Bryce

A short read, but a good one. Typically great and imaginative story from [a:Neil Gaiman 1221698 Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg] illustrated by the artists behind the brilliant [b:Daytripper 8477057 Daytripper Fábio Moon https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327876816s/8477057.jpg 13341979].

The world-building is great, the OASIS is quite fun to imagine, as is all the related tech. The world outside, and the complications that arise from the game, are not very fun to imagine at all. It's unusually cheerful dystopia.

The pop culture references invading every page are never very well-integrated into the story. As others mentioned, it's mostly there to pander to nostalgia. They are fun at times, but a good 50% could have been cut, let's be honest.

The characters were pretty bland, but by the end I was admittedly invested in their fates. The twist related to Aech surprised me, and I really wish the book would have delved into that a bit more. It would have made a much more three-dimensional character, and there would have been opportunities for some poignant scenes.

Despite all of this, I gave the book 4 stars. Mostly for its entertainment value, and pure imagination. With a slightly leaner plot and deeper characters, this could have been both fun and genuinely great. Alas, it's just fun.

I'm still not sure how to rate this book. The utopian city the main character lives in is a hard sell, as nice of a thought as it might be. I really like the idea of LGBT books (especially YA LGBT books) that are pure escapist fantasies, because that can be a very positive and inspiring thing, but parts of this book just feel inauthentic for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Some of the characters and dialogue feel too quirky and clever for their own good, and that makes even the good moments ring hollow. Still, it was a hard book for me to truly dislike. It's short, mostly enjoyable fluff, though it could have been much better.