Endgame: The Complete Training Diaries

Endgame: The Training Diaries #1-3

by James Frey

All three thrilling volumes of Endgame: The Training Diaries, the prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Endgame series, together in one paperback bind-up!

Before they were Players . . . Before the Calling . . . They trained to be selected as the one to save their ancient bloodline—and win Endgame.

Follow the Twelve through sacrifices and betrayals, broken hearts and broken bones, as they 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, Dystopia, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Novella, Aliens

416 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2015

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

[Mohammed Arabey · Rating 5 out of 5]

في 12 قصة قصيرة منفصلة متصلة - 12 شخصية قوية مختلفة تماما - من 12 حضارة مختلفة متفرقة - 12 قصة من حياتهم مثيرة مؤسفة ذات اكثر من بُعد

في 12 قصة عن الصداقة - التنافس - الحب - الخيانة - الأنسانية - الثقة - التضحية - اشكال مختلفة من الأمومة - القسوة - الثورة - الحرية - الأخوة
مع 12 شخصية يتسعدون للعبة واحدة...لعبة النهاية

ENDGAME
نهـاية العـالـم
ولكن هذه القصص ماقبل بداية لعبة نهاية العالم..قصص شخصية جدا قبل ان يتقابل اي شخصية مع الأخري
يمكنك أن تقرأ تلك ال12 قصة قصيرة حتي لو لم تقرأ السلسلة من قبل، فالميزة هنا ان القصص منفصلة ولكنها بنفس الوقت أضافت الكثير من العمق الحقيقي لكل شخصية من شخصيات السلسلة
Endgame : The Calling

ربما ان في السلسلة الأصلية مايجعلك تنجذب للشخصيات هو الاحداث الرهيبة المتسارعة واسلوبهم في التعامل مع اللعبة الخطيرة تلك ولكنك هنا ستتعاطف بشكل رهيب مع تلك القصص المختلفة المثيرة الدرامية المأساوية في اغلبها

في عالم قاسي..في عالم يقترب من نهايته...يوم القيامة -ولكن بشكل لاديني في حالة تلك السلسلة للاسف- تأتي تلك القصص العجيبة
لتحضير وتدريب اللاعبين الاثني عشر في تلك اللعبة الجهنمية
ولأن اللعبة خطيرة سيتحتم عليها مصير شعوب وشكل الارض من بعد تلك القيامة..كانت التدريبات اشد قسوة

"ملفات التدريب"

جاري تجهيز ريفيو الحكايات الاثني عشر

محمد العربي

[Jake Lukens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this book. Good insight on the struggles of the characters, training for this brutal game.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was ON A ROLL reading this book. And then there was Sarah's story which was.... The best way to describe it would be that it sounded like it was written by one of those "pick me" girls. You know how I read super slow? Yeah well I barely even skimmed that one. In a sense, James Frey was smart not to make his readers suffer by ending the book with the worst story so we won't have to reread the whole endgame trilogy again.

I really enjoyed the other stories, but it's really hard to focus on that when the ending is SUCH A DOWNER.

[Dude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just awesome! Makes me want to reread Endgame: the Calling now that I know the Players better. I can't wait to get my hands on Endgame: Sky Key!

[Taylor Mortsolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this before starting the actual series so I have more insight into all of the players.

[Kaffimat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me appreciate the characters more and I might have to re-read the Endgame series now dammit

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review can also be found on A Thousand Lives Lived, check it out for more!

*3.5 star rating*

Endgame: The Calling stands as one of the best books I've read this year (at least from what has been published in the past) and to this day, I can't stop fidgeting and thinking about the game and mysteries that lie behind the actual story. I'm captivated to download the app (which I'll probably be addicted to) and figure out the puzzle by myself. When I saw that a complete novel of novellas from the characters before they were taken into the game was released, I would've sold my soul to grab a copy. The truth is that they weren't good as the real story itself.

You shouldn't feel obligated to read this book if you even enjoyed the first book. It's something extra that's definitely not needed, but it's here if you want to read it. There aren't that many people who have read it, either, so that kind of kicks a punch into my guts, too. If I had to go back in time, there's a huge chance that I wouldn't have chosen to read it or borrow it from the library. Why do I have to feel that the series has gotten worse when deep down I know that the sequel will surely and completely please me?

