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Aimless young Henrik “HP” Petterson finds a cellphone on a Stockholm train that invites him to play a game: in no time, he’s embarking on daring, high-stakes missions that turn his ordinary life extraordinary. HP loves the thrill, and the rewards, but is there a sinister side to the seemingly innocent contest?
Meanwhile, ambitious Detective Rebecca Normén is moving up the career ladder in the Swedish Secret Service but is troubled by the handwritten notes she keeps finding in her locker. Whoever writes them knows way too much about her past. HP’s and Rebecca’s worlds inevitably collide. But if reality is just a game, then what is real?
Praise for The Game trilogy:
“Exciting first in a thriller trilogy…. Relentless pacing leads to a stunning finale.” —Publishers Weekly
“Brilliant and fast-paced…. Destined to be an international success.” —Chi (Italy)
“Having read Game, you will put aside Mankell and Larsson.” —Polska Dziennik Lódzki (Poland)
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 24, 2010
140 people are currently reading
2095 people want to read
About the author
Anders de la Motte
40 books564 followersAnders de la Motte, a former police officer, made his debut in 2010 with the award-winning thriller Game and has since then been one of Sweden’s most beloved and popular crime writers. He is the author of several acclaimed and bestselling crime fiction series, among them the suspenseful Skåne Quartet. Published in 2022, The Mountain King is the first bestselling installment in his new Leo Asker series.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 541 reviews
January 17, 2020
Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!
So, I've read this book several years ago, and I loved it so much, it's definitely my favourite when it comes to WANNA PLAY A GAME? type of books or movies.
Last night I just had a look at my bookshelf, I saw this book (for some reason next to The Vampire Academy series, talk about system or organisation) and I felt like I needed to read this book.
Now here I am. I flew through this book, and I'm shaken. While I thought that I remembered the book very well, that was not really the truth. I forgot so many details! It was amazing.
However, I think that my tolerance for Rebecca is even lower than it was the first time around, which is the reason why this has 4 star rating and not a 5 one.
But, now I feel a bit guilty. I have so many new books to read and instead, I re-read one?
So, I've read this book several years ago, and I loved it so much, it's definitely my favourite when it comes to WANNA PLAY A GAME? type of books or movies.
Last night I just had a look at my bookshelf, I saw this book (for some reason next to The Vampire Academy series, talk about system or organisation) and I felt like I needed to read this book.
Now here I am. I flew through this book, and I'm shaken. While I thought that I remembered the book very well, that was not really the truth. I forgot so many details! It was amazing.
However, I think that my tolerance for Rebecca is even lower than it was the first time around, which is the reason why this has 4 star rating and not a 5 one.
But, now I feel a bit guilty. I have so many new books to read and instead, I re-read one?
December 20, 2013
I received a free ebook ARC copy of this book from NetGalley. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Okay, here's the deal. It took me almost two weeks to read this. I'm not planning a long review, because I'm honestly tired of thinking about this thing and want to wash my hands of it. I feel that I owe NetGalley a review for providing the free copy, so here goes.
There were some good things about this book. The premise: conspiracy theory and a secret Game which can be accessed by specially chosen players on a special cell phone. Cool idea. The book starts out with a bang, jumping right into the action with our protagonist, HP. HP is what he goes by, after his initials. Fine. The game seems exciting at first and soon becomes more dangerous and criminal.
The book had good pacing. The action doesn't let up for long and jumps right back in. Lots of twists and turns. A well built Bourne type mystery/thriller. For that, it's enjoyable.
However, that's just the surface of things. The more deeply we get into the plot, the more we see just how unrealistic it is. I like when "coincidences" get tied together, but here it seems that everything is part of it. And it's just hard to suspend belief and go with it. By the end, it's become rather silly and I kept hoping it would....just...stop.
But the more important negative to this book are the characters. The main characters, that is. Some of the supporting ones are decent enough and used well. But the main two? Damn.
Rebecca is the female lead here. She's a cop with a backstory, lots of stuff making her bitter and angry and out to prove that she's capable. Yeah yeah. Fine. But she's so stupid it's not even funny. She keeps getting great marks in all of her trainings, and they're building her up to be the chosen one, but she's dumber than a stump. Especially where HP is concerned.
HP should stand for Huge Prick. I mean, this is one of the most despicable characters I've ever read about. And we get most of the book through his point of view? God.
I'm wondering if de la Motte meant for HP to be tongue in cheek, or funny or what. But he's not funny. He's an amoral piece of work. Suffering through all the internal dialogue this guy tells himself is pretty bad. Especially after one of his sexual conquests.
I mean, does anyone really think of himself as the "Prince of Penetration" or the "Ayatollah of Fuck n Rolla"? And think of that as a positive quality. Come on. I'd wonder if even an egotistical, sexist douchebag would think of himself this way.
But what is HP's Achilles Heal? His love for his sister. Really? We're supposed to believe that the only moral compass this dude has is a woman? That he respects any female enough to change his behavior, to spend 10 months in prison, for instance? Not when he's the "Omnipotent Pope of Pussy-Crashing", I'd wager.
Anyway, where I felt that the author was trying to make HP funny and pathetic, he failed at making him sympathetic. And he's not funny. I was laughing, but not because the character was amusing. No, I laughed where the writing describing the internal dialogue of this character was laughably bad.
Two stars, and that's only because there were some good twists and turns along the way. HP himself gets shyt for stars.
Okay, here's the deal. It took me almost two weeks to read this. I'm not planning a long review, because I'm honestly tired of thinking about this thing and want to wash my hands of it. I feel that I owe NetGalley a review for providing the free copy, so here goes.
There were some good things about this book. The premise: conspiracy theory and a secret Game which can be accessed by specially chosen players on a special cell phone. Cool idea. The book starts out with a bang, jumping right into the action with our protagonist, HP. HP is what he goes by, after his initials. Fine. The game seems exciting at first and soon becomes more dangerous and criminal.
The book had good pacing. The action doesn't let up for long and jumps right back in. Lots of twists and turns. A well built Bourne type mystery/thriller. For that, it's enjoyable.
However, that's just the surface of things. The more deeply we get into the plot, the more we see just how unrealistic it is. I like when "coincidences" get tied together, but here it seems that everything is part of it. And it's just hard to suspend belief and go with it. By the end, it's become rather silly and I kept hoping it would....just...stop.
But the more important negative to this book are the characters. The main characters, that is. Some of the supporting ones are decent enough and used well. But the main two? Damn.
Rebecca is the female lead here. She's a cop with a backstory, lots of stuff making her bitter and angry and out to prove that she's capable. Yeah yeah. Fine. But she's so stupid it's not even funny. She keeps getting great marks in all of her trainings, and they're building her up to be the chosen one, but she's dumber than a stump. Especially where HP is concerned.
HP should stand for Huge Prick. I mean, this is one of the most despicable characters I've ever read about. And we get most of the book through his point of view? God.
I'm wondering if de la Motte meant for HP to be tongue in cheek, or funny or what. But he's not funny. He's an amoral piece of work. Suffering through all the internal dialogue this guy tells himself is pretty bad. Especially after one of his sexual conquests.
I mean, does anyone really think of himself as the "Prince of Penetration" or the "Ayatollah of Fuck n Rolla"? And think of that as a positive quality. Come on. I'd wonder if even an egotistical, sexist douchebag would think of himself this way.
But what is HP's Achilles Heal? His love for his sister. Really? We're supposed to believe that the only moral compass this dude has is a woman? That he respects any female enough to change his behavior, to spend 10 months in prison, for instance? Not when he's the "Omnipotent Pope of Pussy-Crashing", I'd wager.
Anyway, where I felt that the author was trying to make HP funny and pathetic, he failed at making him sympathetic. And he's not funny. I was laughing, but not because the character was amusing. No, I laughed where the writing describing the internal dialogue of this character was laughably bad.
Two stars, and that's only because there were some good twists and turns along the way. HP himself gets shyt for stars.
February 11, 2014
I had high hopes for this one. I saw a couple rave reviews go by (including the Publisher's Weekly plug in the summary above) and I was intrigued by the premise.
But... no. Right now, I'm wishing there were a way I could get my $2 back from Amazon. The writing style is very annoying (it's a translation, but I suspect that's unrelated). The author has sprinkled inner monologue everywhere, ranging from outdated catch phrases ("As if...!" and "Run, Forrest, run!") to juvenile hostility ("Suck my ass, mofos!"). Many paragraphs are concluded with some sort of exclamation or question. "That was so cool!" "What the fuck?" WTF indeed...
The character "HP" is a egocentric asshole slacker, possibly a sociopath. In an early scene, he's also a complete dick to his friend who is a recently converted Muslim. He calls him by his former name, and when the friend reminds him of the Muslim name he now prefers, HP says,
"Of course I know, Mangey boy! If you insist on turning yourself into a second-class carpet seller, that's your decision."
He nodded demonstratively at Farook's Middle Eastern trousers, silk waistcoat, and long shirt.
"Just don't expect me to buy into that bullshit. You were Mange when we started school, when you used to smoke your mom's cigarettes behind the Co-op, and when you lost your virginity to that fat Finnish girl in a tent at Hultsfred. So that's who you are to me, regardless of whatever you, your wife, or your latest god think, okay?"
Turns out "the game" is ideal for egomaniacal sociopaths, but how in the world am I supposed to root for this guy, much less endure his assholery for 300 pages?
The other character, Rebecca, is sympathetic up to a point, but she's also pretty much a stock character. Female bodyguard with some trauma in her past, memories of which of course revisit her during sparring, so she accidentally incapacitates her sparring partner... oops! Yeah, that's never happened in a thriller before.
I nearly bailed at the 10% mark when the phone asked the HP for the 50th time whether he was REALLY SURE he wanted to be part of The Game. What is this, a Windows update? Get ON with it. I see a lot of readers lauding the pacing, but I felt annoyance, not anticipation. What were the odds he was not going to play?
