Customer Reviews

The Game

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Armstrong not only opens the Game with blistering pace but manages to maintain it throughout and to its gruesome conclusion. Well crafted characters bring a cinematic quality to the Game and Armstrong's Bane manages to give a completely new and refreshing slant on what at first glance could be considered an over played genre. If you think you've had your fill of action sleuths, then think again!

The Game is a perfect fit for this era of reality television. In Derek Armstrong's new novel, a serial killer is knocking off members of the cast and crew of Haunted Survivor, a top rated reality show. Alban Bane, the lead detective, discovers that these murders are virtual copycats of those committed by Tyler Hayden, a serial killer Bane arrested years earlier. The catch is that Bane had just witnessed Hayden's execution. From there the plot really gets complicated. And interesting.

Although the story is complex, with twists and turns coming from all directions, Bane is the driving force that makes The Game compelling. I really like this character; he's intelligent, determined and very funny. Right up there with John Corey, Nelson DeMille's wisecracking NYPD detective.

If you enjoy a dark thriller with an offbeat sense of humor, get in The Game.

Dan Ronco is the author of Unholy Domain and PeaceMaker

Fathering two teenage daughters, you'd think detective Alban Bane would have enough to agonize about, but in "The Game," a hugely cinematic thriller with hilarious dark comic moments, we find him quickly dealing with headless corpses. Not that headless corpses give you much trouble because they're usually real still and don't talk back and you don't have to worry about making meaningful eye contact with them, it's just that this scrappy, witty cop is pretty motivated to find out how they lost so much weight real quick ... especially after he gets a creepy letter inviting him to come find out. This is an irresistible story that centers around a new American reality television show called "Haunted Survivor," where a boiling-pot mix of soon-to-be-dead-but-they-don't know-it-yet contestants see how long they can survive in an old Vermont mansion spooked by its former occupant, a mass murderer, who left the planet in the first chapter by execution by lethal injection. Survive and get one million dollars, but these contestants are having a hard time surviving. They're having an easy time getting slaughtered, though.

You've got to love a novel that crystallizes, in a single line, our squirmy fascination with this sort of thing, delivered by Haunted Survivor's uptight producer who finally becomes good and unhinged at the end of the story herself, "We're assuming," she said, "America's fascination with reality television and crime will continue." Oh, it will, lady. It will. And you've got to love a thriller, like all great literate thrillers, that makes you feel pretty sure you know who the killer is ... but guess what. Depending on how you lean, Bane pulls for the Boston Red Sox, so this gives him a dangerous or desperate quality, or both. The poor cop's pretty beat up by the end of the story, but he knows how to take a bullet and a good stabbing and bleed all over the place as he attempts to save one of those pesky teenage daughters of his who got caught up in the slaughter. Bane doesn't know it, but one of the best fight scenes you'll ever read ... and there are a bunch of them in The Game ... is being videotaped by the show's sinister creator, and later shown as a news clip as a testament to Bane's professional viciousness. Good job, Dad, saving your daughter's head like that. Videotape is okay for now, but from the first few lines of The Game, you can see this book on the big screen, too. Of course, by the time the movie comes out you'll know who the killer is ... but who cares. We're fascinated with reality television and crime and we just can't help it ... because it's so much bloody fun.

Todd Sentell, Author of TOONAMINT OF CHAMPIONS: How LaJuanita Mumps Got to Join Augusta National Golf Club Real Easy

Derek Armstrong's novel, The Game, was brilliant! Once I started, I couldn't put it down. When I did put The Game down I couldn't stand the suspense and had to come rushing back to see what happened next. This was a thrilling rollercoaster ride, one that I know I'll be riding again!

Bane was a true character with his dark wit, quirky habits, and family man persona. With each new chapter his character grew. I absolutely loved the twists and turns of his life! This book is a must read. I'll be watching for Bane's next thrilling adventure in MADicine.

E.L. Morin
[...]

Derek Armstrong's, The Game is the perfect summer read. It's dark, satirical style makes it hard to put down. Who can resist the sleazy world of reality TV woven into a tight plot and riveting ending?

Alban Bane, lead detective and single dad is one of those well-defined characters you won't quickly forget. Single dad with a smart mouth, Bane is called in on a gruesome case and he must face his own demons as he enters the set of Haunted Survivor, the latest TV reality game show. Get ready for headless corpses and bloody good prose.

What I found particularly alluring is that The Game seemed to echo what's so creepy about reality TV, but he did so by making it so captivating, you couldn't help yourself but to keep reading. Thus, proving the point.

