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Original Essays | April 29, 2013
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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsThe Gamesby Ted Kosmatka
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Jurassic Park meets The Hunger Games in this stunning new high-energy, high-concept tale from first-time novelist Ted Kosmatka, a Nebula Award and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Set in an amoral future where genetically engineered monstrosities fight each other to the death in an Olympic event, The Games envisions a harrowing world that may arrive sooner than you think.
Silas Williams is the brilliant geneticist in charge of preparing the U.S. entry into the Olympic Gladiator competition, an internationally sanctioned bloodsport with only one rule: no human DNA is permitted in the design of the entrants. Silas lives and breathes genetics; his designs have led the United States to the gold in every previous event. But the other countries are catching up. Now, desperate for an edge in the upcoming Games, Silas’s boss engages an experimental supercomputer to design the genetic code for a gladiator that cannot be beaten.
The result is a highly specialized killing machine, its genome never before seen on earth. Not even Silas, with all his genius and experience, can understand the horror he had a hand in making. And no one, he fears, can anticipate the consequences of entrusting the act of creation to a computer’s cold logic.
Now Silas races to understand what the computer has wrought, aided by a beautiful xenobiologist, Vidonia João. Yet as the fast-growing gladiator demonstrates preternatural strength, speed, and—most disquietingly—intelligence, Silas and Vidonia find their scientific curiosity giving way to a most unexpected emotion: sheer terror. Praise for The Games
“Blends the best of Crichton and Koontz.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Outstanding . . . very like something Michael Crichton might have written . . . [a] bold mix of horror and SF . . . Expect big things from [Ted] Kosmatka.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Kosmatka successfully captures the thrill of groundbreaking technology. . . . The pleasure of his polished, action-packed storytelling is deepened by strong character development. This near-future SF thriller . . . seems destined for the big screen.”—Library Journal (starred review) Review:"In this tense debut, Kosmatka embraces scientific horror, envisioning a future in which genetic engineering is used to create terrible crossbreeds. These creatures are pitted against each other as gladiators in the Olympic Games, with fortunes and careers riding on each battle. While most competitors resemble their natural 'parents,' America's latest creation is unique, designed by an ultra-advanced AI that was given one simple operating directive: survive the competition. As the nameless gladiator grows to maturity, it demonstrates feral cunning and intelligence, a taste for human flesh, and a murderous agenda. Now Silas Williams, the head of the U.S. gladiatorial program, and Vidonia João, a brilliant xenobiologist, must unravel the monster's genetic secrets before things get out of hand. Exacting science and meticulous attention to detail provide the backbone for this thriller, which blends the best of Crichton and Koontz. Agent: Seth Fishman, Sterling Lord Literistic (now at the Gernert Company)." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Synopsis:This stunning first novel from Nebula Award and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist Ted Kosmatka is a riveting tale of science cut loose from ethics. Set in an amoral future where genetically engineered monstrosities fight each other to the death in an Olympic event, The Games envisions a harrowing world that may arrive sooner than you think.
Silas Williams is the brilliant geneticist in charge of preparing the U.S. entry into the Olympic Gladiator competition, an internationally sanctioned bloodsport with only one rule: no human DNA is permitted in the design of the entrants. Silas lives and breathes genetics; his designs have led the United States to the gold in every previous event. But the other countries are catching up. Now, desperate for an edge in the upcoming Games, Silas’s boss engages an experimental supercomputer to design the genetic code for a gladiator that cannot be beaten.
The result is a highly specialized killing machine, its genome never before seen on earth. Not even Silas, with all his genius and experience, can understand the horror he had a hand in making. And no one, he fears, can anticipate the consequences of entrusting the act of creation to a computer’s cold logic.
Now Silas races to understand what the computer has wrought, aided by a beautiful xenobiologist, Vidonia João. Yet as the fast-growing gladiator demonstrates preternatural strength, speed, and—most disquietingly—intelligence, Silas and Vidonia find their scientific curiosity giving way to a most unexpected emotion: sheer terror. About the AuthorTed Kosmatka was born in Valparaiso Indiana in 1973 and attended Indiana University where he studied biology. For most of the new millennium he’s been employed by various laboratories in the steel industry, but he now writes for a living. Although his job has changed several times over the years, the need to write never has.
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