Thank you Netgalley for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
**
You're invited!!
Come and play with G.O.D
OK first off I think I've watched way too many horror films because the first thing that popped in my head was: "HA! I think not!"
Let me be the first to tell you my instincts would have been right.
**
Charlie and his friends, a couple of outcast nerds, formed a group freshman year; and they call themselves The Vindicators. Now, during their senior year they are invited to play the G.O.D game; win and all your dreams come true... Lose, you die. Clearly this is a game from the deep dark web, and is filled to the brim with its shady characters. You've got the active players, who seem to expand worldwide; to the Watchers. Watchers observe whatever they want in a game, they wear black masks and white porcelain doll like faces. My thinking is if you start to see the watchers multiple run; nothing good can come from that many surrounding you. Once you get to a level high enough you can become one and this gives you the ability to view basically anything you want with the games help. (again... SUPER creepy) Goldz is good, this is a currency you earn while playing the game or doing things for it. Oh also if you have enough Goldz like our boy Alex in the game did you can buy these really cool Azetech glasses that blend AI game visuals and overlap them to real life... this part was REALLY cool if you ask me.
Blaxx is something you want to make sure you never accumulate; I mean 2,000 got someone run over by a car.... and they earned that by trying to make a call the game didn't approve of. To say the game has controlling issues is a bit of an understatement.
At first what was seeming to be a fun AI game turns very sinister. There's drug deals, satanic ritual symbols, violence, and so much more hidden within this games facade.
This book while lengthy in pages will pass by in a blur while you try and figure out just what the end game is.

The God Game by Danny Tobey is an intriguing concept. A group of high school friends get invited to a super secret online game. If they do well in the game they will do well in real life but if they fail in the game they will fail in real life. The book has a "big brother is watching" feel. In today's world electronics with recording devices are everywhere. Someone could always be watching and/or listening. The author takes this idea and creates a secret gaming society that knows all, sees all, and hears all. Once you are in the game you are in for life. What would you do if someone knew all your secrets? What if they blackmailed you with your secrets? Would you do something completely against your beliefs to keep your secret?

This book brings a world of possibilities to life. Technology is far reaching but exactly how far? In a world of good vs evil and right vs wrong what would you do if you or someone you love was at risk of harm?

I did not want to stop reading. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

General Fiction (adult)
Release Date: January 7, 2020

The God Game is a young-adult sci-fi thriller, which is not something I would normally pick up, but I was definitely intrigued by the AI element in this novel. Think about how much technology we use on a daily basis. You’re most likely reading this review on a device that could likely affect your life if someone were to hack it or use it to spy on you. Now imagine if there was an AI out there spying on everyone, hacking anything connected to the internet – phones, computers, security systems, cars – and thought it was God. That it had the power to decide who lives or dies. If that idea doesn’t scare you, it will after you read The God Game.

I really enjoyed this book. It was thrilling and interesting. Personally, I like technology elements in books, so I didn’t mind all of the science and coding (even though I didn’t understand any of it). I really liked how the AI God was based on world religions – I thought that was pretty clever. I love when philosophy is discussed in books, and I think it was used well here.

The characters themselves were interesting. I liked the diversity of the main group of friends (although I wish there was more outside of the group). However, I did think that a lot of the characters’ ages didn’t seem totally believable. A lot of the issues these kids deal with just seemed incongruous with their ages. And even the adults sometimes acted younger than they later turned out to be. It’s not a huge issue, but it was a bit distracting.

I enjoyed Danny Tobey’s writing for the most part. It fit the story well. The pace was thrilling – especially towards the end of the book, I had a hard time putting it down. The ending was a little bit unsatisfying – the last chapter in particular felt a little bit out of place with the rest of the book – but I guess that’s up to you to decide.

High school senior Charlie and his friends are invited to play an online game - The God Game. They are told that if they win, their dreams will come true, but if they lose they die. They find themselves sucked into a virtual reality where it becomes hard to distinguish what's real and what's the game. People are getting hurt, can anyone stop The God Game?

