JUNE 2020 - AudioFile
Shayna Small eagerly narrates a cyberpunk thriller in which a gamer unravels a conspiracy. Ashley "Ashura the Terrible" Akachi is a legend in a near-future VR game. Her life takes a turn, though, when she discovers a far-reaching conspiracy involving the game publisher and her love interest. Small gives the characters distinct vivid voices, making it effortless for listeners to follow along even as scenes crackle and pop. Some characters have almost cartoony voices, but that becomes less noticeable as the story unfolds. Small's clever use of inflection and tonal shifts captures the ear even as the prose tackles some troublesome gender politics. The story races forward with bombastic action and larger-than-life characters that make it easy to overlook some of narrative's missteps. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
12/23/2019
Kluwe’s well-crafted fiction debut, an old-school cyberpunk adventure, brings the thrills of virtual reality combat into the real world while taking aim at the racist and sexist abuses that pervade contemporary gamer culture. In a near-future America that’s divided between the Silkies, anarcho-capitalist West Coast tech companies, and the Gummies, a morally dictatorial East Coast theocracy, Ashley Akachi (aka “Ashura the Terrible”) is the leader of a team of professional VR gamers, the SunJewel Warriors, who gains fame for her impressive in-game stunts, but faces misogynistic backlash from other gamers. When Ashley gets sucked into the power struggle between the Silkies and the Gummies, she and her fellow SJWs infiltrate high-tech facilities to unravel the conspiracy of how their VR game is being used to control the minds of its players. Kluwe’s complex near-future politics are convincingly rendered, and fight scenes featuring the team blasting and blitzing its way through government buildings with missiles and swords will appeal to video game fans. This is a solidly entertaining romp. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative Management (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Chris Kluwe
“An impressively nasty future Miami, with a smart female protagonist, and plenty of action, both real and virtual.” —William Gibson on Otaku
“An ideological sledgehammer—a thrilling tale full of the kinds of heroes we both need and deserve.” —Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency, on Otaku
“Ass-kicking and desperate, bleakness and rebellion arm-wrestling for all the marbles in a slim, sharp narrative—Otaku speedruns the future.”—Max Gladstone, author of How to Lose the Time War
“Otaku is an energy drink in book form: brightly colored, refreshing and designed to be bolted down for effect.”—The New York Times
“The most interesting man in the N.F.L. ”—The New York Times
“Author and former NFL player Chris Kluwe's first novel will grip readers with its riveting pace, fierce heroine and intense focus on combating social injustices.”— Shelf Awareness
“Parts sf, mystery, and romance, this high-adrenaline thriller captures the intensity of in-game encounters in a postapocalyptic world, with a fiery protagonist who holds nothing back—whether fighting monsters or relentless misogyny. Recommended for fans of dark gaming stories, with a side of violence.”—Library Journal
"The quirky and sometimes pugnacious ex-punter for the Vikings reveals a little more about his views on social issues, and a lot more about himself, his career and how his frenetic and far-ranging mind works....Kluwe proves himself to be, indeed, a man for all season—not just football season." —The Minneapolis Star Tribune
"In a league (and sports climate) which has become one, long, repetitive sound bite, a guy who will actually say something meaningful." —BleacherReport.com
"Chris Kluwe is a glimmering sparklepony of candor (and not afraid to dive fearlessly into the marriage equality debate)." —Mother Jones
"It's a strongly worded, profanity laced political and philosophical manifesto from an unlikely new pundit: pro football player Chris Kluwe ... Mr. Kluwe's particular talent as a prose stylist lies in his creative use of inventive swear words." —The Wall Street Journal's "Speakeasy" on Beautiful Unique Sparkleponies
"Kluwe is a genuine iconoclast.... Kluwe's writing makes for an entertaining read. He's as adept at the art of the take-down... but he is capable of toning it down when he has to.... His words present compelling arguments on myriad deep and unsolvable, yet relentlessly fascinating problems." —The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Beautiful Unique Sparkleponies
"Intelligent and thought-provoking, Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies is relentlessly honest; Kluwe pulls no punches, spares no language and writes a rip-roaring debut." — Shelf Awareness
