Skillfully constructed fictions-within-fictions: a new departure for the author of Virgin and Martyr, The Cardinal Sins,...

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GOD GAME

Skillfully constructed fictions-within-fictions: a new departure for the author of Virgin and Martyr, The Cardinal Sins, etc. Computer-whiz Nathan gives his friend, narrator Greeley (as distinct from author Greeley), an interactive personal. computer program labeled Duke and Duchess to try out. The idea is that the player develops his own storyline and has limited control over the characters; there are also certain random elements. Then a lightning bolt strikes the narrator's dish antenna: the program characters on the PC screen become not only visible but real--and the narrator realizes that somehow he's tapped into a parallel world! In that unnamed world, Duke Lenrau and Duchess B'Mella are locked in a bloody and futile generations-old war. The narrator orders them to stop fighting, but, though the characters believe that the narrator is God, and (sometimes) obey his commands, things soon go awry--thanks to ingrained suspicions and hatreds. Soon, the narrator is utterly hooked on his God-playing role. There are other complications, too: a caste of priests who would like nothing better than to dispose of both the Duke and Duchess and take over themselves; some of the minor characters who show up in the narrator's dream to chat or plead for a more significant role in the drama; and a mysterious, mischievous elfin (ilel) called Ranora, who has her own strong-willed ideas on how to end the war. Weirdest of all, there seems to be a correspondence between the Duke/Duchess characters and what happens to the narrator's friends (marital problems, muggings, strange phone calls) in the real world! Finally, the narrator concludes that the optimum solution is for the Duke and Duchess to marry and raise a family--but in order to bring that about, he'll need all his godlike powers, and some timely assistance from the ilel. Sprightly, twisty, intriguing stuff, with a broadly amusing exterior and plenty of food for serious thought--though the doings in the parallel world are too relentlessly, luridly melodramatic to be totally persuasive. Greeley regulars may be somewhat perplexed, initially at least, but will certainly find it worthwhile: and science-fiction fans will be pleased with this multilayered, probing workout of a familiar theme. Anticipate a sizable audience.

Pub Date: June 20, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Warner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

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