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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
If you’re into artificial intelligence, immersive video games, role-playing games and/or page turning thriller-mysteries, and the moral dilemmas that face young people and those who care about them every day, keep an eye out for The God Game coming January 7, 2020.
What starts as an online game quickly evolves/devolves into a real-world series of conflicts and forced moral conflicts that lead the group of friends to test themselves and others in ways that shock themselves and the reader.
The novel is as immersive as the game is to the groups of friends who play it.
What starts as an online game quickly evolves/devolves into a real-world series of conflicts and forced moral conflicts that lead the group of friends to test themselves and others in ways that shock themselves and the reader.
The novel is as immersive as the game is to the groups of friends who play it.
This was a highly recommended book and after reading about the author's education/qualifications, I had a lot of expectations for this novel.
The writing was smart, funny, and witty - following the omnipotence of the "God Game" the writing was third person omniscient which I thought was a nice touch.
Overall I am quite disappointed with how this story unfolded. Clearly Tobey is a very intelligent man who did his research, however, the execution of the story was lackluster for me. This felt like a slightly more adult and 'techy' and 'nerdy' version of Pretty Little Liars (lol).
I think this novel would've been more of a hit if this didn't center around a high school group.
A few thoughts about that:
1. hated the choices for names (all very white and boring minus Vanhi ofc);
2. The characters were good but they were all quite predictable and a bit boring because of that;
3. I think the execution would have been 10 times better if the novel was set in the 'adult world'. No one cares about high school drama. If I wanted high school drama, I would've picked up Pretty Little Liars or another teen book.
4. This should have been a teen book and I think the only reason it wasn't, was because of some violence/foul language (even that was tame).
BUT, that being said, I think Tobey as an author has MASSIVE potential. His writing is really well thought out and smart. Although I may be critical about this book, I didn't not enjoy it. I did enjoy it quite thoroughly - it was captivating for sure. The mix of theology, morality, and technology added an element to this book that made it so captivating for me. Crowdsourcing morality? Very 21st century (I approve).
I expected more and I wanted to be surprised by this book but I just wasn't (by the plot). If Tobey writes another book, I really hope the plot grows up a bit :)
The writing was smart, funny, and witty - following the omnipotence of the "God Game" the writing was third person omniscient which I thought was a nice touch.
Overall I am quite disappointed with how this story unfolded. Clearly Tobey is a very intelligent man who did his research, however, the execution of the story was lackluster for me. This felt like a slightly more adult and 'techy' and 'nerdy' version of Pretty Little Liars (lol).
I think this novel would've been more of a hit if this didn't center around a high school group.
A few thoughts about that:
1. hated the choices for names (all very white and boring minus Vanhi ofc);
2. The characters were good but they were all quite predictable and a bit boring because of that;
3. I think the execution would have been 10 times better if the novel was set in the 'adult world'. No one cares about high school drama. If I wanted high school drama, I would've picked up Pretty Little Liars or another teen book.
4. This should have been a teen book and I think the only reason it wasn't, was because of some violence/foul language (even that was tame).
BUT, that being said, I think Tobey as an author has MASSIVE potential. His writing is really well thought out and smart. Although I may be critical about this book, I didn't not enjoy it. I did enjoy it quite thoroughly - it was captivating for sure. The mix of theology, morality, and technology added an element to this book that made it so captivating for me. Crowdsourcing morality? Very 21st century (I approve).
I expected more and I wanted to be surprised by this book but I just wasn't (by the plot). If Tobey writes another book, I really hope the plot grows up a bit :)
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"What does it mean to be saved? Is it a version of yourself from years ago, perfectly preserved, so that you can return to it one day, unblemished, no matter what insults have happened since? No matter the mistakes and errors and blows and sins?
Or is it the opposite: overwriting all past versions of yourself, so that everything before has been wiped away, leaving only the newest, latest version to go forward and sin no more?
Or is the simplest explanation true: that there is no such thing as salvation? Only a series of files, disjointed, slices of time that - when strung together - give the approximation of life. The way a flip-book gives the illusion of motion."
After experimenting with an AI that was programmed to believe it was God, a group of friends who call themselves The Vindicators find themselves drawn into a game. While it starts off simple enough, they are asked to to darker and darker things until they are in too deep and can't escape. Not that they always want to. Some of the rewards for their loyalty are rather enticing. Especially since leaving the game means death.
This book felt familiar. But I don't know to which book. I've looked over my reading tracker from the past few years (even searching for words in the remark I remember making. But I couldn't find it.). I'll edit this to add it if I ever remember.
I enjoyed the characters in this book and seeing their corruption. It's definitely believable as it all builds up slowly. This does mean that the book drags a bit at times, especially given its length. The game is incredibly creepy and disturbing. The lines between the virtual reality of the game and the reality of life quickly get blurred, and we find our characters questioning who is playing and who can they trust. They even start doubting each other as no one really knows what the game wants or what it is trying to achieve.
Or is it the opposite: overwriting all past versions of yourself, so that everything before has been wiped away, leaving only the newest, latest version to go forward and sin no more?
Or is the simplest explanation true: that there is no such thing as salvation? Only a series of files, disjointed, slices of time that - when strung together - give the approximation of life. The way a flip-book gives the illusion of motion."
