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Playtime's Over
In the seconds before death, Will finds himself transported from the depths of the North Sea to the end of a deserted pier. Deserted, until Viktor appears...
Together they journey across time and place, bearing witness to the beauty of the life Will has turned his back on. scrutinizing the interminable balancing act of being alive, which ultimately led Will to make his final, fatal move.
Playtime's Over is a story about resilience and surrender, told with darkly absurd humour. It is both a powerful meditation on mental health in a world with little refuge, and a touching portrait of a friendship forged in the most bizarre circumstances.
Together they journey across time and place, bearing witness to the beauty of the life Will has turned his back on. scrutinizing the interminable balancing act of being alive, which ultimately led Will to make his final, fatal move.
Playtime's Over is a story about resilience and surrender, told with darkly absurd humour. It is both a powerful meditation on mental health in a world with little refuge, and a touching portrait of a friendship forged in the most bizarre circumstances.
95 pages, Paperback
First published July 22, 2021
About the author
James Kinsley
4 books31 followersJames Kinsley lives in Thorpe Hamlet. His latest book, It's Hard to Tell You This, a novella of regret, is out now from Deixis Press.
Playtime's Over, his first book, was published in 2021 by Propolis and is about a young man on the edge, struggling to deal with his mental health issues in the face of a world he feels no longer cares.
With Deixis Press, he has published the fantasy western Greyskin and the science-fiction thriller Parallels.
He also publishes sci-fi adventures under the name Ray Adams.
Playtime's Over, his first book, was published in 2021 by Propolis and is about a young man on the edge, struggling to deal with his mental health issues in the face of a world he feels no longer cares.
With Deixis Press, he has published the fantasy western Greyskin and the science-fiction thriller Parallels.
He also publishes sci-fi adventures under the name Ray Adams.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 1, 2022
Such a beautifully profound book. I loved every page. 5*
April 26, 2026
The first few chapters were rough and if I hadn’t been so interested in the set up I might have give up.
Having said that, this book felt very accurate to my own experiences with some of the subject matter.
I disliked M Haig’s The Midnight Library and this, to me, adds a counter balance to that ‘toxic positivity’ mindset. The truth is that sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s enough light to balance out the dark. I have a pretty stringent internal warning system but I know full well how little support there can be for many people. I didn’t think this book was depressing, I found it cathartic. I’ve always been lucky to have a few amazing people in my life and some doctors that listen to me and I would encourage anyone feeling that sort of ideation to seek help. Things can get brighter and they can get better, they really can. But I understand the man characters feeling in this book all too well.
Having said that, this book felt very accurate to my own experiences with some of the subject matter.
I disliked M Haig’s The Midnight Library and this, to me, adds a counter balance to that ‘toxic positivity’ mindset. The truth is that sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s enough light to balance out the dark. I have a pretty stringent internal warning system but I know full well how little support there can be for many people. I didn’t think this book was depressing, I found it cathartic. I’ve always been lucky to have a few amazing people in my life and some doctors that listen to me and I would encourage anyone feeling that sort of ideation to seek help. Things can get brighter and they can get better, they really can. But I understand the man characters feeling in this book all too well.
February 28, 2022
What a brilliant little book. I don’t say that because the author is my friend, because he is. I say it because it is a brilliant little book. The last time a book made me cry was the Hobbit and I was on a bus home from work in the 90s, that is until I read Playtime’s Over and now I’m having a little cry on my sofa.
I zoomed through the 95 pages in two hours, willing Will to want to live. The book bravely explores suicide, the reasons for it and how the world and we can fail ourselves. It looks at what brings joy, it questions faith, both in God and other people, and whilst that sounds ridiculously ‘right on’ it really was refreshing.
I loved this book, genuinely loved it. I implore you to do yourself a favour and read it.
I zoomed through the 95 pages in two hours, willing Will to want to live. The book bravely explores suicide, the reasons for it and how the world and we can fail ourselves. It looks at what brings joy, it questions faith, both in God and other people, and whilst that sounds ridiculously ‘right on’ it really was refreshing.
I loved this book, genuinely loved it. I implore you to do yourself a favour and read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2021
Christmas Carol and Black Mirror meet the truth about the world, what’s wrong (and therefore right) with it and what we can (and naturally can’t) do about it all.