This book is reminiscent of Ready Player One and I think fans of that book will enjoy this one. I was a little confused in parts of this book and had to re-read passages to get a better understanding of the technical terms and what was going on. But overall it is an entertaining and interesting wild ride of a book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Danny Tobey and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into with this one, but I couldn’t help but be interested when they suggested it because I enjoyed Recursion! I actually found this one super enjoyable and I flew through it! The characters may all be high school students, but I didn’t find this book similar to YA really. It was dark and twisty and it really took you on a journey that you aren’t expecting. The idea behind this book in so very interesting and yet terrifying! I would definitely recommend giving it a try! I don’t read much of science fiction, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

Out January 7th!

You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE. Lose, you die!

While the God Game by Danny Tobey is well written and the plot is very intriguing, it just didn't appeal to me. If you like YA sci-fi you should give it a try.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot going on...gaming, religion, virtual reality, family drama, deep friendship, YA fantasy. There were def times I had to reread the code-writing and some biblical references, which made for a difficult read to start, but I enjoyed this was totally different from any book I’ve read. Personally, like the short chapters as well.

This was actually extremely creepy. Everytime G.O.D. texted or called I got this ominous feeling.
I wasn't a fan of the high school setting and the main characters to be honest. At the beginning I had a hard time to remember which boy was which and got Peter, Kenny and Charlie mixed up. I liked the different motives of everybody and thus could be real life, but I wasn't able to connect with anybody except Vanhi. The ending was pretty fitting.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

A well-paced and thought provoking story. A science fiction morality tale with a lot of teen angst and gaming thrown in the mix.

disclaimer: i received a copy of this book via st. martin's press in return for an honest review.

the god game by danny tobey is an interesting story concept and there's a good thread of "how far is too far" running through it. it was hard to find any of the characters compelling enough to invest in the story, however. overall, it wasn't a terrible book, it just didn't keep my interest.

two out of five stars

I’m going to call it quits on this one. It’s very well written just not my cup of tea. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

The God Game was created by feeding all the moral philosophy and sacred texts of the world into an artificial intelligence chatbot. People can only join by invitation, its exclusivity adding to its allure. Imagine your own reaction to this invitiation.

You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

The Vindicators are a group of high school students, brilliant but estranged from the social center of gravity, always on the outside and wanting to be part of the main. Joining the game, they enjoy getting some of their own back against the bullies who make their lives miserable, but as the Augmented Reality that turns their school and community into the game arena becomes more demanding and the moral quandaries more difficult and dismaying, some of them think about quitting the game. However, no one can just quit.



I loved The God Game. What would the aggregatore morality of all beliefs systems look like? What kind of morality would it inhabit? More than one person has argued that God is a sociopath. I think some might think that is so after trying to understand the moral values of the G.O.D. game. I was puzzled at times by the Game’s values, but when we learn the process of moral decision-making it makes sense. Some players are playing harder than others and the role people play in the game is clear and fair. The “surprises” have a solid foundation so there is nothing unfair about the resolution and game play.

The God Game is fast-moving and the kind of book that will keep people reading late into the night. I passed my ARC to my best friend to read on Sunday afternoon and she had finished it by Monday morning. I don’t think she was happy about that, but she said she could not stop reading. That was my experiene, too.

The God Game will be released on January 7th. I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley and Shelf Awareness.

The God Game at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Danny Tobey on Facebook

This was a very different read for me. I am not a gamer. I had a learning curve to overcome. It is a very interesting story. The author did a great job.

I was a bit torn on this one, the actual game and situations/dilemmas was intriguing and suspenseful, but the high school setting was not all that appealing to me. I wasn't expecting this to be so high school centric and it read a lot more YA than I wanted, to the point that all the adults were either absent and/or completely inept. Still the writing and concept were quite good and I would read more by this author no question.

This is a book that I mostly really liked.

The game itself was fascinating. While I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole, I could definitely see how others would play it.

The book gives you a mixture of action and some fascinating ethical considerations. And I don’t think the author stretched it in terms of what people would be willing do to in order to make their dreams come true.

My only real issue is that the characters read really young. I had to keep reminding myself that these were seniors in high school – they read more 13-14 years old. I kept expecting them to take off on bicycles or get excited about pubic hair or something.

Other than that, though, it was a good, fast read.

