This book was a mixed bag for me. I love the concept behind it. Both the idea of Greenhouse, and the group trying to bring it down were strong ideas, and ones that sparked my initial interest in the book. The execution, for me, was a little lacking.

Little was revealed about any of the characters, in order for me to feel invested in them. Sure, there were lots of suggestions of what their character might be, but none of it really gelled into a coherent character portrait for me. This meant it was hard to feel that invested in the story, which did take a number of twists and turns throughout.

The biggest issue with this book for me was the role played by Jun, and the wider Chinese group. It reads like a very american-centric novel, with the Chinese cast, once again, as the bad guys - immoral, ruthless, and business focused. If any of their characters had more development, it could have felt like a more nuanced take.

I love the concept, and would be interested to try other books by Gaudet, as he clearly has good ideas, I just wasn't sold on the execution of this one.

Eris is an adult mystery, thriller, and sci-fi novel.
This one is hard to talk about because I love the idea of this book. It's very interesting but it just wasn't quite to the leave that I was hoping for. The writing style was well done but I think I just want more complex context about the world and characters. It's on the shorter side, a very quick read, basically read this all in one setting. However, it did feel rushed.
This VR, cyber setting, told from five points of view is a fast-paced story for readers who like video game stories.

The description reels you in but the book falls short in execution. There is a good story here but the characters aren’t entertaining and I just did not have fun reading the novel.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Good:
The concept was interesting, which is why I selected the novel. Anarchists, hackers, similar vibes to Cory Doctorow. It's clear the author is a talented writer. I enjoyed the climate change aspects.

The Other:
My issue was mostly with the mechanics. The book had a lot of telling, but not so much showing. I wish I was able to see more of the outside world, and how the game had negatively impacted society, because I wasn't very invested in any of the characters or the game environment for that matter. It would have helped raise the stakes. The book wasn’t very long, and could have used more detailed descriptions of the environment, at some points it was hard to picture because we weren’t given any details.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6164737233

Eris by Larry Gaudet
Reviewed by Nadya Mercik
Eris by Larry Gaudet sounded like a very intriguing story in the description. It promised to touch upon acute topics of environmentalism and game addiction, draw a ruthless corporate world and fuse Black Mirror vibes with a more literary edge. As a fan of Ready Player One, I was looking forward to reading it: computer games within novels are a wonderful way to juxtapose one fictional reality against another, plus it offers a great way to look at human psychology and draw complex characters. Unfortunately, the novel turned out to be not what I expected and disappointed in quite a few ways.
Tony is a teenager who spends most of his time playing Greenhouse game, created by his father. The game is steeped in environmentalism and promotes new approaches to sustainable living: you have to deal with environmental catastrophes, counteract them and have a chance to punish the bad guys. This is all on the surface, of course, included in the game's selling point. In truth, the corporation uses it to make money and keep the gamers invested. Tony, being quite an exceptional player, partially thanks to the fact that his father is the game’s creator, attracts the attention of a radical group led by a person called Eris. Early in the book, he gets involved with them and agrees to leave his parents to come and help Eris with the last stage of their coup. However, while he is in the game assisting with the mission, Eris simultaneously uses Tony as a hostage to influence his father Don and demand things from him. As the situation escalates, Lily, Tony’s mother and Don’t ex-wife, has to deal with the fact that her son’s gaming addiction led to catastrophic events. Meanwhile, on the high corporate levels, there are power shifts and attempts to use the situation to their advantage.
In a way, Gaudet does create a fast narrative, filled with conspiracies, kidnaps, hackers, security services, guns, chases and interrogations. However, they all lose their attractiveness, because as a reader I found it really difficult to connect to the deeper meaning of all this. The novel is told from many different points of view, all of which are done in the first person present tense. Technically, this should give us access to the inner worlds of the characters and create empathy and high immersion. And with such difficult topics as parenthood, addiction, justice and fighting for a better world, it seems like a perfect solution to give us all those perspectives. But as a reader, I ended up having little empathy or connection to the characters – the story simply wasn’t engaging. Though I was sitting in the heads of all those people – and there is a lot of internalisation – their thoughts sounded cliched, somehow trivial. To portray a rebellious teenager, Gaudet decided that adding the word ‘fucking’ can do the trick. Till the very end, I couldn’t make up my mind what exactly Tony believed – did he want to go against his parents? Was it truly a rebellion? Did he feel for Eris’s cause? There is nothing wrong with having a contradictory personality who doubts what they are doing. But for me, it was simply not clear what exactly Tony was feeling. His mother Lily sounded quite hysterical in places, and though it is logical for her to be thrown out of balance with the kidnap of her son, it sounded exaggerated and unnatural at times.
The triviality and somewhat homogeneity of characters (but for the mention of their names in the chapters’ headings I would have trouble deciding whose POV it was sometimes) is set against a background of long sentences filled with terminology, which would better suit some popular science books. Yes, the characters are all educated and smart people (and believe me I am all for long sophisticated phrasing), but would they always think in those scientific terms? So the literary edge mentioned in the blurb was working against the story, even though I was initially curious to see that coalition of Black Mirror and higher style.
I really waited for the game itself. When reading Ready Player One, though not a gamer or game geek myself, I felt really invested and excited about the gameplay. However, here, I had an impression that the author was trying to get over with those parts as quickly as possible. Instead of immersion, I experienced something like a game description with a lot of comparisons, curt and sounding a lot like Don Barton pitching bits of the gameplay to sell it. True that some of it we do see through Don’s eyes, and he is explaining his creator’s choices. Still, I felt like for a VR game with executions possible in it, and edge, a liveliness was missing.
Only in the end, I started to feel more empathy for Eris, the story’s protagonist, and even then I felt like there was more of the author’s voice and philosophizing in it, as if this version of epilogue was like a philosophical essay.
The novel overall feels rushed, as if cut shorter on purpose – there isn’t enough of background and setting, the backstories too feel hurried, given there like a formula, and as a result, it is difficult to get grounded in the story. It is all so sketchy and ragged. The multitude of first persons turns out to be annoying in the end, because you don't feel those people and you think why do I need to jump from head to head.
As for the themes of the novel, I felt like the blanket was constantly pulled between environmentalism and game addiction instead of the two supporting each other. I believe it might be the result of the sketchiness of the story.
In the end, I wish the novel had been done better. Because the idea and the topic are very important. And it could have been a cool story if it wasn't so jumpy and detached.

