Review: The perils of a life lived online
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2012
4.5 stars. Another excellent story set in the futuristic world of 2022, where every moment of everyone's life is recorded online, where "autos" (digital assistants) manage everyone's social life, and where who sees what is carefully governed by privacy settings. What happens when the autos mess up? What happens when the privacy settings go awry? These are the questions that crop up when Nick Brady, on the eve of his 10-year anniversary party learns that his wife is in a relationship with another man, according to a strange update to her relationship status.An excellent character study (Nick is a computer nerd who has never quite felt that he is in the same league as his vivacious, popular wife Larissa) as well as an absorbing tale of suspense, "Friend Request" manages to cover an astonishing amount of ground in such a slim tale. By the end of it, I felt like I knew Nick, what his marriage had been like, and what was likely to happen next.My only complaint is that ending seems a touch tidy; a LOT of messiness ensues during the party when everyone's secrets are exposed, and I had a hard time believing that the characters would be able to move on without a lot more turmoil. However, I greatly enjoyed the story and watching it all unfold, and I very much liked the characters of Nick and Larissa, who are both painted quite vividly. Can't wait for more in this world.