A new month brings a new issue of Locus Magazine, and the July issue features a review of Slum Online. Locus is a paper magazine, so the review isn’t online, but here are snippets from it:
The novel (translated from its original 2005 Japanese publication) certainly depicts a way of life that is both science-fictional and increasingly common, with a main character who spends more time in his virtual life than his real life, and who has sufficient emotional investment in both worlds to blur the line between them.
…
Etsuro walks the streets of Shinjuku with Fumiko looking for the blue cat, and Tetsuo stalks the slums of Versus Town in search of Ganker Jack, but in both cases, he’s really searching for a sense of direction, purpose, and self-worth. While not published as a young adult book, Slum Online would certainly appeal to readers similarly wrestling with identity on the cusp of adulthood.
Check it out!
Tags: gamers, Hiroshi Sakurazaka, locus magazine
Yay! That seems like a review that is both positive and actually helpful to readers trying to decide if they’d enjoy the book.
Those of us who are on the cusp of AARP membership would like it too, though, right?
Lots of the oldies around the office liked it, and I did too.