Review of Game Over by Taylor Keating

Game Over

Taylor Keating

Tor Publishing

405 pages

Taylor Keating is the pseudonym of Catherine Verge and Paula Fox and Game Over is the first in their new Paranormal Guardian Series, but it’s so much more that that and you will be cheating yourself if you don’t try it.

River Weston game designer and geek extraordinaire is in the final stage of creating her newest interactive game only she can’t defeat the evil Soul Man and win. Against her teams wishes she goes back to the lab to tweak it alone only she’s far from alone. In his prison provided by the Guardians The Dark Lord watches River and dangles just the right carrot to entice her farther into his trap and if his theory is right she’s just what he needs to escape. Guardian Chase Hawkins has volunteered for his soul to be separated from his body for an experiment only to find himself too close to the Dark Lord’s prison and being snared into it with him. River and Chase have only themselves to rely on to get them out, but can they both get out and if not who will sacrifice who.

In this era of new and exciting genres we have many readers who are genre jumpers, me included. I love dipping my toes in all the proverbial genres, but where have you seen an author who successfully jumps genres in one novel, well look no further because it’s right here in Game Over. You get the interplanetary techno action of Sci-Fi, the characters of fantasy and paranormal the heat of a romantic suspense and the downright great storyline of all of the above in one read. The author(s) give us a heart pounding, blood pressure rising, action packed plot with Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Paranormal thriller written all over it. They will delight their reading audience with animated and provocative dialogue as they take us through the levels of the game describing scenes and creatures, and they’re not afraid to throw out a few expletives when needed. The characters are all way above average and every one of them has their own essential place in the read. The hero Chase and heroine River are exceptional examples of thinking outside the box when it comes to dreaming up protagonists as these two are complex and confounding characters who are constantly challenged and still always rise above. The romance is heartbreakingly poignant while not being cheesy or one-dimensional. The love scenes are few as the author(s) obviously want to focus on more than sex, but the few there are, are sensual, earthy, visceral and edgy.

Believe me when I tell you that you cannot go wrong with this novel, it has all the bells and whistles that any fans of Science Fiction, Fantasy or Paranormal would want in one neat little package. And yet the best thing about this read is that it’s the first in a series, a series that will be first on my wish list. I can’t wait to find out what perils Chase and River will face in their next adventure. To the authors Ms. Verge and Ms. Fox you two have hit the nail on the head. Kudos to you for your exciting new series.