Instead of a book party or traditional author reading, novelist EJ Koh celebrated the release of Red with a huge Red War game in Central Park earlier this month.
Read more at the Red War page. Above, we’ve embedded a photograph of some participants, taken by Jon Chang. A variation of the Assassin game, the event reenacted the struggle between Spirit and Wake forces in the book. An organizer known as “Red General” described the scene in New York City:
Red War got 700 registrations over a span of 3 weeks and attracted over 200 attendees on the day of the event. The games ran from 11-3pm. Red War was inspired by Red and its characters, so the teams were split between Spirits VS. Wakes consisting of each side trying to obtain as much energy (numbered pieces of duct tape) off the opponents’ backs. Upon the conclusion of the game, the winners were announced (Wakes won and evil prevailed). An informal Q&A with EJ was conducted on the spot and everyone went to grab Chipotle together afterwards. Granted that this is not your typical book reading/author meet and greet, but we all enjoyed it immensely. It was cool to watch EJ take time to connect with her readers by placing herself in her own game, running around in the world she created with those who showed interest in being a part of it.