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Game Theory
Set in the near-future when mankind is merging with computers, Game Theory blends classic pulp fiction with reality-based sci-fi.
It’s the future. Technology is changing the world. But change often comes with a high price. Nobody knows that better than detective Jack Waldron—technology killed his five-year-old daughter and caused his bitter divorce. Wracked with guilt, he drowns himself in whiskey and spends his off-duty hours in a virtual world he created to mirror the life he used to live. But when his ex-wife is brutally raped and murdered, everything changes.
Forcing his way into the case, Jack realizes her murder wasn’t the sex crime everyone believes it was. There’s more—much more. As he digs deeper, he uncovers a trail of clues that point to a conspiracy at the top of the world’s most powerful corporation. While the body count rises, the dangers mount. Before it’s over, Jack is forced to confront his dark past and fight to stay alive against a sinister plot that threatens all of humanity.
It’s the future. Technology is changing the world. But change often comes with a high price. Nobody knows that better than detective Jack Waldron—technology killed his five-year-old daughter and caused his bitter divorce. Wracked with guilt, he drowns himself in whiskey and spends his off-duty hours in a virtual world he created to mirror the life he used to live. But when his ex-wife is brutally raped and murdered, everything changes.
Forcing his way into the case, Jack realizes her murder wasn’t the sex crime everyone believes it was. There’s more—much more. As he digs deeper, he uncovers a trail of clues that point to a conspiracy at the top of the world’s most powerful corporation. While the body count rises, the dangers mount. Before it’s over, Jack is forced to confront his dark past and fight to stay alive against a sinister plot that threatens all of humanity.
314 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2018
4 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 22, 2018
A sci-fi crime thriller full of twists and turns. I read it at one go. It was unputdownable. The book challenges your power of imagination and makes you dive into a world where the line between human and AI is slowly blurring. The plot and the mystery makes you think and feel you are in the story. There is a good amount of world and character building that makes you live the mystery with the protagonist. The language is simple and easy to read yet very captivating.
April 24, 2018
Wow, a clever sci-fi thriller with authentic characters and dialogue that kept me up reading into the early hours.
Fast forward some time into the future (the book doesn't tell us when) where most of the population have implanted DX3 silicon chips in the back of their necks that give them instant communication and unlimited info from the worldnet. A time where it's also the norm to immerse yourself in online virtual gaming where you can experience anything you want, a bit like the film 'Westworld' with A.I.'s, only your mind goes there and not your body.
And most people want to be chipped, Hard wired into the grid 24/7 life's much simpler as you're always online. The chips give you info on your health, interactive learning progs, instant translations, and a safety tracking device.
But something is wrong with the new implants, and people are getting murdered, including Chicago Police Detective, Jack Warren's ex wife. And Jack suspects that there's more to her horrific rape and death than just a random attack.
Jack carries the story and is a likeable but alcoholic mess of man who has lost his young daughter to a mysterious illness, and his marriage from the stress. And now his ex wife is dead, he uses a virtual reality game session where he can relive perfect memories of his wife and child, playing happily families, to cope with the harsh reality of his lonely life in a tatty apartment.
But even some of the virtual games appear to be tampered with. And what if the company making them can track how you think, and respond to situations?
An exciting story full of twists, that really make you think. Especially when it's so near the knuckle when they are already inserting microchips into the hands of workers in Sweden and parts of the US (yep, google it) and soon they are to become all the rage. This novel is a timely reminder of how things can go when our data is in the hands of others.
I have also heard that this book is in screenplay format, which is great news, because this would make an amazing movie. I've given it 5 stars, but I'd give it 6 stars, if I could.
Fast forward some time into the future (the book doesn't tell us when) where most of the population have implanted DX3 silicon chips in the back of their necks that give them instant communication and unlimited info from the worldnet. A time where it's also the norm to immerse yourself in online virtual gaming where you can experience anything you want, a bit like the film 'Westworld' with A.I.'s, only your mind goes there and not your body.
And most people want to be chipped, Hard wired into the grid 24/7 life's much simpler as you're always online. The chips give you info on your health, interactive learning progs, instant translations, and a safety tracking device.
But something is wrong with the new implants, and people are getting murdered, including Chicago Police Detective, Jack Warren's ex wife. And Jack suspects that there's more to her horrific rape and death than just a random attack.
Jack carries the story and is a likeable but alcoholic mess of man who has lost his young daughter to a mysterious illness, and his marriage from the stress. And now his ex wife is dead, he uses a virtual reality game session where he can relive perfect memories of his wife and child, playing happily families, to cope with the harsh reality of his lonely life in a tatty apartment.
But even some of the virtual games appear to be tampered with. And what if the company making them can track how you think, and respond to situations?
An exciting story full of twists, that really make you think. Especially when it's so near the knuckle when they are already inserting microchips into the hands of workers in Sweden and parts of the US (yep, google it) and soon they are to become all the rage. This novel is a timely reminder of how things can go when our data is in the hands of others.
I have also heard that this book is in screenplay format, which is great news, because this would make an amazing movie. I've given it 5 stars, but I'd give it 6 stars, if I could.
July 2, 2020
Set in a technologically advanced, somewhat dystopian future, this novel follows Detective Jack Waldron, who hides from the realities of his life in both the virtual reality world of the Game and the bottom of a bottle of whiskey. When his ex-wife is raped and murdered, Jack finds himself in the middle of an investigation which hints at corruption and conspiracy on a large scale. As he delves deeper into this underworld, he becomes a target himself.
I found this a really compelling read and couldn't get it off my mind when I wasn't reading; in the end, I gave up on sleep and stayed up late to finish it! I found Jack to be an engaging antihero and the story itself was well-told, with information drip-fed to the reader in a way which kept the suspense high throughout. I'd recommend it to fans of Ernest Cline and Philip K. Dick and would definitely read more from this author.
