Psychotopia

Psychotopia will mess with your mind….

Alpha Games are creating a VR game, where you create your own Psychopath with varying degrees of disorders….you choose!..

Serial killers get more points for more kills, the longer a psychopath remains undetected the better for the gamer……

But, the real world is struggling with a rise in violence, this is becoming the norm……adults and children alike are the perpetrators and victims.

Everyone’s lives are linked to their MindPhone, MindNet and MindMessages….(sound familiar?)

The cops are struggling, the hospitals are grim, to say the least……society is breaking down and the psychopath’s are starting to outnumber the non-psychopaths…..a new disorder is identified…the PGD….Psychopath Generated Disorder.

The story is told from several angles, the cop, Inspector Parfitt…an unlikeable jerk…..Aimee, who had been used and cast off by Charlie…..her friend Callum comes to her rescue….and Charlie\Oliver a creepy, nasty, psychopath. It’s chapters are separated by memos from Alpha Games about their game development…(the spiders ….urgh).

It plays on our fears of violent video games and the worrying suspicions that those who run our countries are potential psychopaths.

Then Dr Argus arrives, with his machine to identify Psychopaths in seconds, his plan is to test all children, sterilise them and end the cycle……but is that all?

This is a horrifying, disturbing and yet absolutely fascinating tale that makes you wonder….is this possible? Is it happening now?????…..Just watch the News, the everyday violence, it makes Psychotopia a very scary read. Brilliant, thought provoking and terrifying writing by R N Morris.

P or NP ?………now there’s a question…….

Thank you to The author, publishers and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. This is my honest and unbiased review.

After reading the blurb, I thought I knew what the book was about. I presumed it was about a VR game, how wrong I was.
Set in a dystopian Britain, where it was predicted that psychopaths were soon to be the majority. This book tells the stories of 3 characters that are affected living in this world. Inspector Glen Parfett is an overworked Police Officer. His job was to bring in psychopaths, who he can spot just by looking at them. Working on the National Taskforce, he has his most difficult case when a young girl is charged with murder. Aimee, is a trainee architect, quite a quiet girl, but a serious mistake one weekend changes her life forever. Oscar Winslett is the Head of Game Development at Alpha Games, he is in the process of designing a new VR game called Psychotopia. A narcissist and a psychopath, a pretty dangerous man to know.
Running through the story were internal notes outlining the new VR game. It got me thinking what would people’s reaction be if a game like this would be released and how popular would it be. I enjoyed this element of the story as you follow the concept of the game from the first idea. The inclusion of new technology like MindNet in the book, gives it a sci-fi feel and helps explain the fear and the new crazes that appear overnight when it has been broadcasted over the channels. The more you learn about the Arbus-Lubany machine, the more you wonder if it will save society.
Written in 3rd person, helps you read the different characters’ stories without any confusion. At the start, they are three individual characters stories, but as the story continues, their stories merge into one. You get an understanding how they cross paths with each other, and how each action affected their lives.
As you are reading their stories you get embroiled up in their lives and the further you go into the story.
Even a few days after finishing this book. I am still thinking about the story. Whilst there are some violent scenes in the book, this did not disturb me, it was the idea how easy the psychopaths blend in. The story is evenly paced and Aimee’s story took me on a rollercoaster of emotions.
This is the 1st book I have read by this author, so I did not know what to expect. I enjoyed this well-plotted book and with plenty of twists, it kept my interest. I am going to check out his other books. A good dystopian sci-fi read.

I was really excited when I saw Psychotopia by R.N. Morris. A virtual reality game centered around psychopaths? Be still my beating heart! You had me at “psychopath.” I have always been interested in psychopaths, particularly how their mind works and why they do the things they do. Blame it on my Criminal Justice major in college or my fascination with serial killers. Am I little weird? Quite Possibly! Anyway, add in a virtual reality game to the storyline and R.N Morris had me salivating to get my hands on his newest book, Psychotopia. Is this book shocking? Yes! In your face? Yes! Disturbing? Hell yes! Did I love it? OMG yes!

