Invitation to the Game

A stunning post-Holocaut fantasy in which a group of friends - of whom Lissa is the narrator - attempt to survive in a society which needs neither their skills nor their aspirations. They rally determinedly behind their talents and inventiveness and are rewarded for their efforts with an invitation to what appears to be an escapist, hypnotically-induced Game. They survive the challenges and then comes the ultimate test - transportation to a planet in another galaxy to build a new civilisation. The shock of this discovery is countered by their tenacity and community-based ideals and the result is a new beginning. A fine piece of writing and, in these days of recession and disillusionment, a beguiling metaphor.