I found this book unsatisfying. Most of the book can be classed as a side quest, taking place in a fair off Hob City. Oren’s big show down with his former Guild felt rushed and squeezed in. Lastly the V.I.’s in the end take over New Era Online, kick out most of the players and trick the rest into staying before trapping them in the no longer a game world to be a think tank in speedup time. So the V.I.’s can use the tech the think tank comes up with as a bargaining chip with the offline world not to shut down the computers running New Era Online.