- #1
This is a superbly written and translated novel that is fun to read. The horror world is dark and grim, the ghosts are diverse, and the many human-ghost interactions are very funny Spoiler
Did you like the ghost I brought you?
[collapse]. Still I can't give it more than 4 stars.The author put all his (or her) energy into the VR parts, the IRL storyline is bland and the IRL world has terrible world-building. And no, calling it a "photon computer" doesn't solve anything. SpoilerApparently the police has lie-detection apps on their phones, there is face-detection everywhere, everyone has their DNA collected in a gouvernment database, and the "photon" computers can calculate the ranking of actors based on social media monitoring. And then all the crimes are banal, bland and with aforementioned high-tech easily solve-able.
[collapse]Then there is the whole acting thing. Yes, its great that the MC doesn't care, but I do! All the real world interactions just feel like an after thought. Hail the police, meh the rest.Lastly I didn't talk about stats. SpoilerThe MC only levels his "strength" and can ignore the rest. Worst of all, he has super-memory from the start. And it lets him survive the a few times. Not likeable.
[collapse]From an authors perspective, I would not have separated VR and IRL that much. Compare it to "My House of Horros", where the MC can put real humans into the ghost world easily. And then look at all the hoops the MC in this novel has to do the same. Also, the MC should play the "real" VR game and have some juicy interactions there. Lvl 10 tr*shes lvl 80s or something. Or being able to call ghosts. We know nothing about the "real" VR game.