Six gods decide to play a role-playing game. The game is set in the mortal world that the All-Father (and Games Master) has created. The gods are stereotypes of various types of role-players: the power-gamers, the comedian, the player who never says anything. The gods’ characters are five heroes on a quest of epic proportions.

Nexus tells two stories: the gods playing a role-playing game and the heroes on their epic quest. The story shifts back and forth between the gods and the game. Imagine a comic version of Clash of the Titans. This is done quite well, as the gods’ decisions, arguing and dice-rolls affect the heroes with amusing consequences. Halfway through the book the jokes become a bit repetitive and predictable. The heroes’ quest takes a few strange turns, but this may be intentional to show that the Games Master is as bad at role-playing as his players. I enjoyed the book. Game Night is an enjoyable first novel. It’s likely that Johnny Nexus is a veteran role-player and draws on the experience of many painful role-playing sessions. If you’re a not role-player, the book is worth a read, but you’ll miss many of the jokes. Role-players, you’ll find the book amusing.