cycleshark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
caylin427's review
3.0
You will regret not reading it!!! It was so amazing! I really hope there will be a sequel!
vivianne's review
5.0
Spoiler free Series review!
Books in this series:
The Calling: 5 stars.
Sky Key: 4 stars.
Rules of the Game: 3 stars.
Series rating: 3,5 stars!
I really enjoyed this series. I would recommend it to people who are into young adult and that like fantasy.
The concept really appealed to me and that’s why I picked the first one up in a local bookstore. I really enjoyed to learn about the different cultures and about the players. I also found the game quite interesting and still love the symbols and line names. I love how some players came together and how some collided. I liked the mix of different cultures and loved to experience the different countries in these books. Another thing I really liked was the writing style, it was pleasant to read and it contains beautiful images. The books contain short chapters and there is a lot off POV switch. This makes the pacing really fast and keeps you interested even if you don’t like one of the characters. Although overall I enjoyed all of them and I still have a special place in my heart for one couple (and still a lot off hate for another.)
However I did became less invested in the series in the last two books. They were still good, but not the same “amazing” as the first book. Probably because there are lesser characters to follow and I became a little older and had different interests in book genre. The second book was quite slow in my opinion and dragged at some points. But my real problems started in the last book. The ending of this series is just… well it’s just no good. I had a lot of unanswered questions, I didn’t agree with the characters that died and that didn’t die and I hated the epilogue. But most importantly I hated how endgame was concluded, itwas just too predictable and I hated it.
So besides an rushed, unsatisfying ending, I really liked this series. And they’re such beauties!
Review: The Calling
Really beautiful book! I liked the way the book is written, you see the thoughts from all characters, that makes the tension even more excited. I really like all this clues in the book it keeps you awake and wondering what they are for. For people that are concerned the book is really similar to the hunger games, don't be. It contains some simalarities but the whole story line is different. The ending is deffinatly not what I expected!
I am really curious about the next book, Sky key, because the subtitel on the cover says: 'nine players remain but the game has changed'. Why nine?, I counted 4 players that died. Really excited about the next book, deffinatly going to read it.
Books in this series:
The Calling: 5 stars.
Sky Key: 4 stars.
Rules of the Game: 3 stars.
Series rating: 3,5 stars!
I really enjoyed this series. I would recommend it to people who are into young adult and that like fantasy.
The concept really appealed to me and that’s why I picked the first one up in a local bookstore. I really enjoyed to learn about the different cultures and about the players. I also found the game quite interesting and still love the symbols and line names. I love how some players came together and how some collided. I liked the mix of different cultures and loved to experience the different countries in these books. Another thing I really liked was the writing style, it was pleasant to read and it contains beautiful images. The books contain short chapters and there is a lot off POV switch. This makes the pacing really fast and keeps you interested even if you don’t like one of the characters. Although overall I enjoyed all of them and I still have a special place in my heart for one couple (and still a lot off hate for another.)
However I did became less invested in the series in the last two books. They were still good, but not the same “amazing” as the first book. Probably because there are lesser characters to follow and I became a little older and had different interests in book genre. The second book was quite slow in my opinion and dragged at some points. But my real problems started in the last book. The ending of this series is just… well it’s just no good. I had a lot of unanswered questions, I didn’t agree with the characters that died and that didn’t die and I hated the epilogue. But most importantly I hated how endgame was concluded, itwas just too predictable and I hated it.
So besides an rushed, unsatisfying ending, I really liked this series. And they’re such beauties!
Review: The Calling
Really beautiful book! I liked the way the book is written, you see the thoughts from all characters, that makes the tension even more excited. I really like all this clues in the book it keeps you awake and wondering what they are for. For people that are concerned the book is really similar to the hunger games, don't be. It contains some simalarities but the whole story line is different. The ending is deffinatly not what I expected!
I am really curious about the next book, Sky key, because the subtitel on the cover says: 'nine players remain but the game has changed'. Why nine?, I counted 4 players that died. Really excited about the next book, deffinatly going to read it.
ashleysager's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Murder, Torture, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
Spoiler
plane crashdahondealban12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Chiyoko is going to die
bogdanbalostin's review against another edition
5.0
12 players between the age of 13 and 20 enter the arena to play for the survival of their kin. Sound very Hunger Game-ish to me, right? It was totally not Hunger Games. If I have to compare, I will say that this book is way better than the first volume of Hunger Games, even if "realistically", it's very weak (what is realistic in fiction, anyway?)
