Existence

Endgame: The Training Diaries #3

by James Frey, Nils Johnson-Shelton

This third thrilling digital prequel novella to Endgame: The Calling follows the lives of four of the twelve Players before they were chosen as the one to save their ancient bloodline--and win Endgame.

Before the Calling . . .

Twelve Players-in-training are tested to the very edge of their physical and mental abilities. Endgame: The Training Diaries Volume 3: Existence follows Sarah, Jago, An, and Hilal, as they prepare for the apocalyptic game that may or may not occur.

They must shed their normal lives and transform into the Players they were meant to be.
They must train, learn, prepare.
To Play, survive, and solve.
To kill or be killed.
Endgame is real.
Endgame is coming. And only one can win.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Ebooks, Fantasy, Dystopia

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 22, 2014

About the author

James Christopher Frey is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were later found to be exaggerated or fabricated, sparking a media controversy. His 2008 novel Bright Shiny Morning was also a bestseller.
Frey is the founder and CEO of Full Fathom Five. A transmedia production company, FFF is responsible for the young adult adventure/science fiction series The Lorien Legacies of seven books written by Frey and others, under the collective pen name Pittacus Lore. Frey's first book of the series, I Am Number Four (2010), was made into a feature film by DreamWorks Pictures. He is also the CEO of NYXL, an esports organization based in New York.

Reviews

[Melissa Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

meu deus como eu amo essa série, não me canso nunca!!! inclusive, pensando em reler…

um like aqui e eu releio a série principal 👀

[Joaquin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's just keep this simple, okay? I'll be reviewing each of the characters' backstory individually.

Jago:
He is one of the most normal characters (for me) along with Sarah because of his backstory. He parties. He flirts. He drinks. Just like any normal teenager would do. But when it comes to his mom, all hell breaks loose. Jago meets this girl. His mom doesn't approve. Shit happens. Hearts get broken. This is how it goes. I feel sad for Jago. He eventually meets Sarah so yay!

An:
I hated him in Endgame because of what he has done. But after reading his backstory, I kind of feel sorry for him. I've always wondered why he speaks like that. It's kind of annoying. And now we learn why. He's the most psychologically-damaged player. I feel so bad for him. Now my feelings for him are all mixed up.

Hilal:
He is the most caring player out there just because of what happened here. I know that he's a player, but you must know when and when not to help. Hilal knows. He's such a kind-hearted person and knows his limits. He understand people. He is at peace. I now like his character more than before.

Sarah:
Let's give it up for the main protagonist (I think?) and the most inexperienced player (I think?) out of all of them! So she wasn't really the original player because her brother was (oops, spoiler), but something happened. Now we see the most normal player battle it out between training and going out with friend for pizza. Training and going to school. Training and sleeping. It's not easy being a player. I know. I've read their backstories.

[Annabella Kuehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half :

[Gabriela Chinchayán valdivieso · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4
Las historias son buenas y nos ayuda a entender más a los personajes, algunos se merecen 5* pero mmm la última historia no me gustó mucho, era algo tonta a comparación de todo lo que hemos visto.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to be generous with two stars. Unlike the previous two volumes in The Training Diaries, this one focuses on unsavory characters. I'm being generous about that, as well. Think Stephen King on a bad day, with the sensibilities of Jeffrey Dahmers.

After the first half (or maybe less) of the first story, I just skimmed through it, only to find it got worse and worse. Nothing redemptive in any of the stories that I could find. I tried all of them. I'm guessing these are the "bad guys" when it comes to the actual action (I haven't read the other Endgame books), but there was absolutely nothing to enjoy the reading experience here for me. Maybe if the stories had been distributed in another way . . . . All this book did was convince me that I don't want to read any more of the books.

I'm sure there are many readers who will not be as turned off as I was, but an entire volume of psychopaths just isn't my cup of tea.

[LaTrice McNeil-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the best of the Training Diaries Trilogy. The writing was also much better.

[Rae Anne Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say these are the best books I've ever read but they aren't the worst and they are good enough at teasing about the main books that I can't wait to read Endgame: The Calling.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the three novellas, this one is my favorite.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could have been watching Ancient Aliens instead.

[Meggies Fussnoten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcus' charismatisches Verhalten wickelt fast jeden um den Finger. Sein Ehrgeiz, sich als würdiger Spieler für Endgame zu qualifizieren, nimmt ihm meist die Sicht, sich den wirklich wichtigen Dingen zu widmen. Aber so wurde er erzogen. Er ist ein Kandidat, zusammen mit anderen wird er für die Spiel ausgebildet. Vor allem Alexander ist sein härtester Konkurrent. Aber mit ihm entwickelt sich auch eine Freundschaft, die beiden bald zum Verhängnis wird.

