"Do you want to try it?"

"Okay."

"How long will you try it?"

"I will try it for the rest of my life."

i'm just gonna put it out there: this is one of my favorite novels now. i might have just finished it, and i usually take a while to determine whether i actually love a story or just the way it made me feel in that one moment, but this one's just TOO GOOD for me not to have it as one of my top three favorites. first of all, because it involves such high stakes, it is under the risk of going downhill any second and becoming completely unreadable. yet, from beginning to end, it was so much fun, so well-crafted, so SMART and CLEVER and EVERY POSSIBLE COMPLIMENT FOR IT. the plot is incredibly well-thought, to the point that i'd hardly believe i could find any flaws that were to ever affect the experience, and the characters are awesome. the black tower is the villain: every human or enemy the main characters might find in the way are nothing more than antagonists. usually, i love villains regardless of their intent and how "evil" they are, but the earth is online offers antagonists that are actually so relatable and so likable that i found myself rooting for them despite their personalities and/or actions. woah. i'm still so impressed.
also, i just want to say this: this might be the first novel that made me have a supporting character as my favorite character. bai ruoyao, the absolute love of my life, i love you so much. BUT ALSO!!!! the main characters!!!! tang mo and fu wenduo and their "tacit understanding" and every single line of dialogue or narration about them. they're amazing as individual characters, and they're brilliant as a couple. i loved them, i loved everything, i loved everyone. nothing is PERFECT, but this novel is AMAZING, it's EXCELLENT, it's a favorite. i'd recommend it to literally anyone.

Merged review:

"Do you want to try it?"

"Okay."

"How long will you try it?"

"I will try it for the rest of my life."

i'm just gonna put it out there: this is one of my favorite novels now. i might have just finished it, and i usually take a while to determine whether i actually love a story or just the way it made me feel in that one moment, but this one's just TOO GOOD for me not to have it as one of my top three favorites. first of all, because it involves such high stakes, it is under the risk of going downhill any second and becoming completely unreadable. yet, from beginning to end, it was so much fun, so well-crafted, so SMART and CLEVER and EVERY POSSIBLE COMPLIMENT FOR IT. the plot is incredibly well-thought, to the point that i'd hardly believe i could find any flaws that were to ever affect the experience, and the characters are awesome. the black tower is the villain: every human or enemy the main characters might find in the way are nothing more than antagonists. usually, i love villains regardless of their intent and how "evil" they are, but the earth is online offers antagonists that are actually so relatable and so likable that i found myself rooting for them despite their personalities and/or actions. woah. i'm still so impressed.
also, i just want to say this: this might be the first novel that made me have a supporting character as my favorite character. bai ruoyao, the absolute love of my life, i love you so much. BUT ALSO!!!! the main characters!!!! tang mo and fu wenduo and their "tacit understanding" and every single line of dialogue or narration about them. they're amazing as individual characters, and they're brilliant as a couple. i loved them, i loved everything, i loved everyone. nothing is PERFECT, but this novel is AMAZING, it's EXCELLENT, it's a favorite. i'd recommend it to literally anyone.