Review: The Lazarus Game

About the book:
An amazing new video game has the power to resurrect the brightest minds of the past and see what they’d create in the modern world. There’s just one catch—it requires another person’s soul. Carter Chance, who is a teenage genius, must find a way to stop his generation from exchanging their souls for a computer-generated fantasy. This action-packed thriller delves into the enticement and dangers of virtual reality.
 
About the author:
Stephen J. Valentine received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Utah State University. He is Senior Program Manager for FamilySearch International, responsible for the online publication of billions of historical records. Stephen loves history, hiking, cooking, reading, and traveling, especially to Disneyland. Stephen resides in Utah with his beautiful wife, talented children, brilliant Schnauzer, and massive J.R.R. Tolkien collection.

FROM REIDHEAD RANDOMNESS:
(Guest post from my hubby!!!)

What would you do if you were the smartest person in the world and only a teenager?  Your parents have been divorced, and you have trouble understanding human relationships.  You'd probably be pretty cynical.  Enter our main character/hero: Carter.  He sees everyone as a means to an end, except that is, his girlfriend (or at least the girl that he would like to be his girlfriend).  Put that into the context of a computer game that has come to town that seems to have the power to grant everyone's fantasy life and you have the makings of a great story.

I liked the premise of this story and the thought of what you could do if you could harness the combined genius of  the world.   I was frustrated by the attitude of Carter toward his family and friends and the outright contempt he showed for anyone not as smart as himself.  I was hoping to see more change and character development of Carter through the book.  I would recommend this for older teens or adults who would not be negatively influenced by Carter's attitude.  Overall, I enjoyed the read and the twists and turns and surprises. 


I received a free copy of this book to review, however all opinions expressed are my own.