SUMMARY: Phoenix loves his job. A company has hired him to exterminate vile creatures in an old underground complex. The rules? There are none. If fact, the bloodier the better. The animals have no idea an expert is hunting them down, one by one. To Phoenix this is paradise, being able to do whatever he likes and have the protection of the company.
The BookViral Review: Genre – Dystopian Sci-Fi
For fans of Dystopian Sci-Fi with a taste for something off the beaten track – but not too far – A Game Of Red might just fit the bill. Dark, unnerving with relentless action it’s one of those novels that hits you square between the eyes and lingers in your thoughts once finished as you wonder how far away we are from it becoming reality! Thomas isn’t the first author to pen a novel where a powerful corporate entity abuses its power but whilst the outline of his plot develops along more or less standard dystopian thriller lines A Game Of Red is not your regular genre fare. He doesn’t give us a dystopian future rendered in black and white but plays to indifference whilst being sure to avoid the prescriptive stereotype characters found in less imaginative works. On this level, the action free grace notes tend to be the highlights and when Tommy is forced to watch Phoenix defile Dahria we feel his helplessness too. Refreshingly there are no trite revelations whilst a gradually evolving moral undertone questions how far society is prepared to go in the name of entertainment.
A cracking debut from James Thomas. A Game Of Red is sure to find favour amongst readers of Dystopian Sci-Fi Suspense Novels with the promise of more thrilling releases to come in the Death Games series. It is highly recommendedG