I thought the general idea was appealing, but got lost in the details of each of the individual characters, their roles, descriptions, armor, levels, etc. I found the minor role of Nick's real life to be more interesting then trying to read a story about a boy's experience within a virtual reality game that has a creepy real-life crossover. Nick's tasks from the game and how well he carries them out determine what rewards and improvements he receives in the game. It started out okay, but I lost interest by page 125. A No vote for me.