I have to divide this review into 3 parts: the game, the history, and the plot.
The game.
Apparently, Endgame series is (or was) part of an interactive storytelling project. The story was supposed to go being the book and there was a contest to solve the clues spread among the pages, with a prize of 500K USD. You know what? I don't really care about the money, but I would have loved to take part in the puzzle, just for immersion. Unfortunately, a lot of clues lead nowhere now, the website that was supposed to keep track of your progress is not working anymore, so that part of the story is lost to us, late readers. It should not stop you from reading the book in a traditional sense, absolutely nothing is lost from the story. But it would be nice for future projects to include future proof links and websites. I know it's difficult to maintain them but it would be a nice touch in the future of storytelling across different mediums.
The history.
It's not about any kind of history but the history of the world and human populations. I'm not buying into the alien conspiracy but the truth is there are amazing things humans have built in ancient times that we don't completely understand. And that part of Endgame is real. I like that it's a book that makes you want to know more about the real world and to explore things that are real but they are shrouded in mystery and seem to come from a time where things were different. It makes you wonder, it makes you curious. It's an amazing feeling to know that reality is even more interesting than fiction.
The plot.
It's only here that I start the review of the actual story in the book. The first dozen of chapters read like an infomercial. Big. Spectacular. You'll be amazed. Stuff like that. Everything feels like an exaggeration. And some stuff will continue to feel like an exaggeration until the end. I mean these kids don't even have superpowers but they are able to do things not even James Bond can do and they all have unlimited resources without any explanation whatsoever, except they're the players and they are prepared for this game since birth. Yeah, yeah, I'm not buying it.
Nevertheless, when you watch flashy shows and animations you don't think if that is possible or not, you get immersed in the story if it's any good. And if I ignore the fact that all players are unlikeable killers, the story is quite good. I don't even know who is the protagonist or who will win because every character gets his or her time to shine. I really like that. Even if it's only for a short time, I get to know all the characters. It's not Hunger Games.
It's not, so there are some bad parts. There's not even one scene where you feel for the death of a character. It just happens in some sort of brutal action sequence and let me tell you, they are brutal. I can remember every death of a major character in this book, they are so memorable. Actually, my favorite character dies in a stupid way at the end (not a spoiler, unless you want to try to find who my favorite character is). I got attached to the character, not because of complex writing or good development but because I like that character's style. You could have any of the players as a favorite, they are really a diverse group. And I don't know if that's a good thing or not. It's a nice change from the usual pace of following the main protagonist.
Speaking of a diverse group of people, I like that here in this story it makes sense to have people from all over the world competing, every one of them with their personal culture and habits (they still are a combination of stereotypes)
The action, well, let's say, short sentences with explosives descriptions work in building the suspense. After the confusing beginning and once I got to know a little bit about the characters I couldn't put down the book. Everything happens quickly and direct, there are puzzles, but the authors don't stop the action at all.
So far, it's a shocking action book but it lacks the emotional connection. It's just not that type of book. There is sort of a small romance but I didn't find it too distracting. And damn, this book can give you a rush, despite its flaws.
So we've got curiosity in real life and a rush of adrenaline while reading the story. Not bad, not bad at all. I really want to see how it will all end. Pretty badly, it seems so far.
I have to divide this review into 3 parts: the game, the history, and the plot.
The game.
Apparently, Endgame series is (or was) part of an interactive storytelling project. The story was supposed to go being the book and there was a contest to solve the clues spread among the pages, with a prize of 500K USD. You know what? I don't really care about the money, but I would have loved to take part in the puzzle, just for immersion. Unfortunately, a lot of clues lead nowhere now, the website that was supposed to keep track of your progress is not working anymore, so that part of the story is lost to us, late readers. It should not stop you from reading the book in a traditional sense, absolutely nothing is lost from the story. But it would be nice for future projects to include future proof links and websites. I know it's difficult to maintain them but it would be a nice touch in the future of storytelling across different mediums.
The history.
