Definitely chalk this one up to misaligned expectations, which meant I didn't enjoy it and wasn't able to finish it.

I was intrigued by the concept, but quickly found myself weighed down by the relationship of father and son here. Dennis is a hot mess. His son is a pretty typical (in my experience both in life and in books) teenager with a less-than-stellar family life. As you'd expect, they butt heads and snarl around each other's edges, trying to figure out who they are and what they want - from life and each other.

In those respects, I thought the book did a fine job representing the characters and their lives. But what I expected from the blurb was a lot more action and science fiction elements - and that's where this one lost me.

As a tale of parent-child relationships and addiction, this was probably a fine read - but that's not a genre I normally pick up. I was expecting more of a Ready Player One or The God Game (or even Ender's Game) - more of an immersive what-is-real/lost-in-the-game type story, in which the father loses his way in his attempt to find an easy way out of the mess he's made from his life. What I found instead was basically the story of an addictive personality, losing everything to his addiction once again - and that's not a tale that I typically enjoy or seek out.

I could not get into this book and unfortunately did not finish it. I don’t think it had enough action or excitement.

A well written fantasy and scientific fiction story. A story about a man whose life is falling apart, and he decides that he needs to change it for his son. He enters a competition with his family. Soon they're winning and the glamor of winning becomes another addiction. This story is a fast-paced read and a short story. The author did well with a short period of time to tell the tale of Dennis and his family.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for this copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I find that it is somewhat of an interesting book. Though I don't think I would consider it a Sci fi book but it is a good book overall.

This is a story about a father trying to overcome some mistakes and bond with his son. He decides to sign them up for something like an endurance challenge but with a big online side to it. The story unfolds with interesting interactions, realistic situations (some predictable / some not) and a really great twist at the end. I kept finding myself trying to coach the dad to do this or don't do that! It's a quick, enjoyable read!

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with this book. When I think of science fiction, I think of speculative fiction in which future tech has an impact on society or a single person, time travel, futuristic tech, parallel universes, space exploration, artificial intelligence, cybernetics, and other advanced futuristic concepts. I don't think of an app that uses gamification to bring families closer together or to teach children values. This and much of the other technology that is mentioned in the book already exists or is currently being researched.

The plot of the book doesn't focus so much on the impact that the app has made on Dennis and his son, Orin, it seems more focused on Dennis' self-destruction than the app. The app didn't cause Dennis' problems, Dennis did that all on his own by essentially trading one addiction for another. The app could have literally been replaced with anything, such as real-life roleplaying or a video game tournament, and the outcome would be similar to the ending of the book.

As a contemporary fiction/contemporary drama book, my view of the book would be different. Orin and Dennis have decent histories and the dichotomy between the two is illustrated well. The dialog and interaction between father and son with their surroundings were well-articulated. It's easy to see when Dennis begins his spiral downwards and the effect that this has on Orin. Dennis' compulsion to win overrides the original purpose of entering the competition, which was to have fun. I found myself emotionally invested in the plot; sometimes I wanted Orin and Dennis to win, and there were other times when I hoped they'd lose so that Orin could get the love from his father that he was desperately seeking.

As a science fiction book, the premise fell flat. As a contemporary drama/contemporary fiction, I thought it was an enjoyable read.

This was a wonderfully done scifi novel, it had what I was looking for in this type of book. I enjoyed the use of the gaming competition as the scifi element. It was a interesting concept and I think it was well done. I enjoyed getting to know Dennis and his son. It was a great moral dilemma and when does trying to do good go bad. It was a great contrast in the storyline.

"If Dennis could take them out of the game, he would be eliminating the only thing standing between him, Orin, and the life they deserved. And didn’t Dennis and Orin deserve the win, and the prize, more? This was just another trophy on a shelf sagging beneath the weight of so many others for the Wilders. But for Dennis and Orin this really meant something. Surely, they deserved it more."