I recieved an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

I was initially drawn to this book from its interesting cover and premise. I love post apocalyptic, as well as sci fi and this was a nice short read to fit between college classes. Unfortunately, despite the interesting start, this book wasn't my favourite.

The author clearly put a lot of work into crafting an interesting science fiction world, but the story felt flat. Dylan doesn't really investigate much, more things just kinda fall into his lap, which would be fine if the plot was a bit more interesting. Our only explaination for the why behind the villain is given via evil monologue and he doesn't really have any plans besides anarchy and mass murder.

<spoiler> When Dylan destroys the sabatoged vans to save thousands of lives, he discovers after that his ex-wife was in one of the vans and had died in the explosion. He is not given an opportunity to chose between thousands of lives and the woman he loves, he just finds out after. Then he kills the villain and re-enters the game, putting him back almost exactly where he started but as a private detective instead of a cop. </spoiler>

There are three named female characters. One has a speaking role outside of the prologue. Two die offscreen. The survivor only serves to provide the supplies Dylan needs on his quest.

The premise was interesting, and I liked the commentary of how "citizens" would turn on "tourists" for being "Taking advantage of the system" when they had all been tourists once. I think it moved too quickly and needed a bit more work added to the plot, but overal it was enjoyable until the end. I don't hate sad endings, but I do hate endings where it seems like nothing has been accomplished or changed. <spoiler> Dylan ends up on the same place, catching bad guys, just not working for the police in an official capacity. </spoiler>

Excellent book, love it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

I loved the premise of this book, a dystopian future with cyber punk and a mix of thriller. It felt like this could make either a good video game or movie/tv series. I was a little lost at the beginning, I felt like I missed a chapter or two as I wish the author would describe the worlds move and how our protagonist got to where he was in Verisim and gave a bit more of a backstory. about how it came to be but also just how it got to the state that is was in. You kind of figured it out as you read out. Dylan McKnight, who was a former cop in the real world, now working as a detective in Verisim, becomes suspicious of this seemingly perfect digital world when a series of unusual murders, caused by a mysterious figure who seems to know more about Dylan than he would like. This makes him confront the harsh reality of the outside world devastated by war, environmental collapse and just choas

This seems like it will be at least a trilogy, so maybe the author will dive more into the 2 worlds.
It was hard for me to get into, but about half way, the story picked up for me. There were parts that I really enjoyed, but others I hoped would be described more or just given more information.