And I finally bailed at the 20% mark when HP was congratulating himself during a sex scene on his incredible prowess. As his partner whimpers that she's about to finish: "But, he didn't give a damn. Because he was the King of Fucking, the Prince of Penetration, the Ayatollah of Fuck 'n' Rolla!"
Again, the word juvenile comes to mind. I am very clearly not the intended reader for this book.
If you're going to brave this one, read the sample first. I wish I had.
But... no. Right now, I'm wishing there were a way I could get my $2 back from Amazon. The writing style is very annoying (it's a translation, but I suspect that's unrelated). The author has sprinkled inner monologue everywhere, ranging from outdated catch phrases ("As if...!" and "Run, Forrest, run!") to juvenile hostility ("Suck my ass, mofos!"). Many paragraphs are concluded with some sort of exclamation or question. "That was so cool!" "What the fuck?" WTF indeed...
The character "HP" is a egocentric asshole slacker, possibly a sociopath. In an early scene, he's also a complete dick to his friend who is a recently converted Muslim. He calls him by his former name, and when the friend reminds him of the Muslim name he now prefers, HP says,
"Of course I know, Mangey boy! If you insist on turning yourself into a second-class carpet seller, that's your decision."
He nodded demonstratively at Farook's Middle Eastern trousers, silk waistcoat, and long shirt.
"Just don't expect me to buy into that bullshit. You were Mange when we started school, when you used to smoke your mom's cigarettes behind the Co-op, and when you lost your virginity to that fat Finnish girl in a tent at Hultsfred. So that's who you are to me, regardless of whatever you, your wife, or your latest god think, okay?"
Turns out "the game" is ideal for egomaniacal sociopaths, but how in the world am I supposed to root for this guy, much less endure his assholery for 300 pages?
The other character, Rebecca, is sympathetic up to a point, but she's also pretty much a stock character. Female bodyguard with some trauma in her past, memories of which of course revisit her during sparring, so she accidentally incapacitates her sparring partner... oops! Yeah, that's never happened in a thriller before.
I nearly bailed at the 10% mark when the phone asked the HP for the 50th time whether he was REALLY SURE he wanted to be part of The Game. What is this, a Windows update? Get ON with it. I see a lot of readers lauding the pacing, but I felt annoyance, not anticipation. What were the odds he was not going to play?
And I finally bailed at the 20% mark when HP was congratulating himself during a sex scene on his incredible prowess. As his partner whimpers that she's about to finish: "But, he didn't give a damn. Because he was the King of Fucking, the Prince of Penetration, the Ayatollah of Fuck 'n' Rolla!"
Again, the word juvenile comes to mind. I am very clearly not the intended reader for this book.
If you're going to brave this one, read the sample first. I wish I had.
April 9, 2023
So this was kinda terrible with a side of lost in translation.
The plot is nothing particularly new - dude finds a phone and it offers him the chance to play a game, which mostly involves real world pranks. Things are unsurprisingly not what they seem.
I've read this trope before and much better, to be honest. Firstly, HP is one of the most annoying protagonists I've read in this kind of situation. He's very much a loser - no job, living off welfare, drug problem, and thinks he's way cooler than he actually is - and there's really no reason you feel any sympathy for him. He doesn't seem to grow at all over the course of the book, and he's a jerk to the two people in this book who actually seem to care about him.
The Game itself is interesting at first but he's out after only a few events so the whole setup seems really pointless. Why go to the trouble? From the halfway point it's all about him digging into the Game and also some side story about his sister and her own trauma. But it drags on for so long and you can see where it's all going from a mile away. I got so bored with it.
The side story with the sister and the ex and that whole thing was so painfully obvious but at the same time made no sense. Like, how could that possibly have been a predicted outcome. HOW.
It's also clearly a terrible translation, with strange words and basic spelling errors.
There's just so very little action for a book that's supposed to be about a game. Normally this kinda story is fast paces but it was so dull. I was glad to be done with it.
Not even slightly interested in the sequel - I'm actually shocked they got a trilogy out of it!
The plot is nothing particularly new - dude finds a phone and it offers him the chance to play a game, which mostly involves real world pranks. Things are unsurprisingly not what they seem.
I've read this trope before and much better, to be honest. Firstly, HP is one of the most annoying protagonists I've read in this kind of situation. He's very much a loser - no job, living off welfare, drug problem, and thinks he's way cooler than he actually is - and there's really no reason you feel any sympathy for him. He doesn't seem to grow at all over the course of the book, and he's a jerk to the two people in this book who actually seem to care about him.
The Game itself is interesting at first but he's out after only a few events so the whole setup seems really pointless. Why go to the trouble? From the halfway point it's all about him digging into the Game and also some side story about his sister and her own trauma. But it drags on for so long and you can see where it's all going from a mile away. I got so bored with it.
The side story with the sister and the ex and that whole thing was so painfully obvious but at the same time made no sense. Like, how could that possibly have been a predicted outcome. HOW.
It's also clearly a terrible translation, with strange words and basic spelling errors.
There's just so very little action for a book that's supposed to be about a game. Normally this kinda story is fast paces but it was so dull. I was glad to be done with it.
Not even slightly interested in the sequel - I'm actually shocked they got a trilogy out of it!
June 5, 2015
На световния книжен пазар е пълно с трилъри-еднодневки. Цяла редица автори, продаващи десетки милиони копия, създадоха доста противоречив имидж на този жанр. Честно казано, когато видя поредния нашумял трилър с крещящо наплясканите клишета на предната корица от сорта на "сензационен дебют", "бестселър №1 на Ню Йорк Таймс" ми става лошо. Защото когато обърна книжката за да проверя за какво иде реч, резюмето на задната корица ни запознава с втръсналите до болка смели ФБР и ЦРУ агенти, полицаи, археолози в стил Индиана Джоунс, руски/съветски шпиони, арабски терористи, психопати убийци, както и за събития, свързани с някакви теории на конспирациите или свръхестествени земни явления/древни реликви...
Всички знаем Джеймс Патерсън и Нелсън Демил, Джак дьо Брул, Клайв Къслър, Джеймс Ролинс, Дан Браун, Пол Кристофър, Анди Макдермът, Том Кланси, Лий Чайлд, Александър Бушков, и всичките им псевдонаучни технотрилъри и спец-полицаи/супер-агенти/гениални археолози.
За разлика от тях скандинавската литература, която също се прочу с предимно криминални трилъри, непрекъснато представя нови автори и доста по-разчупени сюжети. Сюжети, навързани със съвременните социални феномени и явления, а не с остаряла седемдесетарска агентурна митология.
В "Играта" Андерш де ла Моте се заиграва с модерния човек и неговите привички, появили се заедно с мрежата, която промени цели поколения, която създаде цяла нова епоха. Едва ли има човек, който да не е превърнал Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, Tumblr, блогове и социални мрежи в част от неговия живот. Вероятно на всеки му е направило впечатление онази мания, която обхваща всички нас (да, без изключение): да стане център на внимание, да бълва "мъдри" афоризми и "оригинални" мисли, с които да събере дузини лайкове и шервания. Да публикува гмуркането си на Балеарските острови или крачетата си плаж насред Егейско море, да публикува снимки и клипчета на купони и концерти, на бизнес събирания и партита - всичко, с едничката цел да покаже, че живее активен и щастлив живот, че е на върха на "вайб-а", на гребена на вълната.
Героят в романа Хенрик Петершон (или HP) е сред онези отчуждени хора, продукт на семейства с проблемни взаимоотношения, които живеят ден за ден от социални помощи и дребни измами, а неговия социален отдушник се оказват филмите, игрите, порното и други характерни културни залежи из мрежата. Един ден той попада на телефон и получава възможност да се изяви, да стане център на вселената, новата звезда на мрежите за споделяне. Да се почувства като бунтар срещу окапалата система, като значима част от историята, като перфектния изпълнител на възложените му мисии.
Една от положителните черти на книгата е, че всеки един от героите не е някакъв супер-агент или свръх-интелигентен морален защитник, напротив, всеки един от тях е съвсем обикновен член на обществото, с всичките си комплекси, слабости и човешки нужди. НР разбира, че е пр��сто една пионка, умело дирижирана кукла на конци. Един глупак, който може да бъде използван, направлявайки егото и страховете му.
В "Играта" има страшно много културни препратки към филми, музика и политически фигури, както и типични термини, нашумели покрай социалните мрежи, както и вкарани чатове, но преводачът Л.Гиздов е свършил страхотна работа с бележките и обясненията.
"Играта" е първа част от трилогията на шведския писател, а всички сравнения с "Боен клуб" на Чък Поланик са съвсем резонни. Още повече, че това е роман, в който буквално с последния ред се обръща целия ход на събитията и те кара с нетърпение да почнеш втората част.
Аз вече я почнах.
Всички знаем Джеймс Патерсън и Нелсън Демил, Джак дьо Брул, Клайв Къслър, Джеймс Ролинс, Дан Браун, Пол Кристофър, Анди Макдермът, Том Кланси, Лий Чайлд, Александър Бушков, и всичките им псевдонаучни технотрилъри и спец-полицаи/супер-агенти/гениални археолози.
За разлика от тях скандинавската литература, която също се прочу с предимно криминални трилъри, непрекъснато представя нови автори и доста по-разчупени сюжети. Сюжети, навързани със съвременните социални феномени и явления, а не с остаряла седемдесетарска агентурна митология.
