  | Book Details Title: The God Game: A Novel |
Book DescriptionReview “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 Read more About the Author Danny Tobey is a fifth-generation Texan. He went to Harvard College, Yale Law School, and UT Southwestern medical school. Harvard gave Danny the Edward Eager prize “for the best creative writing.” He wrote and edited the Harvard Lampoon and was anthologized in The Best of the Harvard Lampoon: 140 Years of American Humor.Danny’s first novel, the sci-fi fantasy thriller The Faculty Club, came out from Simon & Schuster. Danny is a noted expert on Artificial Intelligence. In 2019, the Library of Congress gave Danny the Burton Award for his work on AI and the law. Read more Customers Review: Charlie and his friends are not the popular kids in school. Smart in a nerdy way, they formed a computer coding club so they could have something together, something they could share, something that bonded them. Vanhi, who loves both coding and playing her bass; Kenny, who has worked so hard at school and playing the cello so his parents wouldn’t be disappointed in him the way they are with his brother, who left medical school to be a writer; Alex, whose parents hold him to the highest academic standards, going to extremes to encourage him to keep his grade up; Peter, whose mother died when he was young and now his father travels so much he is pretty much raising himself; and Charlie, whose mother died a little over a year ago and who has given up on just about everything—these are the club, the Vindicators. And everyone in the school knows it.The problem? Very few people in the school care. Despite their intelligence, they rarely date. Despite their hard work, their parents still put more pressure on them to do more, do better. Despite their friendship, they still struggle. And then they find the game. Or rather, the game found them.Offering them a chance to win the ultimate prize—all their dreams coming true, the G.O.D. game draws them in, giving them a chance to escape their daily miseries as well as a way to get rid of them altogether. They do what the game wants, they get Goldz, which they can use to get anything they want. But if they don’t do what the game wants, they get Blaxx.At first the game is fun and seems harmless, but as they level up, the tasks are more challenging. They are faced with ethical, moral, and philosophical questions about their choices that they didn’t want to consider. Their choices in the game seem to have genuine consequences to those not in the game, and they start to wonder who is running the game. Is it some AI that thinks it’s God, or is it something more? Something malevolent? And if that’s the case, can they leave the game if it gets too intense? Do they have any control of their lives anymore at all?Danny Tobey’s novel The God Game is a masterwork of popular culture, teenage angst, and the fear of what the collective unconscious of the internet could become. It is a force of words, of feelings, of imagination as readers are taken on a journey of religion and high school, of psychology and anxiety, of possibility and personal choice. This is the most intense book I’ve read in ages. I loved it, and I think everyone should read it. But be prepared. This story will take you on an emotional journey like no other!Galleys for The God Game were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks | |
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