Synopsis:
Having recently moved to the gentrifying seaside town of Tasker Bay with her mother, the only thing on high schooler Andi’s mind is saving up enough money for her escape to Silicon Valley. Though it’s owned by the shadiest resident in town, she takes a job at the dingy arcade Home Video World.
Pining over Andi is Ro, the son of Tasker Bay’s sheriff. With his friend’s matchmaking help, he begins spending more time at the arcade and soon, Andi finds herself opening up to Ro. But when the store gets an unusual new game of unknown origin, the floor is suddenly overwhelmed with players fighting to get some time on the machine. Seemingly overnight, a virus-like epidemic sweeps through the town while a major coastal storm rolls in, further isolating them from the outside world. Time is of the essence as residents collectively experience anger, paranoia, hallucinations, and even catatonia. And when one heinous act of violence goes unsolved, the town descends into utter chaos. Realizing no one is coming to their rescue, Andi and Ro take matters into their own hands to get to the bottom of the spiraling madness…until it begins affecting them, too.
Review:
A flashing nightmare wrapped in retro-tech rot, Collin Armstrong’s debut “Polybius,” smells like stale popcorn, demands your quarters and is nostalgic and nasty in equal measure. Coded with malice, Armstrong writes a narrative that pulses with the queasy-synth rhythm of the 80s, wrapping the reader up and compelling them to stare right into Polybius’ beating, 16-bit heart. For fans of “Black Mirror,” and the writing of Dean Koontz, this one is inspired by the titular urban legend of “Polybius,” and I for one- love an urban legend. If you do too, you can read it for yourself from today- April 29th- but readers should be advised to put the damned book down should they begin to feel agitated, irate or see red. Thank you to Gallery Books, who continue to keep my shelf stocked and my sleep fitful.
Andi is not thrilled about her mother forcing her to move to Tasker Bay, but she supposes that working at Home Video World is about as cool as a part-time job can get, fluorescent lighting, humming cathode rays, and an illegal adult magazine dealing business running out the back. It’s safe to say her boss Mal is rather lame, and his knowledge of the machines he’s auctioned is pretty lacking, meaning Andi pretty much has free reign. Perhaps another plus to Tasker Bay may be the budding romance she has with Ro, the son of Tasker Bay’s sheriff, and the only one willing to intervene when a fight kicks off over a new game. The two decide to see what all the fuss is with “Polybius,” and find that beyond the graphics being unparalleled, it was hardly worth the scuffle. With this in mind, Andi can’t help but to start making connections when an itchy red rash of violence spreads across Tasker Bay- mutilated horses, fist fights and brawls, and the discovery of a body- and what she uncovers is a whole lot bigger than her.
Polybius, the urban legend not the ancient Greek philosopher, is, allegedly a 1981 US government crowd-sourced project, that allegedly backfired allegedly causing some for of hypnosis or psycho-activity, before disappearing after a month… allegedly depending upon which grainy blogspot post or reddit thread you look at. The claims vary but the common threads, which Armstrong stays true to, are the rather bland cabinet it’s presented in, and the company behind it: Sinneslöschen, and the bad side it brought out in its players. As far as urban legends go, with high scores and low morals, “Polybius,” is a pretty good one to write a horror novel about, no?
Whether you’re familiar with the legend-ry aspect of it, or not (I wasn’t) from the get-go the fact that “Polybius,” is bad news for the residents of Tasker Bay is no secret. Not subtle bad news either. I’m talking back-lit, freaky looking arcade game, practically screaming “Do not plug me into your wall,” on the cover levels of menace. Anyway. That’s fine, but it means that your characters, specifically, what they know, and what they don’t know, have to be up to snuff. And they are. Andi and Ro, are well-written teenage protagonists, the budding romance and sincere chemistry between them is one I really was rooting for. Even the characters we don’t love, like Mal, excel in their scumbaggery. For what the novel’s basic premise may be lacking in mystery, is made up for by its excellent character-work and further plot points. Now, if there’s a criticism to be made, it’s the inconsequential, trivial kind. Ro’s (mercifully, normally shortened) full name is Roman Kemp. What non-British readers may not have realised is that he shares a name with British presenter, DJ, and Spandau Ballet offspring… Roman Kemp- whose face I could not not picture throughout the entire novel. Whoops.
Trivial case of DJ-homonymous protagonist aside, Collin Armstrong’s “Polybius,” is a glitchy and glorious descent into retro madness- an action-packed, synth-scored blast from the past that delivers thrills that are more than just pixelated. Blending small-town horror with big emotional stakes, whether you grew up feeding quarters into cabinets or you just like your horror neon and addictive, this one is well worth looking over.
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