Ghost in the City: Cyberpunk Gamer SI

I binge read 133 chapters over the span of 4 days, time for a review. 

first let me say I am impressed, I was sceptical walking into this but I throughly enjoyed the read. But the book has an entry requirement. To really enjoy this book you need to have watched edge runner and played or watched someone player cyberpunk to enjoy this to the greatest degree. Even if you haven’t, it’s still a decent book just not as enjoyable but still readable and recommended. Now… into the nitty gritty.

This review is subject to my personal bias, but I hope it helps. 

style - the author has a extremely unique style with interesting writing that keeps you engaged. It deviates from the norm and the author makes sure to include creative language to stop brain rot from the same words being used over and over.

Grammar - I am no grammar guru but from what I can tell, it’s good. I am not editor, but I only spotted over the 133 chapters a handful of small mistakes and maybe 1 flub.  As a day to day reader you will have no issues chewing through this but those extreme perfectionists… OCD people may twig a little, then again they likely haven’t read this far as I am not making an effort to edit and carefully curate this review like a book. Right, off track. Grammar goooood.

charecter - now don’t get me wrong, I love them, all of them. None are card board cutouts, they all have lives, stories, real depth. The author has clearly taken time to make them into real people. They are far better written than most charecters on this story… but I have noticed an artificial twinge to some of the characters. Strange to say, but it’s like instead of orange juice it can sometimes be orange juice from concentrate. In an effort to show personallty traits I feel like some of normal has been lost, you don’t really see much casual, it’s business or story building. 

Story - this I feel is the greatest weakness of the story. I say this hesitantly as the author might have over arching plans I have missed the foreshadowing for, but it appears at the point of writing this that there is no plan. By plan I mean overarching story plot with ups and downs and a… ending. I have noticed the story appears to be an endless grind, stronger enemies, stronger makoto and it’s a perpetual cycle. I feel like some great opportunities to really explore and twist the original plot of cyberpunk on its head have been lost. It feels like this story will go on forever and there is no end planned.

other - small stuff, I am having trouble with figuring out time frames. Small details like money numbers, dates, xp gauges have been removed or minimised to reduce clutter but by removing the date it becomes very hard to gauge time passing. It almost seems like she is always 14 but the story feels like a lot of time has passed but after the start the date hasn’t really been mentioned once. Sometimes numbers are important for people like me that have a very time orientated mindset. Again, small thing.

now, final notes. Frankly I really am loving this story and will follow it until it completes. I have written this review after a night shift and world is a little wonky so bear with me haha. Don’t be discouraged, get story and it has safely snook into a favourite of mine. Also… bonus points for using a bunch of scientifically sound stuff in your story. 

I have to wait days for a new chapter. Not 9-5 days. Sunset to sunset days! Whole. Forming. DAYS!

WTF? There are 168 hours in a week. Plenty of time for multiple chapter drops per day. I know for a fact one can type while eating or sitting on the pot. Waiting days between chapters is just wrong.  I'm not unreasonable, a new chapter every couple of hours is acceptable. As it is, I've had to reread the novel starting from Chapter One a bunch of times just to maintain the pacing.

Don't get me wrong. The story is great. Just don't start unless you want to be checking a bunch a times a day to see if a new chapter has dropped.

Nora Roberts has written 200+ books over the last few decades. Writing a hardback novel every few months is clearly possible. Without having to go through an editor, shouldn't Seras be publishing a new complete novel a month?

BTW: I bought a PlayStation & Cyberpunk 2077 to cool my jones.

The game wiki isn't needed to understand the story, but is helpful. The wiki has started to add Edgerunner content. Motoko's story should be added as well. There is some conflict. She's cleaning up Night City two years before V. So there's a disconnect. Some of V's side quests won't be available.

p.s. I hope everyone realizes this is a joke. I love the story. It''s only fault is I can't wait for the next chapter. It's like reading the last book and the series and having to wait 'til next year for the next book. Just twice a week. 

I have re-read the story from the beginning a bunch of times.

Just great fun of a story that is updated regularly, is she op yes but she is such a fun character to be along with that I don’t find it annoying.

Makoto is always improving, yet the author finds new ways to make it interesting regardless

cant reccomend this highly enough one of the best fanfics I have read period and I have read way to many

this story has really drawn me in. Incredibly well written. I’m really looking forward to how the story develops. Overall it’s threaded the line incredibly well, between using a previously developed environment and bringing a new character in. It’s a worthwhile read and my hope is that it continues to grow as it has so far. 

