My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.0 with 80 ratings (as of 11/3/18)

Are you living in a simulation? 

If you aren’t now, you soon will be. The technology is fast approaching, and within our lifetimes the vast majority of humanity may be plugged into their own private worlds, living out dreams indistinguishable from reality.

It sounds like a paradise. But even paradise has its price.

Restricted Fantasies is a collection of short stories about …more on Goodreads

200 Word Review

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

As I read the 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.”, I was intrigued. For those that don’t know “Black Mirror” is a British TV show that is available on Netflix. “Black Mirror” is a contemporary reworking of “The Twilight Zone” and is described by Netflix as a “sci-fi anthology series explores a twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.”

Describing “Restricted Fantasies” by Kevin Kneupper as being written in Black Mirror-style is an actuate description. Each stand-alone story in both features its own cast of unique characters. As with “Black Mirror”, this is not a collection to sit and read straight through. The stories make you think and mess with your mind. They need to be digested, thought through, and processed.

I do not want to discuss any of the individual stories as I do not want to mention any spoilers. With many of the stories I needed a few hours, if not days, to process. I highly recommend “Restricted Fantasies” to anyone who can read it and process it. I would not recommend reading it in one sitting.

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasies, Anthology, Short stories
Print Length: 284 pages
ISBN: 9781718688551
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: May 27, 2018