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CTRL+S

Andy Briggs (Goodreads Author)

3.58 · Rating details · 60 ratings · 21 reviews

Life in the near future's not all bad. We've reversed global warming, and fixed the collapsing bee population. We even created SPACE, a virtual-sensory universe where average guys like Theo Wilson can do almost anything they desire.

But almost anything isn't enough for some. Every day, normal people are being taken, their emotions harvested - and lives traded - to create de ...more

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Paperback, 416 pages

Published November 28th 2019 by Orion Publishing Group

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May 16, 2020 Gavin rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

This was a YA sci-fi thriller very much in the Ready Player One mould. It mixed action, mystery, and a bit of drama with a fun sci-fi near future world!

The story was familiar for those who have read many VR future sci-fi stories but still enjoyable and engaging. We followed the tale of Theo Wilson. Theo might be struggling in the real world as both he and his mother struggle to get by and pay off a mounting debt but he still has the escapism provided by SPACE. SPACE is a virtual-sensory univers This was a YA sci-fi thriller very much in the Ready Player One mould. It mixed action, mystery, and a bit of drama with a fun sci-fi near future world!

The story was familiar for those who have read many VR future sci-fi stories but still enjoyable and engaging. We followed the tale of Theo Wilson. Theo might be struggling in the real world as both he and his mother struggle to get by and pay off a mounting debt but he still has the escapism provided by SPACE. SPACE is a virtual-sensory universe phenomenon that is so popular worldwide that its initial rise caused all sorts of economic problems as people rapidly became addicted to living in the VR world. Life goes awry for Theo when he intercepts debt collectors threatening his mother in the real world and then he really gets sucked into the realm of crime both in the real world and in SPACE when his mother goes missing leaving him with clues cluttered around both the real and VR world to tell him why she was taken. With debt collectors on his trail Theo has to use his skills in the game world and his knowledge of his mothers love of puzzles to find her!

It was actually a fun tale. Theo was nothing special in either world but did have the help of his three friends in both to help him keep a step ahead of the people who were determined to make sure he never found his missing mother. Before long the group were caught up in a massive conspiracy that highlighted how criminals were massively abusing SPACE in extremely disturbing ways! Theo and his friends were not an overly interesting group of people but they were easy enough to root for so that helped the tale.

The wordbuilding was the real strength of the story. Andy Briggs futuristic sci-fi world reminded me a lot of the world created by Marie Lu in Wildcard. Just like that tale the VR tech could be used to fully pull a person in the the VR world of SPACE or could just be used to integrate VR overlay elements into a persons experience of the real world. I've always felt like that was a probable and extremely cool use of such advanced VR tech. The other fun thing about the world was that this was not set in your typical dystopian sci-fi future. The future "real world" was actually a pretty well off one with global warming having been reversed, the collapsing bee population issues fixed, and advanced use of printing making resources far more readily available than they are in our modern world. As if that was not enough the creator of SPACE made it readily available to users much as as Tim Berners-Lee did with his creation. SPACE itself was a pretty cool place. One of the more interesting aspects of the tech was the issues and limitations. SPACE itself was much as one might expect. The fun twists this story had to offer that raised it above the average VR or LitRPG tale was the existence of emotion based AI in the world that had been granted the same rights in SPACE as humans and the fact that the VR tech needed to access SPACE was not without its dangers and limitations. Mandatory time limits were placed on how long people could spend in the SPACE as being "in" too long could cause all sorts of serious issues from headaches right through to strokes, paralysis, and even death. All in all it was just a fun vision of a VR future!

The reason I'm only giving this story 3 stars despite loving the worldbuilding and finding the general plot interesting enough is because I did not feel like Andy Briggs had an overly engaging writing style. It was a little hard to get sucked into this tale and I did find the writing a bit awkward. It just seemed to bounce between character POV's willy-nilly and was a bit disconcerting. The characters were also nothing special. While I'm complaining I'll also add the fact that this book, annoyingly, ended with a "tech-bad" message that is mind-bogglingly typical of a lot of sci-fi stories. What is up with the constant technophobic messages in sci-fi tales? Advancing technology is a good thing!

