A-Z Challenge Review: Hardass City by Kiernan Kelly

Why I bought the book: Kassa and Tam had written good reviews and I thought the VR game twist sounded interesting.

Plot: Hard core VR gamer Brad AKA Dare when he's in the game, loves playing Hardass City, a complex shoot -em-up.  He's been playing for years and is now the second best player in the game, the first being Spike.  When things start seeming a bit off with the game, Dare and Spike (or Jeff as he's known in the real world) get together and discover a plot by the game's owners which will affect all the players in the game.

Let's face it the plot is a nice bit of nonsense, but it was still engaging.  I'm not a huge gamer (I leave that to the kids) but I could still see the appeal for these guys and how something as seemingly trivial as changes to their VR game would be a big thing to them.  The story flips between the conflict in the game, where Dare and Spike have to battle the increasingly difficult to kill bad guys, and the RL stuff where Brad and Jeff are trying to find a way to prevent the game's owners from taking advantage of the players.  It worked as a story and both parts were interesting to read.

Characters: These guys are a couple of nerds who spend all their free time in VR.  They do have something of a life outside of their hobby but we aren't actually told very much about that - for example they both have a job but we aren't told what they do, which was a bit bizarre.  This means that the whole focus in the story is on the game and the problems associated with that.  Because they have an immediate connection through their love of the game, it wasn't difficult to see how their attraction to each other would flourish.  The sex between them was hot and also uncomplicated - they are both gay, like each other and sex is a natural extension to that.  Brad is the narrator so we get more of a feel for him than Jeff.  He's a bit shy with an endearing stutter and you can see why he might spend his evenings pretending to be the dashing and heroic Dare.  Jeff was a little less easy to figure out and I did wonder exactly what he saw in Brad, other than a kindred spirit.  However, by the end I was convinced that they worked well enough as a couple that I was satisfied with the ending.

Overall: This was a quick and enjoyable read.  The characterisation may be a little thin in places but I still liked Brad and Jeff enough that it didn't bother me too much.  The story was engaging and the pacing swift enough that the book was a very pleasant way to fill a lazy afternoon.  I'm giving it a grade of 'Very Good' and would recommend to all the gamers out there or those looking for a decent read with an unusual story.

Buy this book HERE.