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Circuit Theory
Dante and Byron are avatars. Driven by human beings, yet still only digital representations of their ideal selves. In reality, they live far apart, but share most of their waking and working hours together in a virtual world called Synth.
In Synth, like in most code, the laws are infinitely more simple and infinitely more complex. Navigating the system rules of virtual love...more
In Synth, like in most code, the laws are infinitely more simple and infinitely more complex. Navigating the system rules of virtual love...more
ebook
Published
July 30th 2012
by Riptide Publishing
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Jan 15, 2013
LisaT - AttentionIsArbitrary M/M Blog LisaT131
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
m-m, rpg, trans, gamers
Recommended to LisaT - AttentionIsArbitrary M/M Blog by:
netgalley.com
~~~
"Stiletto heels didn’t actually hurt when they poked into your pixelated cranium, but it did look rather odd, like I was being weirdly topped by a woman with a shoe fetish. Whoops. Man. Skins could be very androgynous in Synth."
The instantly likeable and hilarious beginning caught me off guard. By the time I decided this was going to be a lighthearted romp in a virtual world, I didn't foresee the depth that this short story could possibly hold. A very surprising read, often funny, often emot...more
"Stiletto heels didn’t actually hurt when they poked into your pixelated cranium, but it did look rather odd, like I was being weirdly topped by a woman with a shoe fetish. Whoops. Man. Skins could be very androgynous in Synth."
The instantly likeable and hilarious beginning caught me off guard. By the time I decided this was going to be a lighthearted romp in a virtual world, I didn't foresee the depth that this short story could possibly hold. A very surprising read, often funny, often emot...more
view all 4 comments
..what. WHAT?
How dare it end there?
I am very put off by the ending. MOAAAARRRRRR
And throw in an HEA while you're at it. Please. This HFN is killing me. You are committing homicide with this HFN. HOMOCIDE, I SAY. HOMOCIDE.
Look at what you made me do. You made me break out the onion heads.
That being said, I did rather like it. People have made complaints about how much is left unsaid. I think that that was done on purpose, but enough is thrown out here and there to let you construct a basic mental...more
How dare it end there?
I am very put off by the ending. MOAAAARRRRRR
And throw in an HEA while you're at it. Please. This HFN is killing me. You are committing homicide with this HFN. HOMOCIDE, I SAY. HOMOCIDE.
Look at what you made me do. You made me break out the onion heads.
That being said, I did rather like it. People have made complaints about how much is left unsaid. I think that that was done on purpose, but enough is thrown out here and there to let you construct a basic mental...more
I didn't actually understand the blurb until after I finished the book. Interesting take on romance. 3.5 stars
Jul 07, 2012
Emma
marked it as probably-not
Holy wow, this is a cool idea for a book. I hope it's good.
Dec 05, 2012
Elisa Ramblings
added it
Only a novella, this is a love story between avatars, but never something so unreal felt so realistic. Trust me, more than once it happened also to me to be in Dante’s shoes, wondering if my “activity” in the cyber world has effected someone in their real life. Being inconsiderate while online is so easy, because virtual reality is not real, and you always think the other one understand the rules. Have you ever wondered how it will be perceived from another when you click on that “unfriend” bott...more
4.5 Stars
It seems the more I read, the harder it gets to find unique, so I feel really lucky that I’ve discovered more than a few books lately that have set themselves just that little bit apart from the standard in their originality; Circuit Theory is definitely one of those books.
Roleplaying games aren’t a new concept, but the internet has elevated roleplaying to a virtually realistic medium that has pulled gamers away from game boards and placed them in a room in front of a computer, where th...more
It seems the more I read, the harder it gets to find unique, so I feel really lucky that I’ve discovered more than a few books lately that have set themselves just that little bit apart from the standard in their originality; Circuit Theory is definitely one of those books.
Roleplaying games aren’t a new concept, but the internet has elevated roleplaying to a virtually realistic medium that has pulled gamers away from game boards and placed them in a room in front of a computer, where th...more
Kirby Crow and Reya Starck have created an interesting world. People no longer have to go out into the real world to socialize to meet people. They can now buy skins, create an avatar, and spend time in the Synth. The identities individuals create allow them to be whoever or whatever they want. The originality of Circuit Theory is very unique and something that I have never read.
There are several reasons why Circuit Theory didn’t work for me. The main reason was too much information was left un...more
There are several reasons why Circuit Theory didn’t work for me. The main reason was too much information was left un...more
Circuit Theory is a story obviously inspired by online games such as Second Life, where play is based more around avatars, social interaction and role-play than actual gaming. It does a great job of exploring the emotional depth often found in these online relationships and role-play scenarios and how it can be hard to break into a world that has predefined expectations and cliques. The loneliness of an online game was not something I expected to come up in this story, but it resonated with me s...more
Circuit Theory is by far one of the most unique books I've run across in a long time. It takes place in the world of virtual reality and ends up giving an intriguing view of human interactions in the modern world and the difficulty of forming meaningful attachments.