All in all this was an OK tale that had some great elements but was held slightly back by the fact that Briggs was just not quite talented enough to deliver the 5 star tale the story and world he created deserved. It was still an OK read though!

I'd actually love to see this book made into a TV show as I think it could be a ton of fun!

Rating: 3 stars.

Audio Note: I thought Christopher Weeks gave a passable, but only just, performance of the audio. He was fine with the general narration but struggled a bit to differentiate between multiple characters voices. ...more

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Nov 28, 2019 Kate rated it liked it

Shelves: favourites-read-in-2019, out-in-2019-and-read

Entertaining adventure, much of which is set in an alternate reality gaming world but the gap between reality and artifice becomes very blurry indeed. With the four main characters all around twenty and the central figure searching for his mother, it does have a Young Adult feel about it. Incidentally, the characters seem to spend a fair amount of time throwing up, so there's also an icky factor! Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.

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Jul 18, 2019 K.S. Marsden rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley

When the virtual world is becoming a staple of everyone's lives, Theo and his friends have to find his missing mother, and uncover dark secrets.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the future, taking part in virtual and augmented reality is as common and everyday as meeting up with friends in the park.
When Theo makes the choice to give up his dreams of university, and gets a dead-end job in a burger joint, to help his mother out with spiralling debts, going i When the virtual world is becoming a staple of everyone's lives, Theo and his friends have to find his missing mother, and uncover dark secrets.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the future, taking part in virtual and augmented reality is as common and everyday as meeting up with friends in the park.
When Theo makes the choice to give up his dreams of university, and gets a dead-end job in a burger joint, to help his mother out with spiralling debts, going into SPACE is his only escape. Especially when his three closest friends are all moving on with their lives, doing everything he never will. Every game played together should be savoured.
Theo's repetitive cycle of work and gaming is interrupted when his mum mysteriously disappears, and dangerous people start to come after him.
It's up to Theo and his friends to follow the clues, to find answers.

Along the way, they come up against "dark web" activity, showing that even in this shining future with brand new technology, there will always be sick demands, and people abusing the system.
I really liked that this aspect was explored, and I think it was the strongest element of the book.

I really struggled to read this. It's a great idea, but was as dry as reading an instruction manual. There were reams of techno-babble that had no bearing on the story, it just felt like padding and going overboard to satisfy the "science" in science-fiction.
For me, it felt like Ready Player One, without the heart.
I felt no connection to any of the characters, you have typical angry girl (who isn't like other girls), big lumbering guy, and slightly-popular guy. They basically go on a scavenger hunt, with clues getting dropped very conveniently, to move the plot along.
Theo's mum constantly pissed me off. At the beginning of the book, she basically bails, doing a runner and leaving her teenage son to deal with the gangsters. I know that she had her reasons, but leaving Theo, with no training and piss-poor instructions was a crappy move.

Overall, this book was not for me. This is more for those who like the technical side of sci-fi.
...more

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Feb 05, 2020 Sid rated it liked it

I was looking forward to this book from when it was given to me, but I felt a bit disappointed after reading it to be honest. I couldn't connect with the story or the characters, in fact the characters were quite annoying for me. And there was too much throwing up and brutality. While brutality I can deal with, vomiting and stuff like that put me off a bit. Overall not a book which I enjoyed. And thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for giving me this book in exchange of my honest review.

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May 06, 2019 Adam added it

Major problems with the eARC formatting. They need to fix the layout & make it legible. ...more

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Nov 09, 2019 Jacqueline Allan rated it liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I had high hopes for this book as I’m a fan of Ready Player One and a few others but I was really disappointed. I felt that the characters were not likeable and weren’t developed well. Storyline was ok.

