{"product_id":"the-boy-who-played-chequers-james-newman-9798285009771","title":"The Boy Who Played Chequers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhen Mike, a spiritually restless expat drifting through Bangkok, stumbles upon a strange little blue book in a shadowy bar, his reality begins to unravel.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book is written by Peter, a missing American boy obsessed with checkers-whose final game ended in his unexplained disappearance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Mike dives deeper into its pages-pages that seem to change each time he reads them-he is pulled into a mystery that bends time, memory, and identity. Guided by this urban legend, and by visions from his past, he finds himself in an abandoned jungle temple and drawn into the darkness of his own heart, where consciousness becomes a game, identity a costume, and dreams blur with reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWHO is Mike, really?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmerican. Buddhist. Recently deceased-or so it seems.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Mike follows the book's cryptic instructions-visiting monks, exorcists, hackers, and one unnervingly calm sex worker-his memories begin to split and refract. Time glitches. Truth evaporates. Bangkok pulses like a machine with a virus. And Peter? He may not be missing. He may never have existed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Boy Who Played Chequers\u003c\/b\u003e is a surreal, satirical noir about identity, illusion, and the flickering line between consciousness and code. A mind-bending journey for fans of \u003ci\u003eFight Club\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Beach\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e-for anyone who's ever suspected the afterlife might just be a patch update gone wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJames Newman has been described as \"terrifically gifted, enormously energetic\" by Edgar Award nominee Timothy Hallinan, and \"a writer who strips away the bull****\" by Shamus Award winner Christopher G. Moore. Based in Bangkok, Newman writes fiction and makes films. \u003ci\u003eThe Boy Who Played Chequers\u003c\/i\u003e is his ninth novel-a razor-edged metaphysical mystery about death, digital ghosts, and waking up in the wrong reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James Newman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798285009771\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/23\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 140\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.43lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.30d","brand":"James Newman","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48852471841023,"sku":"9798285009771","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-boy-who-played-chequers-james-newman-9798285009771","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}