В "Играта" Андерш де ла Моте се заиграва с модерния човек и неговите привички, появили се заедно с мрежата, която промени цели поколения, която създаде цяла нова епоха. Едва ли има човек, който да не е превърнал Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, Tumblr, блогове и социални мрежи в част от неговия живот. Вероятно на всеки му е направило впечатление онази мания, която обхваща всички нас (да, без изключение): да стане център на внимание, да бълва "мъдри" афоризми и "оригинални" мисли, с които да събере дузини лайкове и шервания. Да публикува гмуркането си на Балеарските острови или крачетата си плаж насред Егейско море, да публикува снимки и клипчета на купони и концерти, на бизнес събирания и партита - всичко, с едничката цел да покаже, че живее активен и щастлив живот, че е на върха на "вайб-а", на гребена на вълната.
Героят в романа Хенрик Петершон (или HP) е сред онези отчуждени хора, продукт на семейства с проблемни взаимоотношения, които живеят ден за ден от социални помощи и дребни измами, а неговия социален отдушник се оказват филмите, игрите, порното и други характерни културни залежи из мрежата. Един ден той попада на телефон и получава възможност да се изяви, да стане център на вселената, новата звезда на мрежите за споделяне. Да се почувства като бунтар срещу окапалата система, като значима част от историята, като перфектния изпълнител на възложените му мисии.
Една от положителните черти на книгата е, че всеки един от героите не е някакъв супер-агент или свръх-интелигентен морален защитник, напротив, всеки един от тях е съвсем обикновен член на обществото, с всичките си комплекси, слабости и човешки нужди. НР разбира, че е пр��сто една пионка, умело дирижирана кукла на конци. Един глупак, който може да бъде използван, направлявайки егото и страховете му.
В "Играта" има страшно много културни препратки към филми, музика и политически фигури, както и типични термини, нашумели покрай социалните мрежи, както и вкарани чатове, но преводачът Л.Гиздов е свършил страхотна работа с бележките и обясненията.
"Играта" е първа част от трилогията на шведския писател, а всички сравнения с "Боен клуб" на Чък Поланик са съвсем резонни. Още повече, че това е роман, в който буквално с последния ред се обръща целия ход на събитията и те кара с нетърпение да почнеш втората част.
Аз вече я почнах.
March 25, 2014
11/2 - Swedish/Danish stories are over-running our screens and pages. You can hardly look at a tv trailer or check out the new releases without coming across something from Denmark or Sweden. Not that I'm complaining, without them I would have missed out on great tv like The Bridge and The Killing or fantastic books like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Game. That's right, 62 pages in and I'm already calling it fantastic. It's half gamer/techno thriller, half crime drama (at least so far).
I like Rebecca a lot more than HP at the moment because every time I read an HP scene I get the feeling that his next assignment will involve committing violence (or even murder) against another person and his punishment for failing to complete the assignment (which is what I assume would happen, at least the first time) is sure to be dreadful pain and suffering of himself or someone he loves (his sister Rebecca, for example). The scene where Rebecca is doing some personal defence training with her alpha group teammates and is caught in a suffocating headlock, but manages to harness her panic into an explosive attack, resulting in her 'attacking' teammate down on the floor with a broken nose gushing blood was very satisfying for one of those girls whose only weapon is her nails. I was especially triumphant when the instructor praised her and basically told her teammate to suck it up. It reminded me of a scene in the Buffy episode, Phases, the one where Oz first finds out he's a werewolf and Larry admits to Xander that he's gay. There's a scene in that episode where everyone is in gym class and they are paired up in order for the girls to practice self-defence - Cordelia and Xander, Willow and Oz, and unfortunately for Buffy she's paired with Larry. Willow has been warning Buffy that she has to act more like a 'girly girl' who can't kick vampires over the fence, and, to begin with Buffy attempts to remember this. Larry doesn't make this easy, as he makes lewd comments and sexual innuendos out of the feeble grunts Buffy emits as she 'attempts' to flip him over her shoulder, as the teacher is instructing the girls to do. In the end Buffy's had enough and oops, there he goes flying through the air to land flat on his back. Willow gives Buffy an exasperated look, but all the girls (and some guys, too) at home (I'm sure) were going "Take that _______ (any boy who made life difficult during school)!!" Both great scenes of girls being underestimated because of their physical size - I love a strong female lead who blasts the chauvinistic opinions of her male counterparts apart by saving them/beating them in a physical competition. To be continued...
22/3 - I've really been looking forward to getting back to this after my forced intermission due to library due dates and fines. I considered reading back over my own review to re-familiarise myself with where I was up to in the plot, but then I forgot. It didn't matter though, because as soon as I found the page I was up to it and started reading it all came rushing back. I meant to say this earlier in my review, but I forgot - I don't like the cover image on my copy of the book. The woman playing Rebecca is fine, possibly more model-like, less ass-kicking security officer-like than I would've imagined, but HP has a slightly suave, artfully mussed look that is nothing like the way he's described in the book. In my head I've been seeing a cross between Seth Rogen, Michael Cena, and Jesse Eisenberg. A bit bumbling, not fit (but not fat), actually scruffy rather than artfully mussed, just not well put together. The cover model looks like what he is, a model (very handsome, actually, a cross between Ryan Reynolds and Jonny Lee Miller when he's doing the unshaved look), when he should have looked a bit unkempt, a few cheeseburgers away from 'dumpy'. He should be wearing slightly ratty clothes (grey hoodie, worn black jeans, scuffed white sneakers, t-shirt with some kind of disaffected youth slogan on it), not designer jeans and leather jacket and an over-priced plain black t-shirt, HP is not that smooth. To be continued...
23/3 - God HP is dense!! How many times and in how many ways does Erman have to say it before the truth sinks through HP's thick skull? The Game is using him! He didn't choose to play The Game, The Game chose him to play.
Also, not a big fan of the way the story cuts from HP to Rebecca and back again for no apparent reason. It's not like each interjection into HP's story takes us to breaking news in Rebecca's life or that there's some immediately obvious connection between those exact moments in Rebecca and his lives. The interjections seem to happen at random moments and take us to mostly irrelevant (at least to what's happening to HP) events. Maybe the connections will become clear later, but at the moment they're just confusing and disturbing to the flow of the main plot - HP's. To be continued...
Later that night - On page 215 HP says that he can believe that he was tricked into taking part in The Game, and that bored rich guys were betting on him for their entertainment; but he can't believe that it's being played all around the world, that jobs can be contracted out through The Game and that there are players in every walk of life, that anyone might be an 'ant' sent to watch him. HIs refusal (in the face of good evidence) to believe what's right in front of his face just screams of stupidity, to me. His apartment's been set on fire, Manga/Farook's work place was set on fire and the whole thing would have been filmed if the police hadn't coincidentally been just around the corner to respond to the emergency call and scare off the arsonists, he's come to the conclusion (on his own) that he was set up at the bridge due to his personal belongings being planted at the scene of the crime, he was hunted down by some kind of light aircraft and nearly killed (out in the middle of nowhere, when the only 'thing' that knew where he was going was Google). Looking at that damning pile of evidence how can HP continue to shut his eyes and stick his head in the sand? The Game is a giant, multi-country, multi-million (maybe even multi-billion) dollar business with its fingers in a lot of different pies. It has people available to hire for all kinds of jobs - no job is too big or too small - bank robbery, intimidation, arson, grand theft auto, impersonation, even assassination. Whatever you need they'll handle it, as long as you can pay. I believe it and no one's tried to mow me down with light aircraft today. To be continued...
Even later that night (actually, really early the next morning) - All through the last few chapters I've been making snarky comments at HP's idiotic response to the events going on around him. If I was an updater and had the laptop handy (currently sitting up in bed, reading, which is where I do my best reading) I would be sniping at that idiot with every other sentence. He just saw the news and I was like "Are you scared now? Do you now understand that The Game is dangerous? Yes, you fool, Do you still think he's crazy, or is what he said starting to make a bit more sense?"
I also said "Duh!" a lot and rolled my eyes frequently. I just want to say a blanket "DUH!!!" to all the conclusions HP is finally coming to (the same ones I came to about 200 pages ago). Everything he thinks is stupid and it seems to be making me stupid because the only word I can come up with as I read is "Duh". So, I hope if I throw out a giant blanket of "Duh" it'll be out of my system and I'll go back to my normal level of intelligence when writing reviews (above average, if I can say that without sounding boastful).
Only a few pages later - After that "Duh" dump intelligence immediately came flooding back, prompting me to wonder if .
Page 221 - "...perfectly ordinary office building..." well what the hell did you think it was going to be? A casino with "Play The Game here!" in neon lights? They're trying to be inconspicuous, so it's not likely they would want records of anything to do with the real business that goes on inside showing up on a Google search. If I was going to hide The Game's head offices I would go with a medical supply warehouse that really does hold and ship out medical supplies, at least that's what you'd see if you went in the front door; but if you went round the back you would find banks of computers with people tracking bets, jobs for players, player payments, etc. If you're going to have a front for an illegal operation you need to have something real, not something that just looks good on paper. When the inspectors show up (and they will, they always do) you can show them that you are exactly what your tax return says you are - a medical supply warehouse. To be continued...
24/3 - Only 65 pages to go, I'm definitely gonna to finish this tonight! Yay! I can't wait to see how it all ends, except it's not really ending because Game is only the first book in a trilogy. So really, I should be saying, I can't wait to see what questions are left unanswered, if there's a heart-pounding cliff-hanger where we're not sure if someone will live or die. One thing I am very curious about is the identity of the person/s leaving notes in Rebecca's locker at work and now calling her home phone, letting the answering machine pick up, but not leaving a message. Leaving Rebecca to come home to numerous messages that all turn out to be hang-ups. Almost as creepy as hang-ups or mouth-breathers in the middle of night. I hope we get further clues about that mystery before the end of the book. I'm getting a little tired of HP's voice with all his excuses for why he still wants to continue playing The Game, despite the damage it's done to his friend's and family's lives (selfish fool), so Rebecca's become much more interesting and sympathetic to listen to. To be continued...
