Gamechanger (The Bounceback Book 1)

L X Beckett

O.R.S.

A post-apocalyptic, green world, cyberpunk-y adventures of Rubi, activist / adventurer, as she unpacks a possible conspiracy regarding Luce, a kind of social celebrity / avatar, and the government. Sort of Autonomous by way of Diamond Age and maybe When Gravity Fails. Told through multiple third person perspectives.

How much did you like it overall?

On paper, this is so squarely in my wheelhouse–lots of cyberpunk-y jargon, a dash of action, and nerdy asides and rabbitholes, but somehow, it was very challenging to read, to the point where I had to refer to reviews and other sites to get a handle on what was happening. I had a very hard time with Gamechangers.

What did you like most?

It’s clear that L X Beckett enjoys nerding out–and there lots of interesting ideas, for example, the idea that you can essentially put yourself into standby mode by sleeping and thereby reducing your carbon footprint–and in doing so, earn carbon credits. There are other interesting ideas about avatar autonomy and a social media economy that have promise. You get the feeling of thinking, which is exciting at times.

What did you not like about it?

Pretty much everything else was a bit frustrating. The plot was very hard to follow, the characters were not particularly engaging, even Rubi, the main character, and the world jumping between real and virtual was so fluid that it became hard to track at times. The result is that I couldn’t commit to the world–constantly wondering if this is virtual (therefore physical damage and other dangers didn’t matter) or real. And the denouement inexplicably underwhelming after so many convolutions, perhaps because it’s the set-up for a series? There’s elliptical, a la Don DeLillo or William Gibson, and then there’s willful obscuration, and this, for me at least, felt like the latter. And the many interesting worldbuilding ideas actually create a bit of a problem for the plot, as the characters don’t use the seemingly at times magical tech the way you would imagine they would–which further pulls you away from the world.

Any favorite moments?

I actually wanted to get to know Luce more, the central cipher/artist/raconteur, that Rubi is trying to rescue/unpack/track? I think?

Where do I put it on The Shelf?

I would probably donate. I think there needed to be such a heavier hand in editing and also regrounding the reader, that this is a donation.

Any closing thoughts?

567p