The Imperium Game [Paperback]

K.D. Wentworth (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Del Rey (1993)
• ASIN: B000OVJ5ME
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Job Reassignment: Computer Geek to Gladiator, December 5, 2000

By 

"veroyse" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Imperium Game (Paperback)

Time and place: New York City of the future, where role playing is taken to its pinnacle at a theme park using physically interactive computer holographic gods and goddesses. The colorful and occasionally gritty streets of ancient Rome come to life in Wentworth's intense imagery, the written equivalent of a Maxfield Parrish painting. But mystery and romance also color the pages.

A hapless programmer named Kerickson is framed for murder of the most important player of The Imperium Game, the Emperor Micio Metullus. It just so happens that Kerickson's ex-wife was Micio's wife in the game, the bewitching Demea, with emphasis on 'witch'. Kerickson soon discovers that Amaelia, the late Emperor's daughter is pursued by her jealous stepmother and by Quintis Gracchus, sinster Captain of the Praetorian Guards. Gracchus seems determined to become the next Emperor by any means and change the nature of the game to serve his own dark purpose. With the sometimes-helpful aid of the malfunctioning gods, Kerickson enters the game and strives to save both it and Amaelia as the programs run amok.

The happy ending hoist Kerickson out of his previous wretched state but leaves room for a fun sequel. The Imperium Game provides a winning combination of sci-fi, mystery and romance.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Job Reassignment: Computer Geek to Gladiator, December 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Imperium Game (Paperback)

Time and place: New York City of the future, where role playing is taken to its pinnacle at a theme park using physically interactive computer holographic gods and goddesses. The colorful and occasionally gritty streets of ancient Rome come to life in Wentworth's intense imagery, the written equivalent of a Maxfield Parrish painting. But mystery and romance also color the pages.

A hapless programmer named Kerickson is framed for murder of the most important player of the Imperium Game, the Emperior Micio Metullus. It just so happens that Kerickson's ex-wife was Micio's wife in the game, the bewitching Demea, with emphasis on 'witch'. Kerickson soon discovers that Amaelia, the Emperor's daughter is pursued by her jealous stepmother and by Quintis Gracchus, sinister Captain of the Praetorian Guards. Gracchus seems determined to become the next Emperor by any means and change the nature of the game to serve his own dark purpose. With the sometimes-helpful aid of the malfunctioning gods, Kerickson enters the game and strives to save both it and Amaelia as the programs run amok.

The happy ending hoists Kerickson out of his previous wretched state but leaves room for a fun sequel should the author ever feel inspired to write one. THE IMPERIUM GAME provides a winning combination of sci-fi, mystery and romance that leaves you eager to read more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars when in Rome..., September 23, 2005

By 

Jacob Weisman (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Imperium Game (Mass Market Paperback)

Taking place in a world where medieval role-playing games, like the popular Dungeons & Dragons, are conducted on a grand scale, K.D. Wentworth's The Imperium Game is surprisingly well written, full of twists and turns as well as elegant detail. The arena of The Imperium Game is a full-scale recreation of ancient Rome--complete with computor simulated, holographic dieties who assist players in exchange for ritual sacrafices at their temples. The players, who pay a fee to live and work in the city, are given points based on their experience and the authenticity of their role playing, competing to move up in rank and ultimately to assume the role of Emperor. Full of humor and unique creative touches, Wentworth succeeds in turning what may have been an average sf novel into a delightful, lightweight farce that reads more like a crime novel by Donald Westlake than anything else.