Restricted Fantasies
by Kevin Kneupper
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Pub Date 27 May 2018 | Archive Date 15 Dec 2018
Description
A Black Mirror-style sci-fi short story collection about the perils of our virtual reality future - and whether we're already living in it.
It's a future where you can simulate any fantasy you want. But some people want some very dark things. You can plug into your own private world. Your dreams are indistinguishable from reality. Do what you want, dream what you want, be what you want.
It sounds like a paradise. But paradise has its price. And some people's idea of paradise is everyone else's idea of hell.
Restricted Fantasies is a Black Mirror-style collection of short stories about lives lived inside and outside of virtual reality. The advent of simulated realities raises questions of philosophy and technology that drive at the core of our nature as humans—and in the tradition of classic sci-fi, the stories in this collection wrestle with these questions and with the shape of things to come.
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.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781718688551 |
| PRICE | US$4.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Dave M, Reviewer
I read a lot of sci-fi, and this was one of the first purely speculative fiction pieces I have read. Far from the typical blasters and 'bots, this is a great near-future commentary on our own times and its foibles. I really enjoyed how each simulation experience left you wanting to return to the real world. I also found it a sad commentary that, like in the contemporary world, everyone is seeking an escape from our daily hum-drum existence, only to find out that the life of our dreams isn't all it's cracked up to be. The work is reminiscent of Stephen King's "NeedfulThings".
Librarian 76404
This was a fantastic, compelling, slightly disturbing little collection of speculative sci-fi. The description of a Black Mirror read-alike was accurate and did not disappoint! I really enjoyed these stories.
Amanda N, Reviewer
Good collection of sci-fi short stories. I really enjoyed the theme about living in a simulation and all the different stories about them. It's also kind of scary and concerning when you realize that some of these things could be in our future and that we could really be living in a simulation.
Lou J, Media/Journalist
eviews > Restricted Fantasies
Restricted Fantasies by Kevin Kneupper
Restricted Fantasies
by Kevin Kneupper (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Jul 02, 2018 · edit
really liked it
You are entering the "Twilight Zone".... a collection of 12 stories that are connected by the concept of Virtual Reality. Kneupper has succeeded in a quality collection of highly effective stories of fairly equal expertise without any "clunkers" Numerous tales involving the ability to simulate an alternative reality are explored and open up a multitude of philosophical quandaries of the human condition.
A child protective services worker has to enter a Nazi simulation to rescue the protagonists two daughters from a bizarre alternative reality .... An Amish woman on Rumspringa lives vicariously in a futuristic alternative reality and has to decide if "going home" is an option .... the stories uncover an endless variety of virtual reality addicts and settings ... an existential prison ruled by a tyrannical computer program
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.
Dave W, Reviewer
Terrific set of shorts all connected by the theme of virtual reality and how reality and virtual reality blur. Some virtual realities are carefully constructed and trimmed and monitored. Others are prison traps where a second can feel like 284 torturous years. Others are worlds within worlds within worlds to the point you begin to wonder what's real and what's virtual. Clever, engaging, and lots of fun to read.
Ksandra W, Reviewer
As a novel, this was an intriguing journey into the Sci-Fi genre. Each short was intense and had endings that you were not expecting. Some were thought provoking, others were funny, and each one was rather deranged in a pleasurable way.
I rather enjoyed this collection because the stories were more realistically futuristic. There were a lot of stories about simulations and computers as opposed to aliens and intergalactic wars.
Crystal B, Reviewer
This self published collection of short stories caught my eye because it was compared to Black Mirror.
I'm basically addicted to Black Mirror and its Amazon counterpart, Electric Dreams.
While I am not generally a fan of short stories (David Sedaris aside), I really love speculative fiction, and this collection did not disappoint.
The comparison to Black Mirror is apt and the writing is top notch. It's not easy to create so many unique voices in such a small space, but each narration is distinct, which prevented the stories from melding together in my mind.
My favorite stories were Rumspringa, which is a dystopian take on what happens when Amish youth enter a simulation and must choose between staying or leaving to join the church, and The Only Way Out is Down, which is a cautionary tale about what can go wrong when you give the wrong man just the tiniest bit of power.
From a speculative fiction viewpoint, I give Restricted Fantasies five out of five stars, and four out of five stars in general.
Thanks go to Kevin Kneupper for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tabatha C, Reviewer
Wow! I cannot say enough great things about this book. It is a book of short stories that may last a few pages to a dozen pages each. Each story is so well developed. I was so amazed at the creativity. Each story leaves you left in thought, good thought about the possibilities. Thoughts of what if?! There are twists and moments of awe with how the story turns. I found that this took me longer to read than a novel because I wanted to stop after each story just to take it in and think more about it. Well done! This reminded me of a mix between Dimension 404 and the Twilight Zone.
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