Bubble by Anders de la Motte

Published in Sweden in 2012; published in translation by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on February 4, 2014

"We create our own realities," Tage tells Rebecca, "small spheres where we imagine we control what happens." Living inside a bubble has been an ongoing theme of the Game trilogy. The final novel makes the point explicitly: "In actual fact the feeling of control is just an illusion, and those spheres are nothing more than bubbles." But all bubbles eventually burst, along with the illusions they contain.

Having escaped it for a time in Buzz, HP is back in the Game. As you would expect in the last novel of a thriller/conspiracy trilogy, the purpose of the Game is finally revealed. The reveal is not shocking or even particularly surprising, but it is more plausible than most conspiracies in thriller fiction. Of course, some of the characters the reader meets in the first two novels play different roles than they first appeared to play, but -- like the conspiracy -- those revelations won't cause most readers to gasp with surprise.

The novels turn out to have a serious point, which has something to do with how easily governments can be persuaded to act against the interests of individuals and in favor of corporate interests when paid noisemakers make disturbing noises about national security and terrorist threats. It's a familiar point but Bubble gives it an interesting twist involving cybersecurity. On a level that's probably more fun, the novels are about how easily individuals can be manipulated, particularly insecure individuals who crave attention and fame, or at least acceptance.

Viewing the trilogy as a whole (and I think that's necessary because neither of the final two work well as a stand-alone), while there is nothing outstanding about the plot or Anders de la Motte's writing style, the story is entertaining, it moves quickly, the action scenes are plausible, and the novels include enough humor to make clear that we're not supposed to take the global conspiracy theme too seriously. That's a plus, since most conspiracy thrillers have become so over-the-top that they are unintentionally comedic. The characters -- particularly HP and to a lesser extent his sister -- are sympathetic and HP experiences some redemptive emotional growth as the novels progress. All of that was enough to make me feel that the novels were worth reading.

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Buzz by Anders de la Motte

Published in Sweden in 2011; published in translation by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on January 7, 2014

After the excitement of Game, HP is restless. He has money and nothing but leisure time, but he begins the second novel of the Game trilogy in hiding, certain that the people who control the Game are after him. When he finds himself suspected of murder in a rather inhospitable country, the reader wonders whether this is part of the Vast Global Conspiracy that revealed itself in the first novel. To get himself into this mess, HP has behaved stupidly, but that's the story of his life. His sister, meanwhile, is searching for the blogger who is ruining her career.

HP's story eventually goes in a different direction as HP finds a job as an internet troll. Anders de la Motte has some interesting thoughts on the impossible task of controlling the internet. One small measure of control is exerted by professional trolls who are paid to leave encouraging or disparaging comments on social networking sites and blogs, praising a client's products and disparaging a client's detractors, writing posts that are fronted by actual (or created) bloggers. If they can't control the internet, they can at least influence trends and "steer the buzz in a direction that suits our clients." Carried to an extreme (as thrillers tend to do), the manipulation of internet content is a way to make the truth disappear. Of course, you don't need to carry the concept to an extreme to appreciate how much of this is going on in the real world.

Unlike many middle novels of a trilogy that seem like filler between two novels that tell most of the story, Buzz advances the overall plot, although not by much. While the first half of Buzz does seem like filler, it eventually tells a self-contained story that readers who have not read Game could enjoy. There is less character development in Buzz than in Game, but the story is smarter and more original than the story told in the first novel. If left me looking forward to the final novel.

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Game by Anders de la Motte

Published in Sweden in 2010; published in translation by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on December 3, 2013

The concept of using a game to manipulate human behavior isn't new, but Game creates a more carefully-conceived purpose for the game than is common in thrillers that make use of that theme. Mix that with another well-used theme (global conspiracy) and you have a novel that entertains if you're prepared to abandon all reason and enjoy the action. By that measure, Game works reasonably well.

Henrik Pettersson (known to his few friends as HP) is over thirty but still a kid. When finds a cellphone that asks him if he wants to play a game, he agrees. There's money in it and even a modest measure of fame. Besides, HP is a sociopath who enjoys causing mayhem and that's what the game is about. As the reader would expect, the tasks he is assigned to perform escalate from pranks to serious crime and HP soon finds that treating life as a game has consequences, particularly when you're only a pawn.

The novel's other primary character, Rebecca Normén, is glad that her ex is dead, but she isn't happy that her little brother was convicted of causing the death for which she holds herself accountable. Ironically, Rebecca joined the Police Academy shortly after her ex died. Now she's with the Sweden's Security Police, assigned to guard political officials. Her life quickly and repeatedly intersects with the game that HP is playing.

HP compares his situation to the plots of a couple of conspiracy movies as well as Mission Impossible. He also recalls the famous airplane scene in North by Northwest when an airplane chases him. I think those references are Anders de la Motte's way of reminding us not to take the story too seriously. It's meant to be a fun diversion and on that level, it succeeds. HP is an anti-social jerk but he has just enough of a conscience to earn the reader's grudging sympathy. In a predictable but satisfying way, he becomes more likable as the novel progresses. I like the idea of making the central character a sociopath even if (to assure that the reader cheers for him) he's a sociopath who develops empathy. Rebecca is likable from the start, and the cause of her remorse -- the role she actually played in her ex's death -- gives the reader something to ponder until the unsurprising truth is finally revealed.

Nothing about Game takes it into the top tier of thrillers -- the prose is ordinary, the plot is a retread, the characters are familiar -- but the story moves quickly, maintains interest, and entertains. Game isn't a book I would read twice, but it made me look forward to the next installment in the trilogy.

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