I found this a really compelling read and couldn't get it off my mind when I wasn't reading; in the end, I gave up on sleep and stayed up late to finish it! I found Jack to be an engaging antihero and the story itself was well-told, with information drip-fed to the reader in a way which kept the suspense high throughout. I'd recommend it to fans of Ernest Cline and Philip K. Dick and would definitely read more from this author.
September 25, 2018
Thank you The Fiction Café-Review and William Lange for this arc.
I hope there's more to come and this becomes a series!
The story is well written, suspenseful, and filled with believable characters. I could not put this book I had to see what was coming next. The author references a website in the novel and has actually created that site in real life. It was a very nice touch to draw you into the story and consider the possibility that the author's version of the future could actually happen. The main character in this book was Jack, and I was trying to figure what would happen next, and when I thought I had it I was way off. This book was full of suspense and thrills. I have to admit that I am not into sci-f- thrillers but this was a great book. If you haven’t read this you’re missing out on a great book.
I hope there's more to come and this becomes a series!
The story is well written, suspenseful, and filled with believable characters. I could not put this book I had to see what was coming next. The author references a website in the novel and has actually created that site in real life. It was a very nice touch to draw you into the story and consider the possibility that the author's version of the future could actually happen. The main character in this book was Jack, and I was trying to figure what would happen next, and when I thought I had it I was way off. This book was full of suspense and thrills. I have to admit that I am not into sci-f- thrillers but this was a great book. If you haven’t read this you’re missing out on a great book.
May 4, 2018
I don't read crime thrillers very often so I'm not sure how this fits into the genre. I am suspicious that some of the descriptions and the characters adhere too closely to cliches and that the denouement of the mystery at the end feels forced. But again, this may be true to the genre.
There is a ton of interesting stuff in here speculating about technologies that are in the works. We already live much of our lives in virtual worlds and I think that some people truly cannot tell this apart from their real lives and the potential effects to their behavior as agents in the market. The idea of interacting with the dead in a virtual simulation is deeply interesting and I think we may not be far away from being able to do so. Left unanswered is what those interactions will mean for the living if we can have virtual experiences which adhere to our expectations? The action of a book like this doesn't compel me- it's very hard to do action in a compelling way- but I think Lange is at his best exploring psychology and the potential consequences of the technologies at our doorstep.
There is a ton of interesting stuff in here speculating about technologies that are in the works. We already live much of our lives in virtual worlds and I think that some people truly cannot tell this apart from their real lives and the potential effects to their behavior as agents in the market. The idea of interacting with the dead in a virtual simulation is deeply interesting and I think we may not be far away from being able to do so. Left unanswered is what those interactions will mean for the living if we can have virtual experiences which adhere to our expectations? The action of a book like this doesn't compel me- it's very hard to do action in a compelling way- but I think Lange is at his best exploring psychology and the potential consequences of the technologies at our doorstep.
April 11, 2018
Extremely well written, kept my eyes glued to the page. I did not want to put it down. The protagonist is well thought out and you feel for him as the novel progresses. The language is easy to understand and really captivating. This book is one that I will be re-reading for many years to come. You need to read this book!
August 6, 2018
This book was awesome! I never write reviews. I had been stuck reading big name authors, quick reads, repetitive storylines, but Game Theory was a breathe of fresh air. It was like a mix of the matrix and I, Robot and ready plater one. Waldron is a great deep character! Futuristic, mystery, great storytelling. This book seriously exceeded my expectations. More Waldron! More William Lange! I’m sad my reading experience is over. Seriously great book!
September 26, 2018
I hovered between four and five stars for this book. In its favour, it was an engaging tale, told with pace, with a clear protganist who you could really root for and a strong plot that kept twisting and turning. The reason I've gone to four stars is that it feels like the first third or so of the book needs one more edit. Some of the reveals were clumsily handled - I think one happened twice. The pacing at the beginning was a bit off too. From memory, we saw a delivery man, then a virtual reality section, then the hero at home, then a murder scene. Personally I'd have liked to have known earlier on who the protagonist was and started to build that relationship before chapter five began. But it was a book I didn't have to struggle to finish. Once it got going, it was really good. Clearly defined characters, nice world building, details dropped in deftly so you could visualise the near future but without feeling like a lecture. An author I'll definitely look out for!
September 27, 2018
Imagine being able to watch the murder of your ex, who you are still in love with, hours after it has happened. imagine being down into a mass conspiracy plot to control the world, not long after losing your child to rogue hardware and software. Imagine being a police officer trying to investigate all of this.
Set in the future, you live in a world where microchips have taken the place of the mobile phone for your every need. people still have the choice as to whether they have the microchip implanted or carry an external link to the internet and being constantly contactable.
The characters are really likeable, and you grow to feel Jack's pain as you watch his suffering and his downward spiral with alcohol, whilst trying to get to the bottom of his ex-partners murder and the strange deaths of others who look to be unlinked on the surface of it all.
I would have read this quicker had life and work not got in the way as this was absolutely brilliant reading. the first I've read from this author, but hopefully not the last. definitely on my list of recommendations.
Set in the future, you live in a world where microchips have taken the place of the mobile phone for your every need. people still have the choice as to whether they have the microchip implanted or carry an external link to the internet and being constantly contactable.
The characters are really likeable, and you grow to feel Jack's pain as you watch his suffering and his downward spiral with alcohol, whilst trying to get to the bottom of his ex-partners murder and the strange deaths of others who look to be unlinked on the surface of it all.
I would have read this quicker had life and work not got in the way as this was absolutely brilliant reading. the first I've read from this author, but hopefully not the last. definitely on my list of recommendations.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews