Nirvana by J.R. Stewart
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Jax14
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Nirvana by J.R. Stewart
A teen\YA book offered by Netgalley.
It seemed so simple in a world before extinction. Boy meets girl, they fall in love and boy and girl get married. However life is never as smooth. Larissa is a student who plays in a band, and Andrew a physics major who believes he has met the girl of his dreams. Fast forward and the couple are married and living at the barracks where Andrew works. The world has changed. The rich elite live in the Bubble while others are at the Farm and desperately trying to supply the world with food. Hexagon was the corporation who tried to save the crops but the bees, amongst others, are gone. Life is a struggle. And then it happens. Andrew dies. Without proof or a body, Larissa listens to her heart and refuses to sign the death certification or believe the explanation that the corporation insists she does. Able to retreat into a virtual world to see Andrew, Larissa becomes more and more dependent on this virtual reality to keep her hope alive. With the threat of being expelled from the base hanging over her head, the sightings of Andrew seem more and more common. Is this just in her mind and is her need for him so intense that she is somehow deluding herself that he really is out there? Where are the physical signs that he is still alive coming from? Can she trust those around her to help her? Can she trust herself?
As a YA story I can understand the concentration on the love and death relationship. To have found your soulmate and having him ripped away without closure is a very deep seated fear. The introduction of possible world crises is also great for planting the seed of inquiry as to how much we should actually be trusting what lies the big corporations are feeding us. The story ends with a good lead into the next one. What I didn't enjoy about the book was the formatting-the kindle edition I received had headers and footers, page numbers, the title and authors name running through the middle of pages. Also silly mistakes like using check instead of cheek cropped up. I found the language used in her journal strange-why would she be so formal when writing? Certain dialogues also seemed too explanatory between people. While I found Larissa's lamenting a little slow (but I guess for a good reason), the plot twist is pretty easy to work out. The premise is not really realised-she does not take on the government in this one. I would recommend this book as an average read and hope that the sub plots are explored in later books, and that the characters are developed a lot more.
-- 30 Oct 2015, 03:50 --
The book has subsequently been rewritten and has addressed the faults-definitely now recommended...
-- 01 Nov 2015, 10:12 --
I was privileged to be invited to read the redrafted book Nirvana by JR Stewart after the author took the sage advice of a number of advance readers, originally offered by Netgalley.
In a world dominated by big corporation Hexagon, life is run in a controlled manner. For a little rest and relaxation, and if they can afford it, people get to escape their lives for a few minutes in virtual reality. A place where all your dreams can be fulfilled. Our heroine Larissa works in the VR lab, as well as being an animal rights activist and musician in a punk band, and is engaged to Andrew, one of Hexagon's key VR programmers. Andrew is becoming more and more secretive about his work, and in their world constantly under surveillance, he cannot share his concerns with Larissa. His dealings with Hexagon's bosses and their desires for the VR world has led him to uncover secrets regarding the extinction. The terrible period in history when animals and crops were destroyed, to be replaced with synthetically grown food for the masses. Now Andrew has disappeared and Hexagon insists he is dead. Larissa refuses to accept this-even with a body being produced. She still sees Andrew in her VR time and it feels like the real him. Can she track down the evidence to prove that he still lives and that Hexagon is not as benign as they would like people to believe? And who can she trust to help her-if anyone?
The rewrite was amazing. It's a 180 degree change in writing style and accessibility to the characters. The previous concerns about personalities not being fleshed out enough were addressed, and a number of changes in the story were made. The author has created a world of nanobots and VR and the very real threat about what would happen if all the bees were exterminated. The concepts are clear and well explained and ensure that the reader doesn't need to jump back and forth in the book for clarity. A few issues with spelling and continuity didn't allow for a 5 star rating, but it certainly came close.
A very clever lead into book 2 allows you to finish the story without feeling as though you are abruptly left hanging, but very curious as to where the story is going next. A very well written redraft-highly recommended.
It seemed so simple in a world before extinction. Boy meets girl, they fall in love and boy and girl get married. However life is never as smooth. Larissa is a student who plays in a band, and Andrew a physics major who believes he has met the girl of his dreams. Fast forward and the couple are married and living at the barracks where Andrew works. The world has changed. The rich elite live in the Bubble while others are at the Farm and desperately trying to supply the world with food. Hexagon was the corporation who tried to save the crops but the bees, amongst others, are gone. Life is a struggle. And then it happens. Andrew dies. Without proof or a body, Larissa listens to her heart and refuses to sign the death certification or believe the explanation that the corporation insists she does. Able to retreat into a virtual world to see Andrew, Larissa becomes more and more dependent on this virtual reality to keep her hope alive. With the threat of being expelled from the base hanging over her head, the sightings of Andrew seem more and more common. Is this just in her mind and is her need for him so intense that she is somehow deluding herself that he really is out there? Where are the physical signs that he is still alive coming from? Can she trust those around her to help her? Can she trust herself?
As a YA story I can understand the concentration on the love and death relationship. To have found your soulmate and having him ripped away without closure is a very deep seated fear. The introduction of possible world crises is also great for planting the seed of inquiry as to how much we should actually be trusting what lies the big corporations are feeding us. The story ends with a good lead into the next one. What I didn't enjoy about the book was the formatting-the kindle edition I received had headers and footers, page numbers, the title and authors name running through the middle of pages. Also silly mistakes like using check instead of cheek cropped up. I found the language used in her journal strange-why would she be so formal when writing? Certain dialogues also seemed too explanatory between people. While I found Larissa's lamenting a little slow (but I guess for a good reason), the plot twist is pretty easy to work out. The premise is not really realised-she does not take on the government in this one. I would recommend this book as an average read and hope that the sub plots are explored in later books, and that the characters are developed a lot more.
-- 30 Oct 2015, 03:50 --
The book has subsequently been rewritten and has addressed the faults-definitely now recommended...
-- 01 Nov 2015, 10:12 --
I was privileged to be invited to read the redrafted book Nirvana by JR Stewart after the author took the sage advice of a number of advance readers, originally offered by Netgalley.
In a world dominated by big corporation Hexagon, life is run in a controlled manner. For a little rest and relaxation, and if they can afford it, people get to escape their lives for a few minutes in virtual reality. A place where all your dreams can be fulfilled. Our heroine Larissa works in the VR lab, as well as being an animal rights activist and musician in a punk band, and is engaged to Andrew, one of Hexagon's key VR programmers. Andrew is becoming more and more secretive about his work, and in their world constantly under surveillance, he cannot share his concerns with Larissa. His dealings with Hexagon's bosses and their desires for the VR world has led him to uncover secrets regarding the extinction. The terrible period in history when animals and crops were destroyed, to be replaced with synthetically grown food for the masses. Now Andrew has disappeared and Hexagon insists he is dead. Larissa refuses to accept this-even with a body being produced. She still sees Andrew in her VR time and it feels like the real him. Can she track down the evidence to prove that he still lives and that Hexagon is not as benign as they would like people to believe? And who can she trust to help her-if anyone?
The rewrite was amazing. It's a 180 degree change in writing style and accessibility to the characters. The previous concerns about personalities not being fleshed out enough were addressed, and a number of changes in the story were made. The author has created a world of nanobots and VR and the very real threat about what would happen if all the bees were exterminated. The concepts are clear and well explained and ensure that the reader doesn't need to jump back and forth in the book for clarity. A few issues with spelling and continuity didn't allow for a 5 star rating, but it certainly came close.
A very clever lead into book 2 allows you to finish the story without feeling as though you are abruptly left hanging, but very curious as to where the story is going next. A very well written redraft-highly recommended.
Latest Review: Lost on the Edge of Eternity by Jonathan Floyd