Let me start off by saying that I do play a virtual reality game called Second Life and I have played this game for many years. Do they have some crazy things that go on in this game, yes! Maybe not to the extent of Psychotobia, but there are quite some disturbing role plays that go on in this game. So, the premise behind the Psychotopia game really intrigued me and before you ask….yes I would play this game. Don’t judge!

Psychotobia is a set in a dystopian future where psychopaths are considered the norm in society and will eventually outnumber non psychopaths. Dr. Arbus believes there are many psychopaths around us with most being undetected, but he has come out with a device that can easily detect if someone is psychopathic or not. But, forcing someone to take the test really pushes boundaries in the government and especially against people’s rights. Inspector Glenn Parfett believes there are two types of psychopaths – idiot ones and brilliant ones. Parfett thinks he is a human detection reader can tell if someone is psychopath or not by just looking at them. Then there is Sally who is now working for the gaming company that is developing Psychotopia and soon finds herself the target of a psychopath. We also learn the story behind Aimee’s life and how it took a turn for the worse when she was targeted by a psychopath who changed her life completely.

Interweaved between each of these characters stories is the inner working and the conception of the VR game known as Psychoptia and believe me when I tell you it is very very disturbing. Morris really has a wicked mind and really hits you with the shock factor again and again and again. Morris has written a dark story that also rings a bit of truth in it as well, which again, is creepy all in itself. While all of the parts of the story may seem separate, they do eventually all tie in together really nicely. What I think is also different is the story is the main focus rather than the characters. Honestly, I absolutely LOVED this book!

I was completely engaged in this brilliantly dark and eerie story. A definite five stars from me. While this story might not be for everyone, I definitely think if you have an open mind or like really gritty, in your face craziness, then you will really love this book.

For an author who is primarily known for historical fiction to take a leap into a futuristic setting is a brave one, but for R. N. Morris and Psychotopia it largely pays off.

The interesting thing about this novel is that there are elements that are clearly futuristic, but many things are not too disimilar to today – it’s not a great leap to imagine the dystopian future Morris has created coming true sooner rather than later.

The premise of the book – that psychopathy is becoming more and more widespread, and coming out of the shadows and into the mainstream – is easy to identify with, especially given current issues with terrorism and a surge in knife crime and even, to some extent, psychopathy among our current elected officials would not be hard to imagine.

Choosing a game as the focus of the book is an interesting one, given the media insistence that games fuel reckless behaviour – despite research indicating otherwise – and asks the question of whether the game fuels the behaviour, or if art just imitates what is going on in the wider world – not sure it’s something we will ever be able to truly answer, but this book offers one possibility.

The different character voices are unique, but there is something really sinister about the game developer – perhaps knowing what you know about the book and what you infer about him from how the book is set up aids this, but also some of his ideas for the Psychotopia game could only come out of a very sick mind!

This book is an interesting, yet bleak, look at a possible future fuelled by an over-reliance on technology, big corporations and an increase in the media fuelling the flames of hatred and leading many people to care only for themselves and their near family. It’s my sincere hope that this vision of the future never comes to pass – uncomfortable reading, but compulsive all the same.

Psychotopia is a Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Thriller with a unique and disturbing plot that drew me in from the first page and had me up all night reading to the end.

There are three perspectives in this book: a police officer, a woman who is used by a psychopath, and a psychopath who is hiring a woman for his company, Alpha Games. In between each chapter are noted for the virtual reality game, Psychotopia. Each chapter is vastly different, yet, in the end, they are drawn together.

This book asks so many questions about humanity and morality. The ideas presented here are actually quite scary to think about and I’ve been nonstop thinking about this book since I put it down.

R.N. Morris has crafted an incredibly complex novel here that keeps you thinking long after you’ve finished reading. I highly recommend this one and it’s definitely going on my list of favorites for 2019!