"This Virtual Night" by C.S. Friedman (BR)

[DivaDiane]

Come join me, Bonnie, Meredith, and Aga on This Virtual Night, by C. S. Friedman a sequel to This Alien Shore, which was a group read in January 2020.

Please mention how far you are in the book (or if Finished) and use spoiler tags, unless spoiler free “First Impressions”.

[Anna]

This Alien Shore >> First impressions | Final thoughts

[DivaDiane]

Thanks, Anna. I was going to get around to adding actual links eventually. In fact, I'll add a link to the actual book in the first post right now.

[Jordan]

Oh, I loved the universe that was set up in This Alien Shore, so I'll try and join the BR for this one if I'm not too swamped when it rolls around!

[Aga]

DivaDiane wrote: "Come join me, Bonnie, Meredith, and Aga on This Virtual Night, by C. S. Friedman a sequel to This Alien Shore, which was a group read in January 2020.

Please mention ..."

Thank you for organizing this BR :) I loved "This Alien Shore" and neurodiverse characters. And I totally missed the release of "This Virtual Night".

[DivaDiane]

Same, Aga! I am really looking forward to it!

[Bonnie]

Are we still on for This Virtual Night, now mere days away? I am OK with it, I am also OK with moving the date if everyone is swamped.
A bunch of library ebooks came in for me so if the BR is still on I am going to send some of them back into the pool. 🤓

[Aga]

I have an ebook on my shelf. I'm reading "The Stone Sky" at the moment, but I'll probably finish by Saturday.

[DivaDiane]

Oh my. I completely forgot about this. Argh! I am swamped. But I really want to read this sooner rather than later.

[Meredith]

I am planning to join and I have this on hold from the library. I'm next in line, so hopefully starting to read by the start of next week.

[Bonnie]

OK, This Alien Shore. Do I need to
-Re-read it
-Look it over so it comes back to me
-Don't need to re-read it
-Think I don't need to re-read it, but partway through This Virtual Night will realize that actually I do need to

Please advise
😄

[Aga]

I plan to look over “This Alien Shore” to remind myself who is who and then start “This Virtual Night”. I can always go back to the prequel to read a scene or two if I need. I have both books in ebook format.

[Bonnie]

@Chris posted this in the This Alien Shore Final Thoughts thread (message #2 above):

The Kaja System in “This Alien Shore”
therakhland.wordpress.com/research/the-kaja-system-in-this-alien-shore/

Very helpful.

My "looking it over" became a full-fledged re-read. I liked it all over again! Hope we like this one too.

[Bonnie]

I am a few chapters in. New characters and storylines so far.
How much time has passed?
(view spoiler)[Less than 20 years.
Ru's favorite bar has changed its name from Lucifer Club to Prometheus Club:

“What’s with the name change?”
The bartender sighed. “There was a digital virus making the rounds a while back. Nasty thing. At first it only targeted Guild pilots, but then it started mutating into more destructive forms. Took them a good three years to hunt down every last version of it.”
“Ah, let me guess . . . they named it Lucifer?”
The bartender nodded. “People came here thinking there was some kind of connection. I’m not sure what they imagined that would be, but we started getting some really weird types in here. I mean, think about the kind of person who would find a bar appealing because it was named after malware. So in the end, management decided the old name had to go. The rest is all the same, though, I promise you.”
And the myth is similar enough, Ru thought. Prometheus, bringer of knowledge to humankind, tortured for eternity. “Thank you.” She took a sip from her drink and looked around the club.
(hide spoiler)]

What a cool way to remind us what happened in the last book, and inform us about how much time has passed.

[Meredith]

I'm just going to read it without revisiting This Alien Shore and assume the author will fill in what we need to know sufficiently.

[E.D.]

Joining this one. Starting it tomorrow.

[Aga]

After reading two chapters I think there is no need to reread “This Alien Shore”. I don’t recognize any characters from previous book.

Very engaging srart.

[Bonnie]

Shenshido Station, 33-40% ish
(view spoiler)[I am really looking forward to finding out What The Hell Is Going On on this station. How could there be so many people still living on a station everyone thinks is deserted? With Ru and Micah circling around, but not seeing each other... Are they with separate factions, each one having demonized the other? THEY are the Cannibals / demons / zombies / mutants / evil ones; WE are innocent and good and must fight to defend ourselves.

