Gamerunner

B.R. Collins

Rick is a Gamerunner – he tests The Maze to check if there are any glitches or bugs. Sent on a midnight errand by the man he things of as his father, Rick is going to suffer as he never has before.

I picked this novel up because I hoped it would be like The Maze Runner or Gillian Rubinstein’s Space Demons. Much to my horror, it wasn’t in any sense of the word. Yes, they are similar – outside the Game/Maze is a disaster zone, and there is an overarching mind coordinating it all. But the anticipation of The Maze Runner is completely missing from Gamerunner.

This is an apocalyptic novel of what happens when the world falls apart and there are only video games left to immerse yourself in, and hope to find something to make your miserable life better. If anything, I can see it as a highly suitable primary school novel that would be kicked off as soon as possible from the list, because it might place gaming in a too positive light.

Two stars. I’d give it 1 star, but I didn’t finish it. Maybe it would have improved later in the novel? I tend to be a lot less tolerant of talking books that fail me in the first couple of chapters, because the reader doesn’t grab me and I can’t bear to listen any longer. Has someone else read this and enjoyed it? The Goodreads stars don’t look all that positive to me.