"For Marcus, climbing is everything. It's a fusion of mind and matter, the perfect way to channel all that frenetic energy that has him bouncing off the walls most of the time. It takes absolute focus, brute force, and a fearless confidence that comes naturally to Marcus, who feels most alive at 1,000 meters, looking down." (4)

So now that I've been through this and read all twelve stories, I can't even remember which ones pleased me. It was pretty bunched up and quick, and I can't really put everything together. But from what I do remember, I know that I would give it 3.5 stars. There were boring stories, more racing ones like Marcus's, and ones that don't even make sense and aren't needed. Not all of the Twelve had special lives before they were Called and chosen, y'know. The author just can't make up some awesome life for each of them when the Endgame actually saved some.

It's nice to read about some of the most kick and badass characters that modern-day dystopia fiction has ever held: Chiyoko, Marcus, Jago and Sarah. They're my favourites, at least. Then some secrets were spilled that we never knew of from the first book, leaving me in a state of shock. But the sequel will surely mention those secrets, as the obligation thing comes to mind again.

"This is the Player she chooses to be, one who will do anything for her people and for this most important person, one who will make her own decisions and Play by her own rules, one who will temper ruthlessness with mercy, one who will make mistakes, and do what she can to fix them. One who will never let herself forget what it is to feel love or anger or pain. One who will never forget what it is to feel human." (130)

These training diaries are something that you should read at your own risk. Just don't blame me if they ruin your whole experience or opinion of this series! But at the same time, they still hold that enchanting thing that Frey has called: his writing. And the shockers and heart-racing moments are still included. So in the end, there are pluses and minuses.

[Constantin Heller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would cry again 9.5/10

Let me preface this with my opinion of the series itself which I had fully read before this book. I thought the first book was absolutely amazing, kept me turning the pages. Then it gradually got weaker through the second and especially third book, but unlike others I actually liked the ending, despite it feeling a bit rushed.

Now, this book. I genuinely don't think I've ever read a book that has managed to make me feel genuine emotional pain this many times. Every single time you go into the story thinking "bleh, hate that guy", then you get invested in the character, and then it crushes your hopes and dreams. More than half of these genuinely made me sad. For characters that I had previously not cared about. Given how short some of those stories were, that's genuinely impressive.

Now, the minor negative (we'll ignore Sarah's story) is that the endings were very predictable, and almost every time I caught myself going "oh, obviously they're gonna do this to inflict emotional trauma in me" and then they do AND IT STILL FRICKING GETS YOU. It doesn't matter. If a story makes me cry, it doesn't matter if I went into the story knowing exactly why I would cry.

I can't recommend this book enough, if you're like me and didn't care much about some of the characters (looking at you Kala) and are just looking for a way to feel again, this will make you care. This will make you sad. I even felt sorry for little Mr. Monsterboy

Buy it.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkably, Frey managed to create an engaging world with developed characters for each chapter, despite them being separate short stories. The difference in each of the characters and the way their individual hardships shaped them is perhaps my favourite aspect of the book; there are psychopathic Players, kind/loyal Players and, mostly commonly, by their nature or the hand of others, ruthless Players. The novel starts by explaining how the 'lines' contain the best and worst of humanity, saying 'they are good and evil. Like you. Like all.' and, if there is one thing Frey does do, it is showcase the range beautifully. The stories about Marcus, Kala, Aisling, Baitsakhan (the character was a awful, awful person, but the writing that made me hate him so fully was great), Hilal (the best person in the book, in my opinion) were particularly good.

