Blog Tour stop for this enthralling, original and imaginative look at the dark side of immersive games
#AUsersGuideToMakeBelieve @AllisonandBusby @DrJaneAlexander
"Whatever your fantasy, live it with Make-Believe™. The only limit is you. "
Synopsis
Whatever your fantasy, live it with Make-Believe™. The only limit is you.
Cassie worked at Imagen, the tech giant behind the cutting-edge virtual reality MakeBelieve™, and she got to know the product well.
Too well. But Cassie has been barred from her escape from the real world, and legally gagged by the company.
Her dream job now seems to be part of a larger nightmare, and Imagen is not done with her yet.
With Imagen holding all the cards, and personal and publicity freedoms at stake, how far will Cassie go to end the deception?
Immerse yourself in a near-future world with an all-too-plausible slant on reality and fantasy for our ‘connected’ times.
My Review
Welcome to the world of MakeBelieve™ a world you create and you control or do you?
MakeBelieve™ is the latest and greatest full first person immersive gaming experience, here you can be and do anything.
you want to be a super-hero? no problem!, A sports star? pick your team! dream job? pick your role! sounds amazing?
But like all "games" users can become too involved, addicted and while Imagen the company who created and own MakeBelieve™ have fail safes to stop you spending too much time in these worlds but like most thing people still abuse this system.
We meet Cassie an employee of Imagen who through her position is one of these people who have abused the system and spent to much time in these immersions but they have lead to her uncovering something shocking and unbelievable.
This discovery causes huge fall out as Cassie raises her concerns she is sacked and slapped witha gagging order and with no way to further access the game. but she does not give up she knows what she has discovered affect everyone, finding others in her situation they band together determined to take Imagen down for good.
I thought this book was fantastic, original and imaginative the story captivates you with the immersive wonderland that is MakeBelieve™ and the adventure and world in users create but we see the darker side as a no spoilers blog it is hard to explain these elements as not to ruin the story for others but the as the read progressed I was absorbed not only by the good against evil type fight of Cassie vs Imagen but also Cassie as a character, she's a strong women and is commited to her fight against the huge company against all the odds.
This book also raises some huge ethical questions and points, the focus on large companies having so much of our personal information and time and also the use of more immersive games especially now the popularity of VR games and the fact they are now so easily available.
Altogether, a unique and enthralling read with an all to realistic slant on the dark side of our future use of technology.
Author Bio
Jane Alexander has completed a PhD in creative writing and teaches at the University of Edinburgh and the Open University.
For several years she ran creative writing workshops for people in recovery from substance abuse.
Her first novel was The Last Treasure Hunt (Saraband 2015).
Twitter: DrJaneAlexander
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Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.
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