David Meredith (2)

That was...completely disturbing on SO many levels.

First of all, the general concept...essentially man playing God.
I likened it to saying that in THIS world, Aaru is the mother computer, and we're all simply walking, talking, wireless devices, able to be uploaded, downloaded, or deleted at a moments notice. I know our brains are complex and there is electrical activity and processes followed similar to a computer, but the very idea of "capturing" someone, so to speak, for all time is troublesome to me. I mean, computers have coding that's WRITTEN, so how does one allow it to continue to thrive, change, and grow without user input? Like I said...heady idea...

Secondly, the sadistic twist in the story.
I get it. Aaru presents us with a virtual "heaven" where the good people of the world can live on for all time, and interact with their families through "windows" as the years pass...but no system is perfect. There is no such thing as an absolutely secure system, so whether an unacceptable "Resident" arrives, or some beastly animal in the "Before" (our world, live and in living color) tries to twist things for their own nefarious plans, though unwanted and protected against, they can still happen. Speaking of beasts, that part of the story with "Magic Man" was both unexpected and again, disturbing. I did NOT see that weirdo coming and the dark corner that the story turned when following this character's story line, was not something I signed up for.

So...I finished, but I can't say I'll be seeking out the next installment...oh yes, there will be more thanks to that ending. Recommended for tech minded readers that like questioning the hereafter and the existence of the powers that be, but be warned....adults only due to that darker content I mentioned. The scenes aren't many, but the feelings/emotions taint the surroundings. Star rating influenced by experience, unexpected content, and writing.


**copy received for review… (mais)

This read was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Halls of Hel is the second in the Aaru series by David Meredith.

Things is Aaru are idyllic. Rose and Franco are closer than ever, her friendships with her fellow Lords, Ladies, and Vedas are flourishing. In a land where her every thought, dream, and desire can become reality, what more could one ask for? Koren is struggling out in the real world. Her relationship with her parents is testy, her father is drinking too much and her mother is barely around. She is constantly tugged between promotion, event, and interview as the spokesperson for Elysium Industries with hardly a minute to catch her breath. Magic Man is still at large, plotting and toiling away behind a computer to hack into the Aaru mainframe, ensnaring and enslaving Koren forever. The two sisters are up against the most sinister foe, can they ward off Magic Mans attack before it’s too late?

Ok, I am just going to go with the things I liked and the things I didn’t like route here. Once again, this was a really imaginative plot with some really unique themes being explored. The afterlife and it’s connection to technology and thus immortality raise some really interesting talking points which had me debating myself while reading. Are the “damaged” brain scans uploaded into Aaru deserving of a quarantined location, away from the inhabitants and glory of Aaru? (I’m still going back and forth on this one) Is deleting a brain scan equivalent to murder/death. (I think so?) Leaves a lot to think about. Fighting a war within Aaru is also a compelling plot line, and one that left me furiously turning pages to see what would happen next.

Now for the things I wasn’t so thrilled with…. Koren is WAY oversexualized for a child of 14. The descriptive language of her sleazy dress, her body, and relationship with pop star douche just made me feel….icky…it wasn’t needed and felt like too much. Koren is essentially a child, one maturing into adulthood sure, but way too young to be parading around in the book like a little sex kitten. It didn’t work for me, and left me feeling skived out. I also feel the plot line could work just as well without the villain being a crazed pedophile. It’s too much, a disgruntled ex employee would work fine, a college aged computer hacker with a vendetta against Elysium Industries is another more plausible angle. Magic Man is just a gross, weirdly written villain to me. (Obviously I am not an author but speaking purely from a bookworm perspective). I was looking for more character development here in the second book but felt it fell a little flat in that department. Rose comes off as some angsty, lusty teenager, and Koren a petulant brat.

Overall a really interesting plot line if the characters just felt more authentic and not so overly sexualized, it would be a really amazing read.… (mais)

I feel sort of lousy about this, but I've learned my lesson and will no longer accept book via Twitter requests. Aaru was send to me free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review, so... here goes. I read 30 pages and I couldn't do it anymore. I just couldn't. The concept sounds really interesting, but I could not get into the writing style and the formatting. There were inconsistencies in the grammar that drove me bonkers. The characters flashed between moods very quickly and I found the descriptions really dense and blocky. A lot of useless dialogue, and a lot of immediate opinions pushed by the characters. My husband went through cancer treatment several years ago (cancer-free now!!!) and a lot of the opinions stated by characters in just the first few pages feel so familiar and so ENRAGING to me... All these things made it impossible for me to focus on the book, which is the reason I don't often pick up self-published books and when I do, I DNF a lot of them. For all I know, this may be a really incredible story. But I got hung up on the writing style and formatting and I couldn't get into it. A lot of these things are ME problems, and not story problems, so if you aren't very sensitive to these sorts of things, please don't let this review discourage you from picking up the book.… (mais)