Extinction Game / Gary Gibson

Extinction Game
(One of ???)
by Gary Gibson

science fiction

copyright 2014
read in June 2016

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Quite a good book. Spoilt by a pathetic ending.

End of the world. Sole survivor. So far, so standard. Sole survivor brought to a parallel Earth -- good. To join a team of other survivvors -- from other parallel worlds -- to explore yet more parallel Earths.

Interesting.

So there's a whole series of parallel worlds to explore. Each with its own method of destroying itself. Naturally enough, there's also conflict within and around the team of explorers. All very good: action, adventure, romance, science fiction.

Till the hero is rescued by deus ex machina. And another layer of conspiracy is revealed -- but not explored. The good guys win the battle -- only to find that there are mysterious behind-the-scenes powers yet to be explored and explained.

Yet to be explained? Good grief... I can see the slow reveal being dragged out over numerous books. I wonder if the author even knows where these books are going?

And finally... the worst is yet to come:

The team of explorers is decimated. So what do they do? Pop back to yet more parallel worlds, to replace each missing team member. To replace them with almost-exactly-the-same people from almost-exactly the same worlds.

So team members can come and go. Yet the next book will start off with the same team, member for member. It's a pity that the team members are not particularly worth saving. I'd be happy to see a new team at the start of the next book. Although... they are mostly so unmemorable... so stock-standard stereotypical... that perhaps I would not even notice.

Of course there's still the standard problem with parallel worlds: The hero saves the day. Which causes the world to split into two more parallel worlds. One in which the hero saves the day. And one in which he doesn't. So... why bother.

It's an entertaining book. The various worlds are interesting, though very lightly sketched. The action rolls along, the romance is just a bit ridiculous.

As an average, readable book, there is only one fault: it is too clearly intended to be a series. With the good guys preserved, so the reader does not have to think too hard, when the next book is read.

"To be continued" is more important than the plot of the book itself.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"Talk is cheap, because supply exceeds demand." … per Ginger Meggs