Otaku by Chris Kluwe
Otaku in Japanese refers to the anime/manga/video-game obsessed fans and the underground culture, who put their games ahead of real social interactions.
In Chris Kluwe's debut cyberpunk sci-fi thriller Otaku, he opts to have a young black girl named Ashley Akachi as the protagonist in a future techno-influenced post-apocalyptic world where online/VR games have become a cultural obsession among the youth, to the point of the game superstars being offered brand commissions/ fandoms treating them as demi-idols in real life. Ashley is a certified star, top of the leaderboards in this set of games called the Infinite Games, leading an all-star cast called Sun Jewel warriors. Ashley herself is the celebrated "Ashura The Terrible" who sets the tone for the book in this opening chapter that pits her against a dragon - no big deal this, just another encounter - she proceeds to solo-decimate the dragon by throwing herself down it's gullet and slicing it up from inside [Yeah i know. What a visual, huh!] Chris right away establishes the tone of the book - ultra-violent, take-no-prisoners, It's a grim and brutal world both outside and inside the haptic chambers.
Unfortunately for Ashley, the world outside hasn't given up it's misogynist attitude either. There are tons of people out there who hate her for being a ''girl" in this man-dominated game-world. And of course, the racists slurs abound in the form of hatemails and message-boards. Ash tries to block this out by dedicating herself to get the money for her mother's treatment and giving her support is her boyfriend Ham, who happens to be a topnotch game developer associated with the Infinite games. But pretty soon, Ash stumbles upon a conspiracy that involves a new model of the "Hap-Hood" that immerses the players into their VR environment, but this one seems to control the very mind of the gamer as well, rendering them puppets in the hands of whoever is operating the game. Her game-life and real-life collide dangerously and all the skills she has learnt inside the haptic chamber that render her to be one of the most tenacious, aggressive player might just come in handy to keep her and her friends alive as the conspiracy threatens to blow over into a full fledged war.
Chris is passionate about cyber-tech, weapons and fighting. That much is very clear. Even the world-building is impressive, the setting being a washed-out version of Miami where the sea-levels are always rising and mainlands are split into the spaces for the rich and the poor. Towering spires connected by skybridges dotted by areas where humanity huddles in anonymity, eking out enough to earn them water ration privileges and not much else. The VR landscape is brought to life time and again, imagination working overtime to paint this in the most colorful manner.
So much for the good stuff. Much as I wanted to like the book, the characters and the narrative were a massive let-down for me. While I am fairly new to hardcore cyberpunk, I felt the meat and potatoes of the book itself was not stuffed together well enough. Let's start with the central first person POV. As a reader, I am stuck around in her head for the entirety of the book. Ash herself, the symbol of resistance ( a dark-skinned girl, who kicks ass in the online VR game-play and also is capable enough to casually emasculate the misogynist goons who threaten to rape her in real life, without so much as breaking into a sweat? Phew! ) comes across as a parody of an empowered woman. Despite the repeated threats on her life, incessantly referred to as "bitch", "whore", "cunt" by everyone around her, her confidence levels are staggering. She goes through life, head held high. A fathead of a younger brother, blissfully unaware of his sister's problems with these racial extremists threats mounting? A mother stuck in a high security clinic, undergoing pschy-treatment for having lost her mind? No problem. Let's just escape that sucky reality. Slink into a haptic chamber and have wild sex with our loverboy, who happens to be a game dev extraordinaire. And who by the way, also harbours secrets that should ideally blow her game-fracked mind wide open, but all these revelations slide right off her iron-clad defences she actively builds to block out grief. And then again, despite knowing what the "missions" did to her mother's mind ( who is now under psych-ward care in some lockdown facility in the underground ) Ash readily accepts missions from this shady "boss" because she's the only one who can do it. Save the world, that is. Questionable mind, defies logic.
The writing flows and ebbs in parts. It is paced like a runaway freight train, yes. But my main issue with his writing style is the narrative typically veers off-course as Chris stops to indulge himself in 'tech-porn', going overboard in the detailing of the latest gadget or weaponry or VR equipment. Sure, there's plenty of action. The book is chockablock with the same but it's unsettling and staccato, never allowing you to settle down to watch the fight unfold in peace. Ash as the protagonist never had my sympathy even for a moment. Despite being the "victim" here, I just couldn't give her the sympathy vote, because she's cast in the "smart and strong" mold of women who can effortlessly switch between the sly flirtatious vixen to the avenging avatar of Ashura the Terrible. The rest of the characters flit in and out of the action sequences, being props or support staff to Ash's gun-devilry and her insane katana-skills.And that climax! Eye-roll.
Otaku promises such a wild-ride with a heady mix of online VR games, featuring a smart sassy heroine and a world-shattering conspiracy that would clash reality with virtual reality. Alas! This one fails to keep up the interest levels. Stick to William Gibson, if you like hard sci-fi, cyberpunk.
