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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
The God Game by Danny Tobey (released 1/7)
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Thank you to SMP for the free ebook!
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I’m going to start by saying this book had an intriguing premise. Not totally new, but if we’ll executed, could be great. And while I think DT executes certain parts well, others not so much. This book was 500 pages. Longest game ever. Also, there were so many characters and all had their own storylines. By the end I truly didn’t care about any of them. I think if this was 100 pages less, i would feel differently. But to me this needed some more editing.
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I feel many people will enjoy this book just fine. It just was a bit much for me.
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Thank you to SMP for the free ebook!
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I’m going to start by saying this book had an intriguing premise. Not totally new, but if we’ll executed, could be great. And while I think DT executes certain parts well, others not so much. This book was 500 pages. Longest game ever. Also, there were so many characters and all had their own storylines. By the end I truly didn’t care about any of them. I think if this was 100 pages less, i would feel differently. But to me this needed some more editing.
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I feel many people will enjoy this book just fine. It just was a bit much for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, Danny Tobey and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into with this one, but I couldn’t help but be interested when they suggested it because I enjoyed Recursion! I actually found this one super enjoyable and I flew through it! The characters may all be high school students, but I didn’t find this book similar to YA really. It was dark and twisty and it really took you on a journey that you aren’t expecting. The idea behind this book in so very interesting and yet terrifying! I would definitely recommend giving it a try! I don’t read much of science fiction, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!
Out January 7th!
I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into with this one, but I couldn’t help but be interested when they suggested it because I enjoyed Recursion! I actually found this one super enjoyable and I flew through it! The characters may all be high school students, but I didn’t find this book similar to YA really. It was dark and twisty and it really took you on a journey that you aren’t expecting. The idea behind this book in so very interesting and yet terrifying! I would definitely recommend giving it a try! I don’t read much of science fiction, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!
Out January 7th!
An interesting and well written book, gripping and full of twists and turns.
It's fascinating, creepy at times, and it keeps you hooked.
I liked the idea of a God chatbot, the group of characters that are well thought and fleshed out.
The plot is well crafted and interesting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's fascinating, creepy at times, and it keeps you hooked.
I liked the idea of a God chatbot, the group of characters that are well thought and fleshed out.
The plot is well crafted and interesting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Could I put this book down? No. Overall, did I really enjoy it? Yes. It was quick paced (did NOT feel like 500 pages), to the point, and a fun mystery to read. Violent, mysterious, and downright creepy at times. It fit the description well.
This is the second book I had to stay up to finish, even though I regret it the next morning :)
However, there were a few things that knocked it down for me. One- the coding language and plotline was confusing to follow. There's a scene near the end that takes place in a car that I think I had to read like 2 or 3x to try and fully understand what was happening. There comes a point where suspending my disbelief is a little much. Which ties into my second reason: i understand that it's the God Game, and the idea is that God is omnipotent and omniscient, but everything seemed to work out too easily for the bad guys. However which technology being everywhere at all times, who knows.
Good moral questions throughout. interesting to think about how we act when we people are,or aren't, watching.
This is the second book I had to stay up to finish, even though I regret it the next morning :)
However, there were a few things that knocked it down for me. One- the coding language and plotline was confusing to follow. There's a scene near the end that takes place in a car that I think I had to read like 2 or 3x to try and fully understand what was happening. There comes a point where suspending my disbelief is a little much. Which ties into my second reason: i understand that it's the God Game, and the idea is that God is omnipotent and omniscient, but everything seemed to work out too easily for the bad guys. However which technology being everywhere at all times, who knows.
Good moral questions throughout. interesting to think about how we act when we people are,or aren't, watching.
