Vicarious by Rhett C Bruno

Vicarious by Rhett C. Bruno
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: The real world is only where you breathe…

In High Earth, entertainment is everything. Virtual Worlds. Games. Steaming shows. Simulations—there’s something for everybody. You don't ever even have to leave your home.

For Asher Reinhart, nothing compares to Ignis: Live, a reality show that pushes human beings to their very extremes. As a volunteer director, he closely monitors the lives of those living on an Interstellar Ark, believing they're the last of humanity.

Mission is the show's brightest young star. Born in hiding, her intelligence and near-perfect genetics have allowed her to rise up the ranks faster than any before her. But now that it's her turn to provide for the Ark, everything changes...

With Mission's life placed in danger, Asher is forced to choose: between the show he loves, or the woman whose existence has been the focus of his attention since the day he was born.

The 100 meets The Truman Show in this science fiction story about the power of human connection, from USA Today Bestselling and Nebula Award-Nominated author Rhett C. Bruno. It’s perfect for fans of Hugh Howey, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Michael Crichton.

Read for Oct 2021 book group. Read on audio.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book.

What I enjoyed:
The over all concept - interesting world building, interesting future speculation, interesting characters especially with the protagonist Asher and a very interesting conclusion.

The depths to which human society has sunk as relates to virtual reality and reality TV is cause for despair. Which is part of the overall point - just look at reality shows on TV today. Where will society stop when it comes to entertainment and human depravity? Interesting question...

Where I struggled:
Some of the nuances or details of the book didn't mesh with the future society and this may be hard to describe if you haven't read the book. The main item being conditions on Ignis - shared birth control? ICK and not entirely realistic beyond a handful of generations (hormonal life span). Expecting the entire population of Ignis to abstain from sex till their appointed "breeding time"? Unrealistic and implausible. If this is such an advanced society (despite being stuck on a fake ship), use artificial insemination to achieve population and birthing objectives, not "hey, you're 20 and never had sex, here's your 50 year old partner! Enjoy!". WTHeck. Massively ick. So, some issues with the execution of Ignis.

The extremes between High Earth and the Outcasts was almost too extreme? I still waffle on this one.

The antagonist (Asher's boss and the creator of Ignis live) was almost laughable in his evil villain role.

So. I quite enjoyed this book, with aspects that at times kicked me out of the story and made me so frustrated. Kudo's to the author for eliciting such a response. This is a book you need to read and decide for yourself. Recommended with some significant reservations.



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