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A review by katykelly
Game by Anders de la Motte
3.0
3.5 stars
Translated without issue, this is a fast-paced thriller, an intriguing concept, though the characters aren't always the most sympathetic.
Rebecca is a police officer, intent on her career, talented and with issues from her past she is trying to live with. HP (Hendrik) is ambition-less, an opportunist, egotistical. On a train one day, he spots an abandoned mobile phone and of course, takes it, but immediately finds his name appearing on the screen and himself pulled into a world of dares, assignments, and increasingly dangerous tasks.
This reminded me of the Michael Douglas film, also called 'The Game', which kept you guessing to the end. This reveals secrets through the running length, with a quite clever moment out of The Silence of the Lambs that fools you into misunderstanding Rebecca and HP's relationship, if only the book blurb hadn't already given this away!
Rebecca's story, I enjoyed more - she's a bit of a Clarice Starling herself, driven and intelligent. She plays second fiddle to HP though, as it's HIS 'game' and actions that drive the plot. And HP is pretty revolting as a human, a user of women, egotist, thoughtless. The plot drives you to read on, but I really didn't like HP.
Some good red herrings, some enjoyable minor characters (Manga, HP's friend).
I liked the main plot idea, the rollercoaster of it, however silly it ultimately is. It would make a good film, though I'm not sure I'm going to read the next two books in the trilogy.
Translated without issue, this is a fast-paced thriller, an intriguing concept, though the characters aren't always the most sympathetic.
Rebecca is a police officer, intent on her career, talented and with issues from her past she is trying to live with. HP (Hendrik) is ambition-less, an opportunist, egotistical. On a train one day, he spots an abandoned mobile phone and of course, takes it, but immediately finds his name appearing on the screen and himself pulled into a world of dares, assignments, and increasingly dangerous tasks.
This reminded me of the Michael Douglas film, also called 'The Game', which kept you guessing to the end. This reveals secrets through the running length, with a quite clever moment out of The Silence of the Lambs that fools you into misunderstanding Rebecca and HP's relationship, if only the book blurb hadn't already given this away!
Rebecca's story, I enjoyed more - she's a bit of a Clarice Starling herself, driven and intelligent. She plays second fiddle to HP though, as it's HIS 'game' and actions that drive the plot. And HP is pretty revolting as a human, a user of women, egotist, thoughtless. The plot drives you to read on, but I really didn't like HP.
Some good red herrings, some enjoyable minor characters (Manga, HP's friend).
I liked the main plot idea, the rollercoaster of it, however silly it ultimately is. It would make a good film, though I'm not sure I'm going to read the next two books in the trilogy.