipping come in to play, all hell breaks loose.

The book is broken into three parts, following three primary characters (Aaron, Clarissa, and Mark.) Part one had a lot of redundancies for me, (I GET IT, people are addicted to the chip...) and did not have me very invested in the book or the characters. I’m glad I stuck it out though as Parts two and three really ramped up and I ended up reading late into the night to get to the ending.

As a debut novel I found that sometimes the dialogue left a little to be desired and was downright corny at points. BUT it did feel realistic and made the characters a touch more relatable. Aside from the redundancies in part one, I absolutely loved this novel and the concept was very original and very scary!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopian, Scifi, or thriller books. Bonus if you are interested in virtual reality or how technology impacts people and their society.

The Nirvana Effect by Brian Pinkerton

The premise is great and I can see the effort put into trying to sell the idea. Technology is definitely one of the biggest growing areas of our world and it’s very unnerving to visualise a world where the chip is mandatory and I definitely felt that strongly.

This book just didn’t quite hit the spot for me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. I did naturally draw some comparison with Ready Player One and didn’t enjoy it as much as I did that. It definitely made me think though and I would not like to be in that world.

THE NIRVANA EFFECT brings a clear eye to timely issues that society, culture, government, and individuals will need to grapple with intelligently in the near future. With the current conspiracy theories proclaiming vaccines and "chipping," this novel's presentation of issues is especially pertinent.


As Society as a whole succumbs to addiction to an implanted chip which brings any sensation so vividly that real life pales by comparison (this is internal, and so beyond virtual reality), much of the global populace never surfaces from their fugue states. Then the U.S. Government issues an implacable decree: no longer will acquiring the chip be a matter of individual preference. Soon it will be a requirement of citizenship....Or Else.

Well... the government forcing people to do things... whoda thunk it... although it's not so diverse from the truth of the reality of today with all the legislation swiftly passed to control the people/pandemic... but really, don't get me started on that one - what I think I am trying to say is that I love a book where science fiction could really become science fact in the not so distant future - makes it a tad more edgy and close to home and, if I may, a smidge on the scary side of things.
Anyhoo... The forcing thing is a chip implant so that the government can upload apps and stuff directly into your brain to control/entertain/pleasure/educate etc etc... Imagine uploading a book instead of actually reading it - the stuff of nightmares - for me anyway! Imagine also being able to wipe out crime as people are constantly tracked. Track and Trace anyone?! But imagine also losing privacy bigtime. It started as a simple escape from the mundane world - a bit of VR - but then people started getting addicted cos VR was better than reality - well, who knew? And they started to neglect their real lives... a bit of a spiral. So it wasn't too much of a leap for the government to piggy back / bandwagon onto this for total control... But, as with most things of this ilk, there are resistors, protesters and this story is basically about them. And how they try to resist but at the same time also plot to bring all these shenanigans to an end. And it's a cracking read. Addictive and, as already mentioned, a bit scary. It's a book that hit the ground running for me, sucked me in throughout, spitting me out at the end wholly satisfied. And actually also feeling quite rebellious myself... Now is probably THE best time to read this book as it just feels so close to current reality, and that makes it all the more exciting.
It's thrilling, it's emotional, there's even a spot of romance to be found within the pages. But it's also shocking and contains a rather eclectic mix of characters all of whom play their parts very well indeed. I do love a book when we get a hotch potch of very different characters all come together to fight for the same cause... Oh and there are also some quite funny bits too!
All in all a cracking read that I have no hesitation in recommending for fans of the genre. Oh and when you have finished this book you may want to go back and read The Gemini Experiment, also by this author which was blooming good too. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Set in the not-too-distant future, the very real contemporary fixation on technology makes this a far more believable book than it would have been even 10 years ago.
Lots of action and plot twists in a narrative that would be perfectly suited to the big screen. Suspense, dilemmas, a little romance, it's a good read with some nice fluctuations of pace.
What I didn't get out of this was an emotional connection to the characters, but that could well be an individual reader experience.
A modern book dealing with some very human concepts and nature.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. The author can write a decent sentence, and his characters come across as somewhat plausible, but despite spending pages and pages on Aaron's personal habits and views, I still didn't feel him as a "person'. Clarissa, Marc, Madison Reddick . and all of Aaron's roommates - were caricatures as opposed to relatable humans whose world I could happily lose myself in. The world building could use some work as well.
There was too much telling and not enough showing - there were too many interior monologues and not enough dialogue. The battle scene in the last third of the novel woke me up from my lethargic reading, but then things went back to telling and not showing, and I started to disconnect from the action and the characters again.
I heard the book's message loud and clear. Disconnect from technology and LIVE LIFE. Aaron and Clarissa went off the grid, which is just another extreme reaction to technology. I am not overly fond of my cell phone, but it comes in handy when I have to call CAA.
Moderation is the word we are looking for here, people. I read this ARC on an ereader. I own at least two tablets because unfortunately the battery doesn't last forever and I am a serial reader! And hey: ereaders help save trees, and I am all for that!.
I'm rating this one a 3.5 out of 5: it was well written and I give points for that, but this book didn't convince me to go off the grid like Aaron and Clarissa!

In a USA similar to today’s, virtual reality enables users to escape into nirvana,. As people become addicted, they also neglect the physical world (jobs, pets, bathing, thinking). The government—seeing the benefits of a docile citizenry (reminiscent to those in Heinlein’s Puppet Masters)—makes it mandatory. You don’t want to comply? Well, opting out is tricky: evaders get shot on sight or imprisoned; and removing the hardware is likely to kill you.