So good I don't think I've stopped thinking about it for the past week days.

**edited** 
Today I found myself wondering when I played Cyberpunk 2077. I haven't. I just caught up with it a few days ago. This is a great story
** End edit**

Definitely one of the top 3 or 4 fanfics I think i've ever read. 

The depth of knowledge of the topic, the characters and the good writing has all combined to be a really good story. 

Love it. 

I think in the 80 odd chapters, there's been only maybe 5 typos that i've noticed so good publishing. Character development is consistent, steady and matching the events. World building subtle but solid.

For any author, I feel as if there are two 'skills' involved in writing -- being a good writer, and being a good storyteller. Lots of the mandatory reads in high school are examples of good writing with mediocre storytelling, resulting in amazing, high-quality prose that's a slog to get through. 

Seras, I think, is the opposite. 

The 'writing' in this story is, IMO, only mediocre. Every chapter has a decent number of grammar mistakes and errors (run-on sentences, missed punctuation, etc.) -- it's nothing story-breaking, as I haven't noticed any tense-switching or other errors that are enough to make me even consider dropping the book. But it's nothing amazing, either.

The storytelling, on the other hand, is AMAZING. There's not a single chapter I can remember that leaves me bored, and I'm always excited for what comes next, even though (as of yet) there isn't a huge over-arching plot. I've never played a minute of cyber-punk 2077, but it isn't necessary at all to enjoy this story. 

In conclusion -- fantastic storytelling, mediocre writing, but for me, the storytelling aspect is MUCH more important.

This is a great fanfiction; it dives into the original work in a way that both satisfies fans of the franchise and people who aren't familiar with it.  It also provides an ample amount of original content, from great original characters and relationships to interesting takes on the key elements of the Cyberpunk world.

10/10 story, biggest problem is I wish it updated more.

This is very good. I picked it up before bed thinking I would read for a bit before going to sleep. Only to come out of a daze at 3am and realise that I am supposed to be waking up at 6. If that doesnt tell you everything you need to know... Then fair enough, because I cant be bothered writing it all out when there are more chapters to read.

I love this.

Motoko has a big bro that wants to be a Tyger Claw. He's a big idiot though. She's got some chooms that want to be badass, too. What choice does she have but to be a real solo to keep them all from getting flatlined?

Armed with some game knowledge, a Gamer shard, and a love for that stat progression grind our girl sets out to become a legend two years before V.

If you were a fan of the 2077 game, you were probably left wanting more after you finished the game. Looking for a new character trying to make it as a solo? Want that sweet dopamine hit of leveling progression in your story? How about some cold-blooded scav hunting? Why are you still reading this and not the story?

Get to it, choom. Go see what awaits in Night City!

Binged the whole thing in a little over a week. overall i loved it! but i gotta start with what i dislike. The over use of "demanded" it felt like the author was trying to think of different ways to not have to use the words say or said, and decided upon demanded and stuck to it for the entire series. it just feels forced. 2nd thing i didnt like was the "the only thing they fear is me" iirc, the chapter itself was fun but the buildup was terrible. literal 0 to 100 no build up and out of character moment. And finally the author doesn't describe character apperances nearly enough. it can work when its an already known character you can google, it doesn't work when its a brand new fictional character. give me details damnit.

everything else about this fanfic i LOVED. 

The banter and dialogue with characters is a personal highlight. ichi and malcom were bland at the start but finally they have some distinction and i grew to like them. hiromi is so fun i love her interactions with motoko, especially the longer the series went. Jun i thought would be one a dimensional character and just die in a rage fueled fight with maelstrom but instead we got to see motoko deal with a person close to the edge of full blown cyberpsychosis with surprisingly very emotional moments which were great!

I haven't even started with characters from the game or show but this is already getting to long. ill just say rebecca was the perfect addition to the story and everything that occurs.

The fanfic has a lot of details about grinding and creating items or coding. It honestly has less action than i expected and more slice of life type stuff. There is no overarching plot other than to get stronger and have fun. for some this could be a huge turn off but for me it works.

still so much more i could say but this is already too bloody long. If you like cyberpunk 2077 and the show edgerunners, this could be perfect for you.