Nouscraft World 2 - Royale
Book 2 of the Nouscraft Trilogy by Leonard Buford
The AI game master wants peace and love.
The humans want power.
The Prisoner's Dilemma wants what all game theory wants: math.
Billions are trapped in a shifting megastructure floating in space. Every seven days, the faction leaders vote: ALLY or BETRAY. Cooperate and everyone advances. Betray and you steal everything. Drop to zero and you die.
Mindt has an agenda she's not sharing. Spencer has a granddaughter he needs to protect. And Beam — blind in the real world, running the game's largest empire — is about to learn that everything she believed was built on a lie.
Nuclear weapons. Space Invaders. Really angry clerks. And worst of all, physics.
The Royale begins. The only question is who betrays whom first.
Book 2 of a completed dark LitRPG trilogy. Multi-POV death game with morally gray protagonists, an AI game master running social experiments on humanity, and a Prisoner's Dilemma where the stakes are real. For fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl, Game of Thrones, and Red Rising.
Tropes
Political Intrigue Nuclear Stakes Space Habitat Prisoner's Dilemma Betrayal RevolutionFor fans of Red Rising, Battle Royale, and The Hunger Games
Reader Reviews
Chaotic, Clever, and Addictively Readable
The "ALLY or BETRAY" vote every seven days is such a clean, brutal engine for tension. Spencer's protective drive adds real heart, Beam's perspective is fascinating, and Mindt's secrets create a steady undertow of dread. A smart, savage ride.
A gripping survival game with a personal touch
As a grandfather, I related to Spencer's heart wrenching desire to do anything to save his granddaughter. "Ally or Betray" really made you think about what you would do. This book went down quick because it was really fun to read!
Sequel that did not disappoint
A fast paced, highly imaginative piece of highly intelligent, highly amusing British fantasy. Almost impossible to put down. Great to see the same characters continuing their adventure -- and what a ride it is!