I received an ARC of this via St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this. I think fans of Ready Player One and Warcross will enjoy this. It isn't really LitRPG, as it doesn't really have the players enter the game, and it doesn't get really heavy on the game play and player stats. If you are a true LitRPG lover, this doesn't have the stats and inventory type of data you may be wanting from a book about a VR type game. It isn't overly technical either. The group of hackers doesn't really get deep into the code and the equipment they use, while creative, isn't overly technical or difficult to use or understand. I think that will appeal to people who like sci-fi that isn't so heavy on the science you can't understand what is going on. This is going to be very accessible to a lot of people even if you aren't a gamer (I'm certainly not).
The God Game doesn't pull any punches with its name. The game invites players to a game that has real life consequences, play by its rules and you are rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. The more "good" you do in the games eyes the better the rewards. If you decide to go against the rules of the game you are punished, the more you are "bad" the worse the punishment is with death being a very real consequence of your actions while playing the game.
Charlie and his group of friends, who go by the name of The Vindicators, are invited to play the game. Initially it is exciting and they are all happy to run the errands the game sends them on and even more excited when they are rewarded with things they all want or need. When the game ups the ante on the errands and starts sending them on missions that cause them to question their own morals and ethics, they start to question if the game is as harmless as they thought. When Charlie decides that the risks aren't worth the reward, he tries to find a way to stop playing the game and learns that there may not be a way to stop playing.
As I stated I enjoyed this book. The plot is dark, a bit violent, and very creative. I mean a video game that thinks it is God and that has real world consequences is really cool. It brings up a lot of interesting social commentary and ethical questions. I did find that parts of it were a slow and repetitive. I felt a bit disconnected from all of the characters. They were all kind of anti-heros, and developed as such. They were presented as outcasts that formed their own friend group, but none of them stood out as the one you wanted to "win" or beat the game in the end.
I enjoyed this. I think fans of Ready Player One and Warcross will enjoy this. It isn't really LitRPG, as it doesn't really have the players enter the game, and it doesn't get really heavy on the game play and player stats. If you are a true LitRPG lover, this doesn't have the stats and inventory type of data you may be wanting from a book about a VR type game. It isn't overly technical either. The group of hackers doesn't really get deep into the code and the equipment they use, while creative, isn't overly technical or difficult to use or understand. I think that will appeal to people who like sci-fi that isn't so heavy on the science you can't understand what is going on. This is going to be very accessible to a lot of people even if you aren't a gamer (I'm certainly not).
The God Game doesn't pull any punches with its name. The game invites players to a game that has real life consequences, play by its rules and you are rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. The more "good" you do in the games eyes the better the rewards. If you decide to go against the rules of the game you are punished, the more you are "bad" the worse the punishment is with death being a very real consequence of your actions while playing the game.
Charlie and his group of friends, who go by the name of The Vindicators, are invited to play the game. Initially it is exciting and they are all happy to run the errands the game sends them on and even more excited when they are rewarded with things they all want or need. When the game ups the ante on the errands and starts sending them on missions that cause them to question their own morals and ethics, they start to question if the game is as harmless as they thought. When Charlie decides that the risks aren't worth the reward, he tries to find a way to stop playing the game and learns that there may not be a way to stop playing.
As I stated I enjoyed this book. The plot is dark, a bit violent, and very creative. I mean a video game that thinks it is God and that has real world consequences is really cool. It brings up a lot of interesting social commentary and ethical questions. I did find that parts of it were a slow and repetitive. I felt a bit disconnected from all of the characters. They were all kind of anti-heros, and developed as such. They were presented as outcasts that formed their own friend group, but none of them stood out as the one you wanted to "win" or beat the game in the end.
4.75 stars.
I didn't realise I had been waiting for a book like this for a while. Sci-fi Thriller - my two favourite genres combined!
Readers might compare this to [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)|Ernest Cline|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500930947l/9969571._SY75_.jpg|14863741] because of the Game component, but they are two different story, and I'm glad the book didn't try to market itself as 'the next Ready Player One'.