My one complaint was that some of the characters had similar arcs; while the perspectives were always unique and there were imaginative individual tales, there was a fair amount of romance either inspiring or hardening the Player. But hey, I might have just noticed that in particular because I read the entire book in one sitting. Also, the book is about teenagers and people say what they say about young love for a reason, right?
---
P.S. I'd explain what a Player and what the significance of a line is, but you can find that out yourself by reading the book. I hope the mystery acts as an incentive for you to pick it up.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated every story individually and calculated my overall rating, which is 2.75 stars. I'll show you my ratings per story from low to high:
Sarah Alopay, The Cahokain - 1 star
Baitsakhan, The Donghu - 2 stars
Shari Chopra, The Harrapan - 2 stars
Chiyoko Takada, the Mu - 2 stars
Alice Ulapala, The Koori - 2 stars
Hilal Ibn Isa Al-Salt, The Askumite 2 stars
Aisling Kopp, The Celt - 3 stars
An Liu, the Shang - 3 stars
Jago Tlaloc, The Olmec - 4 stars
Kala Mozami, The Sumerian 4 stars
Marcus Loxais Megalos, The Minoan - 4 stars
Maccabee Adlai, The Nabataen 4 stars

I'm not going to tell you what the stories are about because they're too short. The only thing that really bothered me is that the most annoying character had the longest and last story. The Endgame series would have been better without Sarah Alopay.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 12 chapters focusing on a pivotal moment of each of the Players before Endgame begins. Each story has it's own unique situation in shaping these characters and how they prepare to Play. Despite each chapter feeling short, and possibly rushed, it captures the importance of these Players' actions and discovering their own personal purpose being involved in Endgame. I was most interested in An's story to learn how he developed his tics and stutters. Definitely the most cruel and abusive training compares to the other Players.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first selected this book, I didn't realize that I had stumbled into the prequel (?) of a series. As it turns out, I didn't have to have knowledge of the main series to find this book captivating. I look forward to picking up the other books at some point in the future.

[Margaret Haigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok good premise but a lot of repetition.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to read more short story collections.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

How they became the players.

[Hannah S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars


it’s like saying goodbye to the characters all over again :’(

[Alya P · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ok. only read to pass the time at school. The characters had different stories but it was very repetitive and boring. Lame

[Kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish i knew this was only the beginning. I want to read the rest of the series now, which is exactly what a prequel should make you want. Very good characterization and haunting as well.

[Sonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a shame that I liked those prequel novellas much more than the third book of the trilogy. (Which honestly wasn't too hard.) I wasn't sure if I even wanted to read something that had anything to do with this book series, but I'm glad that I did, because I kinda got the same exciting/fascinating feeling from those stories as I got from the first 2 books of the trilogy. (Idk what went wrong with the last one.)
Those storys were a great addition to the trilogy and show the backgrounds of the characters - how they grew up and became the players we get to see in the main books. It was very interesting to see how each bloodline has their own "system" to pick their player.

[Juan Carlos Nuño · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endgame was a really good book and I when I knew a prequel will be out, I freaked out!

In this book, we get to know the 12 players' background stories. In Endgame, they all seem like warriors, without regrets of killing or making choices. What this book taught me is that they were all born as people. Normal people as you and me, but because of their inheritance, they have to maturate at a very young age (even when, some of them, didn't want to).

Some of the stories really shocked me (like Alice's, Kala's, Jago's, An's, Shari's, Maccabee's and Sarah's), which made me change the perspective that I had of these characters and made me like some of them, when I hated them on Endgame.

Other stories (Marcus's, Chiyoko's and Baitsakhan's) made me hate these characters. They were bad people since the beginning and, in Endgame, they were even worse. I kind of get Chiyoko's behaviour, but I still despise her a little.

Finally, two stories (Aisling's and Hilal's) dindt get to me at all. I find these characters boring and I just can't bound with them. I don't think that when I read Sky Key my feelings will change, but we will see.

Nonetheless, this book was really great and I can't wait to continue reading the entire saga.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a prequel, filled with short stories about the players' training.

When I read The Endgame, I had wanted to know more about certain players' backstories, like An's and Sarah. But there were others who I couldn't care less about.

The backstories were short, and didn't provide very much information. Some of them were at a fine length, like Marcus', but I wasn't satisfied ith most of them. They either were completely pointless, like Hilal's (I think that's his name at least?), or there wasn't enough, like Sarah's. There were so many of them, that they all just blended together. I don't really remember much of any of them.

I think this book would've been better if James Frey just cut out the pointless people's backstories that nobody really cared about, and elaborated more on the ones that were actually interesting because I wasn't completely satisfied with some of them, but that's just my opinion.

