Virtual Nightmare

Cyber Zone #3

by S.F. Black

Andy Winkler finds himself trapped in the body of the aged Rip Van Winkle in a virtual reality game based on characters from Washington Irving's stories, and unless he can find his way out before he turns one hundred, he will be stuck there forever

123 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to Cyber Zone, I was hoping this’d be a better volume than the first one I’d read. Meltdown Man was okay, but it didn’t impress me much. However, this one delivered big time. The concept behind this book is so out there that you deadass have to read it to believe it, which I think is a strong positive; this book is very unique and feels like a lovely mixture of American Chillers’ Virtual Vampires of Vermont and Washington Irving’s classics. Yes, I’m serious. The story is engaging and the villains left a great impression, and their first raw scene was probably my favorite of the whole book, not to mention to absolutely crazy lore tidbits and implications. I enjoyed the ending a ton, the twin-tuition aspect was refreshing and cool, and the book was all-in-all a great ride. Some things holding it back consist of the somewhat muddled story partway through, the final battle leaving a lot to be desired, and the confusing nature of the story. To elaborate on my first gripe: the book, when we’re in the nitty-gritty, has some padding and lesser moments when the main meets up with a certain character; it feels like the story was being hindered and didn’t allow itself to take off until the final chunk. Enjoyable no less, but the plot was kinda lost, though that seemed to be partially the point. Anywho. Overall, 8.5/10. An oddball read that I really enjoyed with only some minor setbacks. Glad Cyber Zone more strongly proved its worth this time ‘round.