Minnie's Fiction Addiction

👀 First impressions:
Traumaland opens with a sharp, unsettling hook and never really loosens its grip. Eli wakes up after a near fatal accident with no memory and no emotional response, diagnosed with something chillingly named Overwhelming Emptiness. When he stumbles across TraumaLand, an underground club where people relive other people’s worst experiences through hyper realistic virtual reality, the novel immediately raises uncomfortable questions about empathy, voyeurism, and what it really means to feel alive. The framing device of stepping into another person’s story gives the book a dark, immersive edge from the outset.

✅ What I Liked:
The concept is genuinely disturbing in a way that feels very now. The idea of commodified trauma and experiential suffering feels like a natural extension of online culture taken to its most extreme conclusion. The writing is sharp and fast paced, pulling you deeper into Eli’s fractured perspective as he becomes more entangled with Jack’s story. I also liked how the book plays with identity and consent, blurring the line between observer and participant until it becomes hard to tell who is really in control. The tension builds steadily, with a growing sense that something is deeply wrong beneath the surface of the club.

❎ What I didn’t Like:
At times the emotional beats are intentionally muted, reflecting Eli’s numbness, but this can make it harder to fully connect with him as a character early on. Some readers may also find the conceptual elements more compelling than the character relationships, which occasionally feel secondary to the central idea.

📚 Why You Should Read This Book:
If you enjoy dark speculative thrillers that interrogate modern culture, this is an excellent choice. It will appeal to readers who like their fiction unsettling, morally ambiguous, and just close enough to reality to be uncomfortable. Fans of dystopian concepts grounded in present day anxieties will find a lot to chew on here.

💭 Final Thoughts:
Traumaland is a clever, eerie novel that asks difficult questions about pain, entertainment, and the lengths people will go to in order to feel something. It is unsettling without being gratuitous and thought provoking without feeling heavy handed. This is the kind of book that lingers, not because of shock alone, but because of how plausible its darkest ideas feel.

🛍️ Where to buy
To buy your own copy click HERE and HERE

Final Rating ★★★★ – A chilling dive into trauma, identity, and manufactured emotion