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Masterplay
In a world of the future in which court cases are determined by computer-game combat, friends and Master Gamers Richard Ross and Ken Li become caught up in a deadly game that could mean death for one of the opponents.
- GenresScience Fiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 14, 2015
My doctor's cousin wrote this book. Even without that in its favor, I would say READ IT!!!
February 26, 2017
Near-future computer wargamer works as a duelist. If he wins the game, his client wins the legal case.
I was somewhere between 13 - 15 when I read this now-obscure science fiction book. Not entirely sure what I thought of it then, but it's a good sign that, nearly thirty years later, after having seen a brief reference, I instantly recalled multiple plot elements and the final battle scene, where Our Hero tries to turn a re-enactment of the Battle of Culloden into a Jacobite victory.
I was somewhere between 13 - 15 when I read this now-obscure science fiction book. Not entirely sure what I thought of it then, but it's a good sign that, nearly thirty years later, after having seen a brief reference, I instantly recalled multiple plot elements and the final battle scene, where Our Hero tries to turn a re-enactment of the Battle of Culloden into a Jacobite victory.
November 11, 2018
A fun short YA novel where disputes are settled by players of real-time strategy games. Like Time Commanders crossed with Ender's Game. Not much depth but a good time to read.
December 12, 2022
Legal cases can be decided by the Guild. Each side hires a gamer to reenact a past battle for their side. The feeling being that rather than have some court battle that last years, it's quickly resolved by the outcome of the game which does not set a precedent. It used to be that both parties had to agree to use the Guild, but with the passing of the Guild Act one party could force it to go to a game.
I'm not going to undermine the premise by saying that legal cases aren't one hundred percent win or lose, but have some sort of compromise. Or if it really is just win-lose, why not just flip a coin? Rather than let the bigwig buy the best gamer (which wasn't brought up as a possibility, it was assumed that it was fifty-fifty.) The games were an excuse to go into a several page description of a battle with the knowledge of the gamer allowing them to make different decisions than the generals made. If you love rehashing historic battles this is great, I found it tedious and skimmed those parts. What I enjoyed were the dynamics between Ken and Richard, and Ken and Donna. Unfortunately the back cover gives away the first eighty percent of the plot. I'll still give it 3.5 stars, other than the games it was very readable and I enjoyed the characters.
I'm not going to undermine the premise by saying that legal cases aren't one hundred percent win or lose, but have some sort of compromise. Or if it really is just win-lose, why not just flip a coin? Rather than let the bigwig buy the best gamer (which wasn't brought up as a possibility, it was assumed that it was fifty-fifty.) The games were an excuse to go into a several page description of a battle with the knowledge of the gamer allowing them to make different decisions than the generals made. If you love rehashing historic battles this is great, I found it tedious and skimmed those parts. What I enjoyed were the dynamics between Ken and Richard, and Ken and Donna. Unfortunately the back cover gives away the first eighty percent of the plot. I'll still give it 3.5 stars, other than the games it was very readable and I enjoyed the characters.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews