Review: The Game

The Details

Title: The Game

Author: Terry Schott

Genre: Science Fiction, YA

Length: 289 pages

Release Date: October 20, 2012

Medium: E-book (free from BN)

Rating: 4/5

Pace: Medium/Fast

Stand Alone or Series: Book #1 of The Game is Life series

“If you can watch someone else’s life and be drawn into it, you can escape your own for a time.”

The Goodreads Synopsis

The Game...

A virtual reality simulation played by over a billion children around the world. The best players are celebrities, adored and worshiped by countless fans. Zack is a superstar among players.

His final play may change the world, forever...

The Review

Life on earth is a game. This game replaces the government school system by simulating life. The person is given credits to spend on things like longevity, intelligence, romance, etc. The player is then put into a comatose state as they play the game unknowingly.

As one of the characters can be quoted saying, “Here's the basic idea; you log into the Game and you're born. You live your life as best you can and, when you die, you return to your real body taking the lessons you learned and the memories of the experiences you had. Many return to live multiple lifetimes, many do not. You have no memory of the real world, or at least you're not supposed to.”

I was mind-blown by many of the concepts in this book. Sometimes I questioned if Earth really could be a big game. I was inspired by the religious content throughout the book and find the take on the higher power (Mainframe) to be very interesting and scientific. There is a HUGE cliff hanger that left me distraught in ways I didn’t know could be possible reading this style of book. I didn’t know this book was a series when I started it, but when I finished at 1 a.m. I purchased the next e-book!

The Characters

Zach is a top player entering the game for his last time, hoping to come out as the top ranked avatar. I felt his character was built upon thoroughly and I enjoyed his impact on The Game.

Alex failed out of the Game and was sent to one of the few government schools. She was awarded a free Game play on the 30^th anniversary of The Game. She hopes to also come out on top and earn a living for herself after The Game. She was an interesting character, very strong female lead, but took a back seat to Zach’s ideals.

The Style

The writing style is very interesting. It took me a few chapters to get used to the style of writing, but once I did it was easy and quick to read. Multiple perspectives from different characters can sometimes be confusing and frustrating. Some parts I did have to re-read to understand the full concept being presented.

The Recommendation

I would recommend this book to a mature audience that enjoys reading concepts on life. The spiritual questions may leave younger readers upset or confused. Minimal swearing and sexual suggestion, but no sexual content. I look forward to the next installment in The Game is Life series.