Later that night - Great ending, very edge-of-your-seat reading (although there was no real cliff-hanger of is he/she going to live or die). The mystery behind the notes and the work day hang-ups was solved and you'll never guess how it comes out (I'm the queen of wild theories and this one didn't even cross my mind). The final twist in the tale (I love it when that happens, a shocker is revealed in the last sentences of the book, like in Scream 4, the one with Emma Roberts, I had no idea who the real killer was until they were revealed and I actually said "Oh! They're the one?!" out loud in the cinema, to the embarrassed horror of my friends). Can't WAIT for the next book to be available at the library.
I like Rebecca a lot more than HP at the moment because every time I read an HP scene I get the feeling that his next assignment will involve committing violence (or even murder) against another person and his punishment for failing to complete the assignment (which is what I assume would happen, at least the first time) is sure to be dreadful pain and suffering of himself or someone he loves (his sister Rebecca, for example). The scene where Rebecca is doing some personal defence training with her alpha group teammates and is caught in a suffocating headlock, but manages to harness her panic into an explosive attack, resulting in her 'attacking' teammate down on the floor with a broken nose gushing blood was very satisfying for one of those girls whose only weapon is her nails. I was especially triumphant when the instructor praised her and basically told her teammate to suck it up. It reminded me of a scene in the Buffy episode, Phases, the one where Oz first finds out he's a werewolf and Larry admits to Xander that he's gay. There's a scene in that episode where everyone is in gym class and they are paired up in order for the girls to practice self-defence - Cordelia and Xander, Willow and Oz, and unfortunately for Buffy she's paired with Larry. Willow has been warning Buffy that she has to act more like a 'girly girl' who can't kick vampires over the fence, and, to begin with Buffy attempts to remember this. Larry doesn't make this easy, as he makes lewd comments and sexual innuendos out of the feeble grunts Buffy emits as she 'attempts' to flip him over her shoulder, as the teacher is instructing the girls to do. In the end Buffy's had enough and oops, there he goes flying through the air to land flat on his back. Willow gives Buffy an exasperated look, but all the girls (and some guys, too) at home (I'm sure) were going "Take that _______ (any boy who made life difficult during school)!!" Both great scenes of girls being underestimated because of their physical size - I love a strong female lead who blasts the chauvinistic opinions of her male counterparts apart by saving them/beating them in a physical competition. To be continued...
22/3 - I've really been looking forward to getting back to this after my forced intermission due to library due dates and fines. I considered reading back over my own review to re-familiarise myself with where I was up to in the plot, but then I forgot. It didn't matter though, because as soon as I found the page I was up to it and started reading it all came rushing back. I meant to say this earlier in my review, but I forgot - I don't like the cover image on my copy of the book. The woman playing Rebecca is fine, possibly more model-like, less ass-kicking security officer-like than I would've imagined, but HP has a slightly suave, artfully mussed look that is nothing like the way he's described in the book. In my head I've been seeing a cross between Seth Rogen, Michael Cena, and Jesse Eisenberg. A bit bumbling, not fit (but not fat), actually scruffy rather than artfully mussed, just not well put together. The cover model looks like what he is, a model (very handsome, actually, a cross between Ryan Reynolds and Jonny Lee Miller when he's doing the unshaved look), when he should have looked a bit unkempt, a few cheeseburgers away from 'dumpy'. He should be wearing slightly ratty clothes (grey hoodie, worn black jeans, scuffed white sneakers, t-shirt with some kind of disaffected youth slogan on it), not designer jeans and leather jacket and an over-priced plain black t-shirt, HP is not that smooth. To be continued...
23/3 - God HP is dense!! How many times and in how many ways does Erman have to say it before the truth sinks through HP's thick skull? The Game is using him! He didn't choose to play The Game, The Game chose him to play.
Also, not a big fan of the way the story cuts from HP to Rebecca and back again for no apparent reason. It's not like each interjection into HP's story takes us to breaking news in Rebecca's life or that there's some immediately obvious connection between those exact moments in Rebecca and his lives. The interjections seem to happen at random moments and take us to mostly irrelevant (at least to what's happening to HP) events. Maybe the connections will become clear later, but at the moment they're just confusing and disturbing to the flow of the main plot - HP's. To be continued...
Later that night - On page 215 HP says that he can believe that he was tricked into taking part in The Game, and that bored rich guys were betting on him for their entertainment; but he can't believe that it's being played all around the world, that jobs can be contracted out through The Game and that there are players in every walk of life, that anyone might be an 'ant' sent to watch him. HIs refusal (in the face of good evidence) to believe what's right in front of his face just screams of stupidity, to me. His apartment's been set on fire, Manga/Farook's work place was set on fire and the whole thing would have been filmed if the police hadn't coincidentally been just around the corner to respond to the emergency call and scare off the arsonists, he's come to the conclusion (on his own) that he was set up at the bridge due to his personal belongings being planted at the scene of the crime, he was hunted down by some kind of light aircraft and nearly killed (out in the middle of nowhere, when the only 'thing' that knew where he was going was Google). Looking at that damning pile of evidence how can HP continue to shut his eyes and stick his head in the sand? The Game is a giant, multi-country, multi-million (maybe even multi-billion) dollar business with its fingers in a lot of different pies. It has people available to hire for all kinds of jobs - no job is too big or too small - bank robbery, intimidation, arson, grand theft auto, impersonation, even assassination. Whatever you need they'll handle it, as long as you can pay. I believe it and no one's tried to mow me down with light aircraft today. To be continued...
Even later that night (actually, really early the next morning) - All through the last few chapters I've been making snarky comments at HP's idiotic response to the events going on around him. If I was an updater and had the laptop handy (currently sitting up in bed, reading, which is where I do my best reading) I would be sniping at that idiot with every other sentence. He just saw the news and I was like "Are you scared now? Do you now understand that The Game is dangerous? Yes, you fool, Do you still think he's crazy, or is what he said starting to make a bit more sense?"
I also said "Duh!" a lot and rolled my eyes frequently. I just want to say a blanket "DUH!!!" to all the conclusions HP is finally coming to (the same ones I came to about 200 pages ago). Everything he thinks is stupid and it seems to be making me stupid because the only word I can come up with as I read is "Duh". So, I hope if I throw out a giant blanket of "Duh" it'll be out of my system and I'll go back to my normal level of intelligence when writing reviews (above average, if I can say that without sounding boastful).
Only a few pages later - After that "Duh" dump intelligence immediately came flooding back, prompting me to wonder if .
Page 221 - "...perfectly ordinary office building..." well what the hell did you think it was going to be? A casino with "Play The Game here!" in neon lights? They're trying to be inconspicuous, so it's not likely they would want records of anything to do with the real business that goes on inside showing up on a Google search. If I was going to hide The Game's head offices I would go with a medical supply warehouse that really does hold and ship out medical supplies, at least that's what you'd see if you went in the front door; but if you went round the back you would find banks of computers with people tracking bets, jobs for players, player payments, etc. If you're going to have a front for an illegal operation you need to have something real, not something that just looks good on paper. When the inspectors show up (and they will, they always do) you can show them that you are exactly what your tax return says you are - a medical supply warehouse. To be continued...
24/3 - Only 65 pages to go, I'm definitely gonna to finish this tonight! Yay! I can't wait to see how it all ends, except it's not really ending because Game is only the first book in a trilogy. So really, I should be saying, I can't wait to see what questions are left unanswered, if there's a heart-pounding cliff-hanger where we're not sure if someone will live or die. One thing I am very curious about is the identity of the person/s leaving notes in Rebecca's locker at work and now calling her home phone, letting the answering machine pick up, but not leaving a message. Leaving Rebecca to come home to numerous messages that all turn out to be hang-ups. Almost as creepy as hang-ups or mouth-breathers in the middle of night. I hope we get further clues about that mystery before the end of the book. I'm getting a little tired of HP's voice with all his excuses for why he still wants to continue playing The Game, despite the damage it's done to his friend's and family's lives (selfish fool), so Rebecca's become much more interesting and sympathetic to listen to. To be continued...
Later that night - Great ending, very edge-of-your-seat reading (although there was no real cliff-hanger of is he/she going to live or die). The mystery behind the notes and the work day hang-ups was solved and you'll never guess how it comes out (I'm the queen of wild theories and this one didn't even cross my mind). The final twist in the tale (I love it when that happens, a shocker is revealed in the last sentences of the book, like in Scream 4, the one with Emma Roberts, I had no idea who the real killer was until they were revealed and I actually said "Oh! They're the one?!" out loud in the cinema, to the embarrassed horror of my friends). Can't WAIT for the next book to be available at the library.
February 26, 2015
В Играта ти си звездата… до време: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/i...
Не е зле да си пуснете Prodigy (примерно ”Firestarter”), това е идеалният саундтрак за “Играта” на Андерш де ла Моте – точно тях слушах, докато я четях. Не съм голям фен на трилърите, но откакто прочетох изключителната “Милениум” на Стиг Ларшон, това започна да се променя. “Game, Buzz, Bubble” е също хитова шведска трилогия и очаквах с нетърпение да ми падне в ръцете – веднага трябва да кажа, че поне с оглед на първата част паралели с Ларшон могат да се правят (социалната критика и политическите интриги), но не бива да се прекалява с тях. Андерш де ла Моте в написал книга повече в стил “Боен клуб” на Чък Паланюк, но ориентирана изключително към действието, към напрежението, към шеметното развиване на сюжета в нови, нео��аквани посоки.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/i...
Не е зле да си пуснете Prodigy (примерно ”Firestarter”), това е идеалният саундтрак за “Играта” на Андерш де ла Моте – точно тях слушах, докато я четях. Не съм голям фен на трилърите, но откакто прочетох изключителната “Милениум” на Стиг Ларшон, това започна да се променя. “Game, Buzz, Bubble” е също хитова шведска трилогия и очаквах с нетърпение да ми падне в ръцете – веднага трябва да кажа, че поне с оглед на първата част паралели с Ларшон могат да се правят (социалната критика и политическите интриги), но не бива да се прекалява с тях. Андерш де ла Моте в написал книга повече в стил “Боен клуб” на Чък Паланюк, но ориентирана изключително към действието, към напрежението, към шеметното развиване на сюжета в нови, нео��аквани посоки.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/i...
