Upon learning about this book in LitHub’s Most Anticipated Books for 2023 I was stupidly excited for to read it, sharing it with friends, getting on the library hold list, before ultimately obtaining an ARC on NetGalley (thank you!). I loved the premise of weaving the main character’s VR work project and his struggles in his personal life. I expected to be engaged on the level of the TV series “Severence” as promoted, but to my great disappointment the book didn’t bring me close. The VR work storyline and and Miles’s personal challenges were so loosely connected that I felt like I was reading two different stories and neither came through as anything special.

I didn’t get it, and I shouldn’t have kept listening. However, I listened to every second of this audiobook about the self-obsessed Miles. Troubles at work, troubles at home, it’s always about Miles. And I hated him. The people who loved this book must have been reading a different book. I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

I didn't love the book. It had a good concept, but I really didn't like the Lily character and the plot fumbled along sometimes.

This is not a book I would normally read but the cover initially drew me in, then I read the summary and it gave me a “Severance” vibe. Penguin Randomhouse also said this was for viewers of “Severance”, so I decided to take a chance. Well you could say this is like a poor man’s Severance meets an incredibly disturbing acid trip where your inner most intrusive thoughts win. Let this be a lesson that not every single thought should be shared with others.
This story somehow had too much going on and nothing going on. I should’ve dnf’d but the mystery, if you can call it that, of who was sending the “death threats” kept me going. Unfortunately it was a disappointing and predictable reveal. I personally didn’t find this humorous but I do have an affinity for satire and that’s why it’s getting a two star rating instead of one.

Thank you NetGalley, HighBridge audio, and Colin Winnette for this arc.

I rarely request arcs for books that I haven’t already been interested in, but after seeing this cover and reading the little synopsis it just sounded like the kind of book I’d enjoy. It definitely was. A big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audio arc. On that note, I highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator, Justin Price, is wonderful and I couldn’t stop listening.

On the surface this is about a man, who has a central role at a virtual reality company. Following some scandal he begins receiving death threats. We get a look into his life, his work and his relationships. But there is quite a lot more going on. He’s having strange dreams, and having encounters with a ghost (?). Colin Winnette touches on so many things; technology, scandal and being held accountable in an evolving political climate, life and it’s meaning, dreams and what they can mean, and the troubles in our most intimate relationships.

The book has some “out there” happenings, and yet the writing is so easy and flows so comfortably that it is grounded in something recognizable while also being unputdownable. I read this in one go, and was hooked. There was something propulsive, like a thriller, but a quietness as well. I really loved that balance and I think it takes a very skilled author to do so. I only wish I’d have had my own copy to annotate as it was FULL of wonderful and poignant lines. Not to mention, it’s also humorous. It’s not “trying to be funny”, which can often fall flat or be cringey. Instead it has a sense of humor and lightness to cut through the dark (and there are some dark things).

Absolutely recommend and will be reading more from Colin Winnette in the future. Such a treat!

Thanks to Soft Skull Press and NetGalley for the audio ARC! This had such an interesting premise and I was so intrigued but I became increasingly confused throughout. There’s a lot of commentary here that I think may be the base message of the novel but I was engaged with the story and MC - unfortunately things just spiraled into confusion as things went on and I feel like there was no clarity as to what happened. Maybe that was sort of the point, but it wasn’t satisfying.

Did not finish at 22%

The short chapters and detached writing style weren't able to capture my attention. This book wasn't for me. I wasn't feeling any connection to any of the characters or the plot, and didn't have any excitement for the rest of the book.

When Miles, the lead creative at a VR company, starts receiving anonymous death threats at home, his own sense of reality begins to blur. I enjoyed the eerie sci-fi elements, and I thought it touched on really interesting topics like consent in VR and AI, which is something that we are seeing discussed more recently. It was challenging at times, and definitely dread-inducing, but I found myself unable to turn away.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Oh my gosh, I'm so thankful to Colin Winnette, NetGalley, Highbridge Audio, and SoftSkull for allowing me advanced audio access to this beauty before its publication on February 21, 2023 (which is also my birthday!)

This book is a mind-boggling ride of a book where our main character, Miles, is stuck in a tricky situation when he begins to receive death threats in the mail as a seemingly-direct result of his software technology development work creating VR "Original Experiences."

As he spirals further and further into the paranoia-driven abyss, he detects other areas of life are also beginning to crumble at their foundation. Trudging forward into his career, his latest invention, The Egg, will catapult his status and then topple it within an almost blip, annotating how wild the technology world can be for its users and creators.

I was kept on my toes throughout the whole audiobook and look forward to more work by this talented author.