Blog Tour: The God Game by Danny Tobey

Synopsis

You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

With those words, Charlie and his friends enter the G.O.D. Game, a video game run by underground hackers and controlled by a mysterious AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone-screens and high-tech glasses, the teens’ realities blur with a virtual world of creeping vines, smoldering torches, runes, glyphs, gods, and mythical creatures. When they accomplish a mission, the game rewards them with expensive tech, revenge on high-school tormentors, and cash flowing from ATMs. Slaying a hydra and drawing a bloody pentagram as payment to a Greek god seem harmless at first. Fun even.

But then the threatening messages start. Worship me. Obey me.Complete a mission, however cruel, or the game reveals their secrets and crushes their dreams. Tasks that seemed harmless at first take on deadly consequences. Mysterious packages show up at their homes. Shadowy figures start following them, appearing around corners, attacking them in parking garages. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win?

And what of the game’s first promise: win, win big, lose, you die? Dying in a virtual world doesn’t really mean death in real life—does it?

Review

Its a real privilege to be helping kick off the tour for this phenomenal book. It takes you on an insane ride, and you are never truly sure what’s going to happen next. Ready Player One, blended with Nerve, The God Game is the most immersive online game, with real world twists. Starting as a simple chatbot, and then spiralling into something that seems to have a life of its own, the game elements were utterly gripping.

The concept is unique, examining not just the online world we are creating for ourselves, but placing it cleverly alongside religion. The God Game sees everything, seemingly knows everything and becomes a character in its own right. Truly a creepy concept, and you will find yourself wanting to cover the lens and microphone of every device you own!

There is an awesome mix of characters, with the good, the bad and all of the morally grey you could wish for. Everyone has their own demons, and secrets, that slowly unravel as they fall deeper into the game. I loved headstrong, intelligent Vanhi, but equally Alex, the lost boy who’s slowly unraveling. I really enjoyed the way my opinion of everyone was put to the test, changing who I trusted, and who I disliked with pretty much every chapter.

The plot becomes intense and darker, the further into the pages you get, and I found myself on the edge of my seat more than once. This was such a great book, original, thrilling and occasionally terrifying, you’ll be left questioning whats morally right in order to survive and win the game. Highly recommend!!

Thank you so much to Gollancz for sending me a review copy and allowing me to join in with this fantastic tour. You can check out the other stops by looking up the wonderful people above.