A judge who has lost faith in his government. An uneasy global political climate. A world on the brink of all-out war.
Jay Schiffman’s debut novel, Game of the Gods, has all the ingredients to be the action-packed, sci-fi political thriller for our times. Wrestling with huge, fascinating themes, the story pits religion against science, individual against country, and one man against a prediction that he will destroy the world.
In the Earth’s far future, Max Cone is the High Judge of the Federacy, one of the nations carved out of the post-apocalyptic wasteland that was once North America. A former war hero and current arbiter of Federacy citizenship, Max is renowned for, well, being a really good guy–honest, responsible, and strong of both body and morals. All of his best qualities are tested, however, when he is drawn into a global conflict in the most personal way possible: His family is kidnapped by foreign government, propelling him on a revenge tour that takes him through nations run by rogue military factions, independent cartels, and a mysterious pope-like figure who is not as holy as he seems.
If all of this sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. Maybe it’s the jam-packed narrative, maybe it’s the trap of the first novel; whatever it is, Schiffman’s high-flying ideas and intriguing premise fall utterly flat in the novel’s actual writing.
The novel is narrated from Max’s first-person point of view, a perspective whose weaknesses are on full display in Game of the Gods. Although a certain amount of straight explication is to be expected in a novel that imagines an unfamiliar, dystopian future, Schiffman is overly fond of the information dump. He doesn’t just fill in the holes between our reality and Max’s; he turns lines better left as dialogue or action into statements, and draws conclusions for the reader that are better left to subtext, such as “He’s in no rush. This entire conversation is hard for him.” In the middle of the book, there is a large time-skip in which a number of significant geopolitical and military events happen, but these are only explained through dialogue. And the novel’s twist is so obviously projected throughout the book that readers can see it coming from light-years away. These issues plague nearly every page of Game of the Gods, making for a particularly exhausting reading experience.
Perhaps worse, Schiffman liberally peppers his narrative with details that are tailor-made to deliver shock value–and little else. Among the author’s questionable choices are the sexualization of a thirteen-year-old girl, a ritualized group sexual encounter, and a nation whose founding myth is rooted in beastiality (yes, really). None of these narrative choices serve to advance the plot, provide characterization, or build Schiffman’s intriguing world. They’re not clever or funny. At best, they seem bizarre and out of place; at worst, they pull the reader out of what could have been an immersive story.
In short, Schiffman’s book reads like many first novels: uneven, meandering, and poorly edited. And like many first novels, Game of the Gods could have benefited heavily from another few drafts, or even from being scrapped and rewritten entirely.
Although the ending leaves the door wide open for a sequel, I can’t say I’m in any rush to find out more of Max Cone’s story. In fact, I recommend skipping Game of the Gods altogether.
A copy of this book was provided for review purposes.