June 22, 2016
YES
Tohle bylo fakt něco! Mírně mi to připomínalo Erebos, ale byla to taková updatevaná verze. Dospělejší, drsnější. Z knížky jsem jsem byla nadšená od samého začátku, ale když jsem slyšela autora na Světě knih povídat o knize, o postavách... hned jsem z ní byla ještě nadšenější! Rozhodněji všem doporučuji. Sice jsem moc nemusela Miss Perfect - Rebecca, ale prostě do toho příběhu patřila. :D
Jsem zvědavá, co mě čeká dál :)
Tohle bylo fakt něco! Mírně mi to připomínalo Erebos, ale byla to taková updatevaná verze. Dospělejší, drsnější. Z knížky jsem jsem byla nadšená od samého začátku, ale když jsem slyšela autora na Světě knih povídat o knize, o postavách... hned jsem z ní byla ještě nadšenější! Rozhodněji všem doporučuji. Sice jsem moc nemusela Miss Perfect - Rebecca, ale prostě do toho příběhu patřila. :D
Jsem zvědavá, co mě čeká dál :)
March 1, 2021
3.5 stars. It didn't took long for me to get hooked on then story, a found phone that knows many things about you and then invite you to a dangerous irl game, sounded great and the first half of the book was intense but after that it just slowly got kinda boring. The intensity of the game and story disappeared. HP the main character is an immature fool, and I quite liked the fact that he was such a moron who didn't think of consequences. Made the story a little more believable. His sister had a somewhat interesting backstory but I didn't fully understand her involvement in the story. Felt like it was a complete different story. Thought this was going to be at least a 4 stars read but the last couple of chapters lost the intense steam and wasn't quite as thrilling to read
May 25, 2015
Ora se estava à espera que o livro fosse tão bom como aquele filme fantástico com o Michael Douglas, enganei-me. É mais fraco. Mas não desilude naquilo que se propõe. Mais um autor sueco para juntar à lista de escritores de policiais. Já tenho o segundo volume da trilogia na prateleira.
October 1, 2018
Όχι κάτι το ιδιαίτερο το πρώτο μέρος της τριλογίας! Για την ακρίβεια πολύ μέτριο βιβλίο!
Η κεντρική ιδέα είναι σχετικά ενδιαφέρουσα αλλά δεν είναι και τόσο πρωτότυπη.
Η κινηματογραφική γραφή στην οποία γίνεται αναφορά στις κριτικές είναι τουλάχιστον αστεία: ο συγγραφέας ναι μεν εναλλάσσει συνεχώς σκηνές, ωστόσο αυτές είναι κουραστικές ή ανούσιες ή αδιάφορες ή δεν υπάρχει λόγος εναλλαγής, οπότε η συνεχής αυτή εναλλαγή καταντάει κουραστική σε ορισμένα (αρκετά) σημεία.
Η πλοκή πάλι μπάζει σε πολλά σημεία, δεν είναι τόσο εκρηκτική, φαίνεται ότι ο συγγραφέας δεν μπορεί να στηρίξει ιδιαίτερα την ιδέα του και αναμασάει σε πολλές περιπτώσεις αυτά που έχει ήδη γράψει, μόνο και μόνο για να γεμίσει σελίδες.
Γενικότερα, υπάρχει εμφανές πρόβλημα στη γραφή του Λα Μόττε, είναι πολύ απλοϊκή και δεν κρατάει τον αναγνώστη.
Στα αρνητικά της ιστορίας είναι και η εμπλοκή των συνομοσιολογικών θεωριών, που είναι δοσμένες με μεγάλη ελαφρότητα και καμία υποστήριξη: τουλάχιστον ο Λιακόπουλος έχει και 2-3 στοιχεία για να τις στηρίξει και να σε πείσει, εδώ τίποτα, ατάκτως ειρημένες σκέψεις...
Το τέλος σώζει κάπως την κατάσταση, δημιουργώντας μια προσμονή για τη συνέχεια. Όχι βέβαια ότι πρόκειται για κάποια φοβερή εξέλιξη που θα σε κάνει να πεις "ουάου, τι διάβασα τώρα!!!"...
Τέλος πάντων, 4/10 και πάμε για το δεύτερο μέρος της ιστορίας, ελπίζοντας σε θεαματική βελτίωση...
Η κεντρική ιδέα είναι σχετικά ενδιαφέρουσα αλλά δεν είναι και τόσο πρωτότυπη.
Η κινηματογραφική γραφή στην οποία γίνεται αναφορά στις κριτικές είναι τουλάχιστον αστεία: ο συγγραφέας ναι μεν εναλλάσσει συνεχώς σκηνές, ωστόσο αυτές είναι κουραστικές ή ανούσιες ή αδιάφορες ή δεν υπάρχει λόγος εναλλαγής, οπότε η συνεχής αυτή εναλλαγή καταντάει κουραστική σε ορισμένα (αρκετά) σημεία.
Η πλοκή πάλι μπάζει σε πολλά σημεία, δεν είναι τόσο εκρηκτική, φαίνεται ότι ο συγγραφέας δεν μπορεί να στηρίξει ιδιαίτερα την ιδέα του και αναμασάει σε πολλές περιπτώσεις αυτά που έχει ήδη γράψει, μόνο και μόνο για να γεμίσει σελίδες.
Γενικότερα, υπάρχει εμφανές πρόβλημα στη γραφή του Λα Μόττε, είναι πολύ απλοϊκή και δεν κρατάει τον αναγνώστη.
Στα αρνητικά της ιστορίας είναι και η εμπλοκή των συνομοσιολογικών θεωριών, που είναι δοσμένες με μεγάλη ελαφρότητα και καμία υποστήριξη: τουλάχιστον ο Λιακόπουλος έχει και 2-3 στοιχεία για να τις στηρίξει και να σε πείσει, εδώ τίποτα, ατάκτως ειρημένες σκέψεις...
Το τέλος σώζει κάπως την κατάσταση, δημιουργώντας μια προσμονή για τη συνέχεια. Όχι βέβαια ότι πρόκειται για κάποια φοβερή εξέλιξη που θα σε κάνει να πεις "ουάου, τι διάβασα τώρα!!!"...
Τέλος πάντων, 4/10 και πάμε για το δεύτερο μέρος της ιστορίας, ελπίζοντας σε θεαματική βελτίωση...
November 6, 2024
Το φετινό καλοκαίρι ήταν άκρως αστυνομικό. Δεκάδες οι τίτλοι που κυκλοφόρησαν, δεκάδες κι εκείνοι που είχαν κυκλοφορήσει τους προηγούμενους μήνες και περίμεναν υπομονετικά να πάρουν τη σειρά τους στην αναγνωστική μας λίστα. Ανάμεσά τους, τα βιβλία της τριλογία με υπερτίτλο "Game Trilogy", δια χειρός Anders de la Motte, η οποία και έφτασε στη χώρα μας χάρη στις εκδόσεις Κλειδάριθμος, που όσο ο καιρός περνάει, φέρνουν όλο και πιο δυνατά αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα στο κοινό τους, κερδίζοντας δυναμικά έδαφος στις καρδιές μας. Η συγκεκριμένη τριλογία, λοιπόν, αποδείχτηκε πολύ περισσότερα απ' όσα περίμενα παίρνοντάς την στα χέρια μου και αυτό γιατί, μπορεί στην γενική της ιδέα να μου θύμισε το concept γνωστής σειράς ταινιών τρόμου, όμως στην εκτέλεσή της ήταν κάτι εντελώς φρέσκο και κυρίως, ευρηματικό.
Το "Παιχνίδι", το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς, μας συστήνει τους ήρωές μας, τους Χένρικ Πέτερσον και την αδερφή του Ρεμπέκα, οι ζωές των οποίων καλούνται να περιπλεχθούν περισσότερο απ' όσο επιβάλλει ο συγγενικός τους δεσμός. Ο πρώτος, οκνηρός και γνήσιος γυρολόγος, ενώ ταξιδεύει με τον προαστιακό της Στοκχόλμης, βρίσκει στο διπλανό του κάθισμα ένα κινητό τηλέφωνο. Η οθόνη του κινητού ανάβει κι εμφανίζει ένα μήνυμα. "Θέλεις να παίξεις ένα παιχνίδι;", μια πρόσκληση που φυσικά αρνείται. Η οθόνη όμως ανάβει ξανά κι ένα νέο μήνυμα κάνει την εμφάνισή του. "Είσαι σίγουρος, Χένρικ Πέτερσον;", και όσο κι αν προσπαθεί να αρνηθεί, το "Ναι" είναι η μοναδική απάντηση που δέχεται η συσκευή. Έτσι, λοιπόν, ο Χένρικ βρίσκεται μπλεγμένος σ' ένα παιχνίδι που ακολουθεί ένα ιδιόρρυθμο σύστημα συλλογής πόντων που μεταφράζεται σε δολάρια, με τις αποστολές που του ανατίθενται να γίνονται όλο και δυσκολότερες. Την ίδια ώρα, η Ρεμπέκα, προσπαθεί να ξεφύγει από τα φαντάσματα του παρελθόντος της, που δεν φαίνεται να έχουν σκοπό να την αφήσουν σε ησυχία, με τους συναδέλφους στην αστυνομία να την παρακολουθούν ανήσυχα και καχύποπτα. Η ζωή της κυλά κάθε άλλο παρά αρμονικά, με τις δυσκολίες να αυξάνονται γι' αυτήν όλο και περισσότερο. Και τότε, μια πέτρα στο παρμπρίζ του περιπολικού της, θα φέρει ακόμα μεγαλύτερη αναστάτωση και θ' αλλάξει τη ζωή των δύο αδερφών με τρόπο αναπάντεχο.