And each has seen or heard things that maybe aren't there, like scratches or clawmarks or orange lights or vertical lines... Could it be something with Virtual Reality, but then wouldn't Micah figure it out? Or, could it be that... Well shoot I had better just keep reading.
(hide spoiler)]

[Aga]

Bonnie wrote: "The Kaja System in “This Alien Shore”
therakhland.wordpress.com/research/th...

..."

Thank you, Bonnie. This is exactly what I needed.

[Bonnie]

Micah ~65% through
(view spoiler)[I really like how Micah uses his theoretical knowledge from playing and coding Games, to solve problems in real life. Like analyzing the spider robots as he flew toward Shinseido Station, choosing a "costume" for the Hydra Collective, telling Ru it didn't matter if her coat safeskin shield was still working bc mostly it would be a deterrent, figuring out how to identify and approach informants in the bar.

"She glanced over at Micah as she walked, and found him subtly transformed. His shoulders were pulled back, and his arms swung more aggressively at his sides, defining a larger personal territory. His gait was changed as well, his stride longer than before, more confident. His eyes were the same, though. When he looked at her their amber depths sparkled with excitement. And why not? He was in his element now. She felt as if a different man was walking by her side—rough-edged and confident, a man whose focus was on the physical world rather than digital fantasies. She and Tully had played various roles in the course of their outriding duties, but they had never transformed so completely or so compellingly. There was something perversely fascinating about a man who was so skilled at becoming someone else."

(hide spoiler)]

[Meredith]

I'm about 25% so far, thinking it was decent but not riveting, compared to the way I felt reading This Alien Shore, and then (view spoiler)[ things are now really hopping. I was looking forward to Ru and Micah meeting up on Shenshido Station, that seemed to have some potential when suddenly Ru is ambushed and drugged! okay, you have my attenton! (hide spoiler)]

[Aga]

Meredith wrote: "I'm about 25% so far, thinking it was decent but not riveting, compared to the way I felt reading This Alien Shore, and then [spoilers removed]"

I have a similar feeling so far. This Alien Shore was fresh and innovative. I hope to read more about The Guild.

[Meredith]

Bonnie wrote: "Shenshido Station, 33-40% ish
..."

Big Same. Plus, (view spoiler)[ The folks Micah fell in with describe physical mutation- the bark- like skin. So, is there a third party? Not to mention the creepy, moving vines. (hide spoiler)]

[E.D.]

30% through. I'm enjoying what I would call a comfortable read. Has a more standard traditionally adventurous flavour to it than This Alien Shore. Less political intrigue, although this seems to be changing.

[Bonnie]

Finished This Virtual Night:
(view spoiler)[I didn't like this as much as I did This Alien Shore. That book covered more ground, gave us more information about the world, different factions, different planets and space stations, more characters' points of view. I really liked the political intrigue, spying and betrayals we followed with various picturesque Guildmasters. And, it was fun to meet Phoenix and his hacker friends plus Dr. Masada, and through their headset cyber-work saw the details of the Lucifer Virus, its make-up, where the packets were traveling, what it was up to. Lucifer itself was almost another active character.

This Virtual Night did not follow as many characters and so we did not get as many windows into what was going on with the "Son of Lucifer" (heh) virus. That having been said, I did enjoy it. I thought it was well-written. I liked Ru and Micah as people and thought they were well developed as characters. This had more of a mystery with what the heck was happening, less who-done-it. Like on Shinseido Space Station and the Mors, very mysterious. Hydra Collective also was quite an interesting place and I could picture it vividly.

There were a couple times where the book cut to someone else's Point Of View, the Oracle's? and I thought, we are over halfway through the book, it seems a little late now to be starting a new POV--a bit jarring for me. And to me, the Harvester Fiesta/send the virus through the pipes climax was a more typical one than the This Alien Night climax, so less exciting to read.

I mentioned this further up; I liked how Micah uses his gaming and game-design experience to analyze his real-life situations, like thinking about what the spider robots would look for, how to find a exit in the labyrinth, realizing that smells/lack of smells was a clue. Also I liked how he was conscious of that, "Wow, this is what actual fear feels like, not just ~fear~ from some scary feature in a RPG game."

