Shadows

The Game is Life #5

by Terry Schott

This is an alternate cover edition for B00MJB6DIQ

The Game is Life - Book 5

Dawn belongs to a secret group of teenagers who play a cloak and dagger game on their cell phones.
Her world is turned upside down when the players' actions begin to affect reality, and not in good ways...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia, Audiobook, Young Adult Fantasy, Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2014

Reviews

[bubblegumpopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 Audiobook reread: This was a nice little side escape from the main storyline of Game is Life, but it is unfortunate that he never really continued with this story of "The Families" (at least not that I remember...) This feels weird in the Game is Life series and I remember when it first came out it was listed under its own "Shadows" series.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book is set in the world before the game is life starts. We meet The Families, and most importantly Samson Thorne. Nice bit of back story here although not quite sure yet how it all pieces together!! Really enjoying this series and it’s world building. Clever stuff

[Kal ★ Reader Voracious · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. The Game, ★★★★★
2. Digital Heretic, ★★★★★
3. Interlude-Brandon, ★★★★★
4. Virtual Prophet, ★★★★
5. Shadows, ★★★★

This addition to the Game is Life series is enjoyable. Shadows is a companion story - meaning that it is related to the series and will tie in at some point - but we get a whole new cast of characters and a whole new (assumed) world to uncover. Sam and Dawn are teenagers and gamers of an exclusive cell phone game where they are Shepherds and shear targets to reap financial gain in the real world. But as Dawn and Sam learn more about the game and their Family, they learn that much more is happening beneath the surface. How much control do they have over their own destiny?

No matter how old you become, you are never fully in control of your life.

Part of the excitement of this companion piece, largely in light of my conversation with Schott, was trying to figure out where these new puzzle pieces fit into the overall narrative. Some things are obvious someone early on has the same name from the overall narrative that we know and others are simply theories. I will say that the numbers 13, six, and five are representative here and I can only guess at what Schott is gearing up to assert.

I'll admit that I am not really sure how I feel about this one at the moment. Virtual Prophet ended kind of on a cliffhanger (that I know is continued in Digital Evolution), and my personal reading preference is to follow one cohesive story. I'll be honest that when I finished reading Virtual Prophet I was confused. After chatting a bit with Terry Schott on Facebook the best I can manage is that I skipped this companion book in 2015 because it wasn't numbered originally. He assured me that skipping this one would cause problems later in the series, so I silenced the part of me that didn't want to divert my attention to a new story. Interlude was a tangent that was more readily obvious of its value to the overall storyline, whereas a large part of me feels that the timing was off to start a new storyline. This possibly can change once I re-read Digital Evolution, because my memory on what I read three years ago is foggy at best, but as of right now I feel a little disjointed having gone from one narrative to this one and going back to the first one when sh*t kind of was hitting the fan.

Aside from my personal reading preferences for series, I really enjoyed this story. Taken on its own as a separate, albeit connected, story within the same universe it is a great read.

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[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook review

First up - how good is Luke Daniels as a narrator?! He just brings books to life!

I loved this, as I have the whole series so far. All the way through this book I was both looking for any clues on how it relates to the previous four books but also just enjoying the individual story.

This is the first book in a long while that has made me desperate to jump straight back in with the next installment.

Enjoy this for what it is.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waste of time...

This book was sold as a companion piece to the main series that would answer questions. It answered zero questions and raised many that I cared not to think about. I would rather not have wasted my time with this book as my perceived relevance of this book is nil. If that changes in the next book in line, then I shall come back and update this review.
This was a good story though. If it was just a standalone book with no attachment to the main series, I'd be a lot more interested.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The backstory of the backstory

I continue to be very impressed with all the layers this universe contains. Mr. Schott is an excellent and thorough story teller. It is clear to me he has planned all of this and thought it all through.

[Karlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. The multi layered approach to the game keeps one guessing and waiting for the next big surprise to drop. The author surely has the entire thing mapped out because he introduces new components very fluidly. Great job! Luke Daniels is an awesome reader. Bring on the next one.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 5 in the series, but it’s about totally different characters (Thorne family) and timeline. The Game that they play in this book is similar to a Pokémon Go style with capturing gyms and fighting other players. But of course lots of secrets and hidden real consequences.

I listened to the audible audiobook (which is discounted if you download the free kindle unlimited book first fyi). Same narrator as previous books and I mostly enjoy them.

+ 2 stars because I listened to the whole thing in a couple days and really stayed focused

+1 star because the book works fairly well as a stand alone adventure

- 1 star because the most intriguing stuff happened in the last two chapters and then the preview of the next book is definitely NOT following up on those things (trash bag man and nanobots)

- 1 star because I honestly just expected more from this author/this series. the first 4 books had me thinking deeply about concepts and wanting to talk to my wife about them. This was kinda plain in comparison

[Cary B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sometimes enjoyable, easy read and quite gripping at times. However I did think the plot and structure were a bit formulaic and some of the characters lacked warmth or sometimes credibility. There seemed to be a reserved, sometimes naive reasoning behind a lot of it, which made it lack fluidity and pizzazz. Some of the language seemed rather stilted. I longed for more lateral thinking in relation to plot and characters. That would have made it less predictable and have given more emotional resonance. Perhaps this would make the main players, including Dawn and Sam, more like living breathing people we could care about. Nevertheless, the story does raise interesting issues about privacy of information in our culture and how young people (and others), can be manipulated. So it is worth reading.

[Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I didn’t do it alone”-Logan (p. 159) I liked this quote because it was when Logan stated he wasn’t alone. Shadows, The Game is Life by Terry Schott. I am in love with this book because it had some of the best stories and explained some of the biggest gaps in the entire story. My favorite character in this book was definitely Logan because he just reminded me of myself. I didn't like vector he was just outright rude and unkind to all people. This book was really interesting because it all takes place out of the game and the main characters are just kids getting paid to play a “game” called shepherds. When you play shepherd's you basically hack “bases” or locations. And the longer you play the higher level you are, the game is a secret game that only a select hundred or so know about but it is growing every so often. This book is really good and I recommend reading the entire series.

[Vickie Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shadows

Sam and Dawn are teenagers and gamers of an exclusive cell phone game where they are Shepherds and shear targets to reap financial gain in the real world. But as Dawn and Sam learn more about the game and their Family, they learn that much more is happening beneath the surface. How much control do they have over their own destiny?

No matter how old you become, you are never fully in control of your life.

Part of the excitement of this companion piece, largely in light of my conversation with Schott, was trying to figure out where these new puzzle pieces fit into the overall narrative. Some things are obvious (view spoiler) and others are simply theories. I will say that the numbers 13, six, and five are representative here and I can only guess at what Schott is gearing up to assert.

[Douglas Owen · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTF!

Sorry, but what the heck does this book have to do with The Game is Life series? It does not tie in with what is going on in the other books. It's like Terry decided to start another series but tie it into the current one with this novel.

Like all the others in the series, this one needs a good edit both content wise and structurally. Where does it tie in with the others? Heck if I can tell you. In fact, you can skip this one and go to the next in the series and not miss a beat.

This novel, as it stands, deserves a miss in the series.

[Helen Hesketh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking read

Absolutely love this series, can't wait to read the rest. I don't do spoilers so don't expect any from me what I will say is that this series so far has had me gripped. The premise of the story makes you want to read more and more the characters are easy to like and therefore you want to know what happens. If your looking for something that's interesting to read that will keep you turning the pages and slightly gutted when it ends then this series is for you.

[Barbara Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just keeps getting better

I am addicted to this series. I don't want to go to work I just want to finish all the books (of course I still go to work sadly). Finished this book in less then 2 days. I love the side stories they are so fun to read, think I like this world even more then the main series. Everything is tieing in together at points. I love the old man.

[Sharon Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting!!

Terry you certainly have a unique gift. I’ve plowed through this epic series so far and become more enthralled with each book I read. I’m delighted that you don’t seem to be running out of steam yet either!

