A collection of short stories about virtual/simulated realities. the book offers some rather interesting visions of the future and how humans might adapt while also providing commentary on present day relationships between human and nonhuman entities.

Eleven short stories, each nested within the idea of simulated reality. The notion is that the present is the only reality, that memories can be flawed, and that the future is but a dream. How is it possible to determine the difference between dreams, fantasies, illusions, and virtual reality? Wishes on a rampage, mass hallucination, facades, the body sleeps while the mind is at play. Standout for me was Smartest Guy in the Room.

A mixed bag of stories, some more memorable than the others. I liked that there was a link between them all, and some were quite thoughtful.

I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.

Restricted Fantasies is an anthology of science fiction short stories with recurring themes of virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Fans of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror will enjoy these stories. One story that stood out to me was Seven Minutes in Heaven. Part Ready Player One combined with The Matrix, it made me want to turn off all of my electronic devices and go for a walk outside!

This would be a interesting book to read in the times we are living through today. I am late to this review but reading it now, (there's no time like the present) makes it that much more better for me this is like black mirror in some aspects and also comparable to ready player one and Fahrenheit 451. Here is some of the synopsis that had me going oh yes I wanna read that so if this part doesn't grab your attention try something else.

You’ll meet a child protective services agent tasked with rescuing children being raised by Neo-Nazis in an illegal simulation of their own darkest fantasies.

You’ll meet a man who discovers the cheat code to our reality—and watch as it all goes horribly wrong.

You’ll go on a futuristic Rumspringa with an Amish woman who lives it up in virtual reality for a few years before deciding whether to go home to the last unplugged community on Earth.

You'll peek into the lives of virtual reality addicts, aliens, and mad billionaires.

And you’ll journey into Sim-Sing, a simulated prison with a very unpleasant jailer.

Whether you’re a fan of classic sci-fi or not, if you’ve ever wondered whether the things around you are real, whether The Matrix was just a movie, and where the line is between reality and fantasy, you’ll love this glimpse into a future that may yet come—and that may already be here.

Like most anthologies, this book has good short stories and bad. I did find new authors to look into, so that was a good thing at least. I liked the idea of short stories about virtual reality because there are a number of ways to write a story about that concept and this book shows that.

I got this from NetGalley to preview.

I read about half of the stories, and they were interesting, decently written, and though provoking. The first two stories felt like good, solid stories, that moved you to a new place and left you with something more. But after that, they started to slip towards being empty stories. I'm not a fan of empty stories, and I finally decided to leave off reading where I was rather than risk them getting worse. But if you like stories about what is real and what is not, you may enjoy this collection a lot.

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

This is a mixed bag. Some good stories and some that just didn't move me at all. A few are more classic, the others I don't see why they were compared to Black Mirror. That part is baffling. If you need a fast read that you don't go into with preset expectations, then you will do okay with this book.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I just have a good start on this book. Its disjointed but I guess it will all fit in later. So far there is someone who sounds obsessive regarding a game.. The good news (?) is that you had to work a lot to get that privilage. Then we have a chapter on sims. They are a way to hide, to get away from life, or to live out your darkess fantasies. There is Lew who is in prison. But there is a twist to that. And there was a lot of vulgar language in my opinion. There are more along the same line. Its all about sim. Half way thru and have a problem. Im intrigued enough to finish the book but not sure if it can be brought together at the end then time wasted. Also the language.
I will update my feedback when/if i finish the book.

This collection of stories is the virtual reality simulated love child of Sword Art Online, Total Recall, and that one episode of Black Mirror where people ride automated bicycles and win points. And Ready Player One. And Fahrenheit 451. And Warcross. And that other episode of Black Mirror where this guy ends up in a haunted house that feeds off of his deepest fears.

Basically, it’s a mod podge of a ton of different ideas about what our future could hold in terms of the evolution of technology and it’s tightening grip on humanity. Some of the ideas are extremely creative, and although some hold an ounce of possibility others are simply entertaining. My favourite stories were the ones that bordered on the edge of absurdity. Although, a majority of them did pique my interest and bring about food for thought on the nature of technology, freedom, and morality.

Many of the ideas stem from issues that we see popping up in our world today. From government control, to internet privacy it explores hot topics that I’m sure anyone would be concerned with. It would be incredibly interesting to see what people think of the novel in fifty or a hundred year from now. I have a feeling this anthology would age like a lot of classic science fiction I’ve read from the 20th century or even earlier. It’s so cool to see what actually ends up happening (or a version of it) and what is complete horse shit.

Because this is a collection of short stories, ideas are expanded on through ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’. Information needs to be brought up quickly in order to develop setting, plot, and character so not everything is fully fleshed out and I didn’t find all the stories to be completely satisfying.

The writing style itself leaves a lot to be desired. It is fairly immature, to the point, and matter of fact. It lacks tone and artistry, which, when I say it like that, makes me sound pretentious as hell but hopefully you understand what I’m on about here. There is also very little visual imagery or any imagery at all and this makes the worlds fairly bland. When trying to transport readers into different science fiction universes, building setting is pretty important and in most of the stories in this collection I found that not enough effort was put into this aspect.

That being said, there were quite a few moments in these stories that I really enjoyed. As I mentioned previously, the more ridiculous the idea the more I enjoyed it. I could see Kneupper’s creativity blooming and coming alive in these pages.

If you need a Black mirror fix until the next season this will do the trick! What’s real or what isn’t...? Not sure I even know anymore. Really had my mind working and is continuing to do so. GREAT!

