I haven't read a lot of sci-fi and whilst reading this it definitely reminded me of The Matrix. A pandemic happens and the people that are "saved" are kept in windowless rooms, their only contact with others being video calls to their teammates as they work on the virtual reality programme "Paradise". But to what endgame? Is it just a way of keeping people occupied until the pandemic ravages itself out, or is it more sinister in that people's consciousness will eventually inhabit this paradise world.
This was a quick read and a good exploration of loneliness and grief but the ending was rather cryptic and left me thinking if it really was all a dream then WTF???

What an interesting idea for a novel. The execution is very dark and feels even more so given recent history and persisting threats. There is an audience out there - others have compared it favorably to The Matrix universe.

I’d read and enjoyed both of the author’s short story collections and was naturally interesting in checking out what he’ll do in long form. Well, in long form, he turns firmly to science fiction of the virtual reality variety, in a tale that appears to be very specifically inspired by the recent years of forced isolation and solitude.
Geoff, the protagonist, is one of the people who have been “saved”, which here means confined to a self-contained environment where they are stuck designing an ultimate virtual reality paradise named aptly enough Paradiso.
And then Geoff finds a glitch of the matrix. A pretty interesting glitch that seems to allow a sort of dream-come-true arrangement which seems too good to be true…because it is. It really is.
Now, now only his safety but his very sanity hangs in balance. Cue in dramatic music and…
Well, and that’s it, really. The dramatic music might have been an overstatement. To be honest, the book didn’t really work for me. Wino can write, plain and simple clean sentences for complex structures and emotions, but the plot just didn’t wow.
It had interesting components: the virtual reality thing, the very romantic subplot, even a surprising plot twist at the end, but…it read somewhat drawn out and just didn’t excite or engage me the way I like the books I read to. Some sort of a personal disconnect. Maybe I’m too much of a non-gamer…who knows? It was a decent read, and quick enough, but that’s about it. User mileage may vary. Thanks Netgalley.