Tension and turmoil add up to high stakes suspense and a plot that will make you wonder if all this stuff is real. Danny Tobey absolutely kicks butt and takes names in this gem of a thriller.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series
"Smart, propulsive and gripping, THE GOD GAME is an ambitious thriller and a terrifying examination of what could—and probably already is—happening in the world of artificial intelligence."—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away
"The God Game is a fantastic read. I haven't felt this way about a book since Ready Player One. As addicting as any video game I've ever played, I got sucked in from the first page and couldn't put it down. Can't recommend this one enough." —Ben Mezrich, New York Times Bestselling author of Bitcoin Billionaires and Bringing Down The House
“THE GOD GAME is a dark, edgy thriller, populated by a vastly appealing cast of teenage underdogs. Danny Tobey has written an unusually smart and provocative novel, a book full of ideas and heart that feels both fantastical and all-too-real at the same time.” —Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers and Little Children
“What an amazing achievement THE GOD GAME: a gripping page-turner that kept me up late three nights in a row, rooting for the engaging, wisecracking teen heroes; at the same time a terrifying and weirdly persuasive reverse-engineering of the morality of our present cultural moment. Also a moving and thought-provoking commentary on the relationship between parents’ pain and children’s achievement. Every time I read the news now I keep thinking I see signs of THE GOD GAME being played all around us, until I remember that it isn't real (probably). I couldn’t put it down.” —Elif Batuman, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Idiot
"A story that keeps the reader in a constant state of suspense, the book is sure to appeal to SF readers, gamers, and anyone else who enjoys a well-plotted, well-told thriller." —Booklist
"Tobey brilliantly captures the immersive, claustrophobic atmosphere of the malign game and its addictive allure for a collection of flawed and needy characters."—The Guardian
"Great characters, a novel concept, and scary set pieces." —Kirkus
"Fans of AI run amok should relish this one." —Publishers Weekly
"...engrossing, hard to put down." —Pittsburgh Post-Republican
"Reading Tobey's stupendous novel is like being a teenager again but with the added thrills and dangers that accost students today." —Country Style
2019-10-14
A band of teenage outcasts must overcome demons both personal and virtual when they stumble into an augmented-reality game.
Like Tobey's debut (The Faculty Club, 2010), this thriller pulls influences and styles from both other books and other mediums, in this case borrowing liberally from Stephen King, Stranger Things, and what academics dub "social problems novels," this one echoing Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters (1981). The high schoolers here are Charlie, who lost his mom to cancer; Harvard-bound Indian American prodigy Vanhi; Kenny, a bit of a cipher; Alex, who's under way too much pressure; and Peter, who's rich, privileged, and high. They're a losers' club who retreat to their high school's tech lab, where they can code, game, and tinker under Charlie's invented moniker, the Vindicators. Things get weird when they stumble onto an old-school text game run by an omnipotent, omniscient artificial intelligence who thinks it's God with a big G. It's an evil bargain, too, and the AI seems to have the power to make its deals happen: If you win, all your dreams come true, and if you lose, you die. Actions the game likes earn players "Goldz," currency they use to buy privileges and powers, while other behaviors earn "Blaxx," demerits that might get you killed. Over time, the kids are awarded "Aziteks," glasses that augment reality so they can see what God has in mind for the world. There are other banal things going on—bullies who are complete dicks, as happens, as well as crushes and the novel's central theme: the complicated relationships between parents and children. There's a great thriller in here, but you have to carve off the excess to get to it. The mythology of The God Game, originating with a 1990s-era squad something like the Vindicators, gets too complicated, and the rules of this universe are never really clear. By the end it's all a bit dizzying and not entirely satisfying.
Great characters, a novel concept, and scary set pieces, but it never gels into something memorably terrifying.
