The Game at Carousel

Name: The Game at Carousel
Price: 45 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781911754534

The Bystander

Rob M. Lastrel

$45

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Bantam (Transworld)
13 October 2026

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

In a town where horror movie tropes come to life, Riley's only chance to survive is to play his role, in this spine-tingling LitRPG series.

When horror-obsessed Riley Lawrence and his group of college friends arrive in the small town of Carousel for their Centennial Celebration, the few decrepit cars parked in the street don't scare them. But when they enter a dimmed theater, the animatronic usher hands them each a ticket, and the lights dim, Riley realizes they've entered the inescapable patchwork of a horror movie set. And they've each been assigned an archetype?

Scholar, Athlete, Eye Candy, Final Girl?to play out as the curtains rise.

Assigned the Film Buff archetype, Riley's doomed to repeat a pattern- knowing exactly who the killer is but never surviving the attacks himself. After all, film buffs may know what's coming, but they're always the first to be hunted down. Until, that is, Riley learns he can avoid a death or two by exploiting the Oblivious Bystander trope. It seems monsters and killers won't harm him as long as he can convincingly pretend he hasn't noticed them.

To make it through this deadly game, Riley and his friends will need to leverage their tropes effectively to determine what's trapping them there in the first place. But as the rounds continue and escape seems farther and farther out of reach, they'll be forced to ask themselves- Would they survive in a horror movie?

By: Rob M. Lastrel
Imprint: Bantam (Transworld)
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9781911754534
ISBN 10: 191175453X
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 13 October 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Rob M. Lastrel is the author of the Game at Carousel series, originally released on Royal Road. Fascinated by the eerie and unknown, he writes weird, other-worldly escapism. When he isn't writing, Lastrel spends his time hiking and hopes to one day visit every national park in the United States.