It's not about any kind of history but the history of the world and human populations. I'm not buying into the alien conspiracy but the truth is there are amazing things humans have built in ancient times that we don't completely understand. And that part of Endgame is real. I like that it's a book that makes you want to know more about the real world and to explore things that are real but they are shrouded in mystery and seem to come from a time where things were different. It makes you wonder, it makes you curious. It's an amazing feeling to know that reality is even more interesting than fiction.
The plot.
It's only here that I start the review of the actual story in the book. The first dozen of chapters read like an infomercial. Big. Spectacular. You'll be amazed. Stuff like that. Everything feels like an exaggeration. And some stuff will continue to feel like an exaggeration until the end. I mean these kids don't even have superpowers but they are able to do things not even James Bond can do and they all have unlimited resources without any explanation whatsoever, except they're the players and they are prepared for this game since birth. Yeah, yeah, I'm not buying it.
Nevertheless, when you watch flashy shows and animations you don't think if that is possible or not, you get immersed in the story if it's any good. And if I ignore the fact that all players are unlikeable killers, the story is quite good. I don't even know who is the protagonist or who will win because every character gets his or her time to shine. I really like that. Even if it's only for a short time, I get to know all the characters. It's not Hunger Games.
It's not, so there are some bad parts. There's not even one scene where you feel for the death of a character. It just happens in some sort of brutal action sequence and let me tell you, they are brutal. I can remember every death of a major character in this book, they are so memorable. Actually, my favorite character dies in a stupid way at the end (not a spoiler, unless you want to try to find who my favorite character is). I got attached to the character, not because of complex writing or good development but because I like that character's style. You could have any of the players as a favorite, they are really a diverse group. And I don't know if that's a good thing or not. It's a nice change from the usual pace of following the main protagonist.
Speaking of a diverse group of people, I like that here in this story it makes sense to have people from all over the world competing, every one of them with their personal culture and habits (they still are a combination of stereotypes)
The action, well, let's say, short sentences with explosives descriptions work in building the suspense. After the confusing beginning and once I got to know a little bit about the characters I couldn't put down the book. Everything happens quickly and direct, there are puzzles, but the authors don't stop the action at all.
So far, it's a shocking action book but it lacks the emotional connection. It's just not that type of book. There is sort of a small romance but I didn't find it too distracting. And damn, this book can give you a rush, despite its flaws.
So we've got curiosity in real life and a rush of adrenaline while reading the story. Not bad, not bad at all. I really want to see how it will all end. Pretty badly, it seems so far.
sunnydee's review against another edition
2.0
(Rezi bezieht sich auf das Hörbuch. Da das mal wieder ohne Bild gelistet ist, werde ich meine Rezi hier posten.)
Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, dass mich jemals ein Buch/Hörbuch so abgestoßen hat. Ich hatte mich wirklich auf eine actionreiche, emotionale Dystopie gefreut, aber bekommen habe ich abartige Charaktere und eine Handlung, die mehr Fragen als Antworten liefert. Die ganze Geschichte um Endgame, wie die Charaktere Hinweise bekommen, sie entschlüsseln und dann ohne oder mit Hilfe nach den Schlüsseln suchen, war irgendwie nicht richtig erklärt und ich habe mir ständig Fragen nach dem Sinn gestellt. Warum nur eine Person und dann auch unbedingt eine Jugendliche/ein Jugendlicher jeden Geschlechts? Warum mischen sich nicht die 'veralteten' Spieler ein, die doch noch viel mehr Erfahrung haben? Wenn einer helfen kann, der kein Spieler ist, warum helfen dann nicht viel mehr Familien ihrem Spieler? Vielleicht habe ich einiges nicht richtig verstanden, aber ich finde es gibt hier viel zu viele Ungereimtheiten.
Die Rätsel fand ich viel zu abgefahren als das man wirklich Interesse entwickelt sie zu lösen. Als Hörbuch ergaben diese Rätsel sogar noch viel weniger Sinn. Es war wirklich ätzend, wenn da Zahlenreihen über Minuten vorgelesen wurde.
