Curious Rambles of VN

Lotus

How does one find happiness when nothing makes sense?

Lil’ Shadows, it’s been a while and I have no excuse besides life. That’s it. Life is mean and yet kind in some areas. Sometimes. When it wants to.

Anyway, recently, I received an email from Wicked Ink Publishing asking me to review an ARC. To tell the truth, I’m unsure when I signed up to join their review team but I’m grateful for the opportunity. Give me something to distract myself with when work becomes overwhelming so please, Lil’ Shadows, come join me in reviewing Lotus by Will Cooper.

Lotus is an up and coming science fiction story, the first book in the The Lotus Trilogy series. This means that two more books will be published later in the future. Amazing enough, Lotus is Will Cooper’s debut within the literary world. So, the fact that this book will be part of a trilogy shows his ambition.

Want to learn more about Will Cooper? Check out https://www.wickedinkpublishing.com/will-cooper

‘In a world of lies, there’s only one thing left to believe in.

In the future, humanity has fully merged with technology, forming a collective super-intelligence known as The System.

But a problem has emerged.

Without conflict, the human brain has begun to atrophy. To prevent The System from collapsing, select humans are raised in isolation and subjected to simulated trials meant to provoke fear, longing, and struggle, keeping the spark of consciousness alive.

Lotus is one of them.

She has fought, loved, and lost, and believes she has passed her Final Test. But when she wakes, heartbroken and alone, she learns she must enter another simulation, this time knowing it isn’t real.

If she opens her heart again, it might destroy her.

If she doesn’t, it might destroy the world.’

The summary itself holds potential; a dystopian society, specifically an environmental/technological ruin, a complication within the solution and a girl trying to decide which path she must choose. The life that was designated or a life she finds herself wanting.

Before I get into the story itself, I want to describe the writing style. Lotus is a descriptive narrative but follows a stream of consciousness style. There’s no clear, linear structure but a fracture, emotional base description. We follow Lotus’ perspective and thought process, meaning that some sections are difficult to read due to her emotional influxes. One moment it might be clear but then it’s chaotic once she experiences conflicting emotions that do not fit what is expected of her. Another thing I noticed is that the book itself is filled with paradoxes.

For example, Lotus is told “… it’s your mind shaping the world, even as the world shapes your mind … To lose oneself in the story without losing oneself in the story.”

Confusing right? But I believe that is the point, the struggle to understand and accept the unavoidable.

Lotus is based on a future where humanity joined their consciousness into a single unit. A program called the System. To join the System, individuals go through a process known as Integration but there is an issue. Due to the collective awareness, there are no conflicts for individuals to experience and learn from, thus causing the System to weaken. To combat this issue, the System decided to create a program called the Wanderer Program. Wanderers are humans that are genetically engineered to live in isolation and suffer through trials, all for them to experience the good and bad that life has to offer and to gain the sense of awareness and individuality of consciousness. Once the time is right, they would integrate into the System and keep it strong.

Our main character is named Lotus, a Wanderer who is believed to finally passed the final trial before she could integrate but discovered she needs to go through one last simulated trial.

Before I continue, I want to briefly go over the concepts that were given to describe this story.

Simulated Reality: It is unsure whether Lotus truly lives in the ‘real’ world. Nearly every trial she experiences occurs through simulated realities. It comes to the point she becomes unsure which is real and what was created by the System to test her.

Awareness Inside the Simulation: Lotus is specifically told that her final test will be within a simulation and she would have her awareness. She knows everything is false but her mind will be clear. She is aware of everything but because of this, she struggles to adjust and adapt to her new reality.

The Chosen Subject: Lotus is mentioned by the System to be special. Her integration is needed but due to the unique narrative, it appears that another entity is hinting that she has the choice to submit to the System or fight against it. Nothing is confirmed but this choice hunts Lotus until the very end.

Humanity vs. Collective Intelligence: There isn’t much history behind the need to create the System but during the simulation,Lotus is placed in the time before the complete Integration of humanity. There, Lotus experiences the fight behind humanity and the System. She discovers that there used to be a group of people called the Resistance who argue and fight against the need for collective intelligence. This brings the issue of choosing to be flawed and alive, or gaining peace with no struggles but losing the sense of individuality.

The Emotional Catalyst: This one is hard to describe. Lotus experiences several losses within her life. She struggles to accept the necessity of these simulations and the fact that every time she dares to welcome the warmth of another, it’s quickly taken away from her. Near the end of the book, Lotus experiences a series of extreme emotions to the point she finally makes her decision.

Nature of Reality: This goes in line with both the simulated reality and awareness inside the simulation. As time goes on within the Final Trial, Lotus struggles to separate the past with the present. She sees echoes of the life she lived before her last trial but she also experiences echoes of her current identity. It gets to the point she wonders which life is truly real and which was a simulation.

Despite struggling a bit with the writing style, once I got into the rhythm, I couldn’t put the book down. 
It made me want to know more. What exactly happened to Lotus before her Final Trial? What actually occurred before humanity became a collective intelligence? Is Lotus truly Lotus or is she merely a tool created by the System to stay alive in a sense?

I’ll admit, I felt for Lotus and I was hoping she would finally find her happiness in the end but how does one find happiness when nothing makes sense? I’m actually looking forward to the next book within the series just so I know what happens next.

If you like books based on a dystopia society which includes; 

This is a good book to read and question the actions humanity made to survive but from what? That still needs to be seen.

Thank you Wicked Ink Publishing for the early access.