1. The Game, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I first bought The Game back in 2014 because it was free in the Kindle store and it sounded interesting. Since then I have read it a handful of times prior to Goodreads enabling re-read capabilities, and it is probably one book that I recommend to everyone that I meet.
The Game by Terry Schott is a fantastic start to The Game is Life series. The planet of Tygon has revolutionized the educational system. Instead of going through school, they play The Game - a virtual reality where they are socialized through the multiple plays that they have, experiencing many lifetimes and experiences until they age out at 18 and have to enter Tygonian society.
It's the 30 year anniversary of the Game, and one of Tygon's best Gamers Zack enters for his final play. Will he finish in the number one slot? Will his careful planning be successful? Time is running out... but for what?
Schott manages to weave a tale that delves deep into philosophical theories that isn't cumbersome and manages to remain accessible to the average reader - a rare talent for an author. As a person that not only studied philosophy and religion in university but also wrote honors theses on the topics, I love books that make me think deeply about the world around me but are also super fun. This doesn't feel like reading Heidegger, but themes of religion, reality, Foucault's assertions about education, and the meaning of being are there for the reader that wants to look deeper. The thing that I love about sci-fi is that it serves as a lens for humanity, it can be an allegory for the present or a cautionary tale for the future. Or in the case of The Game it serves to answer the question: what if we are all living in a computer simulation?
I find that the story is so well developed that I do not mind the handful of typos that tends to be a common theme for self-published titles. This is an excellent story that deserves to be read: it is always free on Kindle, which is why I highly recommend it to everyone looking for sci-fi recommendations.
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