A DANGEROUS GAME

A modern retelling for striving readers of Richard Connell’s classic 1924 short story, “The Most Dangerous Game.”

When 16-year-old Rain Sanger falls off the sailboat on which he’s traveling with his parents from New York to Brazil, he manages to swim to a nearby island, but the boat is long gone before anyone realizes he’s missing. The island, which has a large house that almost looks “like a castle” and has walls covered with the heads of taxidermic animals, is inhabited by the mysterious General Hoff, who speaks with an accent; his hulking Russian employee, Max; and a dozen large black dogs. The general feeds Rain lobster and gives him a Gucci suit to wear, telling him stories about his love of hunting and how easily he became bored with hunting animals that cannot “think and reason” and couldn’t be “a challenge for a smart human.” Therefore, he has invented “a dangerous game.” The general explains that he’s going to hunt Rain, but if Rain kills him or evades him for three days, he can have a phone to call his parents. Rain has one advantage: a lot of experience playing survival video games. The book has all the shock value and tension of the original but with contemporary technological updates. It would make a useful complement in classes reading the original story, but it stands on its own as a gripping, fast-paced, thoroughly enjoyable read. Characters present white.

Pure, propulsive fun.