Almost done! More horror to continue the end of April.
Thank you Gallery Books for the gifted copy!
POLYBIUS – Collin Armstrong (Released April 29th, 2025)
Book Description:
Stranger Things meets The Walking Dead in this shivery novel based on a terrifying urban legend about a small seaside town descending into chaos when an unusual video game is unveiled at the local arcade.
Having recently moved to the gentrifying seaside town of Tasker Bay with her mother, the only thing on high schooler Andi’s mind is saving up enough money for her escape to Silicon Valley. Though it’s owned by the shadiest resident in town, she takes a job at the dingy arcade Home Video World.
Pining over Andi is Ro, the son of Tasker Bay’s sheriff. With his friend’s matchmaking help, he begins spending more time at the arcade and soon, Andi finds herself opening up to Ro. But when the store gets an unusual new game of unknown origin, the floor is suddenly overwhelmed with players fighting to get some time on the machine. Seemingly overnight, a virus-like epidemic sweeps through the town while a major coastal storm rolls in, further isolating them from the outside world. Time is of the essence as residents collectively experience anger, paranoia, hallucinations, and even catatonia. And when one heinous act of violence goes unsolved, the town descends into utter chaos. Realizing no one is coming to their rescue, Andi and Ro take matters into their own hands to get to the bottom of the spiraling madness…until it begins affecting them, too.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’ll read anything that has a good urban legend in it. Especially when it leads to those rabbit hole deep dives to see if it’s an actual urban legend. Man, this one will give you quite the deep dive!
Video games and horror, I love this combo. You can do some creative things with it, and being tied to an urban legend is even better. A small town arcade gets a new game, Polybius, and people are lined up waiting to play it and can’t seem to get enough of it. Little do they know, it’s actually a government experiment gone wrong to psychologically control those who played it.
This small town gets HOOKED, and the police are now having to deal with an unexplained spree of violent crimes. They couldn’t possibly be related to the game, could they?
This was a fun read. A great balance between plot driven and character driven. I’m ALWAYS skeptical of things being compared to big shows/movies/books – so when I see Stranger Things, I’m cautiously optimistic. In this case, I totally got the right vibes, so you won’t be let down! The writing had a great flow to it, and I was hooked. If you like 80’s vibes, arcades, conspiracies, and some violence, then this is the book for you!
Jessicamap Reviews 