Cyber Dreams [LitRPG-Lite, Progression Cyberpunk]

I'm very optimistic for this story, as the expansive worldbuilding and intriguing premise have set a solid structure for the narrative, allowing the vibrant settings and characters to have maximum effect. The plot is cohesive and directional, more than capable of commanding my attention. It's extremely enjoyable so far, and I have nothing but praise for this polished story. 

This was very entertaining so far. The style is consistent and the pace changes to match with the activity in each scenario. I felt like I was fully immersed while reading this which is the most promising indicator that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the experience. The MC is adapting rather quickly to her changing circumstances but nothing is beyond the normal realm of possibility which is appreciated as in so many stories the MC is instantly cool with a world of changes and that kind of breaks my immersion. The fight scenes flow smoothly and realistically and the interactions with other characters do as well. The first chapters that I read had grabbed my interest and the most recent one actually got my adrenaline flowing. The spelling and grammar are excellent and I can't remember any standout errors in the editing. The MC is both relatable and likable. She has the toughness that someone in her profession would likely have. She is somewhat beaten down by the society she lives in but still has an optimism tempered by the harsh reality that she has experienced so far in her life. I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

After Edgerunners and revisiting Cyberpunk 2077, I have been on a little kick for cyberpunk dystopia stories. And this story helped me scratch my itch.

Worldbuilding is good so far. You feel like the characters are individuals and their gritty, selfish actions help flesh out that it's every man for himself. I didn't know who to trust and kept trying to warn the MC.

The action seens are competently written and don't drag on. You aren't overwhelmed with technical jargon. Any grammar or spelling errors didn't distract from the story.

Major gripe is the main character's decision making. Despite her actions showing her the dangers of trusting too quickly and a direct warning from her AI, she puts herself at enormous risk from at least 2 different entities to help out a woman she met under a week ago who tried to kill her. And not just a little help, to the point of the MC planning a heist on a corp after only 2 missions as an operator and 1 week since she was a welder. It's especially frustrating because she is so distrustful of her AI who has only acted in her best interest so far.

The author could use the stroy Symbiote by farmerbob for a good example of an AI and human mutually beneficial relationship.

Aside from chapter 18 where it felt like she was handed the idiot ball to move the plot forward, I've enjoyed this story and will continue to read it.

Really excellent start. Well written (as usual for the author), flowed well, and very interesting story and worldbuilding! I can't wait to see where it goes. Here's hoping the author keeps it up! The other two stories are really good and ongoing so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this one will be great, as well.

Give it a shot!

Edit- I'm at chapter 9 and boy howdy has it maintained its quality. Great story so far and very much a good call to read.

Cyber Dreams is one of the new poster children of Royal Road, earning some of the best ratings and its fair share of positive feedback. How good is the new cyberpunk story and is it worth reading?

Let's find out.

The Good 

Style. It's amazing. I have nothing but praise for it, a lot of published books can't reach this level of prose, all the while weaving in a lot of vocab for the cyberpunk setting that makes it feel incredibly alive. Combine this with a lot of different sensory input (all the senses are used, the weight or warmth of something too) and this experience is immersive as can be. 6 stars if it were possible. 

Worldbuilding. A continuation of the above. The world feels alive. It's like having a vivid dream of living in a cyberpunk world. It feels mundane, as if this was all part of a new normal without becoming boring. There are tons of minor characters that are well designed and just pop off the page. At the same time, I've never had a (litrpg) story that feels so much like playing a game. It's like I'm also in there, deciding what to do, what to buy, how to survive. Really well done.

Tension. I had to take some breaks from the story, especially at the beginning because the tension in this story can reach incredible heights. Some things are just so raw, intense and almost sickening (some descriptions are more vivid than I'd like) that you don't know if you want to read twice as fast or not at all. Fights feel like anything could go wrong. A simple gunshot feels like a violation. Props for that.

The Bad 

The main characters. Angels is Juliet's personal AI and she reads like a dialogue with a chat bot. No personality, no agenda, nothing interesting really. She's like a talking cheat code for Juliet and most of the time, the story would be better if Juliet didn't have someone holding her hand and doing most of the work for her. On that matter, Juliet is too much of an everyman. In contrast to the vivid setting, Juliet is just so bland. She's the rookie slowly becoming the professional, but there is no personal stakes, no motivations or anything. It's just as hard to like her as it is to dislike her. Either way, there's not much there. Most of the time, the story masks it well, but in the long run this will drag the story down.

The plot. While the story starts of really strong, it quickly devolves into random missions for money that are only losely connected. These missions are well designed, exciting and fast paced, but after a few of them the repetition starts to kick in. There's no larger story behind it, nothing but surface level connections between them. The stakes are that Juliet dies, but other than that? What's the worst that can happen if all Juliet has to do is go to another city and search for new jobs? 

The Ugly

The good points of this story are enough to make me rate it 6/5. The bad points drag it down some, but it would still be one of the best stories on RoyalRoad. In this last category, I'm talking about the dealbreakers. These are the reasons why I'll drop a story. They might be the reason why you'll drop it too. 

The emotional core. There isn't one. These is one of the best executed litrpgs I've ever read, but still has all the fatal flaws of the genre. There's no character arc, no overarching story tying it together, no deep emotional experience while reading. Your brain will be excited with all the dopamine inducing facets of the story, but you won't really feel anything while reading - I know I didn't. The story is incredibly exciting, but it's not sad, tragic, epic, heartwarming - take your pick. There's this indescribable quality that elevates a story to a special place in your heart and this story doesn't have it. 

In my book, great fiction gives you a strong emotional experience. This story does everything else perfectly, but it doesn't do that, so what am I to rate it?

4/5. I can't go lower, it's too well written for that. I can't go higher, it's a perfect example of the craft, but it's just not art. 

I have read through the first book on Act on the author's Patreon and I have to say it's awesome. The tension of the Main Character being in way over her head, struggling to run and hide from Corpos, barely making it through crazy bits of action, and coming to terms with being an Operator with a very helpful voice in her head. Worth every second of reading.

An awesome story. The MC isn't immediately OP and there is some actual depth to the tech rather than just completely glazing over it like I've seen a lot of stories do. Every character feels fleshed out and three-dimensional. Definitely recommend giving this a try. With how big the setting has been made out to be this story could go on forever and I'd be happy.

The overall storyline thus far is engaging and addictive.Juliet is an awesome character that I'm excited to learn more about. I've never been a huge fan of LITRPG's but this is one that I don't mind and I think it actually adds to the story.

The setting is awesome, the AI quips are great, and the characters are rich!

Can't wait for more.

Great writing. Easy to follow. Good pace. 

The protagonist feels real, without mich information on her. The story is not written with puppy eyes, and the occasional bad site is shown. Again we have the mega complexes from Dread, or other cyberpunk stories which fit good into the story and show the overall situation off big companies running the world. 

Im always happy to find proper cyberpunk stories. this is definately one of them. interesting MC, good tech, has the classic CP feel to as well. the setting is well done as is the various in world mechanics (currency transfers, digital assitants,etc)  looking forward to how it continues, and i hope it contiues for a very long time!