Life Games Corporation by Michael Smorenburg
The Book
Kenneth Torrington runs Lifegames Corporation, an industry leader in automated hypnosis sequencing, a practice which though exceptionally unorthodox, and definitely not without its risks, is the potential future of training for a large number of industries. Clients of his belong to all the top positions, military, political… Despite the age old adage of great power bringing with it great responsibility, Ken errs on the side of greedy pride when marveling at his growing empire. Catherine Kaplan is in charge of the PR for Lifegames, and through a dare from Ken she enters into the world of virtual reality, unaware that events are going to make leaving it near impossible. What happens when science and faith collide?
My Thoughts
I am what my friends consider a technologically-stunted individual. I know the basics, but that’s as far as it will go. I can operate cellphones, printers and computers. Oh and TV. Even connecting my cell to the car’s Bluetooth thing is confusing. So naturally virtual reality and sequencing and what-what, had me a little nervous.
Smorenburg has an incredible knack for grabbing hold of you and then keeping a firm grip on your attention throughout his book. His characters are not perfect, each of them bordering the fine line of being a victim or a perpetrator. Realistic dialogue and a decently paced plot means the book doesn’t stagnate or lose appeal. Best of all is the subject matter covered; it’ll appeal to those who enjoy sci-fi, mystery, esoteric and religious debates, purely because it breeches the notion of time and our control of it, and how it can open up worlds and events never before imagined.
What I liked
1. I was able to superimpose a fictional aspect of science which already concerns me, onto the real world. The AI and its Virtual Reality in the book is focused on providing maximum output with minimal expense, resource requirements, or time In Lifegames there is a definite impact on waking reality after the virtual experience, a scarring of sorts which affects characters in the most unimaginable ways. It was a truly engrossing concept to think about because I am convinced we are FAR too eager to achieve success at whatever means possible with no further consideration for impact that our actions may have.
. As one assumes to understand the dynamic between characters, or even just their personalities, for example Ken and Catherine, or Catherine and Nancy, or even Robert and his ‘alter-ego’, there’s a twist that pops up throwing all understanding out the window.
And I have to give kudo’s here. Because quite honestly the only character I know for sure, I liked –was Leon.
Generally I enjoy a book with clearly defined good guys and bad guys. With Catherine and Ken particularly, I was hesitant to make any final judgements. Each of them seem to feed off of the other, and as their connection breeches mere physical, into a more esoteric kind, I found myself unsure of exactly who the real victim was.
3. The plot is also brilliantly structured; I love books which allow me to get confident in my plot-deducing skills, only to lob a brick at my head with a plot twist or additional info from characters. It’s predictable without giving anything away if that makes any sense.
What I disliked
1. I found the shift in story to be a little abrupt at one point, I was really focused on Robert and his past life regression, which I felt was already a brilliant facet to follow, introducing Catherine’s virtual reality experience was a little jarring and left me wishing to return to Robert/Fernando’s experiences. Both characters ended up tying in well together and I saw the intention behind it, though it still doesn’t feel 100% to me.
2. Catherine and Nancy’s relationship seemed to be a bit of a lead on to me, I appreciate the closeness that Smorenburg was developing between the ladies, but I felt that it was one of those relationship-characteristics which weren’t entirely necessary to include. There was far too much posturing on the possibility of their being a physical connection between them as opposed to friendship.
Conclusion
I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a challenging read. This is a book you need to read with every intention of stretching your own opinions and beliefs on technology, and esoteric or paranormal experiences. It’ll leave you wondering just how much technology may taint what we see and how we react. It’s a deeply fascinating book which has left me even more adamant that I will stay away from making tech my BFF.
Review Rating: 3/5
More Information:
Published by: Qunard
Published date: August 15th 2016
Genre: Science/Technological Thriller