After experimenting with an AI that was programmed to believe it was God, a group of friends who call themselves The Vindicators find themselves drawn into a game. While it starts off simple enough, they are asked to to darker and darker things until they are in too deep and can't escape. Not that they always want to. Some of the rewards for their loyalty are rather enticing. Especially since leaving the game means death.
This book felt familiar. But I don't know to which book. I've looked over my reading tracker from the past few years (even searching for words in the remark I remember making. But I couldn't find it.). I'll edit this to add it if I ever remember.
I enjoyed the characters in this book and seeing their corruption. It's definitely believable as it all builds up slowly. This does mean that the book drags a bit at times, especially given its length. The game is incredibly creepy and disturbing. The lines between the virtual reality of the game and the reality of life quickly get blurred, and we find our characters questioning who is playing and who can they trust. They even start doubting each other as no one really knows what the game wants or what it is trying to achieve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Stalking, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Outing
What if you were given the opportunity to make all your dreams come true? Would you take it? That is the question that 5 teenagers face as they start the God Game. Since this book has teenagers as main characters, there is a fair bit of angst in the book and the characters (even the adults) aren’t really likable. That being said I was constantly drawn back to the book wondering what would happen. I was thinking it might just a three star book for me but I love the ending so much that I think it will stick with me for a while giving making it a four star book. Trigger warnings for violence and Trump supporters. Get your copy on 1/7/2020. Thanks to St Martin’s Press for the advance copy.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
There is a lot of promise here, despite the idea that some game could upend the lives of a group of teens by making their dreams (or nightmares) come true isn't all that new. Clearly there's someone in the group who is more involved than we're led to believe and all the kids will be greatly changed by what happens in the game. It's the 0-to-60 speed of things that is disappointing, that rather than slowly draw the kids in the game starts to make the serious demands almost immediately. There's also a lot of stereotyping here that is disappointing, like the fact that these kids are misfits, or the really good looking transfer student is hiding Dark Secrets. Yawn.
eARC provided by publisher.
eARC provided by publisher.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The God Game was an interesting departure from my regular historical fiction novels, but it had an edge of psychological thriller that initially drew me to its description. As I read The God Game, it was really like a spin on Pretty Little Liars for the computer science set.
Centered around main character Charlie and his small group of friends, the high schoolers were targeted through their mutual love of video games and enticed to enter a virtual reality game that quickly takes over their lives, forcing them to complete missions that get increasingly dangerous and cruel until they have no way to back out.
While I may not fully relate to or understand the allure of computer games, this was definitely an intense and engaging story that delved beyond the superficial high school issues teens deal with. The group was diverse and all had a variety of life experiences and issues they were confronting in their personal lives. Charlie, for instance, was still grieving the loss of his mom with a largely absent father, while another of his friends worried about her parents’ citizenship status.
The perspective switched back and forth as the different characters were given their missions in the game which made the story pretty fast-paced and engaging. I wouldn’t say it was entirely shocking since I kind of figured who was behind the game from the beginning, but that didn’t take away from the end (or the final twist). As a fan of Pretty Little Liars, I definitely think other PLL fans would enjoy The God Game.
Centered around main character Charlie and his small group of friends, the high schoolers were targeted through their mutual love of video games and enticed to enter a virtual reality game that quickly takes over their lives, forcing them to complete missions that get increasingly dangerous and cruel until they have no way to back out.
While I may not fully relate to or understand the allure of computer games, this was definitely an intense and engaging story that delved beyond the superficial high school issues teens deal with. The group was diverse and all had a variety of life experiences and issues they were confronting in their personal lives. Charlie, for instance, was still grieving the loss of his mom with a largely absent father, while another of his friends worried about her parents’ citizenship status.
The perspective switched back and forth as the different characters were given their missions in the game which made the story pretty fast-paced and engaging. I wouldn’t say it was entirely shocking since I kind of figured who was behind the game from the beginning, but that didn’t take away from the end (or the final twist). As a fan of Pretty Little Liars, I definitely think other PLL fans would enjoy The God Game.
High school senior, Charlie and his fellow 'Vindicators', Peter, Vahni, Kenny and Alex are invited to play the exclusive and mysterious underground video game G.O.D. Controlled by an AI that believes he is God, the little band of gamers, computer enthusiasts and misfits must carry out tasks and errands in return for coins, favours and prizes.
As the errands demanded by the game become darker and morally ambiguous, the friends start questioning, not only the intentions of the game, but also the limits to which they would be willing to go to in order to achieve their dreams.
Danny Tobey has created a dark and edgy cautionary tale for a world in which lives are so completely governed by technology. An intense, fast paced, sci-fi techie thriller, 'The God Game' is original, imaginative and such a fun to read! The writing is dark and taught, and the characters likeable and totally relatable.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.
As the errands demanded by the game become darker and morally ambiguous, the friends start questioning, not only the intentions of the game, but also the limits to which they would be willing to go to in order to achieve their dreams.
Danny Tobey has created a dark and edgy cautionary tale for a world in which lives are so completely governed by technology. An intense, fast paced, sci-fi techie thriller, 'The God Game' is original, imaginative and such a fun to read! The writing is dark and taught, and the characters likeable and totally relatable.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.