- Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (Jun 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345440234
- ISBN-13: 978-0345440235
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,387,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Cutting-edge science and the logic of game theory combine to form an utterly original, spellbinding novel of suspense.
"First rule of game theory: do whatever produces the optimal final outcome for you."
"I didn't know we were playing a game."
"But of course we are. . . ."
An expert in animal behavior with a brilliant analytical mind, charismatic Oxford professor James Fieldhead needs a willing subject to test a groundbreaking device that may offer the key to understanding human emotions. Encouraged by Cara, his seductive new girlfriend, Ben Ashurst agrees to participate in the study, honored to be part of the first crucial stage of life-changing research. With a luxury resort on a pristine beach in Kenya as the site of the experiment, and Cara along for the ride, it seems a perfect way to spend the winter holiday. Yet beneath the surface of a sunny paradise awaits something cold and ruthless.
As the experiment veers from abstract theory into terrifying reality, Ben finds there is no one he can confide in. Impetuous Cara is intimate one night, then distant the next, forcing Ben to wonder where her true allegiances lie.
Snared in a masterfully crafted labyrinth of cunning, in which each step can lead closer to a solution or deeper into chaos, Ben scrambles to learn why he was chosen for this project. Fieldhead's obsession with game theory suggests a possible course of action. But every time Ben thinks he has discovered the winning move, he finds another level of deception, another betrayal of his trust.
Moving from the sheltered colleges of Oxford to the magnificent landscape of Kenya, The Mind Game is full of intriguing characters and stunning plot twists. Just when you think you have mastered The Mind Game, you might just be mistaken . . . .
From the Hardcover edition.
"First rule of game theory: do whatever produces the optimal final outcome for you."
"I didn't know we were playing a game."
"But of course we are. . . ."
An expert in animal behavior with a brilliant analytical mind, charismatic Oxford professor James Fieldhead needs a willing subject to test a groundbreaking device that may offer the key to understanding human emotions. Encouraged by Cara, his seductive new girlfriend, Ben Ashurst agrees to participate in the study, honored to be part of the first crucial stage of life-changing research. With a luxury resort on a pristine beach in Kenya as the site of the experiment, and Cara along for the ride, it seems a perfect way to spend the winter holiday. Yet beneath the surface of a sunny paradise awaits something cold and ruthless.
As the experiment veers from abstract theory into terrifying reality, Ben finds there is no one he can confide in. Impetuous Cara is intimate one night, then distant the next, forcing Ben to wonder where her true allegiances lie.
Snared in a masterfully crafted labyrinth of cunning, in which each step can lead closer to a solution or deeper into chaos, Ben scrambles to learn why he was chosen for this project. Fieldhead's obsession with game theory suggests a possible course of action. But every time Ben thinks he has discovered the winning move, he finds another level of deception, another betrayal of his trust.
Moving from the sheltered colleges of Oxford to the magnificent landscape of Kenya, The Mind Game is full of intriguing characters and stunning plot twists. Just when you think you have mastered The Mind Game, you might just be mistaken . . . .
From the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hector Macdonald is an extremely intelligent individual, and this shows in his first novel "The Mind Game". The story begins with Ben, a postgraduate student at Oxford, and fond of living the proverbial highlife with a group of friends. He is studying under Dr. Fieldgood - the premium reseacher one could hope for - young, dynamic, and amazingly intelligent, Dr. Fieldgood is the man women love, and men would love to be, Ben being no exception.
As the plot develops, Fieldgood offers the young postgraduate the chance of a lifetime - a chance to be involved at the heart of a pioneering emotions project. Measuring emotions is possible, and with the technology Fieldgood has been shown along with his own ideas, Ben feels compelled to take up the project.
One of the main reasons for this is Cara - the beautiful, infectious and intelligent girl that Ben has recently met, and fallen for. All men fall for Cara, but Cara has apparently fallen for Ben also. Two weeks in Kenyan paradise with the perefect girl, and getting paid a few thousand pounds for the pleasure - things are going well.
The tide then turns for Ben and he finds himself caught in a web of entrapment, intrigue, double-crossings and questions of trust. A near death experience, sexual encounters, friendly strangers, multi-national companies, computer passwords and a whole host of meetings and trickery make for a fantastic read.
This novel encorporates game thoery (that branch of mathematics, economics and biology that fortunately takes the interesting sections of all these genres and places them in a bowl of their own), modern psychology, and neuroscience (don't fret, Macdonald has made this book infinitely readable for the average layperson without losing any, or at least much, of the detail necessary to make it a believable sequence of events.
Macdonald manages to trick his hero, and his readers at several stages of the tale into believing something that they really shouldn't, but he does it in a way that is totally honest. Reading this book a second time and one feels ashamed at how easily Macdonald tricks us. Not only is this a fantastic novel in its own right, it elucidates certain ideas which are relevant to society itself.
Questions of emotions blinding logic, whom to trust , and the inability for rational thought when all around you seems to be failing are all areas which one can certainly relate to. Drawing his final conclusions from a variety of disciplines, Macdonald has that intoxicating style that draws us deeper and deeper into his world. Crosses and double crosses until the final chapter, page, and even line of this book.
Definitely recommended. ****
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I avidly read novels. I enjoy discovering new authors.Mind Game is a great read. Every chapter ends demanding you read on. It's very hard not too! If you want to try a new author I'm sure Hector McDonald is the man for you. With his interesting free flowing style, I'm sure he will delight U as much as he has me.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Fabulous
28 Feb 2001
Format:Hardcover
MacDonald may be one of the best storytellers I've ever read, especially for a first time novelist. Tightly blending story, science and game theory "The Mind Game" is a masterfully plotted piece that moves along so fast you feel like you're being dragged, but not so fast that you feel you're being left behind and lost. The intricacies of Ben's efforts to untangle the layers of deceit that are woven around him are stimulating and in a word, fabulous.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Smart and Speedy
20 Mar 2001
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A new door for fans of intrigue has been deftly and intelligently opened. Game theory (as exemplified by the well-known Prisoners Dilemma) as a backdrop for a novel is unique and refreshing. And MacDonald is a great writer. His choice of writing the book in first person, rather unusual for a thriller, was a good one because readers can really get into the main character's head as the mind games unfold and explode. The settings are fun - delightfully sunny African beaches and dusty stoic Oxford brick. Fast-paced and memorable.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Exciting new writer
24 April 2001
Format:Hardcover
The Mind Game is a psychological thriller that exercises the readers powers of deduction within the framework of Game Theory. Taken together with the utterly believable characters and beautiful locations, this creates an exciting and intelligent page-turner. MacDonald's writing brings every page to life and makes the book an absorbing journey into the murkier side of scientific research. A thoroughly recommendable read. I am already looking forward to MacDonald's next book!
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