Books › This Is Not a Game
This Is Not a Game
384 pages
A pulse-pounding near-future thriller where the stakes of the virtual world bleed violently into reality.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like being dropped into a high-stakes, real-world server where the cheat codes have been disabled. It is a propulsive, tense experience that blurs the lines between digital gaming networks and deadly international conspiracies. The mood is steeped in paranoia and chaos, driven by themes of avarice, betrayal, and the sheer unpredictable power of online crowds. As the narrative races from the violent unrest of a revolution to the shadowy corners of global finance and the Russian Mafia, the prose keeps the adrenaline high and the suspense sharp. It is perfectly calibrated for readers who crave near-future techno-thrillers where old friendships fracture under the weight of greed, and survival requires outsmarting the ultimate game.
- Mood
- high-stakes
- tense
- chaotic
- paranoid
- Tone
- urgent
- cynical
- suspenseful
- gritty
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- the corrupting nature of greed · blurring lines between virtual and real · betrayal among friends · the power of digital crowds
- The writing
- Fast-paced and action-oriented, delivering sharp thrills and near-future technological intrigue.
- The arc
- From the chaotic fragmentation of a fractured friend group to a desperate, high-stakes scramble for survival and justice.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love high-stakes techno-thrillers where digital networks and real-world danger violently collide.
Content notes
- gun violence
- murder
- political unrest
- betrayal
About the book
Once upon a time, there were four of them. And though each was good at a number of things, all of them were very good at games...Dagmar is a game designer trapped in Jakarta in the middle of a revolution. The city is tearing itself apart around her and she needs to get out. Her boss Charlie has his own problems -- 4.3 billion of them, to be precise, hidden in an off-shore account.Austin is the businessman -- the VC. He's the one with the plan and the one to keep the geeks in line. BJ was there from the start, but while Charlie's star rose, BJ sank into the depths of customer service. He pads his hours at the call-center slaying on-line orcs, stealing your loot, and selling it on the internet.But when one of them is gunned down in a parking lot, the survivors become players in a very different kind of game. Caught between the dangerous worlds of the Russian Mafia and international finance, Dagmar must draw on all her resources -- not least millions of online gamers-- to track down the killer. In this near-future thriller, Walter Jon Williams weaves a pulse-pounding tale of intrigue, murder, and games where you don't get an extra life.
Description from Open Library.
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