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Oct 28, 2019 Kath rated it really liked it

This book is set in the near future. VR is rife and also regulated and limited. SPACE is a virtual world that allows regular people the chance to live out their dreams, be who they want to be. People are using it too much and getting sick. Theo and his friends regularly meet up to play games, an escape from their mundane lives. But then one day, when in VR, Theo hears a call coming in on his mum's headset. He ditches the game to answer it and what he hears is shocking. His mum is being threatene This book is set in the near future. VR is rife and also regulated and limited. SPACE is a virtual world that allows regular people the chance to live out their dreams, be who they want to be. People are using it too much and getting sick. Theo and his friends regularly meet up to play games, an escape from their mundane lives. But then one day, when in VR, Theo hears a call coming in on his mum's headset. He ditches the game to answer it and what he hears is shocking. His mum is being threatened. Not only that, she is being threatened by harm to HIM! But where is his mum? She seems to have disappeared. And thus begins a rather scary cat-and-mouse game as Theo and his friends follow the clues and use their own resources to find out exactly what Theo's mum has got herself mixed up in. And what they find is shocking to the core...
I have read quite a few books like this one recently and this compares to them quite well. Yes, it's a bit Ready Player One, but it's also like the Last Reality Trilogy I recently finished. I'm still cutting my teeth with the sci-fi genre but I found this, as with previous books, to be quite easy to read given the technology which was ably explained to my satisfaction and understanding.
Characterisation was, on the whole, good. We had the usual spats along the way. Mostly differences of opinion but it added a bit of colour into the mix. The four main characters are all quite different in personality but rub along well for the most. As you would expect from a book of this genre, the baddies are mostly unknown and hide well in cyberspace. Never knowing who to trust, our foursome mostly go it alone. Until they find allies in a very strange place.
Pacing was mostly good. The beginning was a tad slow but that's to expected as the world needs to be created and explained, as well as certain things needing setting up. The action then starts ramping up steadily in the middle third and then it becomes a race to the end as the final showdown is upon us!
All in all, a good solid read that I did enjoy and which left me satisfied at its conclusion. I feel that the characters and the world do have more to give and wonder if this is the last we will hear from them... My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. ...more

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Nov 18, 2019 Marvin rated it really liked it

With CTRL S, Briggs explores (and exploits) the concept of SPACE, a future version of the Internet that includes VR and emotions (from and to the real world). Four young friends, around twenty years of age, hop in and out of SPACE to find the mother of one of them, who appears to be kidnapped. After a few chapters of introducing things – new concepts need to be explained, no way around that – these friends find themselves engaged in fast-paced action, almost like it were a video game.

While readi With CTRL S, Briggs explores (and exploits) the concept of SPACE, a future version of the Internet that includes VR and emotions (from and to the real world). Four young friends, around twenty years of age, hop in and out of SPACE to find the mother of one of them, who appears to be kidnapped. After a few chapters of introducing things – new concepts need to be explained, no way around that – these friends find themselves engaged in fast-paced action, almost like it were a video game.

While reading this, you get the idea that some good old 2D platform gaming concepts (Donkey Kong, Mario …) are combined with cyberpunk characteristics and ideas like Second Life. Not everything in this book feels like brand new. But Andy Briggs added many ideas of his own and as such created a Hollywood-style action thriller that is really fun to read.

Moments of relaxation in this book: zip. From the very first page, the main characters are running around and fighting for their lives. Even the unavoidable technobabble is mostly packed inside layers of action. The story is for the larger part a rat race that gets more and more insane while it progresses. It’s really like a platform game with levels. Every level is faster and trickier than the previous one. Think “chapter” instead of “level” and you’re close. There are moments when you cannot afford to let your concentration slip, or you’re lost. But it’s not all about action. The base of it all is a solid book plot. All the shooting and running around serves a purpose: saving a kidnapped mother and along with it the future of SPACE.

Are Briggs’s ideas far-fetched? I don’t think so. I can imagine a near-future in which many of the concepts shown here, will start happening. It’s an imaginative book but definitely not unrealistic. It makes you think about the future that our current Internet is heading towards, and which of the aspects we want and want not. But probably CTRL S is not written to be an eye-opener. So let’s not go there. This is an enjoyable read and I have done exactly that: enjoyed it.

(Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for an ARC of this book.) ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 Eugenia Kutaliova rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020

Це чи не єдина книжка, яку я купила російською. Але дуже зацікавила анотація. В КСД є недолік - книжки не надаються в форматі mobi, який підходить для мого кіндла - з іншими видавництвами я таких проблем не маю, тож весь час доводиться потім витрачати додатковий час на конвертування. Підсумовуючи, скажу: книжка сподобалася.

