Who knows better than your best friends what will break you?
One game. Six students. Five survivors.
In the intimidating surroundings of Oxford University a group of six friends begin to play a game — an elaborate variant on truth or dare, in which the loser of each round has to perform an embarrassing challenge. The eventual winner stood to walk away with a sizable prize, not simply the money that each had contributed to the pot from their student grants, but a substantial sum staked to them by a mysterious campus organisation known as the Game Society, provided that the students agreed to keep both the Game and its sponsorship secret.
But the game quickly assumes a life of its own: the stakes grow higher and the dares more personal, more humiliating, finally evolving into a vicious struggle with unpredictable and tragic results. Now, years later, one player, who believed he had fled the Game long ago, discovers that it is far from over.
I picked up this book on the recommendation of my friend Jay (her review is here). Upon reading the synopsis I was immediately grabbed and expected a thrilling ride. I wasn’t mistaken.
This book is centred around 6 new friends who have just met in their first few weeks of university. Jolyon, Chad, Jack, Mark, Amelia and Dee get together to create a private game of dice and cards, with embarrassing forfeits to be performed by the losers. The Game is sponsored by the mysterious Game Soc, and as the rounds progress the challenges become more personal and more mortifying, resulting rather predictably in the gradual loss of trust and breakup of the friendships.
The narration of the book flips between the present, in the form of diary entries by an unnamed survivor of the Game, and past, the ‘confession’ as to what actually happened during that dark year. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book, trying to second guess which of the six appear in the present and what occurred during those key events that are mysteriously mentioned in passing.
Whilst I really enjoyed the story, I did struggle a bit to relate to the characters. They seemed rather one dimensional and underdeveloped. Although this is a story where the main characters are subject to many psychological issues, they don’t seem to develop or progress, and rather just suddenly change. Mark is a case in point, and I never quite ‘got’ his character. Jolyon too confused me, and I couldn’t always grasp the characters motivations.
Having said that, the book kept me gripped despite these flaws and I couldn’t help but keep turning those pages. All in all, this is a very accomplished debut novel, and I’ll look forward to seeing more from this author.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Catrad 