His Own Devices by Douglas Wynne

​   Well, if anyone was to write a techno-thriller that a non-techno-thriller fan would enjoy, it had to be Wynne. I’ve long been a fan of the author and I appreciate his genre versatility, so I knew this would be fun or at least had a strong suspicion it might be.
    I read the prequel first, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect and sure enough, this book did not disappoint. Is it going to become my new author’s favorite above Devil’s Lake and Smoke And Dagger…no, but then again I really really love those books.
     This was good in its own right. A techno-thriller with a distinct Wynne twist to it i.e. occult. And how does he throw occult into a story about video games for kids and kid gamers? Well, expertly. And so, freaking cleverly. I absolutely loved the backstory on this one. Wished there was more of it. In a way, the prequel was almost more atmospheric due to its leanness, it was just purely sinister mad scientists/global domination/ancient evil sort of thing.
     At any rate, I’m not a gamer, the appeal of gaming and books about games (like the much-overrated Ready Player One) has up to now eluded me, it takes an author of Wynne’s talent to change my mind. I’ve always maintained that if a book is written well, genre shouldn’t matter. That’s very much the case here with this story of a precocious 10-year-old obsessed with a game and his idol, a 23-year-old gaming-Youtube-guru with a. terrifying agenda.
      Both of them had had their brains washed a few years back (as we find out in the prequel) and are now primed and prepped for all manner of sinister suggestibility.
      So, with that exciting plot and compelling realistic characters and awesome writing, you can’t really go wrong here. Techno-thriller fans should love this as is, but more importantly, readers who’d normally shy away from the genre, can enjoy this too. Recommended.