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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The God Game in Books
Nov 7, 2019
While browsing Facebook one day, I came across a book entitled The God Game by Danny Tobey. I was intrigued, so I decided to read more about it. After reading the synopsis, this book reeled me in. I decided to give it a read, and I am very glad I did. The God Game has become one of my favorite reads so far.
With the way the digital age is going, the plot of The God Game sounded like it could already be happening in real life. A bunch of teens decide to play a random game with what they suspect is just some kind of artificial intelligence. However, when God (the AI in The God Game) starts asking them to do some highly illegal and dangerous activities as well as activities that make the teens question their morality, they start to think that maybe they are in over their heads. Will the teens be able to quit the game or will death be the only way out? Don't get me wrong. The plot has been done before, but Danny Tobey put his own original spin on the idea and made it where it comes across as a fresh idea. As I mentioned earlier, The God Game comes across as being very realistic. While I feel that there are no major plot twists and that the book is fairly predictable in some places, The God Game is still a highly entertaining read. Tobey gives his readers enough information at the end of the book to leave them satisfied, but he still leaves it somewhat open ended for a possible sequel.
The God Game flowed very smoothly, and I felt like the pacing was perfect. Not once did I feel like the book became too dull or that it was going to fast. The transitions between chapters was very spot on which made The God Game an easy read for me. It was so easy to lose myself in this novel as I became completely immersed in the world Tobey had created.
A couple of things that kind of bothered me, and they seem to be more personal preference than a fault with the story, is the mentions of politics and how anti-God/Christianity The God Game seemed to be. I'm not a political person by any means. In fact, I don't lean one way or the other when it comes to politics. However, I felt like politics were mentioned way too much in this book. It's very obvious that the author is very anti-Trump. If I wanted to read a book about politics, I'd read a political thriller or something similar. I didn't like how this book seems to poke fun at those that believe in God. It comes across as if the author is trying to challenge the beliefs of those who believe in God. I get that The God Game has God in its title and is about an AI that believes it's God, but I felt that the way the author speaks about God came off as a bit crass. However, those were minor issues for me, and I still enjoyed reading The God Game very much.
I felt that all of the main and supporting characters in The God Game were written superbly. The God Game had such a diverse group of characters throughout which was refreshing to see. I enjoyed reading about Charlie and his thoughts. He seemed conflicted the most with everything that was happening. It was great to read about how much he cared about his friends as well as other people. Charlie came across as a stand up guy. Vanhi was my favorite character. She was such a badass that I couldn't help but to love her! I felt like she was the second most conflicted character. I just felt sorry for what Alex was going through. My heart ached for him. Kenny was a great character too, and it was interesting what the game would ask him to do. I never quite knew what to make of Peter. He was written well, and he came across as very charismatic which made me suspicious of him throughout the whole novel. I did admire how much he would throw himself into something though.
Trigger warnings for The God Game include violence, profanity, drug use, politics, challenging the existence of God, racism, sexual situations (although not graphic), and murder.
Overall, The God Game is a highly thrilling read. With such an interesting cast of characters as well as a highly thought provoking plot, I wouldn't be surprised if The God Game became one of the most sought after books of 2020. It would also make a great film. I would definitely recommend The God Game by Danny Tobey to those aged 16+ who love thrilling plots that really make you think. Give The God Game a read. It will sink its teeth in you from the very first page!
--
(A special thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a paperback ARC of The God Game by Danny Tobey in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.)
With the way the digital age is going, the plot of The God Game sounded like it could already be happening in real life. A bunch of teens decide to play a random game with what they suspect is just some kind of artificial intelligence. However, when God (the AI in The God Game) starts asking them to do some highly illegal and dangerous activities as well as activities that make the teens question their morality, they start to think that maybe they are in over their heads. Will the teens be able to quit the game or will death be the only way out? Don't get me wrong. The plot has been done before, but Danny Tobey put his own original spin on the idea and made it where it comes across as a fresh idea. As I mentioned earlier, The God Game comes across as being very realistic. While I feel that there are no major plot twists and that the book is fairly predictable in some places, The God Game is still a highly entertaining read. Tobey gives his readers enough information at the end of the book to leave them satisfied, but he still leaves it somewhat open ended for a possible sequel.
The God Game flowed very smoothly, and I felt like the pacing was perfect. Not once did I feel like the book became too dull or that it was going to fast. The transitions between chapters was very spot on which made The God Game an easy read for me. It was so easy to lose myself in this novel as I became completely immersed in the world Tobey had created.
A couple of things that kind of bothered me, and they seem to be more personal preference than a fault with the story, is the mentions of politics and how anti-God/Christianity The God Game seemed to be. I'm not a political person by any means. In fact, I don't lean one way or the other when it comes to politics. However, I felt like politics were mentioned way too much in this book. It's very obvious that the author is very anti-Trump. If I wanted to read a book about politics, I'd read a political thriller or something similar. I didn't like how this book seems to poke fun at those that believe in God. It comes across as if the author is trying to challenge the beliefs of those who believe in God. I get that The God Game has God in its title and is about an AI that believes it's God, but I felt that the way the author speaks about God came off as a bit crass. However, those were minor issues for me, and I still enjoyed reading The God Game very much.
I felt that all of the main and supporting characters in The God Game were written superbly. The God Game had such a diverse group of characters throughout which was refreshing to see. I enjoyed reading about Charlie and his thoughts. He seemed conflicted the most with everything that was happening. It was great to read about how much he cared about his friends as well as other people. Charlie came across as a stand up guy. Vanhi was my favorite character. She was such a badass that I couldn't help but to love her! I felt like she was the second most conflicted character. I just felt sorry for what Alex was going through. My heart ached for him. Kenny was a great character too, and it was interesting what the game would ask him to do. I never quite knew what to make of Peter. He was written well, and he came across as very charismatic which made me suspicious of him throughout the whole novel. I did admire how much he would throw himself into something though.
Trigger warnings for The God Game include violence, profanity, drug use, politics, challenging the existence of God, racism, sexual situations (although not graphic), and murder.
Overall, The God Game is a highly thrilling read. With such an interesting cast of characters as well as a highly thought provoking plot, I wouldn't be surprised if The God Game became one of the most sought after books of 2020. It would also make a great film. I would definitely recommend The God Game by Danny Tobey to those aged 16+ who love thrilling plots that really make you think. Give The God Game a read. It will sink its teeth in you from the very first page!
--
(A special thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a paperback ARC of The God Game by Danny Tobey in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.)
Louise (64 KP) rated The Heart's Invisible Furies in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
As always I do things back to front, John Boyne is famously known for writing ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’,I have not got round to reading this book but have watched the film adaptation and found it heart-breaking. Anyway on to his newest book on the market. This book is delightful, laugh out loud hilarious, an emotional rollercoaster and you will no doubt fall in love with Cyril Avery.
The story is told from our protagonist Cyril Avery, the story starts off when he is still in the womb and how he came to be put up for adoption and then every 7 years thereafter. The whole book follows Cyril throughout his whole life and the struggles he comes across living in Dublin in the 1950’s and coming to terms with his identity and sexuality.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I adored Cyril Avery, he had this awkwardness about him, and seemed to get in some truly awful situations. For him growing up was anything but ordinary, he was adopted by ‘The Avery’s’ but was continuously told that he wasn’t a real Avery and never would be. With his strange adoptive parents, Cyril takes everything in his stride until he meets Julian Woodbead and realises that he might just be attracted to boys.
John Boyne’s writing was breath-taking and I was enchanted from the start – I slowly read this book as I didn’t want it to end. The characters in this book were great and all had amazing personalities. It also shows how homophobic the country was back in the 1950’s and how people were scared to ‘come out’ for fear of being attacked and disowned by family members.
This book does delve in to Irish politics and was something that I had not read before but due to my lack of knowledge was not something that interested me.
This story told by Cyril Avery is about Love, Relationships, Politics, Religion, Violence and Identity.
I rated this 4.25 out of 5 stars
As always I do things back to front, John Boyne is famously known for writing ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’,I have not got round to reading this book but have watched the film adaptation and found it heart-breaking. Anyway on to his newest book on the market. This book is delightful, laugh out loud hilarious, an emotional rollercoaster and you will no doubt fall in love with Cyril Avery.
