It’s only then that he starts to ask the important questions – why does Erebos make people do things outside of the game? What is the purpose of all those strange, restrictive rules? And who is benefitting from it?

But the instructions get increasingly demanding, and eventually Nick fails to comply and is banished. Like all those who started playing before him, Nick finds the game highly addictive, so when the Erebos starts giving him instructions to do things in the real world – like picking up a package in one location and dropping it off in another – he complies just to keep playing. The strangest rule of all, is that players only have one chance to play – if they die or break any of the rules, it’s over and they cannot play again. Never mention the name of your character outside the game.” Never speak about the content of the game to other players or post information on the internet. “Never mention your real name in the game. When he finally gets his hands on a copy he finds that it’s an amazingly realistic multi-player online fantasy role-playing game called Erebos. Those who have it refuse to talk about it, and Nick – a popular jock – can’t understand why he’s being left out. It’s all got something to do with a DVD that’s being passed among the students. They’re all being very secretive about their behaviour, including Nick’s friend Colin who shuns Nick but is seen sucking up to two boys who are so uncool Nick calls them “The Freaks”.

His basketball teammates keep missing practice and a lot of students are staying home sick or look like they’ve been up all night. Nick Dunmore’s classmates are acting strangely. (Mar.Published: First published 07 January 2010 by Loewe in German. The result is a prescient page-turner and a provocative, believable portrayal of the seductive world of virtual gaming. As the narrative moves fluidly between the real world and the game, Poznanski plays with expectations and perception, incorporating SF, mystery, and ghost story elements, along with solid characterizations. When he and several other players investigate who or what is behind Erebos, they unravel a surprisingly personal vendetta at the heart of the game, driving players toward its ultimate, violent purpose. However, he's forced to question his dedication after the game starts to exert its influence on the real world, asking him to perform 'missions' with potentially hazardous consequences. When Nick Dunmore begins playing, he's quickly sucked in, learning the bizarre rules and advancing rapidly. It insists on absolute secrecy and discretion from its players, rewards and punishes in strange ways, and recruits through word-of-mouth.

Called Erebos, it's deceptively immersive, insidiously addictive, and so complex that it might even be alive. In London, a new computer game is making the rounds. The lines between reality and fantasy blur in this stunning thriller, originally published in Germany.

Poznanski erebos