I am delighted to share my review today for The Nirvana Effect by Brian Pinkerton. I really enjoyed this dysotpian futuristic novel and it was a very addictive read.

My huge thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for my spot on the Blog Tour and for arranging my copy of this book from Flame Tree Press.

No one goes out anymore.

Society is sheltered indoors. The economy is in ruins. People spend their lives addicted to a breakthrough virtual reality technology, desperate for escapism in a troubled world. The Nirvana Effect has taken over.

Aaron and Clarissa are members of a subculture of realists who resist the lure of a fake utopia. They watch in horror as the technology spreads across the country with willing participants who easily forgo their freedoms for false
pleasures. When the young couple discovers a plot to enforce compliance for mind control, the battle for free will begins.

What started as a playful diversion turns deadly. The future of the human race is at stake.

Purchase Link – Amazon UK

My Review…

I do love a good dystopian story that has a certain amount of believability to it, or one that you can understand how things get to the point they do. The Nirvana Effect is a book that has that certain amount of believability to it and it is one that had me hooked.

This is based on the idea that people can chill out and experience a calm and tranquil state. They can experience new adventures and take part in activities or travel the world without ever leaving their sofa. Sounds ok, I mean we already have VR devices, we use mobile devices and computers to escape from everyday life. Video games are played around the world, movies are watched, books are read and often on a small screen. So is it such a far fetched idea that at some point there could be a chip implanted so that these feeds are automatically sent into a chip inserted into your body!

I like how the author has taken the basis of having various different subscription feeds sent directly to your brain. He has then rather cleverly expanded on this theme so that he draws the reader into a state where everyday life is harder to deal with and the escape is into a virtual reality that can become more real than real life.

He then goes further as he introduces theories from those who are against the chip, as well as from the corporation, management and business. Government and politics are also brought in and these various angles give two clear sides showing a for and against balance.

The characters in the story are from a range of backgrounds and this gives another set of viewpoints to consider. Technology is everywhere in our modern society and this is the next step up to the “Big Brother” style regime. The key characters have their part to play in how and why they are avoiding the chip implants, or why they see dangers ahead in how the chips could be used.

I really adored this story, it has been well thought out and not over the top with tech terminology making it very accessible for a lot of readers. It is a story that I found gripping and it has a certain amount of suspense and tension in it. A good amount of conspiracy always goes down well in this sort of story. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it.

About the Author…

Brian Pinkerton tells stories to frighten, amuse and intrigue. He is the author of novels and short stories in
the thriller, horror, science fiction and mystery genres. His books include The Gemini Experiment, Abducted (a USA
Today bestseller), Vengeance, Anatomy of Evil, Killer’s Diary, Rough Cut, Bender, Killing the Boss and How I
Started the Apocalypse (a trilogy). Select titles have also been released as audio books and in foreign languages. His short stories have appeared in PULP!, Chicago Blues, Zombie Zoology and The Horror Zine.

Brian has been a guest author and panellist at the San Diego Comic Con, American Library Association annual conference, World Horror Convention and many other literary and genre events. His screenplays have finished in
the top 100 of Project Greenlight and top two percent of the Nicholl Fellowship of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Three of the scripts have been compiled in a collection, Unreleased. Brian received his B.A. from the University of Iowa, where he took undergraduate classes of the Iowa Writers Workshop. He received his Master’s Degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Check out the other stops on the Blog Tour…

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