The story is set in the near future, where a chance invention allows people to experience virtual reality without the need for costly hardware — a seconds long movie drives a person into a sort of psychosis, forcing one's subconsciousness to perceive a simple 3D game as real world.
Soon after the invention, Microsoft and IBM build a virtual city on the Internet called "Deeptown" (named so after the street name for VR — the Deep), which anyone is free to log on and enter. The painted world becomes a second home for millions people — but some of them 'sink', i.e. forget to return to the reality and eventually die of dehydration.
Only a small group of people calling themselves divers are capable of leaving the Deep at will. Gods of the virtual world, they help those who sink.
The book has similarities to Mamoru Oshii's Avalon movie although the book came out earlier in 1995 and the movie in 2001. Players in both the book and movie get addicted and don't want to leave the game for different reasons. In the movie, players who reach the top most level become catatonic and they are removed to a hospital facility with fellow players but their "gaming persons" stay in the level.
In the book, the players who don't want to stop playing are anonymous and do not provide their locations so they die from malnutrition until a diver or savior locates, convinces, and guides them out of the game to get some nourishment.
The setting feels outdated specially the technology and lingo. The players only use a computer and a headset, no fancy equipment that are not affordable for everybody. The story is more of a thriller, IMHO, than purely a sci-fi novel.
I like it although I don't know anything about virtual reality games. This Russian writer is becoming one of my favorite fiction book authors.
