Review: An Unexpected Delight
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2014
While I loved the Hunger Games series, it did do one disservice to the book world and that was that it unintentionally got many readers to automatically compare it to (or at least be weary of) any book that has even a hint of a similar premise. The fact this book has the title of "The Game", automatically had me expecting it to be similar to The Hunger Games. I know it's not quite logical but just the word "game" had my automatic association pop up instantly and I almost dismissed the book, not wanting to delve into another story (at the moment) revolved around kids fighting for their life in a game that is set up for the perverse enjoyment of a dysfunctional society.This book does not mirror The Hunger Games in any significant way. Yes, there is the aspect of reality television on steroids (think Real Housewives meets The Truman Show 24/7 but more complicated). However, other than the slight similarity of both books utilizing our own society's odd obsession with reality shows and expanding it to an entire different level, this book is nothing like I expected it to be. This book uses this aspect for an entirely different and less evil purpose than The Hunger Series.So you have the reality tv aspect, then you add huge dose of the gaming world (also on an entirely different level) then put in a dash of the parallel universe idea and you've got an intricate story that is much more in depth than expected. There are many other creative ideas that float around throughout all of the above, which could have bogged down the story, causing a lot of confusion for the reader, yet I was able to follow the storyline without it becoming overwhelming.It also gets you thinking about things such as what if (like in the end of MIB) we are just a tiny universe on a pendant hanging from the collar of a cat? Maybe not that exact question, but this book touches upon a lot of similar ideas. I was not expecting this book to get me to wonder about our universe and what we do with our own time on Earth. I was expecting an easy, fluffy read that did not require too much thought on my part, but I got much more than I bargained for.