The Bookwyrm's Review of Cyber Squad: Level One by A.K. Mocikat
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VR is perfectly safe. At least that’s what they’re telling you…
Every day millions of players connect their brains directly to VR. Everyone firmly believes that the virtual worlds are safe to enter… They’re wrong.
When Kai, one of the best gamers in the world, gets admitted to the Cyber Squad, he at first believes he landed his dream job. Yet soon he discovers that nothing is as it seems. Dressed in a high-tech suit designed to protect his body and brain, Kai and his team enter the most dangerous and exciting virtual worlds to cleanse them of everything that could be harmful to regular players.
The Net is a dangerous place filled with hackers, rogue AI … and worse. What hardly anyone knows: glitches and malware can cause damage to a player’s brain or even kill them. Kai will have to put his life on the line to save others, but at what cost?
Review
Ever since I first discovered cyberpunk books with a kind of obscure series by Simon Hawke called Psychodrome back in the late 80's, I have been a fan of the genre. It led me to books like Neuromancer, and I've read various others over the years that were hit or miss. That brings us to today, with Cyber Squad being my latest CP read. I'll say it up front, this is not only one of my favorite Cyberpunk reads of the year, its one of my favorite reads of 2021 in any genre. The mix of entirely too plausible dystopian future with LitRPG elements is just a great combination that hooks the reader from the first page.
The worldbuilding has two elements tied together, the dystopian real world and the ubiquitous online worlds that the masses are addicted to for basically all forms of entertainment. With a 50% unemployment rate brought about by mechanization, everyone is given Universal Basic Income allowing people to survive, if not thrive. In a throwback to an old Roman trick, a new version of bread and circuses is provided for the masses: Free access to the online virtual reality for everyone as a basic right. It this world of haves and have nots that set the underpinnings for the world most people spend their days in, the virtual world. A world of games of every kind, that are as real as the equipment can make it. This also comes with it's own dangers, since the VR is hooked directly to the brain, meaning glitches, malware and hackers have a whole different meaning, sometimes with deadly consequences. This is where the Cyber Squads come in, testing virtual games and worlds pre-release to test for safety and quality, and as they gain higher levels, going in game to put fixes in place in the most dangerous live virtual situations. They are the thin line between life and death online sometimes.
This is where Kai and his companions come in. A talented amateur, Kai see's first hand the dangers of the virtual world, and when offered a job with the Cyber Squad, can't pass up the opportunity. Kai is just a great character, ambitious in a world that no longer values or really rewards ambition, working a low pay job that's beneath his skills and education by miles, and when an online disaster occurs when Kai is online, he finds himself with an opportunity to make a better life for himself. His arc as he joins the Cyber Squads really takes off, as his skills, natural intelligence and ambition create a potent mix to help move his new career and life along a path he could never have expected, both good and bad, since death is possible as his levels progress.
Kai's teammates are also a great bunch of characters. from his very competent and caring squad commander to the last newb before him on the squad, they are a nice mix of skills and experience. We get some really good moments with each of them both on and off work, and you can feel their bond increasing as the story progresses. They also get their own character development, making them feel much more like real people you can empathize with. These are definitely not two dimensional page fillers, but fully realized characters.
The antagonists are a bit of a mystery, as they are revealed later in the book. You get the sense there is a lot of stuff with them going on behind the scenes, and that as the series progresses, we'll get a more in depth view of what they are up to. There is also a hint of other antagonists within Kai's larger circle, who have their own schemes that might spell further trouble for Kai and his crew.
The audiobook version is narrated by Zachary Johnson. I was unfamiliar with his work before this book, but I was very impressed with the job he did. He really nailed the voices of the various characters, especially Kai. He really brings an emotional resonance to his work with Kai, and it really helps to immerse you further into the story. His narrative pacing is excellent, with no lulls or rushing. Overall, it was an excellent bit of narration.
As I mentioned the the beginning, this is easily one of my top reads of the year. The excellent characters and setting mix together with a fast paced plot to create an engaging read that draws the reader in. This book should definitely have appeal for fans of LitRPG, but should also appeal to fans of a more cyberpunk sensibility. Get this book today, you won't regret it.
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