July 15, 2022
Amor (Six Rooms) presents a brutally raw and powerful novel. Tackling the issues of a woman with severe depression and suicidal ideations, it's not for the faint of heart. The protagonist, given the name Magpie during therapy, has struggled with postpartum depression and raising her son. All the parts--the good as well as the ugly--are laid bare. When Magpie discovers that she's dead, she sets out to investigate how it happened. Readers see the desperate plea for help she sent beforehand to the people who run a virtual reality--based therapy program. During her therapy session, the practitioners assigned to Magpie's case begin to wonder if full immersion in virtual reality is actually possible as the situation veers off course. The point-of-view shifts highlight the callousness of the medical team as well as Magpie's struggle to make sense of everything. The body horror is visceral, and the virtual reality component will cause readers to constantly question what's real. VERDICT Readers of Amor's latest are in for a creepy, unsettling narrative, with strong shades of Sarah Pinborough. Recommend to those who enjoy films like Inception and Memento.--Anita Siraki
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 15, 2022
This anguished psychological horror novel from Amor (Six Rooms) begins with a letter from the protagonist, Magpie, to researchers in “The Department of Virtual and Experimental Therapy” at the University of Bristol, begging for help in avoiding suicide. When Magpie then discovers her own bedraggled corpse in the mud by the river, it launches her on an investigation—though readers are aware that her body is actually being tended in a university lab, her consciousness monitored by scientists. Within the virtual-reality world, a Psych in the guise of a friendly stranger leads Magpie to face events from her past that have contributed to her current despair. What the scientists don’t realize, however, is that Magpie’s creative intelligence is beginning to interact with the program’s code, enabling her to take charge of the narrative. The scientists, too smug in their presumed control of the process, see that the Psych is going off-script, but they don’t notice how their own space is being invaded by threatening darkness. Magpie may break free from her own despair, but what will happen if it escapes into the world around her? Amor writes passionately and convincingly about Magpie’s pain. The result is a bleak but powerful portrait of survival at any cost. Agent: Mark Falkin, Falkin Literary.
September 1, 2022
In the foreword to Full Immersion, author Amor shares the raw, personal nature of her history and emotions that went into creating this novel. Discussion of the pain, grief, loss, and trauma around postpartum depression is still taboo for many, so her frank disclosure of the themes in this work is a welcome one. The story opens with a letter from a woman to an experimental-therapy department pleading to be part of their study in the hopes that it will address her constant thoughts of suicide. The narrative that follows walks a line between futuristic thriller, with its full-body virtual reality and potential technical dangers, and a dark fairy tale, with characters called by roles like Nurse or Boss instead of names, items of strange significance at every turn, and a reality that feels less stable as time passes. Amor ends the work with a list of resources to aid those struggling with the sorts of issues she and her main character have faced. Overall, a powerful and challenging work.
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