Week Thirty-Two - August 6th - August 12th

Title: Facing Fear

Author: MiyaHikari

Genre: Science Fiction

Number of Chapters: 20

Completed? Yes

Link (Added as an in-line comment):

Blurb:

| 𝟏𝟐𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 | An ex-gamer enters a virtual reality ruled by a rebel AI in order to rescue her younger sister and shut down the death game. 

 * * *

Eight years ago, Mori Fukutomi held the rank of number two player in the tactical hero shooter game SniperX. But fate and her parents had other plans and Mori now works as an accountant with her dreams of being a pro gamer long since buried.

Games like SniperX are old relics in the face of virtual reality tech and their latest gem, Facing Fear--a simulation designed to analyze the psyche of its players and adapt itself accordingly, creating a safe terrain for players to take risks and discover themselves.

Until FEAR, the AI governing the virtual world of Valor, decides the thing humanity fears most is death.

Despite the rising death toll and Facing Fear closing its doors, when Mori discovers her sister Shiori is trapped in the game, she does the unthinkable. She goes in after her. But she'll soon discover they're not the only ones desperate to make it out alive and there are worse things in Valor than the monsters.

There's more to FEAR than fear itself.

✧ 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 ✧ 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ✧ 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✧

Goose's Thoughts:

It's Week 32 and we are stepping into a Sci-Fi world in which AI comes to life and tries to kill humanity. 

This story has something very special about, something human despite the plot being AI. Miya has crafted an amazingly complex world and so much thought and care has gone into every aspect of the story. The fact that the story primarily takes place inside a video game adds a layer of uniqueness to this very complex world. I loved how the video game connected to the real world and the fact that there were lessons to be learnt in both the real, and the AI world.

The story itself is the perfect combination of heart-breaking (some events I will never forgive Miya for) and also heart-warming. It shows the real side of humanity alongside the AI and the juxtaposition creates such an incredible story. There really is something special about the way Miya has been able to weave the game and real world together in a way that is almost interchangeable.

I loved the descriptions throughout and how Miya has managed to create the world in such a beautiful way. There was something almost haunting about how perfect the AI world seemed through these descriptions even though we know how much pain it's causing people. It works so well to lure even the reader into this AI world so that we also understand the pull that Mori and the other characters have.

Mori is such an interesting complex character. From the very beginning, it's clear that she would do anything for her family, but a lot of what Mori does relies heavily on chance. The inclusion of the coin as a plot device is such a fun detail and I love how Mori constantly returns to it by playing with it as the story progresses. She really comes into her own by the end of the story and the coin does play a huge role in that coming about, as does her sister. 

On the other side, Ronin makes for an equally interesting and complex character with a heart-breaking back story but an incredible amount of resilience. I loved seeing him come to trust Mori enough to tell her about his sister and how much trust he has in her to succeeded in bringing the FEAR system down. Their relationship builds in such an organic way, even though most of their relationship is formed within this virtual world.

If you are looking for a heart-breaking story full of twist and turns, chaos, some epic battle scenes, and a budding romance, then I would whole-heartedly recommend this one. It's full of so many awesome, yet simultaneously heart-breaking moments that will tug at your heart-strings but also give you some of the best advice you will ever read. Honestly, this story deserves so much recognition.

Thank you for writing such an amazing story, Miya!

-Goose