Anders de la Motte's Game was published in the US in December 2013 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books (Simon & Schuster) and in the UK in December 2013 by HarperCollins. Game was originally published as Geim in Sweden in 2010.
Information about Anders de la Motte:
Anders de la Motte (born 1971) made his debut in 2010 with Geim ([geim]), which won the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers' 'First Book Award'. He is a former Police Officer and was until recently Director of Security at one of the world's largest IT companies. He is currently an International Security Consultant. With his blend of fast-paced suspense, humor, and informed commentary on IT and social media, Anders de la Motte represents a distinct new voice in Scandinavian crime fiction: wild, playful and full of references to popular culture, including his literary cousin Philip K. Dick.
Information about Game:
Follow the rules and everybody gets hurt...
One Sunday morning after a long night of partying, Henrik "HP" Pettersson, a slacker with a lot of ego and very little impulse control, finds a cell phone of an unfamiliar make on a commuter train. Through insisting and slightly uncanny messages that refer to him by name, the phone invites him to play a game. HP accepts without hesitation.
The rules are that HP must complete tasks that range from childish pranks to criminal acts, as allocated by the mysterious Game Master. HP is the perfect contender - alienated from society, devoid of morals, and desperate for fame. His completion of the assignments are filmed and uploaded onto a protected server where viewers rate the Players' performances.
The Game starts out innocently enough and then becomes increasingly risky, threatening the safety of someone close to HP. He is determined to become a superstar, but when the dark and tragic secrets of his family's past are at stake, HP must make a choice. Will he suffer the humiliation of defeat, or will the need to win push him to the limit - no matter the cost?
First in a fast-paced and riveting trilogy, Game will leave you guessing. Follow the rules, and everybody gets hurt...
A REVIEW OF ANDERS DE LA MOTTE'S GAME
Anders de la Motte's Game is the first part of The Game Trilogy. It's a well written and interesting thriller that offers plenty of entertainment for its readers.
Scandinavian crime fiction seems to be doing well nowadays, because it has become increasingly popular among the readers. I have friends who are fond of Scandinavian crime fiction and read new crime and thriller novels as soon as they're published (my friends have said that Scandinavian crime and thriller novels are excellent entertainment). I don't have much experience about these novels, because I seldom read crime novels and thrillers, but I can mention that it was interesting to read Anders de la Motte's Game, because it was good and fast-paced entertainment.
Game is a thriller novel, but it can be recommended to readers who read speculative fiction, because there are certain elements in it which may be of interest to speculative fiction readers. I think that several readers will enjoy reading about the ruthless Alternative Reality Game, the mysterious cell phone and the conspiracy.
Here's information about the story:
HP (Henrik Pettersson) finds a cell phone on the commuter train. The phone displays a text "Wanna play a Game?" with icons "Yes" and "No". HP is surprised to find his name on the screen with the message and thinks that somebody's playing with him. After a while he decides to press "Yes" and gets his first assignment. As the Game continues, HP's assignments become increasingly dangerous and risky...
There are two main characters in this novel: HP and his sister, Rebecca. Both of them have their own lives and they differ from each other (they're almost like total opposites of each other). The narrative switches nicely between HP and Rebecca.
HP is an interesting character, because he has alienated from society, he's devoid of morals and he want to be famous. These three attributes make him the perfect target for the Game Master who controls the Game. Seeing himself filmed when he did the things was exciting for HP (when he did well his sexual performance improved and he felt good about himself).
In my opinion the author manages to highlight HP's bad behaviour perfectly. HP's character may not please everybody, because he acts in a bad way, but I enjoyed reading about his feelings and actions. He's a bit different kind of an anti-hero and not a very loveable guy. It was nice that HP's profile file was shown to the readers in this novel, because it revealed lots of information about him.
Rebecca is HP's brother. She is a well created character, because she is haunted by her past and has traumatic memories (the author explores her past in a good way). She's totally different from her brother, because she thinks and acts like a policewoman. She's a personal protection coordinator (a bodyguard) and is employed at the Swedish Security Police.
Considering that Game is a thriller novel, I found it intriguing that author managed to develop Rebecca's character as well as he did, because normally the characters are less deep in thriller novels. One of the reasons why I don't read many thrillers is that I've often been more than a bit frustrated by reading about shallow characters, so it was nice to read about Rebecca and her past.
Game is one of the most fast-paced thrillers I've ever read. The action starts immediately in the first chapter. This is nice, because there are probably several thriller readers want to read an action-packed thriller novel that keeps on surprising the reader with plot twists. This novel offers both fast-paced action and plot twists to the readers.
It was intriguing for me to find out what the Game was and how big it was. It was also interesting to read about how the players were selected and made to play the Game. I have to say that the vastness of the conspiracy was a surprise for me, because I didn't expect it to be so vast. (I won't write more about this subject, because I want to avoid writing spoilers.)
Game raises many questions about the security issues of modern society and how easily people are led to believe different things. It also raises questions of how far people are willing to go in order to become famous. It's also worth mentioning that because HP seemed to accept the assignments easily and enjoyed the action, his behaviour can be seen as a certain kind of a metaphor for how easily modern people can lose their way and become obsessed by thrilling happenings.
The references to social media worked well. When I read this novel I began to think about how much time people spend online and spread information about their doings and likings on such websites as Facebook and YouTube. I also began to think about how easily social media can be used to affect people's way of thinking about several things.
I think that the author wants to make the readers think about how easily people can be monitored nowadays, because every time you use your computer and log on to different websites or visit websites, you leave a trace of your visit. In other words, it's difficult to be totally invisible when you're in the internet and visit different websites.
What makes several things work so well is that the author has used his own experiences about police work and security related issues as a source of inspiration. In my opinion this brings authenticity to the thrilling and fast moving storyline.
I have to say that it's been a long time since I've read a thriller as enjoyable and exciting as Game. There are a few minor flaws in this thriller (because the narrative switched between HP and Rebecca, it would've been nice if the author would've used the names of the characters before writing about them and their actions, because at times it took me a few seconds to figure out if he wrote about HP or Rebecca), but on the whole everything worked well and the story was satisfyingly exciting.
I have to mention that I liked the translation from Swedish to English. The translator has succeeded in translating the story perfectly, because the narrative flows effortlessly.
There are a few similar kind of stories and novels out there on the market, but Game reminded me mostly of these three films: The Game, Conspiracy Theory and Enemy of the State (and also of the TV series called Mission: Impossible). I think that readers who find these films interesting will enjoy reading Game.
Before I write the final words of this review, I'll mention HP's story continues in two sequels: Buzz and Bubble. Buzz was published in January 2014 and Bubble was published in February 2014.
Game is an exciting thriller novel that combines technology and conspiracy theories in an enjoyable way. This thriller will keep you guessing at what's going to happen next and what will happen to HP and Rebecca. It's one of those thrillers that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until you've read its final page. If you're interested in crime fiction and thriller novels, you'll enjoy reading Game.
Good thriller entertainment!