I received a copy of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I actually really enjoyed this collection. I love the Black Mirror tv series and this really reminded me of this. There's a bit of everything for everyone and all of the stories flow really well.

I'd definitely recommend and will be keeping an eye on this author for the future.

Great collection of short stories all about virtual and real reality. I particularly liked the smartest guy in the room. Read this today. Its worth it.

This was a series of different stories created by people to give them the lives and worlds that they want to live in. Some of the stories were really good and others were a bit too way out, horses for courses. On the whole they were very imaginative in the construction.

These 11 stories, focusing on virtual reality, portray a range of scenarios around living with, and within, virtual worlds. Of course, in the tradition of dark sci-fi, things seldom go as they should in these worlds or, when they do, it’s not exactly a positive experience for the people involved. In some instances, the downward spiral is pretty obvious, but in others there is definitely more of a twist.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. A few stories were a little obvious in the plotting, but they were all very well told. And some could be turned into episodes of Black Mirror pretty effectively. Restricted Fantasies is a good book to pick up for anyone who enjoys dark sci-fi and doesn’t require all the aliens and space exploration and laser beams that often go with it.

A collection of 11 short stories with the common theme of virtual reality. The blurb compares it to Black Mirror, and these are definitely the kind of stories that would make excellent material for the show. All the stories are different, and I can't say there was one I didn't like. I particularly enjoyed First Contact , Cheat Code , and Smartest Guy in the Room . The eerie part about these stories is the feel and possibility of being close to reaching that point in technology, where we--as humans--create alternative realities to escape our routine, just to find ourselves trapped in a fantasy that may or may not be better than reality.

Excellent read! Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very creative title, exploring how technology can enable both our best and worst impulses. Towards the end, there becomes a bit of an overemphasis on the "we're in the Matrix, it's all a simulation" theme -- without much explanation as to how they are sustained. Some very creative new allusions to the Amish and Good Will Hunting in those worlds are highlights, but the long piece in the middle exploring life on other planets is very original, and another great twist.
Overall, very entertaining and insightful in terms of what choices people might make when confronted with limitless possibilities in outerspace and/or virtual worlds, and the recurring theme of how we might need training wheels to keep our sanity and impulses in check.

Content Warning: One whole story is rescuing kids from a Nazi VR. It's very descriptive and disturbing. Another story is all about a prisoner who killed his girlfriend and daughter and his time in a futuristic torture prison. Immediately after that is a story about an abused woman who gets raped.

I'm really conflicted about this book and rating. It's def. the terrifying dystopian spectrum of sci-fi. It's inventive and well written. But there's some red flags that ruin the credibility. After finishing and looking back, I'm glad I stuck with it. Can't say I'd recommend it though unless it's undoubtedly your kind of thing.

FYI: I haven't watched Black Mirror. I picked this up because I like sci-fi and haven't read any lately.

1st short story - Seven Minutes in Heaven.
>>Yeah okay, clever. Extrapolating from the app games and Facebook. Fine so far.

2nd - Restricted Fantasies:
>>Someone living in a VR with 1,000 genders and the punishment for misgendering is death? PAH LEESE. This isn't slippery slope to show how rediculous a position is. That's just bullshit. Red flag.
>>Paragraph proclaiming Nazi's are cowards, which again is BS. Red Flag.
>>Quote: "Right and left, and at the far end, they're just the same lunatics wearing symbols. I'd pulled kids out of a few sims run by "anti-fascists" and there wasn't a whole lot of different between them and Hienrich [who is a Nazi]. " Really?
>>If I was just reading for pleasure, like borrowing from the library rather than a review copy, I might have quit here.

3rd - Panopticon:
>>Okay, this was terrifying. But I'm a lefty against torture, holes, and the death penalty. I don't know how 'tough on crime' conservatives will take it. I liked researching panopticon afterwards. That was something new I appreciated learning.

4th - Second Honeymoon:
>>CW for domestic abuse and rape. Terrible, depressing, and appalling. Honest to gods nightmare fuel. More so than the last story and more probable, IMHO.

5th - Irish Grudge:
>>That's certainly a take on reliving memories. As someone with traumatic experiences and anxiety, I actually...liked this one? Was not expecting that.

6th - First Contact:
>>This story felt like it took forever but worth it. Unique. Interesting, felt like a whole new real world. Of course it ends on a gross hedonistic note.

7th - The Only Way Out is Down:
>>Yeah, you can really tell the author is a man with this one. Ughhhhh. Gross. Like boys who draw penises on everything and think they're the only people that count.

8th - Cheat Code:
>>Well, one dumb fuck man got way more than he was worth and not what he deserved. Makes me laugh given all the people that think they can unlock shit like this with The Secret, etc. So many of these stories just screw everyone else over. I keep thinking how much it has to suck for everyone else.

9th - Rumspringa:
>>This was amazing. Almost makes up for the titled-piece. If this was featured in an anthology of authors, and lead me to read the rest of the author's stories, I would feel mislead. It's so different and more...(I kinda want to say better, but that's not exactly right)...what I want than the others aside from Pleasuredome.

10th - Smartest Guy in the Room:
>>Elitist pricks. Don't we all know one douche like this though? Ugh. I do like how douche got put down a peg unlike in Cheat Code.

11th - Pleasuredome:
>> I love this. Much more like the sci-fi I know and love. My only nitpick is the world was set up as "we don't have enough information to live through different periods" but then dude gets so wrapped up in Roman gladiator times? Fishy. But otherwise great.