In Chris Kluwe's debut cyberpunk sci-fi thriller Otaku, he opts to have a young black girl named Ashley Akachi as the protagonist in a future techno-influenced post-apocalyptic world where online/VR games have become a cultural obsession among the youth, to the point of the game superstars being offered brand commissions/ fandoms treating them as demi-idols in real life. Ashley is a certified star, top of the leaderboards in this set of games called the Infinite Games, leading an all-star cast called Sun Jewel warriors. Ashley herself is the celebrated "Ashura The Terrible" who sets the tone for the book in this opening chapter that pits her against a dragon - no big deal this, just another encounter - she proceeds to solo-decimate the dragon by throwing herself down it's gullet and slicing it up from inside [Yeah i know. What a visual, huh!] Chris right away establishes the tone of the book - ultra-violent, take-no-prisoners, It's a grim and brutal world both outside and inside the haptic chambers.
Unfortunately for Ashley, the world outside hasn't given up it's misogynist attitude either. There are tons of people out there who hate her for being a ''girl" in this man-dominated game-world. And of course, the racists slurs abound in the form of hatemails and message-boards. Ash tries to block this out by dedicating herself to get the money for her mother's treatment and giving her support is her boyfriend Ham, who happens to be a topnotch game developer associated with the Infinite games. But pretty soon, Ash stumbles upon a conspiracy that involves a new model of the "Hap-Hood" that immerses the players into their VR environment, but this one seems to control the very mind of the gamer as well, rendering them puppets in the hands of whoever is operating the game. Her game-life and real-life collide dangerously and all the skills she has learnt inside the haptic chamber that render her to be one of the most tenacious, aggressive player might just come in handy to keep her and her friends alive as the conspiracy threatens to blow over into a full fledged war.
Chris is passionate about cyber-tech, weapons and fighting. That much is very clear. Even the world-building is impressive, the setting being a washed-out version of Miami where the sea-levels are always rising and mainlands are split into the spaces for the rich and the poor. Towering spires connected by skybridges dotted by areas where humanity huddles in anonymity, eking out enough to earn them water ration privileges and not much else. The VR landscape is brought to life time and again, imagination working overtime to paint this in the most colorful manner.
So much for the good stuff. Much as I wanted to like the book, the characters and the narrative were a massive let-down for me. While I am fairly new to hardcore cyberpunk, I felt the meat and potatoes of the book itself was not stuffed together well enough. Let's start with the central first person POV. As a reader, I am stuck around in her head for the entirety of the book. Ash herself, the symbol of resistance ( a dark-skinned girl, who kicks ass in the online VR game-play and also is capable enough to casually emasculate the misogynist goons who threaten to rape her in real life, without so much as breaking into a sweat? Phew! ) comes across as a parody of an empowered woman. Despite the repeated threats on her life, incessantly referred to as "bitch", "whore", "cunt" by everyone around her, her confidence levels are staggering. She goes through life, head held high. A fathead of a younger brother, blissfully unaware of his sister's problems with these racial extremists threats mounting? A mother stuck in a high security clinic, undergoing pschy-treatment for having lost her mind? No problem. Let's just escape that sucky reality. Slink into a haptic chamber and have wild sex with our loverboy, who happens to be a game dev extraordinaire. And who by the way, also harbours secrets that should ideally blow her game-fracked mind wide open, but all these revelations slide right off her iron-clad defences she actively builds to block out grief. And then again, despite knowing what the "missions" did to her mother's mind ( who is now under psych-ward care in some lockdown facility in the underground ) Ash readily accepts missions from this shady "boss" because she's the only one who can do it. Save the world, that is. Questionable mind, defies logic.
The writing flows and ebbs in parts. It is paced like a runaway freight train, yes. But my main issue with his writing style is the narrative typically veers off-course as Chris stops to indulge himself in 'tech-porn', going overboard in the detailing of the latest gadget or weaponry or VR equipment. Sure, there's plenty of action. The book is chockablock with the same but it's unsettling and staccato, never allowing you to settle down to watch the fight unfold in peace. Ash as the protagonist never had my sympathy even for a moment. Despite being the "victim" here, I just couldn't give her the sympathy vote, because she's cast in the "smart and strong" mold of women who can effortlessly switch between the sly flirtatious vixen to the avenging avatar of Ashura the Terrible. The rest of the characters flit in and out of the action sequences, being props or support staff to Ash's gun-devilry and her insane katana-skills.And that climax! Eye-roll.
Otaku promises such a wild-ride with a heady mix of online VR games, featuring a smart sassy heroine and a world-shattering conspiracy that would clash reality with virtual reality. Alas! This one fails to keep up the interest levels. Stick to William Gibson, if you like hard sci-fi, cyberpunk.
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