Game Night meets Black Mirror in this speculative thriller about a man who must save his family from a VR game he helped create after it becomes infected with malware. Perfect for fans of John Marrs, Sarah Moorhead and Eve Smith.
Hal Ashton has spent years developing the most anticipated video game of all time. In TAP - Total Altered Perception - players can live out their fantasies in a fully immersive virtual reality simulation. With the deadline only weeks away, it's the last chance to save his career. But the game still isn't perfect.
He's been warned against amending the source code, yet it's the only way he can achieve total immersion, where players won't realise they're in a game at all. He just needs to conduct a final test off the books, and for that he needs willing volunteers: his family.
As Hal's frustrated wife Scarlett, awkward son Grayson and golden girl Olivia enter TAP, sinister glitches appear, twisting their dreams into living nightmares from which they cannot escape. Hal realises the only way to rescue them is to enter their games as another player. Can any of them find their way back to reality - and will they want to?
Mind Game explores the dangers of technology, the dividing line between reality and fantasy - and how far you would go to save your family.
| ISBN: | 9781785124051 |
| Publication date: | 9th July 2026 |
| Author: | David Arlo, Andrew Ewart |
| Publisher: | Zaffre an imprint of Bonnier Books UK |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 304 pages |
| Genres: |
Thriller and Suspense Technothriller Speculative fiction |
Game Night meets Black Mirror in this speculative thriller about a man who must save his family from a VR game he helped create after it becomes infected with malware. Perfect for fans of John Marrs, Sarah Moorhead and Eve Smith.
Hal Ashton has spent years developing the most anticipated video game of all time. In TAP - Total Altered Perception - players can live out their fantasies in a fully immersive virtual reality simulation. With the deadline only weeks away, it's the last chance to save his career. But the game still isn't perfect.
He's been warned against amending the source code, yet it's the only way he can achieve total immersion, where players won't realise they're in a game at all. He just needs to conduct a final test off the books, and for that he needs willing volunteers: his family.
As Hal's frustrated wife Scarlett, awkward son Grayson and golden girl Olivia enter TAP, sinister glitches appear, twisting their dreams into living nightmares from which they cannot escape. Hal realises the only way to rescue them is to enter their games as another player. Can any of them find their way back to reality - and will they want to?
Mind Game explores the dangers of technology, the dividing line between reality and fantasy - and how far you would go to save your family.
Mind Game features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, Technothriller, Speculative fiction
Mind Game is available in Paperback
Mind Game was written by David Arlo, Andrew Ewart and published by Zaffre an imprint of Bonnier Books UK
Mind Game has 304 pages
£8.99