You’re writing style is a joy to read and allows the story to flow like a tv series. Which I certainly pray it becomes some day soon.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

With very few ties back to the main storyline of the game is life, the book lacks strong world building, character development,or other science fiction themes that ask the reader to pause and think about moral/ethical implications. As a stand-alone story, it’s fairly weak. As context for the main storyline, seems totally skippable. May revisit this as I finish &he rest of the series.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I have the omnibus edition of this series and book five is filled with fascinating information about the past - very important to the story as a whole.

Great writing (except for 'off of'), fast-paced and brilliant storytelling.

An intelligent and thought-provoking read.

Highly recommended.

[LiA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice enough, quite entertaining, suspense,too. But all in all quite shallow, and Harry‘s permanent belittling his - admittedly a bit naive - daughter as „Kitten“ got in my nerves. Honestly. Not sure, whether I am really interested in the following episodes. But, maybe I am not the target audience for this novel, either. I am rating it 3.5 stars.

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit confusing

I enjoyed the story but unsure how it all fits in with the series. I will continue on as I am so much invested in it now. I do like the authors writing style and character development and perhaps further reading will tie it all together.

[Jacqueline Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, but felt out of place and disconnected to the rest of the series. Not sure where it's going or how this novel is connected to the previous ones. A little too loosey goosey for me.

[Xeoin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expect a new set of characters

Set your expectations accordingly from the outset and you will enjoy this instalment.
It feels like a prequel - can’t wait to see where it goes next :)

[Jenn Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Completely different characters, very slow and a bit boring. 😴 I kept waiting for some hint as how this world ties into the rest but there wasn't much. I didn't really care much for any of the new characters either. 😕

[Dr. R.B. James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting Backstory

This answered a number of questions from earlier books, yet certainly created new ones. I'm loving the arc of the series and the character development.

[Lyulina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entirely skipable, even though the series so far was immensely enjoyable.

[Kata Kalinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to start the next one!

I can't wait to start the next one! This was an excellent continuation in the series. I can't read them fast enough.

[Shawna Shotwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but I am left with so many questions! It was a throw back to the begining when Thorn was a kid but there has to be more! I wonder if more it to be told in the next book!

[Jessica O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

No idea (yet?) how this book fits into the series. No ah-ha moment at the end like in book 3

[Curtis Jackson]

801-836-0454

[Jazzerjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me of the game Ingress from years ago, which was cool. Obviously more than a simple game...or is it? 😁

[Fred Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A side novel; a backstory to a backstory so it's said; but nothing much TO BE said. Not for this novel anyway; not with regards to this series for sure in the least. The first 1/4 of it or so left me wishing I wasn't SO involved in the series that I just HAD to complete this book. It was lame!! 1 or 2 stars at best at that point. BUT it did inevitably pick up and get to at least be interesting. However, even as a backstory with Thorn(e) and all, notably Samson of course, it just didn't pan out in that respect. It ended up being just some filler novel. A wasted effort on the author's part. Well, not totally wasted as the book did get interesting on some levels. And of course delving into how, as I believe it was stated, 95% of the wealth (and thus power), is controlled by like 100 or perhaps 200 people worldwide. That leaves the rest of us with a steaming pile of shit! Couldn't tell, however, least not from the written word, what the author's views on this and how stated the plight and lackings of the rest are due to their OWN failings and not anyone else. It makes me wonder if Terry Schott might secretly don a red MAGA hat from time to time. There is allusions towards such anyway despite the overall undertones undermining the status quo of their society and ours. It was just an ugly book. And seemingly pointless to the series. I have even started in on book 6 and no reference is yet to be made giving rise to any purpose to this book with regards to the series. So I give it 3 stars. For failing the series. And for suggestions about the disparity of wealth and power in all of Society and, most importantly, WHY(!!!) this is the case. Yup, break out the red MAGA hat for this one. Even though it was likely intended to be opposite of that. The confusion surrounding such is unacceptable.