Dante and Byron only interact in the virtual world of Synth and have what appears to be a good relationship. But past hurts cause Byron to start driving Dante away and without Byron being willing to express his true feelings Dante sta...more
Dante and Byron only interact in the virtual world of Synth and have what appears to be a good relationship. But past hurts cause Byron to start driving Dante away and without Byron being willing to express his true feelings Dante sta...more
Review posted at The Armchair Reader.
3.5 stars
Though remarkable in it's objective and how it accomplishes that, this short story still left me unsatisfied, perhaps because I approached this story from a Romance perspective. I'll explain in a bit why I feel that way, but right off I'd like to say that I'd like for everyone to read this, simply because I suspect that just about reader will have a different reaction to the story. That is such a wonderful thing, but that also means that my opinion i...more
3.5 stars
Though remarkable in it's objective and how it accomplishes that, this short story still left me unsatisfied, perhaps because I approached this story from a Romance perspective. I'll explain in a bit why I feel that way, but right off I'd like to say that I'd like for everyone to read this, simply because I suspect that just about reader will have a different reaction to the story. That is such a wonderful thing, but that also means that my opinion i...more
This may be the most unique romance I've ever read, in that the two main characters never meet in real life.
Where they meet instead is Synth -- a virtual world where probably the only thing guaranteed is that people aren't who they say they are. Dante and Byron aren't in Synth to play games though. For two guys who have never met, Synth is the place where they can live their lives together.
Dante makes a mistake in reaching out to another user Sexxybabee1. Sexxy is needy. aggressive, clingy, ma...more
Where they meet instead is Synth -- a virtual world where probably the only thing guaranteed is that people aren't who they say they are. Dante and Byron aren't in Synth to play games though. For two guys who have never met, Synth is the place where they can live their lives together.
Dante makes a mistake in reaching out to another user Sexxybabee1. Sexxy is needy. aggressive, clingy, ma...more
First impressions: Once again, I am forcefully reminded there are entire worlds out there I know abso-fucking-lutely nothing about. But holy shit, what a way to learn.
I'm still sort of digesting this. This is actually very realistic to online romanctic relationships via games, though this particular online world is very advanced compared to what is out there now.
The thing I wasn't expecting was they don't want to meet IRL. There is a reason, but it is not a mindset I share, and thus I find it hard to understand. I guess I wanted more internal thoughts on that to help me understand, but it also didn't really make sense to go into more detail there.
The story...more
The thing I wasn't expecting was they don't want to meet IRL. There is a reason, but it is not a mindset I share, and thus I find it hard to understand. I guess I wanted more internal thoughts on that to help me understand, but it also didn't really make sense to go into more detail there.
The story...more
The concept/idea for the story was sound and unique. I wasn't really too happy with the world building since it left me with some questions about Synth and the real world the characters lived in. I felt like I was getting the middle of a book (in a way a huge excerpt) instead of a whole book to read. I would have liked to see a bit more romance since the way Dante and Byron rectified their relationship after the fight they had left me aching for them to move past Byron problem and allow their re...more
An interesting idea, and not badly written, but it felt too unfinished for me. It was like playing cards with over half the cards missing. I don't usually mind stories that slowly unfold, but things just didn't unfold enough for me to have felt this was even a complete short story. It felt more like a prologue to something larger rather than something that could stand on its own.
CIRCUIT THEORY is a great piece of sci-fi – imaginative plot, wonderful world-building, and characters whose personalities may or may not be representative of the people they represent in the real world. I truly enjoyed this short story.
Please see my complete review Oct. 7, 2012 at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index....
Please see my complete review Oct. 7, 2012 at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index....
More like 3.5 just for realistic world building. For anyone who has ever been a part of online gaming you will see the realism these authors have brought to the page in this story. I wanted more though. I felt as if a was dropped into the middle of a story. Perhaps there will be more at some other time?
Generally made me feel really awkward and sorry for the characters involved. Not having a personal connection with the people playing the avatars probably caused that.
Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. The writing was good, but seems maybe the whole virtual world thing isn't for me. Didn't really think it would be, but thought I'd give it a shot since it's a Kirby Crow, whom I love Love LOVE. In the end it just annoyed me by reminding me of online drama fools from various sites I was trying to hide from. Totally not the authors fault.
If you like the virtual world type books... I'd recommend this one.
If you like the virtual world type books... I'd recommend this one.
Apr 02, 2013
Dlee
added it
I didn't "get" it. I understood the premise. It just didn't work for me.
Apr 19, 2013
Shannon
marked it as maybe
Apr 13, 2013
Chirag Goel
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2013
Adrianamae
marked it as to-read
Apr 07, 2013
Eisheth
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2013
Karel
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2013
Philip
marked it as to-read
Apr 04, 2013
genao
marked it as to-read
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Kirby Crow worked as an entertainment editor and ghostwriter for several years before happily giving it up to bake more brownies, read more yaoi, play more video games, and write her own novels.
Changing weather patterns, watering bans, and pesticides have unhappily forced her to give up growing roses, alas.
Her published novels are Prisoner of the Raven (historical romance, Torquere Press, 2005), S...more
More about Kirby Crow...
Changing weather patterns, watering bans, and pesticides have unhappily forced her to give up growing roses, alas.
Her published novels are Prisoner of the Raven (historical romance, Torquere Press, 2005), S...more
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