James tells a conflicted story amongst himself to show how only when contemplating what’s wrong do you automatically see what you can’t do about it - a sentence such as this could only come having read the book.
Reflective, clever and thoughtfully visual way of seeing that we are not alone by being part of the majority but that seeing it has to take us to dark, almost drowning, places. Bravo sir.
James tells a conflicted story amongst himself to show how only when contemplating what’s wrong do you automatically see what you can’t do about it - a sentence such as this could only come having read the book.
Reflective, clever and thoughtfully visual way of seeing that we are not alone by being part of the majority but that seeing it has to take us to dark, almost drowning, places. Bravo sir.
March 8, 2022
I really liked this. Maybe ostensibly not subject matter suitable for this moment but conversely I found this reassuring and bolstering given current depressing events in the world. I enjoyed the tone and writing of this novella and am reinforced in my determination to treasure and take comfort from the local and immediate in bleak times whilst limiting the doomscrolling. I look forward to the author’s future work.
November 27, 2021
The way that James writes about death, mental health and the crippling realities of life makes you feel like you’re sat with a friend in a coffee shop laughing through painful questions that only a friend can ask.
It’s beautifully written, humorous in all the right ways and a great read
It’s beautifully written, humorous in all the right ways and a great read
March 29, 2022
Beautiful
July 19, 2021
An atmospheric noir of possibly the best friend you'll ever have, when it's the end ..a hand to hold and the spiritual guide to self analysis.
Creative writing that is reflective and thoughtful, and a tale of friendship and beauty we owe to ourselves.
Creative writing that is reflective and thoughtful, and a tale of friendship and beauty we owe to ourselves.
March 18, 2024
James recommended that I read this after he read my novel, and I could tell why: I think we like a lot of the same things. Subjects, styles of writing, you know, words....
So, what do I like, or LOVE, rather, about this book?
I love a book that goes into microscopic focus on life. It might make you see something new that could be wonderful or full of horror. It might just chime with you in a way that makes you think 'Yes, I'm not alone.' That's what I love, and Playtime's Over does that. Totally. It also shows no fear: it looks at every dark and dirty detail of its subject. I think that books should not be afraid. They should say everything. Everything you are afraid to say, or aren't allowed to say. Again, Playtime's Over does this.
So yes, I loved this book.
I get the impression that James is someone who thinks deeply, and Playtime's Over made me think: about now, and about what's so damn hard about it. How he managed to do that while also somehow being uplifting, or...at least not unbearably bleak, is beyond me. Maybe it's what I said earlier: you are not alone.
The writing is perfect: every word needs to be there, and every detail has been carefully placed. I use the word 'placed' deliberately. I think in a way to me this book felt aware - a writer aware of what they were doing, but this is in no way a bad thing - it's a reflection of his skill as a writer, and it's also a reflection of one of the book's key questions: is there someone organising everything or, at least, someone out there, in the ether, who cares? For him to get me, an I might say rabid atheist, even holding that question in my mind, is a very impressive feat.
I am going to ask him what I should read next.
Oh, I should probably tell you about what happens and things like that, but I'm not going to: I hate spoilers. I will say (as someone who works in Norwich Castle Museum), that he must have spent a lot of money visiting that place :)
So, what do I like, or LOVE, rather, about this book?
I love a book that goes into microscopic focus on life. It might make you see something new that could be wonderful or full of horror. It might just chime with you in a way that makes you think 'Yes, I'm not alone.' That's what I love, and Playtime's Over does that. Totally. It also shows no fear: it looks at every dark and dirty detail of its subject. I think that books should not be afraid. They should say everything. Everything you are afraid to say, or aren't allowed to say. Again, Playtime's Over does this.
So yes, I loved this book.
I get the impression that James is someone who thinks deeply, and Playtime's Over made me think: about now, and about what's so damn hard about it. How he managed to do that while also somehow being uplifting, or...at least not unbearably bleak, is beyond me. Maybe it's what I said earlier: you are not alone.
The writing is perfect: every word needs to be there, and every detail has been carefully placed. I use the word 'placed' deliberately. I think in a way to me this book felt aware - a writer aware of what they were doing, but this is in no way a bad thing - it's a reflection of his skill as a writer, and it's also a reflection of one of the book's key questions: is there someone organising everything or, at least, someone out there, in the ether, who cares? For him to get me, an I might say rabid atheist, even holding that question in my mind, is a very impressive feat.
