This was a good time! Despite the description comparing it to Stranger Things and The Walking Dead, this felt like a fresh concept. I didn’t see much for similarities other than the premise being in the 1980s for one and people being brainwashed into aggression for the other. Its description did draw me in, but I’m glad that it didn’t borrow heavily from other forms of pop culture.

Pacing was consistent in this book too. I liked that it didn’t give me an opportunity to get bored or lost. As far as sci-fis go, this one was easily consumed.

The ending was iffy though. It’s hard to see a parent allowing anything like that to happen. And then Andi? Well, I’m a sucker for a less than ideal ending.

Thank you for another great ARC, NetGalley!

For Armstrong’s first novel, this was a solid win for me! I loved how atmospheric it was and did not expect how brutal it turned out to be! The descriptions were incredibly realistic and kept me engaged.
.
I love that the premise was about an urban legen, it brings a bit of realism to a work of fiction. The characters were either loveable or so utterly hateable, it was great.
.
Trying to remain spoiler free, I do wish there was a bit more explanation of what the game play physically looked like, how the markings on the wall connected with other plot points in the book, and wish there as a bit of explanation around the “new tech” that was able to accomplish what it did. There also were a lot of characters to remember which is difficult for me sometimes haha.
.
If you love cliff hanger endings, urban legends, gory body horror, and video game or tech, this may be a good choice for you!

I loved this debut novel! An action-packed, fast paced page-turner. All things hyphenated!
Would make a great movie adaptation.
Stranger things meets The Big Door Prize.
Very impressive debut for Collin Armstrong. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my review.

I have read a pre-released copy of this book so some things may change once released.

The characters and storyline are very easy to get hooked on, you want to like them and believe in them. The relationships they build or have with the other characters in the story help shape the world as a whole.

While I personally would have liked a more in depth and altered ending the one present is nice too.

You feel for Andi and Ro and I personally love Rachel and David too. The details on a decent bit of the book play a nice hook and "oooooh that's how it works in" moments overall.

I really enjoyed this book. With its focus on retro video games and the power of the arcade the author takes an urban legend and turns it into a thrilling and compelling story that leaves you wanting more. I wasn’t enthralled by the ending because I wanted characters to succeed but I can also see the benefit in ending it as he did. You will not be able to put the book down nor get the characters out of your head once you start reading it.

Engaging and entertaining fun. A recommended purchase for collections where horror and nostalgia-tinged titles are popular.

3.5 stars. The story was good and unlike anything I’ve read before. It was like The Crazies meets Tron. Editing needs some fine tuning. Some chapters feel misplaced. It’s hard to discern between POVS. …just needs help working out the flow.

Once I started reading this book, I could NOT put it down. Andi is on a mission to be down with school and get to the rest of her life. She knows what she wants and is confident and smart. She begrudgingly makes friends while working where this new video game comes to town. Things get weirder and weirder and next thing you know, Andi and one of her new friends are searching for answers and trying to get people to listen.

There are all kinds of things that start happening in this town. The pacing of the book revs up about halfway through the book and accelerates towards the end. I loved how much action there was and my brain loved playing it out in movie style for me.

I’m looking forward to other books by Collin Armstrong.

ARC provided by Netgalley

Based on an urban legend folklore story, this was a great horror thriller. Another reader stated it would make a great tv series and I have to agree- this is definitely the type of book I'd love to see on the big screen (done well, of course). The characters and action scenes were well written but I felt the dialogue could've been improved.

Shoutout to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Collin Armstrong for sending this ARC for me to read and review! This book grabbed and sucked me in from start to finish!! I couldn’t put it down! After every chapter I kept wanting to read more and more. At times this had me on the edge of my seat, made me smile and made me sad. Would be awesome if this was adapted into a tv series or movie! 10/10 would highly recommend this!

The cover of "Polybius" is what initially drew me in but the author's skillful storytelling kept me turning pages.

I'm generally a fan of reading stories based off Urban Legends and while this story is uniquely its own I think they did a great job in comparing it to Stranger Things meets the Walking Dead. The nostalgic Arcade setting, group of teens and mysterious government clandestine project made for a really intriguing read.

This is a new to me to author and I think what stuck out to me most was how his writing style was very calm during all the chaos. It was very different from how most Thrillers and Horror novels I've read are told but it worked well with the story.

I'll definitely checkout more from this author in the future!

Thank you Collin Armstrong, Net Galley and Gallery Books for providing me with an ARC of this book! All opinions in this review are my own.

I wasn’t grabbed by the writing of this title. It felt like it took a few chapters to get started, and I’d prefer if the action started a little sooner.

All things considered, I loved the premise and that it is based on a real folklore story! It’s not for me, but the author can definitely hit a folklore-game niche here. Thank you for the ARC Netgalley!

"Polybius" is a thriller/horror novel by Collin Armstrong. The novel is based on the urban legend where the government creates a stand up arcade game called Polybius psychology experiment that messes with players minds and causes them to lash out, hallucinate, have seizures, etc. Set in the early 80s, the story centers on Andi, a teen girl who likes computers and coding. She and her mom move to the small town of Tasker Bay and Andi gets a part time job at an arcade. When her boss buys an arcade game for cheap (Polybius), she notices strange things happening to the players. A recommended purchase where retro thrillers/horro are popular.

This was an absolutely fantastic read. The perfect mix of thriller, horror, nostalgia and well drawn characters. Set in a small town on the outskirts of San Jose, an arcade game starts to bring out the dark side of everyone who looks into it's captivating display. The story is really well paced and the characters are compelling. The final third is nerve shattering as the town descends further and further into anarchy, I'll be recommending it to everyone!

A never heard of videogame shows up to an arcade in a small town and devastation and chaos follows; sign me up! Polybius was such a fun and creepy read and quite the page-turner. The action scenes were so engrossing and left me on the edge of my seat, wanting more. The main characters did seem a little under developed and I didn't really love any of them but was rooting for them nonetheless. *Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC of this book.*

Really interesting concept! I could totally see this being adapted into a movie or TV show -- some of the imagery feels cinematic for sure. The writing style wasn't my favorite and I got a little bored with the action towards the end but I did feel compelled to keep reading and find out what was going to happen!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

The writing style of this failed to grab me, the expository dialogue just fell kind of flat, in terms of telling instead of showing the characters interests and motivations. An interesting story though