"A lively collection. In mixing the profane with the prophetic while using a variety of literary devices, the author succeeds at being both entertaining and enlightening. An intriguing assortment of work from an athlete with a lot on his mind." —Kirkus on Beautiful Unique Sparkleponies
"Kluwe is a brainy loudmouth dyspeptic idealistic pessimistic utopian punter/gay rights activist/champion of free speech/family guy who plays guitar. He's sort of Charles Barkley meets Bill "Spaceman" Lee—but with more gravitas." —ESPN.com
"Kluwe's combination of passion and intelligent self-deprecation has resulted in some must-read stuff....Kluwe is a talented writer with plenty to say. He just happens to kick footballs for a living." —The Maine Edge on Beautiful Unique Sparkleponies
Library Journal
03/27/2020
[DEBUT] After the Water Wars have wreaked havoc on the world, the people are still dealing with the fallout. Ash's mother needs costly medical care to avoid slipping back into her war memories, and Ash feels responsible for her safety and well-being. To make ends meet, Ash became Ashura the Terrible, and her clan, the SunJewel Warriors, are top-ranked professional players in Infinite Game. Facing discrimination and abuse both in-game and in the real world, Ash annihilates every threat to herself and the people she loves. When she takes a side job to pay the bills and discovers that someone is using game technology (haptic hoods) to control players outside of the game, she becomes involved in tracking the equipment and its manufacturer to the source. It's a real-life quest with no resurrection if she should fail. VERDICT Parts sf, mystery, and romance, this high-adrenaline thriller, by the author of the nonfiction collection Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies, captures the intensity of in-game encounters in a postapocalyptic world, with a fiery protagonist who holds nothing back—whether fighting monsters or relentless misogyny. Recommended for fans of dark gaming stories, with a side of violence.—Karin Thogersen, Huntley Area P.L., IL
JUNE 2020 - AudioFile
Shayna Small eagerly narrates a cyberpunk thriller in which a gamer unravels a conspiracy. Ashley "Ashura the Terrible" Akachi is a legend in a near-future VR game. Her life takes a turn, though, when she discovers a far-reaching conspiracy involving the game publisher and her love interest. Small gives the characters distinct vivid voices, making it effortless for listeners to follow along even as scenes crackle and pop. Some characters have almost cartoony voices, but that becomes less noticeable as the story unfolds. Small's clever use of inflection and tonal shifts captures the ear even as the prose tackles some troublesome gender politics. The story races forward with bombastic action and larger-than-life characters that make it easy to overlook some of narrative's missteps. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-01-13
In this cyberpunk fiction debut, a massively popular online game has real-world consequences.
Ashley Akachi is a mixed-race woman who's known as "Ashura the Terrible" to millions of fans of Infinite Game, which is watched around the world. In a near-future Florida that's half drowned by rising sea levels, she sits inside a haptic chamber that converts her movements into gameplay in the ultraviolent competition. Former NFL player Kluwe (Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies, 2013) describes the game's mechanics at length, at times giving the book the feel of watching someone else play a video game. (The game's racist and misogynist online message boards also feature prominently.) Eventually, Ash uncovers a vast conspiracy involving not only Infinite Game, but also her love interest, Hamlin, who's hiding a secret of his own. Unfortunately, there's not enough space in this brief review to examine everything that's obnoxious or distasteful in this novel, from its opening bullet-point infodump, lazily passed off as worldbuilding, to its eye-rolling last line. One may wonder if any women were involved in this book's publication in any meaningful way. Only a male author could believe a woman thinks about "dicks" this often; when facing gender inequality, Ash huffs, "Must be nice to have a dick"; before castrating a would-be rapist, she scoffs, "You thought your dick made you a man? You'll never be a man again." Characters' attacks on Ash are all viciously gender-specific; in addition to being threatened with rape throughout, she's repeatedly called "slut," "whore," and "cunt." Meanwhile, Ash herself reads like an unintentional parody of an empowered woman; she leers suggestively at a woman's behind and then laments her small bust size, at length, before deciding "boobs are overrated." At the book's climax, Ash thinks that she's "so tired of shitty men and their shitty dreams." After reading this, readers will surely feel the same.
Irredeemable in any world, real or virtual.
