Book review
Written by Walter John Williams
Orbit paperback
Release date Out now

Dagmar is the creator and writer of alternate reality games. Her last one has just ended with an event in India, and she’s returning home via Jakarta. Unfortunately the Indonesian currency has collapsed and all flights to the US are cancelled. Trapped in a hotel and under increasing danger from mobs and militias, she draws on the resources of her loyal gamers to find her a way out. Back in California reality is about to overlap with her new game in even more dramatic ways…

This is a cleverly constructed and craftily written novel that really draws the reader into a complex and vivid world. The characters are finely drawn and come across as totally believable people, flaws and all.

There is certainly a touch of cyberpunk in the generic themes, but the book should perhaps be labelled ‘gamespunk’ instead as it is set very much in the real world, in keeping with the environment of alternate reality games where players solve clues and take part in live action events.

There are several sections that replicate postings in an online forum, but the main action and intrigue takes place firmly in the real world, constructed around firstly a murder mystery and then a dubious financial scheme. The scope of the story is much, much bigger than at first seems and as the scenario unfolds it just becomes more and more engrossing. Brigid Cherry

VERDICT: 9/10
A smart and involving ARG-themed thriller.