The Game has movie deal written all over it.

I ordered The Game from Amazon, and it arrived in Saturday afternoon's mail. I started reading Sunday morning, and I finished it before dinner. I think I stopped for lunch.

The Game is the rarest of all fiction genres - the book you can't put down.

You've got to love Alban Bane, always ready with the exact right thing to say, always willing to say it to whomever, whenever. Armstrong surrounds Bane with an entertaining and disparate cast of characters, from devious television producers to venal politicians to militia sociopaths to ... well, you get the point. And he drops this collage of personalities into an unusual premise, isolated in a menacing location.

The action just keeps going, the scenes pile on, until you find yourself at the end. But how can that be, you think. There are 60 more pages. And the action keeps on going.

My only criticism is that I wish the ending had been different. That way I wouldn't be waiting anxiously for the next episode of Alban Bane.

There is simply not enough humor in this world. Since the sixties, ethnic humor is tabu, or is it taboo. Somehow we decided that the frailties of human nature shouldn't be funny, whether ethnic or otherwise, leaving us with almost no subject to dump our ridicule upon. However, there is salvation on the horizon and it seems that Derek Armstrong has found it. It is reality television.

In his novel, The Game, he has focused our attention on just how utterly ridiculous reality television really is. His story is a mystery sure enough, but basically he strips the veneer from the broadcasting genre and shown it for what it is and we discover that what it is, is just silly.

Red Evans author of On Ice

POSTED AT THE REQUEST OF ELINA McGEE: Capital punishment of a serial killer and a reality-television show with a warped twist, the setting of The Game, quickly intrigues the reader. The reality show guests, trapped in a haunted mansion, all become suspects when it becomes the scene of a copycat murder, follwed by a succession of killings. Character development of the game show participants, broadcasting crew and the pill-popping detective, Bane, with his comical sarcasm, serve to make this mystery thriller that much more captivating. When I finished the last page of The Game, I found myself wishing I could purchase the sequel immediately!

Derek Armstrong provides the best reason to turn off the TV--his exciting new novel THE GAME. It's a send-up of reality television, full of murderous action on the set of "Haunted Survivor", and a thrilling ride to the climax with detective Alban Bane. Don't wait for the movie--read the book!

4.5 stars!

The Game is a Mix of `Survivor', `Fear Factor' and `House on Haunted Hill'

Derek Armstrong, author of his debut thriller The Game, knows how to tell a story. His narrative is dead-on, his dialogue snaps with authenticity and his main protagonist is entertaining and memorable. The shorter chapters make for a briskly paced read, while he delves into subplots and characterizations that keep you up to speed.

The story starts off with Detective Alban Bane pushing his way past prison protestors so he can witness the execution of serial killer Tyler Hayden. Just before the psychopath's death, he says that he knows who killed Bane's wife. And that admission sparks an intriguing subplot. With skill, Armstrong draws out Bane's personal issues and his fears.

Bane's sidekicks are Justine Kipfer--aka Kip--and his trusty pal Armitage Saulnier, or Arm. And Bane's two daughters also play a small role. Not only are these characters important to the story, they are used to show the depth and emotion of Alban Bane, who otherwise might just come across as a wisecracking detective with no feelings. In fact, his sarcastic humor and his obvious love for family and friends are what make this novel so appealing.

Also appealing is the novel's setting. An old mansion, once owned by Mordecai Mason, the `bogeyman' of Vermont and a famous mass murderer who slaughtered his entire family. The mansion is now host to a new and deadly reality game show where one contestant will walk home with a million dollars--if they make it out alive. Someone is killing off people involved with the show.

Enter, Abbey Chase, the show's producer, who reminded me of a blond Susan Lucci. She is arrogant, all business and gets what she wants. Most of the time. Her `charms' seem lost, mostly, on Alban Bane. Along with Chase, there is a multicultural buffet of contestants who provide for an interesting mix. It certainly makes it easier to keep all the characters straight. Normally, a novel that deals with too many would turn me off. But Armstrong creates unique characters and gives them individual traits that set them apart.

And the author always keeps you guessing. He leads you down paths that twist and turn, like the secret pathways in the walls of the old mansion. And just when you think you've got it all figured out, Armstrong throws another curve ball and sets your head spinning. Thoroughly gripping and an easy read with enjoyable characters, this is one thriller you won't put down until you've read the final page!

~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Author of Divine Intervention