Loved the Augmented Reality element. I would've probably enjoyed it more had the characters been a little bit older (with higher stakes rather than school-related problems), but I could also see the appeal of using teenage characters as they could be more self-absorbed, acted less rationally, and upped the chill factor of what the God Game impact had on them.
The mystery element wasn't too shocking, I actually semi-guessed it halfway through the book. The actions were pretty good, even though it wasn't the best (there were other books that could deliver action sequences really well) - the involvement of sending codes on the fly to a moving machine was really creative and awesome (although being a coder myself, I would've loved to see more code in the book rather than some packets sent via TCP & UDP. And there was little to no mention of encryptions, which would've definitely existed to protect 'God').
Another small complaint, the story resolution could've been done a little bit tighter - with 5 characters, each having their own backstory and story arch and resolution, I guess I could understand how airtime was really precious, and the book was already big as it was (449 pages!), but I wouldn't have minded 50 more pages.
So, the book wasn't perfect, but it was an amazing journey. I flew through it, and I would love to see it adapted into a movie!
I didn't realise I had been waiting for a book like this for a while. Sci-fi Thriller - my two favourite genres combined!
Readers might compare this to [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)|Ernest Cline|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500930947l/9969571._SY75_.jpg|14863741] because of the Game component, but they are two different story, and I'm glad the book didn't try to market itself as 'the next Ready Player One'.
Loved the Augmented Reality element. I would've probably enjoyed it more had the characters been a little bit older (with higher stakes rather than school-related problems), but I could also see the appeal of using teenage characters as they could be more self-absorbed, acted less rationally, and upped the chill factor of what the God Game impact had on them.
The mystery element wasn't too shocking, I actually semi-guessed it halfway through the book. The actions were pretty good, even though it wasn't the best (there were other books that could deliver action sequences really well) - the involvement of sending codes on the fly to a moving machine was really creative and awesome (although being a coder myself, I would've loved to see more code in the book rather than some packets sent via TCP & UDP. And there was little to no mention of encryptions, which would've definitely existed to protect 'God').
Another small complaint, the story resolution could've been done a little bit tighter - with 5 characters, each having their own backstory and story arch and resolution, I guess I could understand how airtime was really precious, and the book was already big as it was (449 pages!), but I wouldn't have minded 50 more pages.
So, the book wasn't perfect, but it was an amazing journey. I flew through it, and I would love to see it adapted into a movie!
this story has the game world of nerve and the high school drama of heathers.
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This book is phenomenal! Even if weird sci if isn’t normally your jam, this is well worth the step out of your comfort zone.
It’s centers around a group of high school seniors, collectively known as the Vindicators, who get invited to play the mysterious GOD Game. But is it really a game? How deep will they go? And how much collateral damage will pile up in the process?
I loved basically everything about this. The characters, the Vindicators themselves, wow. Each one so well fleshed out, you really feel like you’re apart of this group after awhile. Charlie was a great leader of the group and was so nuanced, damn I loved his personal journey throughout. The world building, another huge plus and something I got super submersed in. The inner workings of this game and the whole world itself, so super interesting and well thought out.
5/5 go read this one, check it out. Highly recommended!
It’s centers around a group of high school seniors, collectively known as the Vindicators, who get invited to play the mysterious GOD Game. But is it really a game? How deep will they go? And how much collateral damage will pile up in the process?
I loved basically everything about this. The characters, the Vindicators themselves, wow. Each one so well fleshed out, you really feel like you’re apart of this group after awhile. Charlie was a great leader of the group and was so nuanced, damn I loved his personal journey throughout. The world building, another huge plus and something I got super submersed in. The inner workings of this game and the whole world itself, so super interesting and well thought out.
5/5 go read this one, check it out. Highly recommended!
vaguely unsatisfying, was expecting more worldbuilding, a little too YA for me as well
I found the premise interesting and was excited to read it. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC. The book did grab me when I first started reading, a few chapters in I lost interest. I almost didn't finish. I felt the characters were not developed and I found them shallow and flat.