The God Game by Danny Tobey

 

It just seemed like any other computer game.  A group of friends, the techies of their high school, are all sent an invitation to play a game called the God Game.  Peter, the newcomer, a rich boy left on his own most of the time by his successful father, was the first to play and share the game with the others.  Charlie had been a straight A student, sure to be class president and get into an Ivy League school until his mother died and he quit trying to do anything.  Alex was always the weird one but now has tipped over into depression and resentment from being bullied everyday by the school jocks.  Vanhi is the only girl in the group, smart and Charlie's best friend.  Kenny is his parent's dream for the future, the one who needs to do well at everything because his brother dropped out of college to pursue his own dreams.

At first the game seemed benign.  It helped them do mundane tasks and gave them ideas that made their lives better.  Then the tasks started to be more demanding and soon they were being asked to do dangerous things, things that could hurt them or the people around them.  Charlie is the first to try to quit only to find out that when he does, terrible things happen and he has to come back, even as the game demands more and more from them.  Can they find a way to break free?

Danny Tobey writes about what he knows.  He is an expert on artificial intelligence and attended Harvard and both law and medical school.  He could easily have been one of the group that he writes about, a smart guy who is expected to do well at everything.  Artificial intelligence is the latest buzzword and we are in the stage where dire predictions are being made about its effect while most people don't recognize all the ways we are already using it.  The protagonist Charlie is one that most readers will pull for as he navigates what his life should be after he has lost the person most important to him.  This book is recommended for thriller and YA readers.