Marcus war eine Person in Endgame, die arrogant, selbstsicher und sehr unsympathisch herüberkam. Warum dies so ist, wird in dieser eNovelle sehr gut beschrieben.

Marcus einziges Ziel ist es, bei Endgame als Spieler teilzunehmen. Und so arbeitet er verbissen darauf hin. Zu anfangs ohne Rücksicht auf Verluste. Bis ihm ein Kampf mit Xander etwas zur Einsicht kommen lässt.

Doch die Enttäuschung, als sein bester Freund Xander als Spieler ernannt wird, stürzt ihn in ein Tief, dass er aber nicht nach Außen dringen lässt. Er freut sich äußerlich für seinen Freund, innerlich zerfrisst es ihn jedoch fast.

Und dieser Zwiespalt bringt ihn dazu, eine Entscheidung zu treffen, deren Ausgang ihn ein Leben lang begleiten wird. Und ihn letztendlich zu dem macht, was er ist.

Wie auch im Buch Endgame: Die Auserwählten sowie in den bereits erschienenen eNovella finde ich den Schreibstil des Autors einfach wunderbar. Die meist kurzen, prägnanten Sätze und die damit verbundenen knappen, dennoch interessanten Informationen ergeben eine schöne Mischung. So fliegt man durch das Buch bzw. die Kurzgeschichten.

Fazit:
Marcus Weg ist nicht einfach, doch selbstbestimmt.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Existence is the last Training Diaries book and it gives us the background of the players Jago, An, Sarah, and Hilal. An's story was to be expected - he hints that his upbringing and training for Endgame was quite brutal, and he wasn't exaggerating. I was surprised by Jago's story, as I didn't expect that he cared so much about another girl before Sarah. Im sad at the turn of events that occurred in his case though. Hilal's story was probably my least favorite as it wasn't as exciting as the others. Lastly Sarah, who inherited Player status after her brother was disqualified due to injury, is the one I feel I identify most with. She decided to give up her very normal life, complete with friends and a boyfriend and social life, and try to catch up on training for the next 6 years of her life. I can't imagine what a scary situation that is for her, considering the other players have been doing nothing but training for their entire lives. Enjoyable novella and I can't wait for the next installment.

[Ece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya ben bu kitabı çok sevdim! Kitap Jago, An Liu, Hilal ve Sarah'ın oyundan önceki hikayelerini konu alıyor. Karakterlerin oyundan önceki hayatları kimi zaman beni fazlasıyla üzdü, kimi zamansa "e yuh artık" dedirtti. Jago'nun hikayesini okuduğumda ona olan sempatim arttı ve karakteri daha da çok sevdim, An Liu ise benim kitapta en uzak olduğum karakterdi ama küçük An için kalbim parçalandı. Hilal ise gerçekten öyle sıkıcıydı ki, yorumda bulunmamam onun için en iyisi... Sarah'ın oyundan önceki hayatından birazcık haberdardık zaten, çoğu zaman kitap onun çevresinde dönüyor, sanırım bundan kaynaklı olucak beni şaşırtan bir olayı olmadı bu kitapta.
Seriye bakışınızı değiştirecek bir kitaptı. Diğer Training Diaries kitapları gibi. Eğer Endgame'i seviyorsanız mutlaka okumalısınız!

[Jay Barcelona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Existence
- Jago (4/5). I really find his mafia-ish family interesting, but I feel sorry for the girl.
- An (5/5). He is perhaps the most psychologically-damaged Player. Me wants to give him a hug.
- Hilal (5/5). His story makes you think of your principles, of how you "play" your own battle.
- Sarah (4/5). Of all the Players I think she's the most inexperienced one, but how come she's at par with other Players in The Calling? Is she really that good?

[Ian Mellark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta saber mas de los personajes que tanto me gustaron de ENDGAME... Quizá pensé que la historia de Sarah seria diferente... Pero la de Jago me pareció fuerte igual que la de blinkblink Ang lee Blinkblink
Habrá una serie de vídeos en mi canal hablando de cada uno de los personajes... Incluso habrá una reedición del video de chiyoko! Si te gusto ENDGAME Y ESTE MUNDO CREADO, PASA A MI CANAL DE YOUTUBE www.youtube.com/ianmellark encontrarás la historia de CHIYOKO y una reseña de este libro!

[Evan Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid entry in these prequels. I'll say they do a pretty good job of shading in the characters and I'm back to looking forward to reading Sky Key even after The Calling left me feeling pretty bland about this series, but I'm hoping Sky Key take the next step and sets this apart from your run-of-the-mill Young Adult series.

[nathalia borghi · Rating 5 out of 5]

the. best. characters. and. stories.

I love Hilal, Sarah and Jago - and am honestly afraid and hate An Liu - so it's no wonder this was going to be an either love or hate book. And I love it, it's the most intense and well constructed set of prequels of this series.