Avery

Ended up being better than I was expecting :)
It's clear the author is pretty familiar with MMO/raiding-style games from the integration of lots of systems, aggro mechanics etc. This makes the combat more interesting, and combined with the cool loot and abilities, makes it feel like I'm getting the buzz from playing a great game (which I don't have much time to actually do these days).

This is the first book in this genre where the death penalties aren't game-ending, which was really refreshing! Allows the main character to not feel overpowered or too lucky.

There are some blocks of stats in there which aren't usually my favorite but it's not too often, so it was alright.

Hard to know how to feel about this book.

Seems like a pretty sad existence, driven home by the author's note. The characters and dialogue are bizarre. I felt like much of it went over my head. I think I might find an analysis of the themes online and then go watch the movie.

I expected more sci-fi, but it's mostly about the drug epidemic. Kind of reminds me of reading Haldeman's The Forever War and realizing it was as much about Vietnam as it was about space.