Review of Too Complex: It's a (Enter Difficulty Setting Here) Life

[Stephanie Runyon]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Too Complex: It's a (Enter Difficulty Setting Here) Life" by Anthony Moffett.]

---

4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Too Complex: It’s a (Enter Difficulty Setting Here) Life by Anthony Moffett is a fantasy story. Cody Redbond is addicted to the online role-playing game Fantasy Estate. The ranks are the same as in a card game, with Jack being the lowest and Ace being the highest. When he wins against five other players and achieves the rank of Queen, a purple mist rises from him. Dopamine compels him to play continuously to achieve the Ace rank. The game causes Cody to neglect his pets, lose his job, and not pay his bills.

A month goes by, and the landlord knocks on Cody’s door to serve him an eviction notice. Corey has his attorney, Robert Carr, and Mavirna with him. Corey unlocks the door, and they discover trash piled up to the ceiling. Robert asks Corey why the power is off. Suddenly, a creature grabs and eats him. The exit is blocked by another monster, which makes Corey and Mavirna face the mutated creatures and toxic waste to find Cody.

Too Complex: It’s a (Enter Difficulty Setting Here) Life is a character-driven story that follows Corey and Mavirna navigating the apartment. The creativity of the beings was remarkable. For instance, Corey fights off a mutated black widow spider possessing a second head of a copperhead snake. Mavirna finds herself in the bathroom with Itch-Toe and Wormring, two humanoid beings made of fungus. There were more discoveries showing how much Cody’s addiction consumed him. How he lived with all the foul conditions made me wonder if he neglected his personal hygiene.

This is a very short book. I encountered over ten errors and believe another round of editing would be beneficial. Most of the issues were typographical, but they affect the quality significantly. Another odd piece was how Mavirna and Corey interacted with the author. The author told them how long it had been since Corey had spoken to Cody. Mavirna says, “Hey, Anthony! How long did you say it was?” The author literally answers, “Read the first sentence on the previous page,” I wrote.” I had to reread the text to catch the author interacting with the story. In my opinion, that wasn't necessary.

I am rating this fantasy short story four out of five stars. The need for more editing was the reason I deducted one star. The author's interaction with Mavirna was something other readers may like, so I did not lower the score. The exceptional development of the characters was amazing. Detailed expressions, witty remarks, and the interactions between Mavirna and Corey gave the story depth. The descriptive writing made it easy to envision the challenges they would have to face to find Cody.

I recommend Too Complex: It’s a (Enter Difficulty Setting Here) Life for fans of online role-playing games. This short story is a quick read. I believe it would be appropriate for a seventh-grade student. I found only one minor instance of profanity and no explicit scenes in the book. The fantasy story with talking animals and the quirky illustrations will make this book an entertaining reading experience.

******
Too Complex: It's a (Enter Difficulty Setting Here) Life
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

This is a very short book. I encountered over ten errors and believe another round of editing would be beneficial. Most of the issues were typographical, but they affect the quality significantly. Another odd piece was how Mavirna and Corey interacted with the author. The author told them how long it had been since Corey had spoken to Cody. Mavirna says, “Hey, Anthony! How long did you say it was?” The author literally answers, “Read the first sentence on the previous page,” I wrote.” I had to reread the text to catch the author interacting with the story. In my opinion, that wasn't necessary.

This can be a great narrative tool when done correctly. The problem is that, when not, it only breaks the immersion. And this story seems like an original way to broach the subject of online addictions.
Great review!