I’d definitely check the author out again in the future!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

The God Game by Danny Tobey

With notables such as the deceased Stephen Hawking and the very much alive Elon Musk worried about artificial intelligence, perhaps we all should be worried. This book clearly shows the dangers of a fictional AI.
The game is the AI’s proving ground or testing facility of the myriad sources of information available on line or programmed in by who ever created the initial AI. Its origins are not explored.
A group of high school computer nerds are drawn into the AI’s game which is diabolical and inexplicable. They soon discover that more than a game or good time is involved.
This book should scare the bejabbers out of you. There is no telling when the Turing Test will be achieved but it will be soon.
I enjoyed the book but it is more thought provoking that I might wish.

I requested this because I wanted something that intrigued me and kept me guessing until the end. Thank you NetGalley for offering books that feed by book addiction lol.

While there were some things about this book that could have been better, I had to round my 3.5 stars up to 4 because I could not put it down. It grabs you at the very beginning and takes you on quite a ride. Some aspects of this book do seem familiar to other books I have read, but the plot was unique enough to keep me reading. I only wish the characters were developed more. I never really cared that much about what happened to any of them.

Take me somewhere new

The Gods have assembled before you in ritual they have designated a task.

Will you play the game or will you live a simple life?

Is your answer so clear cut or do you long for adventure? Is everything going perfect in your life or is there something you wish to change?

D̷̙̞̟̦̖̠̟̻͕̊̀̇͝ơ̴̢͎̱̺̬̱͎̲͖̤̠͓͐͛̽ ̴̯̝͓̗̊͜͜y̵̨̨̛̭̌͆́̊̓̔̑̃̚͝ợ̷̱͌̀̄̍̌̆̄̀̈́͑̉̔u̸̙̦͙̘̻͖̔́̈́̐͑̍͌̈́̓͊̀̃͊ ̴͉͕̠͕̗̫̖͖̟͙̜̫̥̈́̈́̇̂̇́́̄̂̀͗̀̈́͘͜͝l̷̡̡̜͇͙̪̥̻̤͓̬̆͆͋o̵̺͕͍̿̿͜͝ņ̸͙̬̓̾͝g̶̟͙̙͕̫̀͛ ̴̯̖̖͛̀͊͐̿͗f̸̢̨̛̪̤̺̰̜̝̲̿͆̀͆̅̓͂̌̈̃̄ͅở̸̢͈̩͙͇͔̬̲̹̫͇̰͙̅̈̐̏͒̑̊̐͝ŕ̸̲͔̼͍̮̏̿̎͐̀̓̂͗̂̓͝ ̷̫͚̱̝͚̻̰̺̮͍̘̖̱͋̒́́̊͑̇̏̚e̶̢͚̘͔͉̩͙̥̫͎̪̠̙͆̏̀́̾̽́̓̈́̓̓͂̿̕͝x̷̰̣̮̼̬͚̜̳̟̂̂̉͂̑ͅç̷̓̓̃i̴̧̠̯̞̜͆͒͌́͂̈́̊ͅť̵͎̜̩͔̮̟̪͙͔̜͉͎̰̩̾̌̓̿͒ẽ̸̡̧̡̡̡̨͇̗̠͈̬̗͖̹͎̋͝m̸̛̙̩̼̦̹̰͔͓̹̝͐́̇̂̒̆͒̆̂͂̊͝e̷̛̝͊̊̕n̸̛̘̲̙̮͂̿̔̓̉̿̀̈́̀́̚̚͝t̵̨͇̝͇̟̣̂̽͜͜?̸͓͉̘́̊̈́́̈́̊̅̌̕͘ͅ ̶̢͇̞̪̞͈̻͚̰͚̼͕̦̻̈́̈́̓̋̽͑̒̑́͛͘͠ͅÁ̴̰͕͖̮̹̰͔̖͛́͌̇̀́͠ͅr̸̡̗̭̾̎̉́̾̅͝è̸̹̳̣͎̭̱̯̺̞̀̍̈̒̄͒̍̽͜ ̶̦͔͖͉̗͍́̄̽͂͛̐̓̑͛̿͘̕̕͘͝y̶̢̖̳̯̌̀̿̄̽͊̈́͐̽̎o̷̧͚͇͍̮̗͕̿̾̿̀͌͌͐̀̈̇̈́̕͝ů̸̧̪̞̫̞̹̞̖̫̫̠̰͈̽̎̓̏̐̄͑͋͝ ̷̛̼̥̪͎͖̼͙̬̝̮̩̝̬̙͒́͂̂̕͝͝ͅş̸̢͕͕̳̬͈̱͍͉̤̻̏̂̓̕͜e̵͙̿̄͂̌͒̇̒̿͝͝͠e̸̡̢͎͇͈̥̤̲̽̒̊͆̐̕ͅk̶̢̮͉̦̺̻͉͕̥͉̹͉̮̤̫͛͊̔͗̃͝͠į̴̣̘́̈́̆̉͊͆͆̐̎n̸̨̛̫̺̳͆̎̀̌̅͛̈́̃̚g̸̦͑̈̇̄͌̓͆̆͘ ̷̢͇͇̟͍̃͋̉̔͊͘a̶̢͙̓͌͛̃̂́̇̏̉͝ ̵̢̣̠͕̹̲̩̀ȓ̷̦̓͂̄̋͂͐̚u̶̦͇̝̥̮̫̞̮̓̅̋̀͘͠s̸̢̢̺̗͔͎̩̻̥̠̲̐̽̃̌̀̐͐̀̍́͌͜h̵͈̩̳̦͖̣̮͎̼̞̲̼͕̻̒̒̊͆̈́͝ͅ?̸͙̰̼̌͛͆̇̏͗͌̀̓͋̚

