Science Fiction: The God Game by Danny Tobey

There were two science fiction books that I read recently, and of the two, I chose to write about The God Game by Danny Tobey. A bunch of teenagers think it would be a good idea to enter a game from the dark web where the artificial intelligence behind it claims to be God. Yeah, this will end well.

The Situation: Charlie and his friends are the Vindicators. It is the name they have came up with for their small group of coders. Mostly they play video games and pull small pranks, but Peter thinks it is time for them to get into something new. On the dark web there is the God Game. Knowledge of every religion has been dumped into one game, and the stakes are incredibly high for those that agree to play. If you win, you live; if you lose, you die. Naturally, this causes some in Charlie's group to hesitate, but ultimately, curiosity wins out, and the Vindicators are launched into a game that is incredibly well-done, and feels eerily real. Some of the things it asks for seem silly, while other are dangerous, but only slightly. When it asks for a favor that would mean serving up justice to one of Turner High School's worst bullies, everything seems fine, great even.

The Problem: Alex was always the most distant, and the one everyone worried about. Now the game is allowing him to show more of his true colors, and his friends are not sure they like what they see. Kenny has always been the most tightly wound of the group, but being a black kid with devout Catholic parents, he knows what could happen if he is caught doing what the game is asking him to do. Vanhi is the only female of the group, but she does not mind. She handles herself just fine, and as long as nothing gets in the way of her getting into Harvard, playing the game should not be an issue. Charlie's world fell apart when his mom died, and this game may be able to help him put it back together. And Peter has always been a mystery, which is why people are drawn to him. It is why he and Charlie became friends, and why he was able to convince him to play the game. It is not long before things take a dark turn, and the group of friends Charlie had always leaned on begins to fall apart, while all of their lives spiral out of control. Even as the Vindicators decide they no longer want to play, the game gives them no way out, unless they are willing to offer the greatest sacrifice.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction book that takes place in Austin, Texas. At the fictional Turner High School, Charlie and his friends hang out in the Tech Lab, mostly okay with where they stand socially. It is Peter's idea to play the God Game, and despite some real concerns, they all eventually agree. Almost immediately, their world is filled with real adventures they can see and speak to, and even some they can feel. If they do well, there are real rewards. Fail to do what the game wants, and there are real consequences. Perhaps most disturbing of all is how the game seems to know everyone's secrets, and is more than willing to use that knowledge to have the players do what it wants. The game will even lie and manipulate information in order to move things forward. The Vindicators are almost immediately in over their heads, but the rewards are great, and the hole they have dug for themselves gets deeper. The question is not so much whether or not to play, as it becomes clear they have no choice. Instead, Charlie finds himself wondering if it is possible to stop a computer program, even if it only believes that it is God.

My Verdict: This is an interesting premise, and the characters are well-rounded and interesting. As an avid fan of almost all things YA, I am all for the setting of a high school in my hometown of Austin, Texas. But my goodness, this book becomes a bummer quickly. It is the kind of stuff that makes your soul sad, but you keep reading because you want to know these characters are going to make it out of this okay, even if most of them do not deserve to. For the most part, it seems the God Game gets hold of its players through its fulfillment of revenge fantasies. Anyone who was bullied has had thoughts of seeing their tormentors "pay," whatever that means for each individual person. But when the game helps to make those fantasies a reality, nothing feels right. Nothing feels good. Also, this book is needlessly long. It becomes clear that the ending is not going to be anything close to a happily ever after, but the reader is forced to slog through the suffering along with the characters. It is a crazy ride, but you know from just the first few chapters that it is not going anywhere good.

Favorite Moment: When Vanhi fends off an attacker with one well placed punch, despite her abhorrence of violence.

Favorite Character: Everyone in this book is revealed to have some sort of massive failing, if one was not already obvious. But I choose Vanhi and Kenny, whose outcomes I became most invested in.

Recommended Reading: Reader Player One is also a book in which the characters play a video game with real world consequences, but it is full of delightful 80s pop-culture references.