Ο συγγραφέας έχει επιλέξει την διπλή αφήγηση, με την ιστορία να μεταφέρεται σε εμάς πότε μέσα από την οπτική του Χένρικ και πότε μέσα από εκείνη της Ρεμπέκα, κάτι που μας επιτρέπει να έχουμε μια σφαιρική και ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα των γεγονότων, αλλά και μια εκ βαθέων κατάδυση στη συνείδηση και τα συναισθήματα τους καθενός τους. Άλλωστε, οι δρόμοι τους είναι παράλληλοι, το "παιχνίδι" στο οποίο έχει μπλεχτεί ο Χένρικ έμελλε ν' αφορά και τους δύο, δένοντάς τους με μια αόρατη, κόκκινη κλωστή, που ίσως και ν' αποδειχτεί πιο ισχυρή από εκείνη της γραμμής του αίματος μέσα από την οποία πήραν και οι δυο τους σάρκα και οστά. Με γρήγορο ρυθμό και ροή που τρέχει χωρίς να κουράζει ή ν' αφήνει νεκρά διαστήματα αδράνειας, το πρώτο αυτό βιβλίο της τριλογίας μας παρασύρει σε ένα ξέφρενο κυνηγητό, αλλά και σε ένα προσωρινό φινάλε που μας αφήνει με κομμένη την ανάσα, ζητώντας λίγο ακόμα. Και πραγματικά, χαίρομαι πολύ που περίμενα να διαβάσω τη σειρά ολοκληρωμένη, γιατί διαφορετικά θα είχα βασανιστεί.
Το "Παιχνίδι", το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς, μας συστήνει τους ήρωές μας, τους Χένρικ Πέτερσον και την αδερφή του Ρεμπέκα, οι ζωές των οποίων καλούνται να περιπλεχθούν περισσότερο απ' όσο επιβάλλει ο συγγενικός τους δεσμός. Ο πρώτος, οκνηρός και γνήσιος γυρολόγος, ενώ ταξιδεύει με τον προαστιακό της Στοκχόλμης, βρίσκει στο διπλανό του κάθισμα ένα κινητό τηλέφωνο. Η οθόνη του κινητού ανάβει κι εμφανίζει ένα μήνυμα. "Θέλεις να παίξεις ένα παιχνίδι;", μια πρόσκληση που φυσικά αρνείται. Η οθόνη όμως ανάβει ξανά κι ένα νέο μήνυμα κάνει την εμφάνισή του. "Είσαι σίγουρος, Χένρικ Πέτερσον;", και όσο κι αν προσπαθεί να αρνηθεί, το "Ναι" είναι η μοναδική απάντηση που δέχεται η συσκευή. Έτσι, λοιπόν, ο Χένρικ βρίσκεται μπλεγμένος σ' ένα παιχνίδι που ακολουθεί ένα ιδιόρρυθμο σύστημα συλλογής πόντων που μεταφράζεται σε δολάρια, με τις αποστολές που του ανατίθενται να γίνονται όλο και δυσκολότερες. Την ίδια ώρα, η Ρεμπέκα, προσπαθεί να ξεφύγει από τα φαντάσματα του παρελθόντος της, που δεν φαίνεται να έχουν σκοπό να την αφήσουν σε ησυχία, με τους συναδέλφους στην αστυνομία να την παρακολουθούν ανήσυχα και καχύποπτα. Η ζωή της κυλά κάθε άλλο παρά αρμονικά, με τις δυσκολίες να αυξάνονται γι' αυτήν όλο και περισσότερο. Και τότε, μια πέτρα στο παρμπρίζ του περιπολικού της, θα φέρει ακόμα μεγαλύτερη αναστάτωση και θ' αλλάξει τη ζωή των δύο αδερφών με τρόπο αναπάντεχο.
Ο συγγραφέας έχει επιλέξει την διπλή αφήγηση, με την ιστορία να μεταφέρεται σε εμάς πότε μέσα από την οπτική του Χένρικ και πότε μέσα από εκείνη της Ρεμπέκα, κάτι που μας επιτρέπει να έχουμε μια σφαιρική και ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα των γεγονότων, αλλά και μια εκ βαθέων κατάδυση στη συνείδηση και τα συναισθήματα τους καθενός τους. Άλλωστε, οι δρόμοι τους είναι παράλληλοι, το "παιχνίδι" στο οποίο έχει μπλεχτεί ο Χένρικ έμελλε ν' αφορά και τους δύο, δένοντάς τους με μια αόρατη, κόκκινη κλωστή, που ίσως και ν' αποδειχτεί πιο ισχυρή από εκείνη της γραμμής του αίματος μέσα από την οποία πήραν και οι δυο τους σάρκα και οστά. Με γρήγορο ρυθμό και ροή που τρέχει χωρίς να κουράζει ή ν' αφήνει νεκρά διαστήματα αδράνειας, το πρώτο αυτό βιβλίο της τριλογίας μας παρασύρει σε ένα ξέφρενο κυνηγητό, αλλά και σε ένα προσωρινό φινάλε που μας αφήνει με κομμένη την ανάσα, ζητώντας λίγο ακόμα. Και πραγματικά, χαίρομαι πολύ που περίμενα να διαβάσω τη σειρά ολοκληρωμένη, γιατί διαφορετικά θα είχα βασανιστεί.
November 18, 2013
On its Game
Game is the first book in the Game Trilogy by Swedish author Anders De La Motte and wow what an introduction to the series. The whole premise of the book a game seems that brings in all sections of society that is a secret but with public ramifications, it seems like a crazy plot that could actually happen in a computer game, the problem is this is no computer game that just gives the instructions. It may sound a bit out of the box but enough to be real and happening as we read.
Henrik Pettersson better known to family and friends as HP has a criminal record is bright but also quite lazy, and is on the train home with a hangover when he notices that a phone has been left behind. The game starts when he picks up the phone and answers the message that has given him an easy challenge. He completes that task and it gives him a buzz, little does he know how far he will fall and how much his life could be in danger. As he goes he does not know who the Game Master is and who are the worker Ants, but who can he trust but at least he has his sister.
Rebecca is a police officer and is working the body guard unit and is often bailing her brother HP out of all his scrapes but she does owe him. It is not until that their paths cross during the game does she realise how much trouble her brother is in. Once again as the big sister she tries to help him out, but that will cost her. At least she knows of all his friends he can trust Farook and he will tell her what is going on with HP.
HP goes after the Game Master and has to enter his layer or so HP thinks, but there will be a cost. He again has to put himself in danger to achieve his target but what will happen next he does not know but one thing he is sure of is that he will have to get out of Sweden and live a low tech life in the hope he can stay alive. He has seen already what has happened to others who have played the game and ended up losing and he doesn’t want to be the next one. To find out what happens next leads us nicely into Buzz the next in the trilogy.......... I cannot wait good job I have a copy to read!
Game is the first book in the Game Trilogy by Swedish author Anders De La Motte and wow what an introduction to the series. The whole premise of the book a game seems that brings in all sections of society that is a secret but with public ramifications, it seems like a crazy plot that could actually happen in a computer game, the problem is this is no computer game that just gives the instructions. It may sound a bit out of the box but enough to be real and happening as we read.
Henrik Pettersson better known to family and friends as HP has a criminal record is bright but also quite lazy, and is on the train home with a hangover when he notices that a phone has been left behind. The game starts when he picks up the phone and answers the message that has given him an easy challenge. He completes that task and it gives him a buzz, little does he know how far he will fall and how much his life could be in danger. As he goes he does not know who the Game Master is and who are the worker Ants, but who can he trust but at least he has his sister.
Rebecca is a police officer and is working the body guard unit and is often bailing her brother HP out of all his scrapes but she does owe him. It is not until that their paths cross during the game does she realise how much trouble her brother is in. Once again as the big sister she tries to help him out, but that will cost her. At least she knows of all his friends he can trust Farook and he will tell her what is going on with HP.
HP goes after the Game Master and has to enter his layer or so HP thinks, but there will be a cost. He again has to put himself in danger to achieve his target but what will happen next he does not know but one thing he is sure of is that he will have to get out of Sweden and live a low tech life in the hope he can stay alive. He has seen already what has happened to others who have played the game and ended up losing and he doesn’t want to be the next one. To find out what happens next leads us nicely into Buzz the next in the trilogy.......... I cannot wait good job I have a copy to read!
August 2, 2016
Nu-mi amintesc de ce mi-a plăcut prima oară când am citit-o. Acum nu cred că mai continui seria.
July 27, 2017
Sjećate se onog filma "Igra" s Michaelom Douglasom u kojem on glumi Nicholasa Van Ortona, bogatog bankara i samotnjaka, kojem brat da iskaznicu kojom stupa u tajanstvenu igru pa mu se svijet okreće naopačke?
E, u biti ovaj roman ima istu premisu, samo što je radnja smještena u ovo stoljeće i igra koju igra glavni lik, Henrik "HP" Pettersen, vezana je za mobitel koji on "slučajno" pronalazi u vlaku. Uskoro se njegov život toliko zakomplicira, da on sam ne zna razlučiti igru od stvarnosti, a izlaza nema...
Iako ideja romana nije originalna, sama radnja teče brzo, a stil je jednostavan i čitljiv, ne prelazeći granice lošeg stila.
