Final Girls by Mira Grant

hat if you could fix the worst parts of yourself by confronting your worst fears? Dr. Jennifer Webb has invented proprietary virtual reality technology that purports to heal psychological wounds by running clients through scenarios straight out of horror movies and nightmares. In a carefully controlled environment, with a medical cocktail running through their veins, sisters might develop a bond they've been missing their whole liveswhile running from the bogeyman through a simulated forest. But]]can real change come so easily? Esther Hoffman doubts it. Esther has spent her entire journalism career debunking pseudoscience, after phony regression therapy ruined her father's life. She's determined to unearth the truth about Dr. Webb's budding company. Dr. Webb's willing to let her, of course, for reasons of her own. What better advertisement could she get than that of a convinced skeptic? But Esther's not the only one curious about how this technology works. Enter real-world threats just as frightening as those created in the lab. Dr. Webb and Esther are at odds, but they may also be each other's only hope of survival. With her new novella Final Girls, bestselling, award-winning author Mira Grant has conjured a heartstopping, gut-wrenching story filled with as many twists as it is versions of reality. Grant offers a chilling exploration of how surviving horrors might define us all.

Got this novella in a bundle so it's not something I usually read. The premise drew me in, but felt like I got baited into something else. It opened with topics that it had no intention of resolving, and it brought forth a protagonist to emphatise with but who would get no resolution, no closure.

I do find it an easy read but found it a little cringey in the way it uses computer terminology, and the assumptions it makes about how research actually works, especially when it comes to applied technology that cuts across multiple complex fields of study. VR gets mentioned in other reviews, but the novella itself actually explains that it is not really VR - it's watching dreams - and that's where the idea falls apart for me. See... VR is about the conscious mind - dreams are about the subconscious - and the subconscious will process information at an extremely rapid rate, too quick to be watched like a movie.

But, ignoring the “science-y” stuff, I actually do find the two main characters to be nicely fleshed-out (given it's just a novella); it feels like pleasant relationship. But as alluded earlier, it's just wasn't very satisfying to have an opening devoted to pitting the two main characters against each other and then to render it all completely irrelevant after putting them to sleep. A McGuffin if you will.

I did like the villain too; might have been an interesting character in a longer book. Too bad there's another plot hole with the villainous plot that I couldn't get past. How her employer knew so much about this supposedly very closely guarded secret, and knew enough specifics to provide the villain with detailed steps on how to use this supposedly secret technology, and how to expertly use supposedly proprietary software to commit the sabotage that she did... was just too unbelieveable. The explanation was to discredit the researcher by having her suffer real consequences - but there are dozens of easier ways to discredit someone, especially when you have the means to hire a corporate spy/saboteur/assassin.

Overall, I did like the idea or concept of the plot, it's just that the way it happened (and the premise not even acknowledged at the end) didn't quite sit well with me.

Dr. Webb has come up with new VR technology that can cure phobias, mend relationships, etc. Patients are placed in a pod and drift into a drug induced sleep. She puts them through horror movie type scenarios. Journalist Esther Hoffman is sent to interview Dr. Webb, and test out this new form of therapy for herself. There are also those who want the technology for themselves, and are willing to kill for it. This was a pretty good short. Not what I was expecting, but still good.

“She wears jeans and a Buckaroo Banzai T-Shirt, and everything about her is perfect.” (pg 52
Man, this hit all of my buttons.
Two strong female characters in a simulated horror world while also in danger from outside? Even the villain was cool.
I love this idea that two people experiencing a traumatic experience would be bonded for life. There are some interesting ideas here. It was a winner. It was also the perfect length to cozy up with and read in one shot.
So good.