The main characters, a couple of Los Angelenos, are a lawn boy with a Ford F350 pickup and a shop girl with an orange Dodge Charger; we do meet additional characters, but don’t get too attached—the government hunting them is fast, ruthless, and inescapable.

I liked both characters, but I especially loved the shop girl. Aaron is no larger-than-life hero. He’s not trying to change the world through xeriscaping, by conserving water, or worrying about fertilizer runoff. He’s just an average responsible dude who takes care of his clients’ landscaping needs. He is tired of seeing all of those closest to him going down the VR drain. He is just trying to keep going despite of it all. He meets Clarissa. She is tough, pragmatic, and strong willed. She is Bad Ass. Together they make a good team. The plot unfolds as you’d expect, and the ultimate solution is logical and fitting.

I’m new to this author, but I can see from his clear prose that he’s a solid genre writer, and I’ll stay tuned for more books by him.

Thank you NetGalley!

This book is worth a big audience; it is also very well suited to be made into a major movie. Let’s begin with two definitions. This story is set in the (near) future and involves new technology. So, it would fit within the definition of Science Fiction: “Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.” Because, yes, there are some considerable changes in science and technology involved. The second definition that comes to mind is Dystopian: “Literature that explore social and political structures.” [See Wikipedia]. Spot on! The story is about a transition in just about all social and political structures.
So what is it? It’s both. And that’s a frightening idea, frankly. It all starts with Aaron, who owns a small landscaping business. Once he was a happily married man but he lost his wife to ‘the chip’. After years of research, a company named Dynamica brought a chip on the market that you can have implanted in your body. To be precise: in your neck, with direct access to your brain. Presto! No need anymore to play games with a device in your hand. Put on special goggles, tap on the menu on your specially adapted device and play. You’ll feel the gun in your hand, you hear the screaming and you smell the blood – as those horrible shooting games are making up the bulk of ‘games’. But you can also download a happy mood – no need for anti-depressants any more. Or a suitable partner. Not for real of course but it will feel, smell and look real. Aaron’s wife is among one of the millions of people who are irrevocably addicted. So far, she put herself in an eternal loop of happiness and is now residing in a glass coffin in a special hospital.
Aaron hates the chip and with good reason. He has now only one important client left for his landscape business, a very old and very rich man. They’ve become friends over the years, because they both hate what society has become: nothing. Most people are not working anymore. They sit or lie around, lost in their own world, and live on state welfare and special energy bars. Shops are closed, nobody is taking holidays any more and nothing gets done.
Then we have Marc. Marc is a high-ranking employee at Dynamica. For the past ten years, his job was to write texts and other forms of a advertising to praise the Dynamica products. One day, he is called to a meeting where the CEO informs the somewhat startled staff that they are going to work together with the government. Having a chip implanted will be mandatory. Yes, all for the good of the people! And yes, it’s just such a coincidence that with the whole population chipped, they can not only follow everybody, but they can also control people. ‘By sending a ‘stop’ signal to a criminal’, is one of the examples. America will be one big happy and important family again. Marc doesn’t trust this plan and he talks about it with a friend and colleague. This man supplies him with a very important device: a jammer. He stole the thing and gives it to Marc because he is not happy with the developments too, but he has a wife and children so he feels he cannot do anything.
It isn’t for long that Aaron and Marc meet. In the meantime Aaron met Clarissa, who is also not chipped, and they decide to go and try and find a better life. In fact, with the help of Aaron’s last client, they decide to join the resistance.
What’s so creepy about this book is the fact that Dystopian and Science Fiction are so very close. Not much readers will have difficulties imagining the society that Pinkerton is describing here. Let alone the political implications. It’s a frightening story because it is very, very close. It’s also – as a good story should be – a story of resilience and hope. During their adventures Aaron, Clarissa and Marc have to adapt to the circumstances, and they meet a lot of people. Good people and bad people of course. The book is very well written, with excellent characterization and dialogs. There is some humour and romance too which makes the story feel even more real.
This is not the first, nor the only book I read with the idea of people getting addicted to ‘fun and games’ piped directly into their brain, but it is an excellent elaboration of it.
I’m happy the author posted the announcement of the publication of this book here on Goodreads and I’m even more happy I was approved by Netgalley for a review copy.

What if virtual reality was the ONLY reality allowed by the government? This is the question that Pinkerton poses about life in the near future where everyone is forced to have a chip implanted in their brains so they can upload millions of amazing apps that allow you to exist in hedonistic pleasure. Fortunately, Aaron and Marc--two men who realize the dangers of this mind-control embark on a journey to combat this epidemic of terrorism. What follows is an odyssey Huck Finn could never have envisioned. Are we destined to let technology control us and allow government to make all of our decisions? Read this and recognize Pinkerton as an author who has an amazing insight into the future. This is one of the most prescient novels I have read since teaching Brave New World to AP seniors!

This near-future tale is set in a grim world that might become reality sooner than we think. Chips implanted in humans give them access to direct stimulation and entertainment, and the population transforms into slovenly recluses. But some refuse to go along with this idea, even when the government steps in and mandates it. The story follows the adventures of several of the people fighting to stay natural. A very fast-paced plot is populated by well-drawn characters. The best (or worst) part of the book is that every fictional wrong turn society takes is completely plausible. A very rewarding read with a good payoff ending.

Quite good and might be considered cyberpunk. It's safe to say that VR will be a regular part of our lives in the future, and this was an interesting take, although a somewhat bleak one. I enjoyed the author's imagination on display here, as well as many of the characters. It will likely appeal to a wide audience, and maybe mostly to younger folks. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!