Fusing plausible representations of playing science-fiction MMOs with nuanced portrayals of a possible near-future, Cox creates a story that has plenty to appeal to gamers, old-school cyberpunks, and techno-thrillseekers alike.
Since graduating with a degree in programming, Dakota Marx has worked as a barista. Not because there aren’t better jobs, but because getting one would eat into her time playing Axillon99, a vast virtual-reality multiplayer online science-fiction game. When the game’s developers announce a new quest with a ten-million-dollar prize for the first group to complete it, Dakota and her friends decide they might as well try; however, with that much money on offer not everyone is prepared to play fair or leave their rivalry inside the game.
Cox weaves together two future worlds: the high-tech space opera of Axillon99, with its mix of artificial constraints, slightly stylised visuals, simplistic bystanders, and trauma-as-inconvenience; and the one-step-from-today dystopia of the real world, with virtual reality helmets, corporate sprawl, urban decay, unpredictable strangers, and trauma-as-danger. |His skilful balance of page time in each and the transition of some plot threads from one to the other make the high-competence, low-flexibility options of the game and the average-competence, wide-flexibility options of the real world act as a pleasing contrast rather than a frustrating obstacle.
This weaving of worlds with different rules and character abilities increases as Dakota both moves from simply playing the game to knowing valuable secrets and is convinced to use her programming skills to assist her brother’s anti-corporate commune.
While the major threat to characters remains violence from those who want the secrets they believe Dakota and her friends have, Cox provides real consequences to failures in the game beyond those of simply falling behind, making the events within Axillon99 feel like more than a game.
As with Cox’s other work, there are little jokes and allusions throughout the text; however, as befits story with geek protagonists, these are sometimes highlighted in-world or even used to signpost a plot.
Dakota is a great protagonist for the premise: her lack of success by traditional standards is a choice rather than a result of inability, preventing her displays of skill from veering into the territory of “simple girl who discovers she is chosen by destiny”; however, her choice to focus on the game over other areas of her life also sometimes leaves her resource-poor. This rejection of material success due to a hobby rather than a strong dislike for corporate power also makes her occasional struggle between the right thing for society and the right thing for her friends more plausible.
The supporting cast are similarly well-suited, displaying a solid mix of trope and nuance. In addition, Cox takes full advantage of the anonymity offered by online interaction, providing readers with the opportunity to predict what sort of people Dakota’s online contacts might actually be.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking gritty cyberpunk, epic space battles, LitRPG, or just a great read.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
