I just want to say this novel is dangerously addictive. I stayed up pretty much all last night and read this entire thing. Honestly an awesome read. It can be a little confusing at times but it’s pretty fun to try and piece together what’s happening. Some really entertaining characters and just a fun read.

1 Likes · Like

I_Eat_Goldfish

Status: 40. the riker’s luck

Jul 28, 2023

Premise starts off good. The characters introduced and the direction of the novel are interesting. The main actor contemplates his own gender change occasionally. There are some stipulations to this throughout the early novel. The importance of the main actors journey and what’s at stake are rough and not polished, but are present. The style, tone, grammar, and basic integrity of the novel devolve at around chapter 20. All the buildup and plot devices used up till around that point plateau and the novel doesn’t go anywhere. The inception of the actors being in a simulation of a simulation doesn’t go anywhere. The assassin sent to end John never feels like John is in any danger. The namesake of the novel doesn’t actually happen very often and when the main actor does do ‘exploitation’ it doesn’t have a huge impact. The circumstance in which it’s done doesn’t describe it as such. The lack of details in world building extend this issue. In the later chapters there is mention of John’s past (future) experience to indicate expectation for where future events may lead but it’s not enough. I’d say the one good thing after the story devolves is there is no romance. The novel is already exploring many plot ideas all at once so by not having romance it’s not being stretched as much. The story still breaks down for me but at least it’s not as bad with heavier romantic events included. Although, the later chapters contained a lot more insinuation I’d say detracts from the story being told at that point. It’s messy.

5 Likes · Like