Kirkus
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Ready Player One meetsSix of Crows in this pacy cyberpunk adventure. In a future world ravaged by floods, toxic air, and global pandemics, most people have left their physical bodies downcountry in Pods that keep them alive and migrated upcountry to StrangeLoom, a virtual reality created by NileCorp, a powerful global conglomerate based in Atahua. Atahua is in a state of tension with nearby Medaluo, and it depends on NileCorp-trained soldiers for defense and to control the civil unrest triggered by the corporation’s steady erosion of the economy through AI and surveillance. On a mission to apprehend an anarchist in Atahua, Eirale Ward, a downcountry NileCorp soldier, finds herself framed for a murder and then kidnapped by her quarry. Before long, she’s coerced into helping his team steal critical files from Medaluo. In a parallel narrative, Lia Ward, the adopted daughter of an Atahuan senator, is a star student at StrangeLoom’s Nile Military Academy. On her first posting, she’s sent virtually into Medaluo to track down and capture Chung Yin, the inventor of Coldwire, an AI weapon that could give Medaluo control over StrangeLoom. With classmate and rival Kieren in tow—and a romance ready to blossom—Lia follows a trail of cyber breadcrumbs. This series opener maintains a crackling pace, with inventive worldbuilding and a cleverly executed reveal. The characters, while largely well developed, occasionally feel like stock players, however. Atahuans present as white, while Medans read Asian. Inventive and engaging. (map)(Dystopian thriller. 14-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

In a NileCorp-conceived future, even cold war is played out in a virtual, largely AI-replicate space. Refugee orphans from Medaluo are effectively forced to enlist in NileCorp’s armed forces after incurring substantial debt from their mandatory military academy attendance in their unenthusiastic new home in Atahua. Lia and Eirale are two such wards of the state; Lia is barely functional outside of her extended virtual stays at her prestigious academy, while Eirale has a massive gap in her memory following her own end-of-education posting. The worlds—virtual and physical—that Eirale and Lia inhabit as they are thrust into cold war shenanigans unashamedly driven by capitalism require an immense amount of explanation, but that explanation is provided naturally and will not overwhelm genre connoisseurs. Gong’s eye for balancing serious social issues, high-stakes espionage, and moments of levity carries well from her successes writing historical fiction. Although Lia and Eirale are fascinatingly complex, side characters are not neglected in development. Overall, a fresh, disturbing take on dystopia from a more AI-informed world.

Publishers Weekly
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In a near-future world ravaged by deadly disease and extreme weather caused by climate change, humans rebuff reality for a virtual realm in this allegorical telling by Gong (Foul Heart Huntsman). Global superpowers Atahua and Medaluo vie for societal dominance in a decades-long cold war fought both IRL and virtually. Two Atahuan teens of Medan descent soon find themselves caught in the crosshairs. Framed for treason by an infamous anarchist, 18-year-old Eirale—a soldier for the virtual reality world developer NileCorp—flees into Medaluo to clear her name. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Lia, eager to complete her final exam mission and secure valedictorian at NileCorp Military Academy, sets out into Medaluo’s artificial reality to retrieve classified research from a rogue scientist. When their respective journeys converge, Eirale and Lia unravel a conspiracy that threatens to undermine everything they know about themselves and the world they live in. Using alternating first-person perspectives, Gong capably explores themes of diaspora, corporate control, and artificial intelligence while spinning a labyrinthine mystery with a sprinkle of romance. A slow beginning gives way to a tightly paced climax and a juicy sequel hook. Ethnic Medans cue as Chinese; Atahuans cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Crockett, Triada US. (Nov.)

School Library Journal
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Gr 9 Up—An adrenaline-fueled mystery for fans of Marie Lu's Warcross and Marissa Meyer's Renegades. When NileCorp created StrangeLoom, the virtual reality "upcountry" that duplicated the real world without the consequences of humanity's bad decisions, they built something far more appealing than the "downcountry" reality. Soon nearly everything is upcountry, from preschool to international government, and the world is trapped in a cold war as NileCorp's technological sovereignty grows. Lia has nearly graduated from the Nile Military Academy; she just needs to ace her final assignment, a highly classified joint posting overseas with her academic rival. Eirale has secured a solid job post-graduation as a NileCorp soldier downcountry, where she's assigned to tracking an anarchist terrorist—until he turns the tables on her. Lia and Eirale come at the same problem from opposite ends, forcing them to grapple with the nature of reality and what they're willing to sacrifice for it. Despite an exposition-heavy opening, Gong's wit and dialogue transport readers into two heroines' alternating POVs as they fight for their space in an unjust world. Well-choreographed action sequences keep the battles interesting, while characters embark on a fetch quest layered in corporate conspiracies. Gong's worldbuilding addresses themes of identity, reality, and race, with the heroines' statuses as second-class citizens vital to the plot. Subtle foreshadowing is hidden behind humor and emotional highs, ensuring attentive readers are rewarded but still surprised. The cast consists of a variety of races and orientations. VERDICT This inventive and explosive beginning to a cyberpunk trilogy is a first purchase.—Emmy Neal