Книжка в дусі "Першому гравцю приготуватися" Ернеста Клайна. Підлітки в віртуальному світі, який місцями переходить в реальний. Є спейс - віртуальний світ, в якому можна пров Це чи не єдина книжка, яку я купила російською. Але дуже зацікавила анотація. В КСД є недолік - книжки не надаються в форматі mobi, який підходить для мого кіндла - з іншими видавництвами я таких проблем не маю, тож весь час доводиться потім витрачати додатковий час на конвертування. Підсумовуючи, скажу: книжка сподобалася.

Книжка в дусі "Першому гравцю приготуватися" Ернеста Клайна. Підлітки в віртуальному світі, який місцями переходить в реальний. Є спейс - віртуальний світ, в якому можна провести лише три години в день. Стоїть спеціальний запобіжник, який примусово викидає з системи. Поки людина знаходиться в спейсі, її тіло залишається нерухомим і непритомним. Мати Тео Елла - дуже розумна, але заради сина була змушена відмовитися від навчання і присвятила себе його вихованню. Вони живуть дуже бідно, ледве зводячи кінці з кінцями. Все, як і має бути: гроші можна як заробити, так і витратити у віртуальній реальності і в реалі, можна прокачувати своїх аватарів, купувати собі різну зброю, скіни і тд. Раптом Елла зникає і Тео дізнається, що вона заборгувала велику суму грошей. Він вирушає на її пошуки, розкопує, що вона перейшла дорогу торговцям людьми. Він вирішує будь-що її знайти, з ним троє його шкільних друзів. Ну і далі все як завжди: погоні, перестрілки, несподівана допомога, приголомшлива зрада, небезпека, поранення, смерті і пригоди. Тео дуже хоче знайти маму.

Сподобалася детективна лінія: спершу не знаєш, на кого думати, потім здається вже впевнився у своїх підозрах, а в результаті виявляється, що зрадник - той, на кого ніколи б не подумав.

Любителям жанру буде цікаво. ...more

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Dec 03, 2019 Mira added it

An enjoyable romp in the style of Ready Player One and a pretty similar plot too. The virtual world of Briggs' imagining is called SPACE and is a landscape where anything can happen. Unfortunately our hero Theo's mother has been dallying with some pretty nasty criminals and he is sucked into a deadly investigation to try and save her after she is kidnapped.

The eARC book wasn't formatted at all - so chapters collided and paragraphs weren't clear which made the read a tricky one. Added to this was ...more

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Apr 14, 2020 Nicola rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

The book is set in the not-too-distant future where SPACE has been gifted to the world with the best of intentions. VR rigs allow users to not only scan their social media channels but to 'ascend' into a fully immersive second world whose direct interface with the brain stimulates emotions; time spent in SPACE is limited as it can cause permanent neuro-physical damage.

Our intrepid heroes (in their early 20s) go from immersive gaming to real world high-thrill chases when Theo's mother goes missin ...more

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Dec 04, 2019 Jordann (thebookbloglife) rated it really liked it

Read more reviews at the book blog life

This was one of the many e-arcs that was on my list to get through in December and I have to say this one surprised me. When I started reading CTRL+S the comparisons to Ready Player One started playing through my mind and I think that tainted my experience a little because this one didn’t feel as developed or as well written. But once I got past that and started to enjoy the book as a whole I thought differently. I loved the idea of a conspiracy and the way Read more reviews at the book blog life

This was one of the many e-arcs that was on my list to get through in December and I have to say this one surprised me. When I started reading CTRL+S the comparisons to Ready Player One started playing through my mind and I think that tainted my experience a little because this one didn’t feel as developed or as well written. But once I got past that and started to enjoy the book as a whole I thought differently. I loved the idea of a conspiracy and the way technology can be used for the worst. It was an interesting concept and one that is pretty relevant to everything moving as quickly as it is. Overall I really enjoyed this book, but I did have a few issues with the characters and the writing style.

I think the characters in this book were a little two dimensional, I wish there had been more about the individuals and more of their backstories. I felt as though there were too many of them and not a lot to distinguish them from each other. I wanted CTRL+S to draw more on the faults and flaws of each character and at some points, this was really well done, but at others, it felt as though the characters were jumping from emotion to emotion and it was hard to focus on who was who. Also what each of their motivations was for the various things that happen throughout the book, I just think the chance to get to know all of them was a little lost and I wish we had had more insight into them each as individual people.

I think the best bits of Ctrl+S for me would have to be the conspiracy that this entire book runs off, I really enjoyed seeing how the technology had not only evolved but also how it had been manipulated. I think this book could have done with being a little longer, especially as I think the twist at the end and the reasoning behind it all happened really quickly and I would have loved to have had more of an experience with that part of the story and learn more about the politics of the world they found themselves in. I wonder if there had been more emphasis on this part of the story whether that would have made up for the character’s faults a little more.

For me, the worst bit was the fact that there were so many characters introduced and in such quick succession that you never really understood who was who and what their part in the story was and why they were such an integral part of the story. I do think there was so much potential with the different people and how they were dealing with the consequences of being in the VR headset. I would have loved for CTRL+S to have investigated that a little more.

I would recommend CTRL+S but would say if you have read and are a fan of Ready Player One bear in mind that it can seem a little jarring at first because they feel like very similar books. I also think that this is a very plot-driven story and the characters can sometimes let the story down. But I really enjoyed reading it, and I wouldn’t hesitate to read other books by Andy Briggs.

Read more reviews at the book blog life ...more

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Oct 28, 2019 Payal rated it liked it

The setting of this book hooked me—a near future where we seem to have accepted the hyper-surveillance that worries us today. The concept of SPACE is fascinating too—the uploading of emotions, particularly. The characters and story are decent too, with the thrill-a-minute ride seeming more like a movie.
I’m taking away one star for a token girl character who the protagonist lusts after. The other thing that tripped me up were the occasional infodumps to explain the world. It seemed like convenie ...more

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Nov 19, 2019 Rachel rated it it was amazing

I don't read as many books in this genre as I would like, but the blurb of this book hooked me in from the off, and this continued from the first page. I hate spoilers but the characters in this book are certainly going to take you on a ride. I plan to buy this book for my brother, who will love it. Ready Player One fans, this one is a must read!

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Nov 20, 2019 Chrys rated it really liked it

A fast paced and interesting crime thriller set in the virtual world of SPACE. This story raises the idea of how emotions can harnessed within virtual reality, and how they can be abused. There's some great ideas here and I'd love to see a film come from this.

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Nov 09, 2019 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-popsugar-reading-challenge

A great take on where technology may lead to in the future. It reminded me of Ready Player One, but a hell of a lot more sinister. Was it a bit far fetched? Absolutely. Did I love it all the same? You betcha.

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Sep 21, 2020 Lilyn G. | Sci-Fi & Scary | marked it as other-crew-read

Olly's review of CTRL+S is now live on Sci-Fi & Scary.

"The other element I enjoyed is the level of detail on future tech."

Please look here for the full review: https://www.scifiandscary.com/ctrl-s-...
...more

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Oct 12, 2020 Shane rated it really liked it

This book was a little to fast paced for me, things sometimes didn't make sense.
Maybe a second read will make things make more sense. :) I liked the book overal, just a little to fast paced.
To much jumping around.

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Sep 02, 2019 Allyn Nichols rated it really liked it

An excellent read in the vein of Otherland by Tad Williams. Well worth a read if future tech, shadowrun, matrix is in your list of interests.

Great Work!

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Nov 13, 2019 JOCA added it

Shelves: dnf

Interesting premise but I wasn't engaged by the writing style. This also felt a bit too similar to a few other books I've picked up recently. This was a DNF for me.

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Sep 14, 2019 Bev rated it it was amazing

High octane, fast paced and for me completely unputdownable!! I found the technical descriptions of future tech both fascinating and a bit scary and there's a strong message about the dangers of spending too much time online that is a useful reminder for all of us. Great for any techy or science fiction loving teen or adult with plenty of plot twists along the way.

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About Andy Briggs

Andy Briggs

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Andy is a screenwriter, graphic novelist, author and conservationist – writing on movie projects such as “JUDGE DREDD” and “FREDDY VS JASON” and “FOREVERMAN” for Paramount Pictures, Spiderman creator Stan Lee and legendary producer Robert Evans. He has worked on TV projects for Syfy, Netflix, ITV and Amazon and is working extensively between the UK, US and China.

Andy went on to work on Warner Bros ...more