[JoIin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this several years after finishing the Endgame trilogy, which I fell in love withh, felt like revisting dear old friends. For that reason alone, I adored this prequel.

For several more as well, including the feeling of justice given to each characters. Chiyoko Takeda, An Liu and Kala Mozami, which were all my favourite characters since day 1, but those who were not, or those I even disliked, too. Even when I desperately wanted to skip ahead and read only the stories of characters I loved, everything about the novel made me unable to put it away.

In one or many ways, this was more heartbreaking than the sequels, because there was little to anticipate other than pain, death, agony and the breaking up with one's humane side, for mere survival reasons. And so, I love it enthusiastically.

[Jhazmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hubo historias que me gustaron bastante; como la de Kala, Alice, incluso Chiyoko; otras que me hicieron odiar más al personaje, Baitsakhan es el gran ejemplo; otras que simplemente me dieron igual. Pero la que más disfruté y sentí fue la de Jago, su historia fue hermosa, triste y malvada todo al mismo tiempo.
Según mi opinión, es una gran precuela que te ayuda a entender muchas cosas que pasan en Endgame; sobre todo porque conoces más a los personajes, sus metas y sus motivos para matar o no. Te metes en sus cabezas y conoces las razones por las que fueron elegidos como los jugadores de cada uno de sus linajes.
Realmente un éxito leer este libro, si eres un fan de la serie, definitivamente vas a disfrutar esta lectura.

[Chin-Ning Chong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really impressed. It's interesting to see the Players' lives and the choices they make, but the flow of the story is so detached and monotonous that it doesn't draw my attention and hold it for any period of time. Each of the stories hold a main point, that is where each Player reaches a turning point in their training, and that this particular Player is slightly different from all the rest in their line for some reason. Reasons differ between people, but they are all primarily 'special' in some way.

It is an okay book, but not my cup of tea. Too boring, despite the promises of gore and harsh training and angst. There isn't enough emotion in this to form any attachment to the book.

[Carolina Cortez · Rating 3 out of 5]

woo me gusto mucho, aunque si en algunas partes se me hiso algo lento y sentia que las paginas no avanzaban, este libro tiene los tres volumenos de The Training Diaries, aqui vemos la historia de los 12 jugadores, muchas de ellas me dejaron en shock (Jago), otras se me hisieron predesibles, la de Baitsakan me dio miedo y asco (maldito niño sadico infernal), con otras me apegue a personajes que desgraciadamente estan muertos, pero en fin, no me queda mas que decir que ESTOY QUE ME MUERO POR EL SEGUNDO LIBRO DE ENDAME

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not every Player's secret backstory is super-duper-totally compelling, a fair few of them are. Chief among them - those of Marcus, Sarah, An, and Jago. There's also the story behind Aisling's father Declan, which (based on the Sky Key blurb) is an important building block for her character. Because after all, every game needs a Game Breaker.

Overall, this was a nice little treat to pass the time while waiting for Sky Key. That one needs to be in my hands NOW.

[Chloe Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

So clearly this isn't as exciting and action packed as the calling but it's still a pretty gripping read. It's a good background insight into the lives of the players and what made them who they are and into human experience in general. It gives you a good view of the extent that the players lives are changed by being a part of endgame and into the traditions of the different lines.
Overall, not as good as as calling but still an enjoyable read with a fair amount of action.

[Emmi Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn more about the mindset and motivation for each player, however some of their stories were repetitive or predictable while others were almost overwhelmingly violent/scary. Still, overall I enjoyed it and am looking forward to rereading the first endgame novel with my new insights.

[Artemisia Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. Having read Endgame: The Calling first, I created connections to the characters, but they weren't super strong. But now, Holy Crap, these characters mean so much to me. And now I am semi totally depressed about the ones who have already died, and I never got to appreciate them AHHHH!! But I am dying to read Sky Key now, I am seriously going to go buy it right now.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read the Endgame series, this is definitely a must-read. The book goes through the players life before Endgame, all the betrayals, love, hatred and life are explained in this book and you'll really get to connect with the players more than ever. Overall, the book is great and I recommend this to Endgame readers.