From archive (archive)
Subject: The_God_Game by Andrew M. Greeley (mild spoiler)
From: wyzansky@NADC
Date: 26 Jun 86 04:50:36 GMT




     A couple of weeks ago, I took Andrew Greeley's new book, _The_God_Game_,
out of the library expecting it to be like his other books (Mea Culpa, I
sometimes read mainstream best seller trash.) and I was surprised to
find it including some SF and Fantasy themes.  The story is about an
Irish Catholic priest (the narrator) who is trying out an interactive
computer adventure game with graphics (sort of _King's_Quest_ squared)
on his Compaq 286 when his setup is hit by lightning and he is suddenly
observing and interacting with a parallel world where the characters in
the game are living people and he can influence events through his
computer and the game, giving him God-like powers in that world.  The
story follows him playing out the game and includes some "Psychic Slopover"
between the universes.
  
     All in all, not bad.  I have read better treatments of parallel
worlds, and of the temptations of power, but he puts them together 
nicely.  Because of Greeley's past works, the book is not classified
as SF, but I suspect it would have been if it had been a first novel.
  
     I would give it about 2 stars.  I wouldn't buy the hardcover, but if
you see it in the library or want to wait for the paperback, it is worth
a look.
  
Harold Wyzansky  (wyzansky@nadc.arpa)


From archive (archive)
Subject: GOD GAME by Andrew M. Greeley
From: ecl@mtgzy.UUCP (Evelyn C. Leeper)
Organization: AT&T, Middletown NJ
Date: 28 Jul 87 15:44:41 GMT




			GOD GAME by Andrew M. Greeley
		Tor, 1987 (1986c), ISBN 0-812-58336-1, $4.50.
		      A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
		       Copyright 1987 Evelyn C. Leeper

     Like Atwood's HANDMAID'S TALE and Appel's TIME AFTER TIME, GOD GAME is
another science fiction novel written by a "mainstream" author.  In this
case, the author is a mystery author who is also a priest, and my
understanding is that his previous novels have been set in the Church.  In
this novel, his main character is a priest, so he retains that connection
with his past.  But this is not a mystery; it is entirely science fiction,
and in some ways, a fantasy.

     The "God Game" of the title is a role-playing game called "Duke and
Duchess" that the narrator's friend Nathan has designed and given to the
narrator to play-test.  While he is testing it, a bolt of lightning hits his
satellite dish.  It apparently doesn't damage either the television or the
computer attached to it (no, this isn't the fantasy aspect, though anyone
who's had a similar occurrence happen knows this is *extremely* unlikely),
but suddenly the animated blips on the screen turn into a "real" movie.  The
game is still running, but differently than before, and the narrator begins
to realize that something has gone wrong.  He gradually comes to understand
that the lightning has opened a portal into another universe--there's some
scientific hand-waving to explain this--and that he is God in that universe.

     This novel has been likened to FRANKENSTEIN, but that is inaccurate.
The narrator has not created anyone; he has inherited all his characters.
He spends most of the novel trying to reconcile his position as the supreme
being of that universe with his beliefs as a priest in God.  The writing is
straightforward.  Greeley does not rely on style to tell his story.  He
relies on plot.  In this case, he relies on two plots: the main plot of the
narrator who finds that he is God, and the internal plot of the events in
the other universe, a fantasy kingdom with dukes, duchesses, witches,
sprites, and all the concomitant trappings.  The inter-weaving of the two
keeps the book moving along.  This means that the philosophical monologues
of the narrator, which you would think might slow the book down, are kept to
a shorter length than if Greeley had only one plot to deal with.  The
resolution is perhaps not entirely satisfactory, but that may be the point.

     Greeley has achieved such success with this that his next (and most
recent) novel is even more definitely science fiction.  I am curious to see
if he continues using his religious background to give us novels of the sort
that C. S. Lewis and James Blish used to write.

     [Note: There is *no* "The" in the title.]

					Evelyn C. Leeper
					(201) 957-2070
				UUCP:	ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl
				ARPA:	mtgzy!ecl@rutgers.rutgers.edu