The Scary Reviews

Genre: Dystopian
Length: 249 Pages
Publisher: Severn House Digital
Release date: February 1, 2019
Synopsis: A game for the times we live – and die – in. Enter Psychotopia, a dark new dystopian novel from the author of the acclaimed Silas Quinn mysteries.

PSYCHOTOPIA, LEVEL ONE. Create your own boutique psychopath, then deceive, manipulate and be ruthless, spreading mayhem and destruction to reach the next levels.

It’s the computer game for our times. After all, the amount of crazy in the world is increasing. Senseless violence on the streets is becoming the norm. Can Dr Arbus’s ground-breaking device identify and neutralize psychopaths before it’s too late?

In this increasingly dysfunctional world, surely Callum standing by Aimee after her devastating encounter with Charlie is proof that real love and goodness can still win in a world that’s increasingly rotten . . .

Or can it?

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review

If there was a test would you take it to determine which you are, psychopath (p) or non-psychopath (np), would you take it? This is at the heart of Psychotopia.I really enjoyed the Minority Report feel the writer gave to the book, a bit scary and totally believable. The creation of the game is just part of the story. I found the idea of a virtual reality game where the character is a psychopath interesting, and I’m surprised it doesn’t exist already. Does life influence the games we create or is it the other way around?

The story takes a bit to get going, but after you settle in it’s an interesting and an intriguing story. There are some portions of the story that were slow moving or overly described, but the dialog between the characters regarding psychopathology was well done. There are many story lines that all converge as we follow a detective, several victims, a test creator, and the game developer. The plot was filled with smart and cleaver discussions and points of view as to what makes a psychopath. Can you tell if someone is a (p), and can you prevent a person from becoming one, and most importantly can you ‘fix’ someone who is a (p).

Link to purchase Psychotopia

R.N. Morris, biography

2018. N. Morris is the author of ten novels. The latest is PSYCHOTOPIA, published 31 October, 2018.

A Gentle Axe, was published by Faber and Faber in 2007. Set in St Petersburg in the nineteenth century, it features Porfiry Petrovich, the investigating magistrate from Dostoevsky’s great novel, Crime and Punishment. The book was published in many countries, including Russia. He followed that up with A Vengeful Longing, which was shortlisted for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award (as the CWA Gold Dagger was briefly known). A Razor Wrapped in Silk came next, followed by The Cleansing Flames, which was nominated for the Ellis Peters Historical Novel Dagger.

The Silas Quinn series of novels, set in London in 1914, began with Summon Up The Blood, followed by The Mannequin House, The Dark Palace and The Red Hand of Fury. The next novel in the series, The White Feather Killer, will be published in April 2019.

Taking Comfort is a standalone contemporary novel, written as Roger Morris.

He also wrote the libretto to the opera When The Flame Dies, composed by Ed Hughes.

Social Media Links – Twitter – Facebook – Author site