Opening Moves

Cosimo Yap adds two things in one novel here, there is a talk about alien invasion and then the story shifts towards the virtual reality game. In the opening chapters the earth is attacked by an alien race which like always is quite advanced and it comes down on the planet intending to take over. Not only the alien race starts dominating the human beings but it also brings with it advanced technology which the humans can also use if they finally decide to work under the control of their new rulers.

None can start a war now because the aliens have come with a mighty force of the peacekeepers. These peacekeeper robots keep everything in order and don’t allow anyone to stand against anything. So instead of thinking about riots or anything like that the humans have adjusted with the newness.

Then there are some like Alan who have lost interest in their studies. Studying for a degree was his passion but now it is not the case because there is no future for him that way. Also his mind is obsessed with the passion of playing the virtual reality game which is launched by the invaders. Soon Alan gets the chance to enter in that game world but then he realizes that nothing is what it seemed from the outside.

The game is not only tricky but it is also dangerous enough to get you killed. Earth’s Gambit and Sacrificial Pieces were one dimensional things and this story is a multilayered or multidimensional thing. Nick Podehl has narrated dozens of fictional books before this one but this is the one of the best among the rest that he has ever narrated.