380 reviews for:

The God Game

Danny Tobey

3.59 AVERAGE

triciab04's review against another edition

5.0

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4.5 Stars

The God Game takes technology turning against us to that even scarier level, because really it's US turning against each other and ourselves. Technology is the glorious monster we have created, and we merrily revel in it, ensnared by its siren song. Give us connection, show me people like me, curious, hopeful, shy, angry, secretive...wanting. Pretty it up with smiles and items I need. Sell me the life, the look, the power, the status, the praise, the community, the voice, the escape, the very thing I so desperately desire. The thing we don't always like to ask is what's the cost? There's an insideousnesss to it, the very thing that makes us feel so connected is the thing that can most disconnect us from vital components, consequences, shame, our surroundings, the people sitting right next to us. I absolutely love when these things are explored like they were in this novel. It can be kinda dark and twisty but it never seems all that outlandish, and the best part to me is that it says more about the human condition than it does the technological boogeyman (that's already in the house *gasp*) in so many delicious ways.

It felt very fitting to have this being explored with teenagers especially, I think. The generation that has had this modern marvel at their fingertips their entire lives. I thought maybe it was possible that the darkness of the novel would be toned down to suit the YA genre, but it wasn't and I love that. Also, I think the age of the characters helped in a way bring a lightness to the story that ended up being a wonderful balance. There's an earnestness and innocence in kids that age, but also a naivety and malleability that can be dangerous in certain situations. Tobey truly gave us a superb little band of misfits we could root for.

I honestly had a hard time putting this book down each time I picked it up, which was typically late at night when tasks were finished and all was quiet. 3 sittings was all it took and it would have been less had I not started each time at 11pm. This author tells one hell of a story and he does so well. The God Game is a page turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very satisfying conclusion. I'll be looking for more from Danny Tobey.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press and this is my honest review.

elle_mentbooks's review against another edition

4.0

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“You are invited!

COme inside and play with G.O.D.”

There’s been versions of this type of story cropping up over the past decade or more. It’s a Black Mirror-esque plot revolving around technology and how once we integrate it with our lives we are at its mercy. It almost seems too far-fetched until you realize that we already have most, if not all of the technology present in the book currently out in the world today.

What I think this book is great at is depicting the relationships between the teenagers at the center of it. I believed their friendships, even if the premise felt a little out there sometimes. Which....it did. The story might have gotten away from the author at a few points, but that’s kind of the fun of it all. It’s better not to take these types of plot-lines as realistic depictions of where tech is headed, but instead look at the way the characters involved handle the new situations.

So much of The God Game was a great example of a slippery slope. When you start making small bargains with yourself, they can eventually snowball into larger sacrifices that go against your character and integrity. And it’s that much harder to say no once you’ve already invested so much of yourself. By the time you realize you’re in over your head, it’s already too late.

If you’re interested in a fast-paced Sci-fi thriller with a YA affect, you’ll probably like this offering from Danny Tobey. It’s not normally the type of thing I’d be drawn to, but it was a nice change of pace from what I’ve been reading lately.

*Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley & Goodreads for advance copies!

sand_between_pages's review against another edition

1.0

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I think that many people will really enjoy The God Game. I, however, am not one of those people. And it's a bummer because I was SO excited for this book. The synopsis gave me Ready Player One vibes - but where Ready Player One gave me all the feels - The God Game only pissed me off.
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Charlie Lake and his friends, "The Vindicators", a club of coders and hackers (high schoolers, too), receive a mysterious invitation from a "God" AI inviting them to play The God Game, which combines a world of augmented reality with the real world. Certain deeds requested by the game will bring them points, Goldzz, and refusing to do these deeds will put them in a dark hold of Blaxx (negative points). The pranks, however, are not in the game, they are in the real world. that's the catch! There's nothing wrong with pulling pranks in a fake world video game, but in the real world, people can get hurt. What starts out as innocent pranks that most kids probably commit at some time or other turns into serious offenses. Beating someone senseless. Revealing life-changing secrets to the public. Perhaps, even, murder.
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My issues with this book:
- The writing. It is not good. And I can't handle that. The premise, to me, was soooo good. And it was spoiled by contrived writing, shallow characters, and bizarre dialogue.
- It's dark. This book will give you NO warm fuzzies. That's fine, I guess. But this book just felt a evil to me.
- The plot. I still don't really get the game. Blah. The author rushed through what could have been cool bits and didn't give us enough detail to really understand what was going on.
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This wasn't for me.
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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of The God Game.

pocketsized_pageturner's review against another edition

5.0

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This is the type of book that is so good you needed to talk about it as soon as you finish!

I already had a feeling that this book would be something I would love, I was just unprepared for how much.

From the first page, the book drew me in. Based on the synopsis I already knew that people were comparing this to Ready Player One and Nerve, but it was so much darker in the best way. My heart was pounding as Charlie and his friends navigated the game... I yelled at their choices and rooted for them and cried with them. And I did not see the end coming.

The game itself was supposed to be all-consuming - and it really was. I felt like I was playing. It is one of my most favorite ways that interactive gaming has been described.

I was on the edge of my seat, I am hoping that there is a sequel, and I cannot recommend this book enough!

jill_rey's review against another edition

5.0

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The God Game may appear lengthy at over 400 pages, however I assure you, you will FLY through the pages as you are sucked into the "God Game."

What seems like a cheesy plot based on the back cover blurb, wholeheartedly draws you in as the character development and connections they have with one another are extremely powerful. Author, Danny Tobey, as such a way with writing characters that you begin to understand each of their past's without that awkward stumbling through of their history. This "game" is so powerful and all consuming that you will DEFINITLY lose sleep trying to figure out what happens next.

Buckle up, you don't want to miss this one.