Zwei Aspekte haben mir ganz gut gefallen. Zum einen das einige Spieler Bündnisse schlossen und sich da auch sehr unterschiedliche Spieler zusammen getan haben. Ansonsten gefiel mir die Art und Weise wie ein Spieler mit Ticks dargestellt wurde. Ich fand es sehr gut, dass hier auch seine Zuckungen wirklich als 'Zuck,zuck' und 'Blinzel, blinzel' im Text integriert war. Das machte im Hörbuch einen richtig guten Eindruck und man fühlte sich dem Charakter (obwohl er einer der krankesten war) näher. Mein größtes Problem mit dem Buch waren wirklich die Charaktere. Sie waren mir alle extrem unsympathisch (teilweise psychotisch), so unsympathisch, dass ich schon hoffte, dass sie bald sterben. Für mich sind Emotionen und zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen das wichtigste an einem Buch und hier war einfach alles flach und emotionslos. Ich fieberte nicht mit, ich fühlte nicht mit und ich wurde fast ein bisschen aggressiv, weil mich das alles so nervte.
Es gibt ganz sicher ein Publikum für dieses Buch, aber für mich war es überhaupt nichts. Ich bin einfach nur froh, dass es jetzt vorbei ist. Die anderen Bände werde ich definitiv nicht lesen.
Meine Wertung:
2 von 5 Sternen
Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, dass mich jemals ein Buch/Hörbuch so abgestoßen hat. Ich hatte mich wirklich auf eine actionreiche, emotionale Dystopie gefreut, aber bekommen habe ich abartige Charaktere und eine Handlung, die mehr Fragen als Antworten liefert. Die ganze Geschichte um Endgame, wie die Charaktere Hinweise bekommen, sie entschlüsseln und dann ohne oder mit Hilfe nach den Schlüsseln suchen, war irgendwie nicht richtig erklärt und ich habe mir ständig Fragen nach dem Sinn gestellt. Warum nur eine Person und dann auch unbedingt eine Jugendliche/ein Jugendlicher jeden Geschlechts? Warum mischen sich nicht die 'veralteten' Spieler ein, die doch noch viel mehr Erfahrung haben? Wenn einer helfen kann, der kein Spieler ist, warum helfen dann nicht viel mehr Familien ihrem Spieler? Vielleicht habe ich einiges nicht richtig verstanden, aber ich finde es gibt hier viel zu viele Ungereimtheiten.
Die Rätsel fand ich viel zu abgefahren als das man wirklich Interesse entwickelt sie zu lösen. Als Hörbuch ergaben diese Rätsel sogar noch viel weniger Sinn. Es war wirklich ätzend, wenn da Zahlenreihen über Minuten vorgelesen wurde.
Zwei Aspekte haben mir ganz gut gefallen. Zum einen das einige Spieler Bündnisse schlossen und sich da auch sehr unterschiedliche Spieler zusammen getan haben. Ansonsten gefiel mir die Art und Weise wie ein Spieler mit Ticks dargestellt wurde. Ich fand es sehr gut, dass hier auch seine Zuckungen wirklich als 'Zuck,zuck' und 'Blinzel, blinzel' im Text integriert war. Das machte im Hörbuch einen richtig guten Eindruck und man fühlte sich dem Charakter (obwohl er einer der krankesten war) näher. Mein größtes Problem mit dem Buch waren wirklich die Charaktere. Sie waren mir alle extrem unsympathisch (teilweise psychotisch), so unsympathisch, dass ich schon hoffte, dass sie bald sterben. Für mich sind Emotionen und zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen das wichtigste an einem Buch und hier war einfach alles flach und emotionslos. Ich fieberte nicht mit, ich fühlte nicht mit und ich wurde fast ein bisschen aggressiv, weil mich das alles so nervte.
Es gibt ganz sicher ein Publikum für dieses Buch, aber für mich war es überhaupt nichts. Ich bin einfach nur froh, dass es jetzt vorbei ist. Die anderen Bände werde ich definitiv nicht lesen.
Meine Wertung:
2 von 5 Sternen
drybonesratteling777's review
4.0
⚠️explicitly violent⚠️
good plot, pretty well developed characters, diverse characters and settings. one of the first multi pov books I've read.
good plot, pretty well developed characters, diverse characters and settings. one of the first multi pov books I've read.
itsevie13's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked this when I was 14. The re-read wasn't giving as strongly but probably is because I am now older than all the characters 😭. The premise of endgame is really cool though. Will I read the sequel? Absolutely! But would I read this one a 3rd time? Probably not unless brain de-aging is invented. :/