Što se tiče glavnog lika, on je iritantan, samodopadan, jedno obično parazitsko smeće kojeg sigurno nećete zavoljeti, ali ćete za njega navijati do kraja, jer njegova bezizlazna situacija, koja podsjeca na igru mačke i miša, Toma i Jerryja, nas tjera da podsvjesno navijamo za onog manjeg, jer unatoč prirodnom poretku, mi težimo pomoći slabijem. A Henrik "HP" Pettersen je slab od početka; on je jedan od onih koji iskorištavaju blagodati stabilne socio-ekonomske države, kako bi se svakodnevno izležavao na kauču uz svoju najnoviju, navodno ukradenu, igraću konzolu i skupi model televizora. On je slab na svoju sestru, jedino živo biće do kojeg mu je stalo, što Voditelj igre itekako zna iskoristiti. Drugim riječima, inteligentni, ali ljigavi i lijeni Henrik, idealan je kandidat za adrenalinsku igru u kojoj uskoro ljudi počnu gubiti glave, a naš dragi Henrik, kojeg mrzimo, ali ga i nekako volimo, shvaća da je zagazio malo preduboko u svijet u kojem vladaju samo novac i opklade većih, moćnijih ljudi...
Radnja ove knjige nas na neki način navodi da se i mi zapitamo da li i mi živimo u virtualnom svijetu sličnom Henrikovom, u kojem svi igramo jednu vrstu igre i mislimo da imamo kontrolu, a zapravo smo marionete kojom upravljaju neki zakulisni, bogati igrači, čije sjene samo možemo nazrijeti, ali ih nikad potpuno dohvatiti.
Knjigu bih preporučila onima koji vole zavjere, adrenalinske igrice i lako štivo koje će vas opustiti na plaži ili kod kuće, za vrijeme vrućih ili hladnih dana.
E, u biti ovaj roman ima istu premisu, samo što je radnja smještena u ovo stoljeće i igra koju igra glavni lik, Henrik "HP" Pettersen, vezana je za mobitel koji on "slučajno" pronalazi u vlaku. Uskoro se njegov život toliko zakomplicira, da on sam ne zna razlučiti igru od stvarnosti, a izlaza nema...
Iako ideja romana nije originalna, sama radnja teče brzo, a stil je jednostavan i čitljiv, ne prelazeći granice lošeg stila.
Što se tiče glavnog lika, on je iritantan, samodopadan, jedno obično parazitsko smeće kojeg sigurno nećete zavoljeti, ali ćete za njega navijati do kraja, jer njegova bezizlazna situacija, koja podsjeca na igru mačke i miša, Toma i Jerryja, nas tjera da podsvjesno navijamo za onog manjeg, jer unatoč prirodnom poretku, mi težimo pomoći slabijem. A Henrik "HP" Pettersen je slab od početka; on je jedan od onih koji iskorištavaju blagodati stabilne socio-ekonomske države, kako bi se svakodnevno izležavao na kauču uz svoju najnoviju, navodno ukradenu, igraću konzolu i skupi model televizora. On je slab na svoju sestru, jedino živo biće do kojeg mu je stalo, što Voditelj igre itekako zna iskoristiti. Drugim riječima, inteligentni, ali ljigavi i lijeni Henrik, idealan je kandidat za adrenalinsku igru u kojoj uskoro ljudi počnu gubiti glave, a naš dragi Henrik, kojeg mrzimo, ali ga i nekako volimo, shvaća da je zagazio malo preduboko u svijet u kojem vladaju samo novac i opklade većih, moćnijih ljudi...
Radnja ove knjige nas na neki način navodi da se i mi zapitamo da li i mi živimo u virtualnom svijetu sličnom Henrikovom, u kojem svi igramo jednu vrstu igre i mislimo da imamo kontrolu, a zapravo smo marionete kojom upravljaju neki zakulisni, bogati igrači, čije sjene samo možemo nazrijeti, ali ih nikad potpuno dohvatiti.
Knjigu bih preporučila onima koji vole zavjere, adrenalinske igrice i lako štivo koje će vas opustiti na plaži ili kod kuće, za vrijeme vrućih ili hladnih dana.
December 2, 2013
Game: a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators
Courtesy of Dictionary.com.,LLC
After seeing someone has left a phone on the train, what do you do? Do you try to flag them down in an effort to return their property or do you turn it on and consider yourself lucky to have found such a treasure? Before you can really figure what to do, the phone buzzs. Lo and behold, the person on the other line is asking if you want to play a game. Then suddenly, without knowing how to respond, the phone addresses you by name. How does the person on the other end sending messages know that you've found this phone? Figuring it's some funny joke, you agree to play The Game.
Henrik Pettersson can't believe his luck when he finds a phone on the train. Instead of leaving it alone, he answers the call of The Game Master. Because HP is unlike the average person, he's the perfect candidate for The Game. He's a slacker, not really worried about the consequences of his actions, narcissitic, and impulsive. He lacks any real family or emotional connection to any one person.
Swedish author Anders de la Motte's Game is fast paced and takes off like a rocket. He places HP into action almost immediately and never gives the reader a chance to get bored with The Game. Even when the novel shifts to a woman named Rebecca Normen. We don't know her connection to the progression of the story except that she's no-nonsense, tough, smart, and driven as a "personal protection coordinator".
Because Game barely slows down for HP to catch a breath, his profile is given to readers through a glimpse of his file. This file is what was used to determine HP's qualifications of being a participant in The Game. It's may seem like cheating but Anders de la Motte does well in developing the Rebecca Normen character. She's the more enjoyable of the two main characters. After some time I found HP to be draining. He's dense and de la Motte never showcases the intelligence that was used as a determining factor in his being asked to join The Game. He's only able to get into contact with much smarter people. That's his only redeeming quality.
Since HP isn't the brightest crayon in the box, nor does he think things through, I found it especially hard to back him 100%. Once he finds out the extent of what he's gotten hisself into, it's not all that obvious that he appreciates it. He almost takes for granted the long reach of the people he's involved with. He's frustrating to no end.
Overall, I will be reading the next novel Buzz in the Game trilogy because I did like book 1 a lot. Game is engrossing and will appeal to fans of thrillers and suspense. The idea of someone being idiotic enough to do whatever a phone tells them just for a short time of recognition and praise is always an interesting topic in the age of social media and our phones being the source of everything that is anything. I am looking forward to finding out who wins the game. Will it be HP or The Game Master?
Copy provided by Simon & Schuster via Netgalley
Courtesy of Dictionary.com.,LLC
After seeing someone has left a phone on the train, what do you do? Do you try to flag them down in an effort to return their property or do you turn it on and consider yourself lucky to have found such a treasure? Before you can really figure what to do, the phone buzzs. Lo and behold, the person on the other line is asking if you want to play a game. Then suddenly, without knowing how to respond, the phone addresses you by name. How does the person on the other end sending messages know that you've found this phone? Figuring it's some funny joke, you agree to play The Game.
Henrik Pettersson can't believe his luck when he finds a phone on the train. Instead of leaving it alone, he answers the call of The Game Master. Because HP is unlike the average person, he's the perfect candidate for The Game. He's a slacker, not really worried about the consequences of his actions, narcissitic, and impulsive. He lacks any real family or emotional connection to any one person.
Swedish author Anders de la Motte's Game is fast paced and takes off like a rocket. He places HP into action almost immediately and never gives the reader a chance to get bored with The Game. Even when the novel shifts to a woman named Rebecca Normen. We don't know her connection to the progression of the story except that she's no-nonsense, tough, smart, and driven as a "personal protection coordinator".
Because Game barely slows down for HP to catch a breath, his profile is given to readers through a glimpse of his file. This file is what was used to determine HP's qualifications of being a participant in The Game. It's may seem like cheating but Anders de la Motte does well in developing the Rebecca Normen character. She's the more enjoyable of the two main characters. After some time I found HP to be draining. He's dense and de la Motte never showcases the intelligence that was used as a determining factor in his being asked to join The Game. He's only able to get into contact with much smarter people. That's his only redeeming quality.
Since HP isn't the brightest crayon in the box, nor does he think things through, I found it especially hard to back him 100%. Once he finds out the extent of what he's gotten hisself into, it's not all that obvious that he appreciates it. He almost takes for granted the long reach of the people he's involved with. He's frustrating to no end.
Overall, I will be reading the next novel Buzz in the Game trilogy because I did like book 1 a lot. Game is engrossing and will appeal to fans of thrillers and suspense. The idea of someone being idiotic enough to do whatever a phone tells them just for a short time of recognition and praise is always an interesting topic in the age of social media and our phones being the source of everything that is anything. I am looking forward to finding out who wins the game. Will it be HP or The Game Master?
Copy provided by Simon & Schuster via Netgalley
August 28, 2019
It seemed promising, but I didn't like it that much...Fortunately, I didn't buy the whole trilogy all at once!
December 6, 2015
3,5
Sākumā grāmata uzsita ''Erebos'' sajūtu. Likās, līdzīgs princips, tikai viss krutākā līmenī - ar filmēšanām, faniem utt.
Taču, viss nemaz nebija tā, kā izskatījās sākumā. Grāmata mani apčakarēja pirmajā pusē. Par to, protams, plusi.
Kas attiecas uz beigu daļu - man bija savas versijas par šo un to(neprecizēšu, jo tas būtu spoileris) un - pēdējā lpp pierādīja, ka esmu trāpījusi ar minējumu vismaz vienā lietā. Taču, pareizi nojautu arī vēl citu lietu. Vārdu sakot, grāmatas pirmā puse man šķita aizraujošāka, nekā pēdējās nodaļas. Tā arī lasījās uz priekšu daudz ātrāk(varētu pat teikt, ka es to apriju).
Galvenais varonis - geimeris. Ko tur citu teikt. Vecums nemaina neko. Vēlme pēc fanu pūļiem, novērtējuma un galvenās lomas - tā kā realitāte viņam tāda crappy, protams, ka viņš gribēs izbēgt no tās un Spēlēt. Lai gan šī spēle iziet ārpus datora vai telefona ekrāna - tā vienalga ir spēle un viņam ir iespējas sajusties krutam, apbrīnotam utt. Spēle labi zin,uz kurām pogām spiest, lai uzkurinātu spēlētāju.