*Disclaimer: a review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

sparksinwords's review against another edition

2.0

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I won an advance copy of this book from St. Martin's Press.

This is a fast read with an intriging premise - an artificial intelligence that believes it is God invites a group of teens to play its game. Pretty soon, these teens realize the game is more serious than they ever imagined. There are moral, philosophical, technological, religious, and political ideas at play in this book, but at the end, it just felt empty.

The biggest issue with this book is that the group of teens it centers - a close-knit group of friends who are on the fringes of high school social standing - never feels likable or sympathetic. Although the author did give them diverse backgrounds, talents and flaws, they didn't feel like fully fleshed-out characters. I never felt like rooting for any of them and I didn't particularly believe in their bonds of friendship. Perhaps the omniscient narrator caused this distance between the characters and the reader.

Anyhow, this book reminded me of how terrifying AI and technology can be, but the augmented reality parts were very cool.

literarymarvel's review against another edition

4.0

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I do not think should be compared to Ready Player One in any way. It is not similar at all besides the video game part. Please do not pick it up thinking it will be a comparable novel to RPO; it isn't. It's more of a suspenseful blackmail type of book. These really dumb teenagers decide to participate in this creepy AI question game which then asked them to do illegal things and "play the game". It's all very creepy and idiotic on their part. I wasn't a huge fan of the book, to be honest.

lisa_rwrmusings's review against another edition

4.0

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3.5 stars rounded up. I really like the concept of this one, and it is thought-provoking on many levels. I thought the first half was more engaging and realistic to me than the second half. I also think that more editing could have happened to tighten up the plot and length of the book.

crofteereader's review against another edition

3.0

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This book started out a little slow, establishing the dynamics of this complicated group of high school misfits (aka a group that ticks all the boxes for potential high school kid problems: religious parents, abusive parents, dead parents, aloof parents, drug dealing, being bullied, being smart but not smart enough, being in love with the popular girl, being gay... The list goes on). Then from about 20%-60% the plot took off, taking on the mantle of a modern Ready Player One with thriller tendencies and few-to-no obscure nerdy references.

But then everything just got very... melodramatic. There's a crazy car chase scene where they're driving at 100mph and swerving around while the car is being hacked and they can't see anything. The side characters were caricatures (the broken girl who becomes HBIC, the nice popular girl who's in over her head, the football player who's a bully and doesn't see anything wrong with it, the other football player who's a bully to hide/reject his own gayness, etc) and as they took on some of the narrative, distracted from the more complex and interesting main three: Charlie, Vanhi, and Kenny.

Alex and Peter I struggled with. Peter was pretty much a caricature from the start and his role in the ending just added to the melodrama, thus souring my view of the story. Alex... Alex was more complicated. His feelings of inadequacy and his hard-and-fast desire to kill himself (TW: attempted suicide) was a disproportionately HUGE part of the story. As someone who went to a high school with a frighteningly high suicide rate, that was really hard to read about over and over and over again.

Then there's the game itself. What started out as an interesting theological experiment (essentially) turned into this mess of conflicting religious dogma as the whole plot devolves into chaos. I grew tired of the game's contrived machinations early on but they only got more convoluted as time passed.

I will say: this one is absolutely a binge-worthy read. If I'd had the time, I probably would have read it very quickly.

*Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy! All opinions are my own

jess_reads_books's review against another edition

4.0

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You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

With these words, Charlie and his friends decide to enter the G.O.D. Game, a new video game unlike anything they have experienced before. The game is run by underground hackers and controlled by an AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone screens and VR glasses the teenagers become fully immersed into this new virtual world. Suddenly they are surrounded by creeping vines, torches, runes, glyphs, gods, and mythical creatures. The goal of the game is to complete missions to gain rewards, ranging from expensive tech to revenge on high school bullies.

Threatening messages and mysterious packages start to arrive, leaving Charlie and his friends to consider if this new game might be more dangerous than it first appeared. Leaving the game won’t be as easy as starting it. How far are they willing to go?

THE GOD GAME is a timely science fiction thriller, which offers up a plot that feels eerily plausible. In a world of ever evolving artificial intelligence, what’s to stop someone from creating an AI that could manipulate humans to follow all of their commands? The threat of death or harm to others is an age old mechanism used by humans to control those around them. This threat coupled with the reward of all your dreams coming true is something extremely hard to resist, which is exactly where we find our main character, Charlie, and his group of friends in this book.

I love reading science fiction books that have a premise that is entirely possible. Since this genre isn’t one I typically read in, I find it easier to understand what’s going on in the story if I can visualize what’s occurring clearly. Sure, there are always things that we make up in our minds as we read, but I need the general premise to be something I can grasp. The idea of AI becoming so controlling as with this game is one that we have of course seen before in other books and movies, but Tobey keeps it fresh with the inclusion of mythology and religious ideology being central to some of the game’s missions. It was a really nice touch to blend something very modern and cutting edge with something ancient.

What really sold me on this book was the group of friends, better known as The Vindicators. Charlie is our group leader, as well as the main narrator. He’s in a large part responsible for getting himself and his friends playing this game, so his actions and emotions are key. I found him entirely relatable and likeable. Charlie isn’t free of doing some cringeworthy things in the game, but his motivations are always very realistic. The same can easily be said for his group of friends and because they’re all high school students, the emotions and events of everyday teenage life are easy to relate to and connect with things the reader may have experienced during this time, such as peer pressure, bullying, and parental tensions.

I think THE GOD GAME is a fantastic read which fans of books like READY PLAYER ONE will really enjoy! There are multiple points of view, captivating action scenes, and plenty of tension to keep you turning pages and hanging out with The Vindicators late into the night!

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my sending me a free copy of this book!