I love to read but being in grad school right now, I have to pick my books carefully so that I use my time wisely. Unfortunately, this just wasn't doing it for me. Such a cool concept, but every time I opened it on my kindle I felt like I was completing a chore.

Thank you to Dundurn Press for sending me an ARC of Eris.

The first thing to say about this book is that the concept is unique but also very topical, with key themes such as digital technology, sustainability, cyber crime, and social justice forming the basis of the narrative. However, while I loved the idea and setting of this book I felt that it lacked the context in the initial chapters to allow the reader to engage with the characters and fully grasp the notion of the gaming platform/world the book was set in. I thought the writing style was brilliant, but due to the length of the book it felt as though the story was rushed which impacted the overall flow; it was as if each chapter/sub-section was shortened (beyond where it’s logical to do so). I also feel like some aspects of the story were skipped over or forgotten, making it a bit confusing at times.

I would be keen to read other work from this writer as I did enjoy his tone of voice through the writing, but unfortunately for me due to the lack of scene setting and character development I couldn’t really engage with the story.

The novel skillfully weaves together the virtual and real worlds, creating a dystopian landscape where a game becomes a battleground for ideology and resistance. Don Barton's journey through Greenhouse, his life's work now under threat, adds a layer of complexity as he seeks to understand his radicalized son and prevent the impending digital revolution.

The author, endorsed by Hugo Award–winning author Robert J. Sawyer, provides a blistering critique of the current state of our online and offline lives, pointing fingers at corporate tech overlords and their government allies. The narrative challenges readers to question the consequences of our collective reliance on digital platforms and the potential for rebellion when pushed to the brink.

This is a gripping and timely thriller that explores the ramifications of technology, corporate control, and the fine line between virtual reality and real-world consequences. With a plot that combines urgency and introspection, the novel captivates readers with its exploration of a society on the brink of a digital revolution, forcing them to confront the dark realities of our interconnected lives.

This book does not create a full completed story in my opinion. The premise of Eris is intriguing for those interested in sci-fi/techno thrillers. However it is fair to note that the book does not accomplish well crafted world building. It lacks in descriptive context, character formation and overall coherence. The significance of the games is not explained well enough, nor are the motives for the character's actions.

It may have benefitted from a concise prologue and additional word count. The novel is too short to execute the ambitious plot. I think this could have been simplified and targeted to a younger audience. Overall, the ARC had potential to build an interesting dystopia but fell short in its descriptions/explanations for certain features.

Although a great concept for a book I found that it missed the mark. The characters aren’t fleshed out enough for the reader to care about and feel invested in, and the plot is paced incredibly slowly. Characters are introduced quickly, with new names being added even late into the book, their motivations not explained to the extent that a reader would then result in wanting to follow their stories. Wording and plot were confusing and unfortunately it didn’t grab my attention further than the first few chapters. The ending was alright but reading this book took me significantly longer than any other book of this length. I’m not sure if it was a matter of wrong book to wrong person, or rather the book was just a great concept that fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundern Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Personally, I did not enjoy this book at all. After reading the description, I was super excited and thought I was going to LOVE this book. What the description was vs what I read felt so misaligned. Had the book been any longer it would have been a DNF.