Katrā ziņā, man tas geimera tēls bija interesantāks nekā beibe Rebeka un viņas tipiskā pagātne(vardarbīgs ''mīļotais'', ne tā labākā bērnība utt). Nekas jauns tur.
Ja pareizi saprotu, tad vēl 2 grāmatām jābūt šajā sērijā. Nu - tas nozīmē, ka boss fight vēl tikai būs :D
Izklaidei,tīri laba izvēle. Vismaz es labi izklaidējos :). Ir spriedzīte, Spēle, teorijas un autors to visu prasmīgi salicis nodaļās, kuras izvietojis pārdomātā kārtībā, vajadzīgajos brīžos pārlecot no vieniem notikumiem, pie citiem, bet atkal nevelkot pārāk ilgi atgriešanos pie turpināšanas.
Sākumā grāmata uzsita ''Erebos'' sajūtu. Likās, līdzīgs princips, tikai viss krutākā līmenī - ar filmēšanām, faniem utt.
Taču, viss nemaz nebija tā, kā izskatījās sākumā. Grāmata mani apčakarēja pirmajā pusē. Par to, protams, plusi.
Kas attiecas uz beigu daļu - man bija savas versijas par šo un to(neprecizēšu, jo tas būtu spoileris) un - pēdējā lpp pierādīja, ka esmu trāpījusi ar minējumu vismaz vienā lietā. Taču, pareizi nojautu arī vēl citu lietu. Vārdu sakot, grāmatas pirmā puse man šķita aizraujošāka, nekā pēdējās nodaļas. Tā arī lasījās uz priekšu daudz ātrāk(varētu pat teikt, ka es to apriju).
Galvenais varonis - geimeris. Ko tur citu teikt. Vecums nemaina neko. Vēlme pēc fanu pūļiem, novērtējuma un galvenās lomas - tā kā realitāte viņam tāda crappy, protams, ka viņš gribēs izbēgt no tās un Spēlēt. Lai gan šī spēle iziet ārpus datora vai telefona ekrāna - tā vienalga ir spēle un viņam ir iespējas sajusties krutam, apbrīnotam utt. Spēle labi zin,uz kurām pogām spiest, lai uzkurinātu spēlētāju.
Katrā ziņā, man tas geimera tēls bija interesantāks nekā beibe Rebeka un viņas tipiskā pagātne(vardarbīgs ''mīļotais'', ne tā labākā bērnība utt). Nekas jauns tur.
Ja pareizi saprotu, tad vēl 2 grāmatām jābūt šajā sērijā. Nu - tas nozīmē, ka boss fight vēl tikai būs :D
Izklaidei,tīri laba izvēle. Vismaz es labi izklaidējos :). Ir spriedzīte, Spēle, teorijas un autors to visu prasmīgi salicis nodaļās, kuras izvietojis pārdomātā kārtībā, vajadzīgajos brīžos pārlecot no vieniem notikumiem, pie citiem, bet atkal nevelkot pārāk ilgi atgriešanos pie turpināšanas.
February 9, 2014
This book is the first book in the Game Trilogy by Swedish author Anders De La Motte. I got this one and the second book, Buzz, for free from Netgalley. I've read this one. I'm not sure if I want to read the second one.
The premise is interesting. HP picks up a cell phone he thinks someone left on the train. It's sleek, shiny and state-of-the-art so he fiddles with it before deciding to look for its owner. The phone comes to life and asks HP if he wants to play a game. For stealing a fellow passenger's umbrella, HP will be awarded points. This seemingly harmless prank soon escalates into more egregious stunts, placing HP and others in danger.
I found it very difficult to relate to, or even like, HP. He's an immature stoner without any likable qualities. Continuing to play the Game for the money is certainly understandable, given HP's existence. But the author makes it clear that it's less about the money and more the adrenaline rush he receives from knowing his escapades are being watched and rated. He's an absolutely despicable character.
Ultimately I got sucked into the book. Who is behind the mastering of these Games? Why are these Games important? I'm sure the sequel will move the story toward that unveiling. I just don't know if I care enough about learning the answers.
The premise is interesting. HP picks up a cell phone he thinks someone left on the train. It's sleek, shiny and state-of-the-art so he fiddles with it before deciding to look for its owner. The phone comes to life and asks HP if he wants to play a game. For stealing a fellow passenger's umbrella, HP will be awarded points. This seemingly harmless prank soon escalates into more egregious stunts, placing HP and others in danger.
I found it very difficult to relate to, or even like, HP. He's an immature stoner without any likable qualities. Continuing to play the Game for the money is certainly understandable, given HP's existence. But the author makes it clear that it's less about the money and more the adrenaline rush he receives from knowing his escapades are being watched and rated. He's an absolutely despicable character.
Ultimately I got sucked into the book. Who is behind the mastering of these Games? Why are these Games important? I'm sure the sequel will move the story toward that unveiling. I just don't know if I care enough about learning the answers.
February 4, 2017
The more "gamer" books that I read, the more that there needs to be of these books. I am going to search to see what other books are out there like this. This needs to be its own genre. These books are great. Well the ones I have read thus far. I have been lucky to read some good ones.
I had this book sitting on my shelf for quite a while. Recently, I have read or attempted to read and the last three to four books were not good. So, I was looking for something to pick me up again. I grabbed this book. This book starts out right away with Henrik receiving a message on a cell phone asking him if he wants to play a game. Of course, Henrik thinks it is a trick that a friend is playing on him and agrees. Before too long, Henrik is addicted to the game and becoming the best. No matter how big or dangerous the task is. The pacing is great and I actually felt sorry for Henrik finding himself in his situation, despite the fact that during the tasks he had no regard for others. The ending leaving you wanting to read the next book.
I had this book sitting on my shelf for quite a while. Recently, I have read or attempted to read and the last three to four books were not good. So, I was looking for something to pick me up again. I grabbed this book. This book starts out right away with Henrik receiving a message on a cell phone asking him if he wants to play a game. Of course, Henrik thinks it is a trick that a friend is playing on him and agrees. Before too long, Henrik is addicted to the game and becoming the best. No matter how big or dangerous the task is. The pacing is great and I actually felt sorry for Henrik finding himself in his situation, despite the fact that during the tasks he had no regard for others. The ending leaving you wanting to read the next book.
November 10, 2013
I received a free copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book! A real edge of your seat thriller! HP finds a cool looking cell phone on the train in Sweden. It keeps asking him if he wants to play a game and it knows his name. He eventually gets sucked into "The Game", earning kudos, points and money for doing progressively risky and illegal assigned tasks in the real world. He doesn't care why, he is having too much fun feeling like he is a superstar online as the camera on the phone records his antics and his "fans" watch and comment on the videos. The stakes get progressively higher and he finds himself in way over his head!
This book drew me in right from the beginning and never let me down. Very well translated. Fast paced!
This is the first book of a trilogy. The ending wraps up the story so you could read it as a standalone book. However, it does add in a little twist at the end that definitely makes you want to read the next book! I was not expecting it and it still has me thinking! No spoilers, though!
Highly recommended!
I loved this book! A real edge of your seat thriller! HP finds a cool looking cell phone on the train in Sweden. It keeps asking him if he wants to play a game and it knows his name. He eventually gets sucked into "The Game", earning kudos, points and money for doing progressively risky and illegal assigned tasks in the real world. He doesn't care why, he is having too much fun feeling like he is a superstar online as the camera on the phone records his antics and his "fans" watch and comment on the videos. The stakes get progressively higher and he finds himself in way over his head!
This book drew me in right from the beginning and never let me down. Very well translated. Fast paced!
This is the first book of a trilogy. The ending wraps up the story so you could read it as a standalone book. However, it does add in a little twist at the end that definitely makes you want to read the next book! I was not expecting it and it still has me thinking! No spoilers, though!
Highly recommended!
November 14, 2013
Po dlouhé době kniha, o které můžu s čistým svědomím říct, že je skvělá, že ji doporučuju. Potěšila mě jednak zajímavou zápletkou, jednak promyšleností, ale hlavně autorův jazyk (v kombinaci s vynikajícím překladem a precizní redakční prací – to už se dneska jen tak nevidí). Vážně vynikající čtení, úplná lahůdka. Těším se na další díl a trochu se bojím, aby mě nezklamal, jak to už někdy u pokračování dobrých prvních dílů bývá…
August 4, 2023
Read this in 2014 and have been looking out for the next in the series for some time, which I have just found (2020) in a charity shop in Cornwall! Then was surprised to find this first book was not shown as 'read' on my Goodreads!! Can't remember much about it now other than it was quite a good read - 8/10.
March 2, 2016
Promising idea, but not so well executed! It had its moments of excitement but didn't escalate the way I hoped! The writing style, a little bit confusing but you can follow it after a while. The ending is pointing towards the second book.
July 16, 2015
Härlig underhållning!
May 14, 2024
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway many years ago and didn't get around to reading it, but I'm trying to catch up on my all my giveaway reviews now. This book unfortunately was nothing spectacular. There were writing and plot pacing inconsistencies, and a lot of unnecessary information and commentary. I had a very hard time connecting with or feeling sympathy for the characters. This book was much longer than needed. It was a good idea, and you can tell the author was passionate about the work, but it just didn't impress on paper.
June 10, 2020
Интересна и динамично представена история за конспиративна организация,която използва хората, като марионетки в "Играта". Играчите са активират посредством телефон и се започва с криминалните зрелища и хляба. Много екшън,много крими, но и характерите си ги бива, има и съвсем прилична социална линия.
Без да си падам особено по жанра мога да определя "Играта" много добър трилър.
Без да си падам особено по жанра мога да определя "Играта" много добър трилър.
June 24, 2022
i doubt i'll read any of the others, was not that good, but was not bad either
June 4, 2019
Bija grūti iedziļināties stāstā un kā arī uzrakstīts nesaprotamā valodā.
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