The Mind Game - Softcover

Macdonald, Hector

3.64

380 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141013435 ISBN 13: 9780141013435

Publisher: Penguin, 2003

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Mandanzi, Africa. Paradise on earth. Ben knows that nothing this good comes free. But he's prepared to pay the price. What seems on the surface to be a passionate holiday with his lover is, in fact, the first crucial stage of some ground-breakingresearch. Ben and his renowned Oxford professor are on the brink of developing a cure for that most disturbing illness - sickness of the mind. Lying on the beach with the bewitching Cara, Ben finds it easy to forget the real purpose of his trip to Africa. Until paradise turns to hell, and suddenly he realises that all the rules he thought he was playing by no longer apply.

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About the Author:

Hector Macdonald was born in 1973 in Nairobi, Kenya, then educated at Eton and Oxford. He received his degree in biology from Merton College, and he divides his time between London and Africa. The Mind Game, his first novel, will be published in fourteen countries in 2001.

"From the Hardcover edition."

From the Inside Flap:

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. Justwhen you think you have mastered The Mind Game, you might just be mistaken . . . .

"From the Hardcover edition.

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