The chapters felt disjointed and too many POV’s that truly didn’t feel relevant.
The chapters with the teenage son felt poorly written and other chapters felt SO wordy, that it felt like someone adding ‘big’ words to make themselves sound smarter.

This is a wonderful book about the power of games, the ignorance of many and the pull to do what you believe is right, no matter the costs, all wrapped up in a sci-fi bow.

The story is told from many different perspectives, from the man who makes the Greenhouse game (a global game that players play in a virtual reality way, and about trying to fix the problems of the world and helping one another,) his divorced wife, his child who becomes indoctrinated into a hacker group, and the person who is running the group and wants to bring down all the big media corporations.

It is a clever story, told interestingly from different roles of the story, though I found the language used to be a little annoying as if the author believes that using big words makes his characters (or himself) sound clever. But other than that, I enjoyed this book.

I usually enjoy these type of futuristic technology sci fi type books. Overall the story of this one was great. However, you are simply thrown into the world with no real understanding of what is happening which ultimate leads to confusion. I did enjoy the story and technology but wished the story had more intro to it to i did not feel like i was catching up the entire time.

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this really difficult too read and get onto am not a fan of multiple P.O.V i get a bit lost it sounded really interesting but for me was difficult too follow at times its a shame as the blurb made it sound really interesting amd like something i wouod enjoy.

Eris is set against the background of a sandbox game called Greenhouse, the common thread of a dystopian future. When it’s creator’s son is kidnapped by a terrorist group, hoping to create a more simpler, but less digital world; the secret’s of the past come to threaten a possible future.

It’s a pacy read that will be prefect for poolside next Summer. That near future seems well realised and I’d also praise a book where it is both queer and neurodiverse positive. Where I would think it needed a sharper cursor is that it seems both anti-capitalist and friendly to the concept of a digitised and unified world. The speed of the narrative will suit its audience; especially as it gets more frantic towards the end (which also seems a little too neat). The multiple POV’s of four main characters work well, but the ‘in game’ narrative feels more like an epistolary novel.

However, the target audience of geeks like myself who inherited the earth will enjoy it. It’s released by Dundurn Press on 9th June and I thank them for a preview copy.

Thankyou to Netgalley for an Arc of this book! First off, going into this book, the synopsis really intrigued me and reminded me of Ready Player One, this may have been my downfall as I kept trying to compare the two without meaning to. I really liked the complexity of the various POVs we get, but at the same time, for me, if it has anything more than 3 perspectives, I often find myself skimming certain characters perspectives. I think the idea was really cool, but for me it wasn’t visual enough and I couldn’t quite grasp the story as it felt like we jumped in halfway through the plot.

What hooked me was how the story blended the high-tech vibes of 'Black Mirror' with the gripping storytelling style of Don DeLillo. It painted a vivid picture of a world gone crazy with our addiction to all things digital, and the intense actions driven by those fears.

The book is my cup of tea because it's packed with suspense and technology, weaving a story that kept me on the edge of my seat. The tension and danger lurking in the virtual world of Greenhouse and the real-life chaos made it a thrilling read for me! Could not put it down. 5/5

This book was too disjointed and fragmented in style/story for me to really get into. Some interesting ideas and clean crisp writing in places, but felt I was getting pulled all over the place from chapter to chapter. A real struggle to finish, and I'm still unclear about what was going on a lot of the time.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book at all. This was a great premise, poorly executed. If it was any longer then I would probably have DNF’d it.

This book is a multi-person first person narrative. This should fit well with this type of book so we get all the different characters’ perspectives - hero, anti-hero, baddie, etc. Using this approach should move the story on in a dynamic way. Sadly it’s doesn’t do this. All of the voices sounded really similar to me & I don’t think I’d have known who was speaking if the name wasn’t at the top of each chapter. It also felt like you were just dropped into their story so you didn’t feel like you knew what was going on, or even if you were a man/woman, old/young etc in some cases.

One bonus is the prose was easy to read, although the chat room speak wasn’t particularly engaging for me.

All in all I found the book hard to follow & I struggled to care what was going on. By the end, one fed the other.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I was hopeful that it could be something gripping but it just wasn’t there. It felt like the prequel to a series, where the characters & the world were set up in the original book & you were expected to have read that first to understand. Instead you were dropped into this, not knowing what’s going on & it was jarring. I hate giving one star to any book where someone has worked so hard but I’ve found it so hard to find some redeeming qualities to bump this up. I definitely wouldn’t spend my hard-earned cash on it.

Thanks to the author, publishers & NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC in return for an honest review.

I DNF'ed this book after around the first couple of eighty pages and I think it was mainly because the plot just wasn't what I expected. The blurb had me expecting to read a whole different novel and I think it was just quite misleading. The book's plot might not have been as rash if at least some context was provided towards some of the plot lines and I think that's key in making a dystopian novel.
Overall I would give this book Two stars.