(hide spoiler)]

[Meredith]

I'm at ~54%. I am definitely enjoying it now and having a hard time putting it down. If you aren't feeling engaged, I felt things started picking up by 25-30%, so give it a chance.

As for what's going on, (view spoiler)[ all the lead up to the battle on Shenshido Station reminded me of the Dr. Who episode (with Donna) where they were on the planet that was at war and all anybody could remember was always being at war. I thought that section had a great, tense build up. I was immersed in the feeling of Ru and Micah being caught up with the two groups and their mindset(s). I also enjoyed the escape from Shenshido as Micah had to fight against what he was seeing, knowing it was not real. (hide spoiler)]

A more general thought, (view spoiler)[ I like how we are seeing additional elements of this universe, like the Outriders and their role seeking lost colonies, and not just the same parts of society as the first book. Though I'd like to see more of the machinations of the Guild leaders. I think there may be more coming based on the conversation between Dresden and Vienna. (hide spoiler)]

[Aga]

E.D. wrote: "30% through. I'm enjoying what I would call a comfortable read. Has a more standard traditionally adventurous flavour to it than This Alien Shore. Less political intrigue, although this seems to be..."

I didn't have much time to read last week but after reading a couple of chapters more I started to enjoy this adventurous flavour you mention. My life is so stressful right now that This Virtual Night has become an effective comfort read. It grabs my attention good enough to stop me from overthinking stuff.

[Aga]

Bonnie wrote: "Shenshido Station, 33-40% ish." I'm at the same point right now and that's exactly what I'm thinking :)

[Aga]

Meredith wrote: "I'm about 25% so far, thinking it was decent but not riveting, compared to the way I felt reading This Alien Shore, and then [spoilers removed]"

This moment was so frustrating at the beginning. I thought 'Ahhh, so close!' I can't wait to see how the situation is going to develop itself and what is going on there.

[E.D.]

Finished. Enjoyed this book to the end, However, (view spoiler)[like Bonnie I found it a totally different type of story to This Alien Shore. This was more of a straight forward adventure, almost a spin off of the main story started in Alien Shore rather than a continuation. The politics of the guild which Meredith hoped would be further developed were really only hinted at. Having said that, a straight forward story is all I sometimes need, a bit of escapism as suggested by Aga.

I appreciated the fact that as others have mentioned, it was easy to pick up without having to revisit the first book. If I have any issues, it is with the ending. This was another book with rather an abrupt end. Hopefully this means that there is another volume to follow where Ru and Micah are drawn into more of the political machinations (as well as having further adventures). (hide spoiler)]

[Aga]

If you wonder if I'm still reading... Yes, I am :) I'm reading the Hydra Station part and having a good time. Reminds me of pen and paper RPG sessions.

As Meredith mentioned, there is not much about The Guild intrigues so far. Much less neurodiversity than in the first book too. I'm a little disappointed by this aspect but the book is so fun to read anyway.

[Meredith]

I finished and enjoyed it a lot, even though it wasn't entirely what I was anticipating compared with This Alien Shore. It was definitely more of a straight adventure, as E.D. noted. I did find some compelling aspects and I thought the whole thing was well written overall. (view spoiler)[ The controlling of people through virtual illusions I found really interesting and it led to some creepy moments of realization (by myself) at the reveals over the course of the book, and how it was used in different ways. I like the relationship between Ru and Michah and how it developed. I like that they were more or less equal partners, each with strengths and weaknesses. I think there was definitely room for a sequel set up at the end, especially with Ivar on Hydra station. (hide spoiler)]

[Aga]

I finished too. It was a pleasant read in an-entertaining-space-adventure category. It was not the political mystery wrapped in many layers of intrigue I was looking forward to but to my surprise I really liked it. Usually, if I have clear expectations towards the book I have a problem if they are not fulfilled and feel disappointed. Not this time.

Ru and Mikah had nice chemistry. (view spoiler)[There was a clear connection to the previous book at the end. I agree with Meredith about the potential continuation with Ivar. He was an interesting character and his story has much more potential especially if someone from The Guild will contact him as Ru suggested. (hide spoiler)]