This post comes for a variety of reasons. One is I enjoy playing games, and I enjoy sharing the fun of these games with others. Another is that Benighted, by Kit Whitfield, is a great book that everyone should hear about and read. This particular title surfaced in the bog of my mind through this cool little development: Apparently to celebrate the release of the paperback version of Benighted in the U.K. (where it is titled Bareback…for the reason behind the two different titles, lookie here- FAQs) Random House came up with this nifty lil’ video game where you track down curfew-breaking lunes, tranquilize them, and then drive them to a shelter before they wake up and start wrecking your truck.
Lastly, Kit (whose blog I check daily for her spunky humor and great insights on publishing) asked us to pass on the news about this game and the new paperback release of the book. Now, we in the U.S. already have it released–aren’t we lucky?–but this is another reminder for those of you who have yet to pick up a copy.
Remember what the book is about? Here’s a review (starred even) from Publishers Weekly:
“In this impressive werewolf novel with a detective story twist, first-time British author Whitfield imagines a contemporary world whose majority are people who “fur up” at full moon; the scorned minority—called barebacks by their wolven, “lycanthropic” peers—are permanently clad in their human skin. Whitfield’s bareback protagonist, Lola Galley, is a lawyer with DORLA (Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity), an unpopular organization necessary to maintaining order in a civilized world. Lola’s full-moon duties include “dogcatching,” or chasing down stray “lunes,” lycos in vicious, canine form. When a bareback friend loses a hand to the snapping jaws of a lune—and then turns up shot dead a few days later—it’s Lola’s job to defend the mauler who becomes a murder suspect. In the process of her investigation, Lola must face her own biases as a minority and unearth the secret behind the divide in her society. A nuanced exploration of prejudice, this deftly written, absorbing debut deserves a crossover literary and fantasy readership.”
Go play the game. Catch ‘dem lunes. Then come back and let me know what you think. Oh, and don’t forget to let Kit know as well. I’m proud to be part of the viral marketing campaign!
I see that smile.