Y/N

Is there an end?

Is leave possible?

Welcome to The God Game.

Five teens, not quite outcasts yet not in the popular crowd, make up a group of misfit gamers, coders, Vindicators.

They mainly get together and do fly by pranks nothing too extreme even when one of their members grows more and more reckless. That all shifts when The Vindicators are introduced to the GOD Game and they slip into the deepest recesses of the dark web and beyond even that.

The God is an AI that grants gold but can easily blacken and taint your soul if you displease it. If you win, you win and if you lose…

The game is fun at first as all games start out but as the lines blur and reality slinks away The Vindicators realize that its not only their lives at stake but the people they love as well.

Well, this was an AMAZING MINDFUCK.

From the very beginning I was hooked and knew I was going to enjoy myself thoroughly.

I’m a huge video game player so this entire premise was like sweet sweet candy to me. Although, I do NOT think I would personally play this game myself because I’ve read way too many horror books to know how this turns out.

And just how did it turn out???

*Chuckles darkly* Say, have you heard of the chaos emeralds?

Our top 5 characters are a well rounded bunch of teenage angst but god, do I love them all. You honestly do feel for each and every character and it’s unfair that they’re going through so much because they are so young but unfortunately this world is old, cruel, and unrelenting. It doesn’t give a shit and it never will. These are just facts. The protagonist, Charlie, I was with him all of the way and that’s super rare with a main character because most of the time I want to beat their asses with the decisions they make. But Charlie was cool as hell and I understood him completely. He was smart, wanted to save his friends, and just too good for this wicked world.

There was a lot of diversity among the characters too which as always was great to see. Vanhi owns my heart and soul forever and always.

Do any of you remember the anime .hack//sign? It’s super weird and surreal but basically a virus occurs and a bunch of users are trapped in The World which is a video game. The God Game reminded me a lot of that with that creepy/gamer aesthetic. I’m also reminded of the Persona Games and Oxenfree tbh!

I love video games and I love the escapism it provides me but I also love the option of leaving the game when I want to on my terms. Free will.

I think overall my favorite part of this book is the mythology and Gods we encounter. The imagery they bring up is cool is hell. The chapter names alone brought a shiver down my spine. I mean how fucking cool is:

The Catacomb of Veils

Picture me in the darkness scribbling on the walls and muttering that. Hardcore as hell.

This book has it all. Romance, fire, many headed Gods, betrayal, lust, wicked car chase, hardcore geeks.

Each chapter had me enthralled and the last chapter is one of my favorite endings in a long time. There are some tough subjects to read such as death, suicide, abuse and bully so do be prepared if you would like to read this book 🙂

After reading this I’m reminded of why I don’t answer texts and phone calls of people I don’t know. I’m too nice to be swept into a game of life and death. My anxiety can’t handle that.

Why is there war?
A pause, then:
Because killing feels good.
To whom?
Another pause.
To me.

While the God Game by Danny Tobey is well written it just didn't appeal to me. While teens will probably enjoy this story of the consequences of poor choices, it just made me sad and hard to make it to the end. However I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.