I am going to ask him what I should read next.
Oh, I should probably tell you about what happens and things like that, but I'm not going to: I hate spoilers. I will say (as someone who works in Norwich Castle Museum), that he must have spent a lot of money visiting that place :)
August 13, 2023
Kinsley’s first novella is exorbitantly different to his second publication (Greyskin). As I recently reviewed Greyskin, and thoroughly enjoyed, I decided I wanted to read Playtime’s Over. I was absolutely delighted when Kinsley sent me a copy to read, alongside his recent SciFi ‘From Within, A Darkness’ (published under the name Ray Adams). I devoured Playtime’s Over in one sitting, and I was NOT disappointed.
Like Greyskin, Playtime’s Over is littered with confrontations of societal expectations, behaviour, and delicately constructed conversations between characters. Unlike Greyskin, however, Kinsley’s novella looks deep into the mind of an individual in the present day, rather than speculations that lead to cogitation around the problematic past of Empire and colonial discourse. Playtime’s Over considers the interplay of the conscious and the subconscious, the impulses of the Freudian and uncanny Death Drive as well as the chaotic and purposelessness nature of Absurdist human existence. Kinsley does something few else have managed to – he has constructed a grounded and familial absurdist narrative without the surrealist, disorientating, and potentially bizarre attributes one commonly finds stitched in too.
FULL REVIEW ON THE FANTASY HIVE
Like Greyskin, Playtime’s Over is littered with confrontations of societal expectations, behaviour, and delicately constructed conversations between characters. Unlike Greyskin, however, Kinsley’s novella looks deep into the mind of an individual in the present day, rather than speculations that lead to cogitation around the problematic past of Empire and colonial discourse. Playtime’s Over considers the interplay of the conscious and the subconscious, the impulses of the Freudian and uncanny Death Drive as well as the chaotic and purposelessness nature of Absurdist human existence. Kinsley does something few else have managed to – he has constructed a grounded and familial absurdist narrative without the surrealist, disorientating, and potentially bizarre attributes one commonly finds stitched in too.
FULL REVIEW ON THE FANTASY HIVE
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October 14, 2021Yes. I have read this book. Several times.
March 18, 2024
A surreal, darkly humoured novella. I enjoyed reading something set, written and published locally. I didn't have to imagine some of the settings described; reserving my imagination to conjure some of the strange situations that Victor, the 'ghost of suicide present', ends up transporting Will to.
I appreciated the way Kinsley wrote in aspects of drowning, reminder readers of Will's present moment. This is a character who's life is flashing before his eyes in the moments before death; each scenario he finds himself in has a magical transition. He forgets this until realising the wetness in his socks, or getting a sudden taste of salt, remind him of his real-life situation in that moment. Kinsley wrote these in cleverly, like a sand timer going backwards, to the point that the water fully envelops Will.
I also liked how Victor subtly shape-shifted in age, reinforcing the idea of him being a figment of Will's imagination. Who is he meant to represent? I'm not sure. Is he someone from the film, 'Playtime', that's mentioned in the penultimate chapter? Is he a paternal figure?
The only thing I was left wanting more of an answer to was the reason that Isobel left. I know Will states that it's irrelevant, but I definitely wanted to know the full story, there.
I appreciated the way Kinsley wrote in aspects of drowning, reminder readers of Will's present moment. This is a character who's life is flashing before his eyes in the moments before death; each scenario he finds himself in has a magical transition. He forgets this until realising the wetness in his socks, or getting a sudden taste of salt, remind him of his real-life situation in that moment. Kinsley wrote these in cleverly, like a sand timer going backwards, to the point that the water fully envelops Will.
I also liked how Victor subtly shape-shifted in age, reinforcing the idea of him being a figment of Will's imagination. Who is he meant to represent? I'm not sure. Is he someone from the film, 'Playtime', that's mentioned in the penultimate chapter? Is he a paternal figure?
The only thing I was left wanting more of an answer to was the reason that Isobel left. I know Will states that it's irrelevant, but I definitely wanted to know the full story, there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