The story is told from our protagonist Cyril Avery, the story starts off when he is still in the womb and how he came to be put up for adoption and then every 7 years thereafter. The whole book follows Cyril throughout his whole life and the struggles he comes across living in Dublin in the 1950’s and coming to terms with his identity and sexuality.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I adored Cyril Avery, he had this awkwardness about him, and seemed to get in some truly awful situations. For him growing up was anything but ordinary, he was adopted by ‘The Avery’s’ but was continuously told that he wasn’t a real Avery and never would be. With his strange adoptive parents, Cyril takes everything in his stride until he meets Julian Woodbead and realises that he might just be attracted to boys.
John Boyne’s writing was breath-taking and I was enchanted from the start – I slowly read this book as I didn’t want it to end. The characters in this book were great and all had amazing personalities. It also shows how homophobic the country was back in the 1950’s and how people were scared to ‘come out’ for fear of being attacked and disowned by family members.
This book does delve in to Irish politics and was something that I had not read before but due to my lack of knowledge was not something that interested me.
This story told by Cyril Avery is about Love, Relationships, Politics, Religion, Violence and Identity.
I rated this 4.25 out of 5 stars
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ClareR (6062 KP) rated Two Women in Rome in Books
Jun 15, 2021
Two Women in Rome is a truly captivating story set in two time periods. In the present day, Lottie is an archivist working in Rome who comes across a painting once owned by an English woman called Nina who died in the late 1970’s. The painting appears to be valuable, painted in the fifteenth century.
Lottie also finds Nina’s journal in her personal effects, and the more of it she reads, the more she wants to find out about her life.
I loved the details about Rome in both timelines - I’ve visited Rome and loved it. The strong female characters were also a big plus point for me. Lottie is a head archivist, she really knows what she’s doing and is confident in her abilities. Nina is also an assertive woman - she is often in new situations that many would find themselves floundering in (Ok, that sounds really vague, but I don’t want to give anything away!)
This is a book about secrets: about keeping them, and what happens when they are revealed - both good and bad. This isn’t a book that goes fast and hard in its revelations. Quite opposite in fact, and probably why I liked it so much. I love a well told story, and I really felt that I knew the women in this because of that feeling of not being rushed through the story.
There’s a fair amount of Italian politics in this, some of which I had never known about, so that was another plus point. I hadn’t realised that Italy had had quite such a tumultuous political life for so long after World War Two. The novel has a great mix of themes, actually: secrets, history, politics, life in Rome, betrayal, guilt. I think I’m becoming a bit of an Elizabeth Buchan fan because I really enjoyed her last book The Museum of Broken Promises, as well. Both books are set in Europe, with the aftereffects of great political upheavals, ostensibly going back to World War Two. This book is well worth reading - I’d definitely recommend it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and NetGalley for my copy of this book.
Lottie also finds Nina’s journal in her personal effects, and the more of it she reads, the more she wants to find out about her life.
I loved the details about Rome in both timelines - I’ve visited Rome and loved it. The strong female characters were also a big plus point for me. Lottie is a head archivist, she really knows what she’s doing and is confident in her abilities. Nina is also an assertive woman - she is often in new situations that many would find themselves floundering in (Ok, that sounds really vague, but I don’t want to give anything away!)
This is a book about secrets: about keeping them, and what happens when they are revealed - both good and bad. This isn’t a book that goes fast and hard in its revelations. Quite opposite in fact, and probably why I liked it so much. I love a well told story, and I really felt that I knew the women in this because of that feeling of not being rushed through the story.
There’s a fair amount of Italian politics in this, some of which I had never known about, so that was another plus point. I hadn’t realised that Italy had had quite such a tumultuous political life for so long after World War Two. The novel has a great mix of themes, actually: secrets, history, politics, life in Rome, betrayal, guilt. I think I’m becoming a bit of an Elizabeth Buchan fan because I really enjoyed her last book The Museum of Broken Promises, as well. Both books are set in Europe, with the aftereffects of great political upheavals, ostensibly going back to World War Two. This book is well worth reading - I’d definitely recommend it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and NetGalley for my copy of this book.