Book Review: Revelations

Let me start by saying this: I am not a gamer and yet I loved this!

Ana, like everyone else, escapes the horrors of real world by hooking into Sol - a perfect cyber reproduction of our solar system, that shows the Earth as it was before the Devastation. After fracking ripped it apart.
The real world is broken, stinking of refuse and human waste and stale air and everyone is looking for an escape from the misery of it, by making use of Sol. As far as Ana's concerned, she competes in e-games combat Arenas on Jupiter’s moon Io, using her prize money to fund her meagre existence and maintain her anonymity. Because Ana is hiding a fatal secret; she is blind, and the all-powerful Corps hunt the visually impaired.
'And nobody knows why.'

Staying under the radar suits Ana. Safe in her little container, that was her sanctuary and refuge, 'her tiny castle in a broken world', she uses Sol to see. Until the unthinkable happens and Ana is faced with her biggest terror - Sol might be terminated.
As it turns out, the long-deceased creator of Sol – Gary O’Drae – had coded an end date into Sol to protect his Heir. Its servers will turn off forever unless the Heir stops the virtual comet that has been programmed to strike in Sol and erase everything.
The news is devastating for Ana, because the Heir is missing. And without Sol, she loses everything. Left in total darkness she'll be unable to make a living through her virtual arena fights. She'll be useless and completely blind.

When a chance arises to upgrade her cybernetic implant and get a new visor that will allow her to see in the real world, even after Sol has been terminated, Ana is determined to do her damnedest and get the funds for it, even if that means going outside.
The amount is huge, she hates it outside and there's a big chance she'll be walking into a trap. And Ana can't help but wonder is she's doing the right thing.
But when Sol goes off, all the light in her life will be switched off forever and Ana couldn't survive like that. So she sets off to seek a legendary engineer to upgrade her cybernetic implant only to end up in the crosshairs of the same Corps she has fought all her life to remain hidden from.



'The Heir of G.O'D. Revelations' is one of those books with an extremely realistic premise, as both environmental damage and virtual reality are concerned. It may take a few chapters for non-gamers to get settled in, since all the gaming scenes and terms may be a tad confusing. But any reader is bound to get hooked after they get their bearings. The world is vivid and with a distinct real feel. The action scenes are first class, in both virtual and real world setting. And the characters to absolutely root for, all in different shades of a delightful grey.

Ana is beautifully fleshed out and I loved her prowess in the virtual arena as opposed to her disability-stemmed fear and clumsiness in the real world. And speaking of disability, it was wonderfully represented. From the fear of not being able to see anymore to the terror when being forced to go outside - any reader is bound to both feel for her and empathise.

Fast paced and action jam-packed, this book may not have a very unpredictable storyline, but maintains a nice level of tension and is also quite gripping. There's also a big cliff-hanger at the end that will have you straight-out reaching for book 2.

I'll definitely continue with the series and highly recommend it to all GameLit and Dystopia fans out there.

Check out this book and more of Harper Maze over at http://www.harpermaze.com/