The Never Game

I primarily picked up The Never Game because I found the television series Tracker to be an interesting take on a procedural. What I found is that the TV series, despite being inspired by the first book in Deaver's Colter Shaw series, is very different from the novel. That is not a bad thing. It becomes very apparent very quickly that when the same characters exist in different mediums that their stories branch in different directions. I very much enjoyed the fish-out-of-water feel for Colter in this novel. He is an expert tracker who has worked as a rewardist, tracking down missing people, for a decade, but he has no familiarity with the world of video games. Thrusting him into a job in which video games play a major role puts him out of his depth and makes it a lot easier to believe that he and the people he's searching for are in real danger instead of just accepting that the hero is going to win. The novel also lays a great foundation for the future of the series by teasing upcoming characters and family backstory. Where its fault lies is in the overuse of exposition. While I know The Never Game is likely aimed at an audience who is as unfamiliar with Twitch streamers and gaming conventions as Colter Shaw is, the lengthy exposition for various video games, their concepts, and how people make a living streaming their game play, took me right out of the story. There has to be a better balance between that exposition and allowing Colter to dive into that new world for the sake of the mystery. Note: This review is crossposted to StoryGraph.

Easy read good plot line

I read all the Lincoln Rhymes books and am thrilled that Mr Deaver has introduced another great series character. A great read with a real and interesting hero.

These stories are so exciting and interesting. I see very well why it is a tv series.

I have never read any of Jeffery Deaver’s books till now! If an author writes more than one series, this leads to the unfortunate scenario of overlooking the other books written. I read this book in two days. The characters are really different than anything I have read. The reading of this book moves quickly throughout the story. I didn’t find a dull moment or a Rambo hero. That was a welcome surprise! The characters were very believable. Great story/series!

Good read

I started off slow, getting a feeling for the newly introduced Shaw, then as I got a feel for him and his motives, picked up the pace. His back story is interesting and compelling and the case at hand worth diving into. Overall I enjoyed it and have already purchased book two and will likely buy book 3 when it comes out in May.

Wish I could give this book a 10!

So glad you wrote this. Can’t wait for the next one!

Fix this book!