Book Review - The Playground by C S Boyack

The hottest toys of the Christmas Season are the Playground Network dolls. They contain a worldwide social network for children. Except, the network is controlled by a ruthless businessman with dreams of power.

To reach his goals he turns to the occult. Will our children make up his personal army? Could we have an enemy soldier in every home?

Gina Greybill is a cancer survivor who stumbles into her own brush with the paranormal. She wants nothing to do with it, but may be the only one who can bring down the Playground Network. To do it she'll have to embrace her new situation, and recover the next generation of Playground software.

There is competition for the software in the form of a brutal thug named Clovis. He's bigger, more ruthless, and more experienced. To top it all off, he has a head start.

The Playground is suitable for more mature readers, due to violence and mature themes.

 Buy  link: Amazon
My Review

C S Boyack is a master wordsmith, and I truly can't recommend his novel, The Playground, enough. I loved the story line and action.

The writing is tight and with shocking story turns. And whether you're a Stephen King zealot or a John Saul fan, The Playground will leave you wanting more. In the words of the writers, "once the book hooks are in, you will never shake them off. It's killer, big time. One of the best dark fantasy books I've read ! Clings onto you from page one and will have you picking up your jaw off the ground at the end. It’s fast paced and beautifully written, with gritty regard for details. If you're looking for a fantasy novel, look no further.

As about the characters, well, they almost leap off the page: Tommy Fazio, the ruthless businessman who turns to the occult to make his dreams of power- of owning the country- come true; Chloe Chaffin who wants  a Fat Panda for her Christmas present, to help her get more friends, and falls easy prey to the Playground Network ( reading this it brought facebook network to my mind); Clovis  a complex villain you  don’t want to cross path with. Special mention goes to the female doctor Gina who has an important role in the evolution of the story.

This author really knows how to write dark, gritty action... relentless and moving... I highly recommend The Playground, a crossover genre story that will appeal to readers of multiple genres.