What do you think?
Rate this book
A Game of Universe
A Grail quest … in the far future.
A thousand years from now the galaxy is ablaze with sorcery and high technology. Among a billion inhabited worlds knights, scientists, aliens, and pirates all seek the ultimate prize: the Holy Grail. To the sole winner go riches, glory, and life everlasting. To the losers, death and eternal damnation.
Germain is a ex-wizard turned corporate assassin. He can absorb the skills of his victims—geisha, gambler, or martial artist. The catch? These ghosts sometimes possess him for their own purposes.
Bound to the Grail quest by an unbreakable infernal contract, Germain has one year to find his prize among the myriad stars and worlds. The quest is also Germain’s last chance to re-discover his soul … if, after a lifetime of evil, he has one left.
A thousand years from now the galaxy is ablaze with sorcery and high technology. Among a billion inhabited worlds knights, scientists, aliens, and pirates all seek the ultimate prize: the Holy Grail. To the sole winner go riches, glory, and life everlasting. To the losers, death and eternal damnation.
Germain is a ex-wizard turned corporate assassin. He can absorb the skills of his victims—geisha, gambler, or martial artist. The catch? These ghosts sometimes possess him for their own purposes.
Bound to the Grail quest by an unbreakable infernal contract, Germain has one year to find his prize among the myriad stars and worlds. The quest is also Germain’s last chance to re-discover his soul … if, after a lifetime of evil, he has one left.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1997
43 people are currently reading
519 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 19, 2010
This is my absolute favorite book that I have read thus far. Talk about a sci-fi twist on the search for the Holy Grail. This was the first book of Eric Nylund's that I read and his writing style is so easy to read and you just continue to want more. I go back to this book every year or so to re-read, and I'm never disappointed.
March 1, 2008
I'm a sucker for a good "game novel". That is to say that any book that is about a character taking part in a big competition is a big interest to me. True, off hand the only books with this plot device are this and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire but still, both use the device very well.
Basically this is a science fiction space opera about a guy with about 7 personalities living in his head(it's complicated and explained much better in the book than I ever could) that uses a ticket to get into a meeting at a big casino where they set cheaters on fire. In the meeting he and all the other cut throats and villians and heroes and fortune seekers that are there are told that they have been chosen to participate in a sort of scavenger hunt. Whoever wins gets a planet all their own(it's a little planet by a binary star, but it's still your own private planet). All they have to do is find the Holy Grail. And so, the chase is on. This is the first Space Opera that I read, and so far it's the only one that I can think of that really clicked for me. There's something about it, something that makes me think "This is a fantastic adventure" and not just "Wow, this is a really long book about space". There is very little(if any) Hard Sci-fi in this book, it's almost all light fluff. But it's fun light fluff, and it's just very well written and... well, I really liked it.
Oh, and the title comes from a gambling game at the beginning of the book where you try to collect cards to make a galaxy. If anyone can make this game, with the metal cards that float above the table when you win, I'll spend way too much time playing cards to ever read again.
Basically this is a science fiction space opera about a guy with about 7 personalities living in his head(it's complicated and explained much better in the book than I ever could) that uses a ticket to get into a meeting at a big casino where they set cheaters on fire. In the meeting he and all the other cut throats and villians and heroes and fortune seekers that are there are told that they have been chosen to participate in a sort of scavenger hunt. Whoever wins gets a planet all their own(it's a little planet by a binary star, but it's still your own private planet). All they have to do is find the Holy Grail. And so, the chase is on. This is the first Space Opera that I read, and so far it's the only one that I can think of that really clicked for me. There's something about it, something that makes me think "This is a fantastic adventure" and not just "Wow, this is a really long book about space". There is very little(if any) Hard Sci-fi in this book, it's almost all light fluff. But it's fun light fluff, and it's just very well written and... well, I really liked it.
Oh, and the title comes from a gambling game at the beginning of the book where you try to collect cards to make a galaxy. If anyone can make this game, with the metal cards that float above the table when you win, I'll spend way too much time playing cards to ever read again.
January 10, 2008
This book is my favorite book of all time!!!! It's incredible: the plot, the characters, the twists. Too bad I can't find it anymore. *tear
April 9, 2021
The quest for the Holy Grail but set in space where the competitors are cutthroats, criminals, mobsters, and other scumbags. The main character is an assassin with a sad past. He finds himself a part of the race without meaning to only to realize it's not what he thinks it's about.
Our hero's backstory is needlessly violent and unfolds without a warning. The book was fine without it. If the sexual abuse of children makes you want to throw up -- as it does me -- then tread carefully.
Another weird thing in the book was the character of Omar. Dunno why the author had to bring him back for the plot. Any other new player could have been used in Omar's place for the same function.
I thought it took the protagonist too long to figure out how the Grail would solve all his problems or who the spy was -- but maybe that's just me.
The main character is likable and possesses an unusual talent, which was refreshing. Also, I knew I'd enjoy this book immensely as soon as I read the first paragraph:
Cheaters were burned here. It happened the last time we came to Golden City. Two bouncers stopped the floor show and dragged the guy onstage. Right there with spotlights reflecting off their metallic skins, and the genetically modified feather girls watching, they torched him. It might happen to me tonight. The gambler was cheating—and with borrowed money.
The author combines the elements of light sci-fi with fantasy very well. So, if you like your sci-fi dry, hard, and logical, this may not be the book for you!
I enjoyed every second of this read.
December 31, 2008
Excellent book for those that like reading about games, assassins, multiple personalities or quests.Could also be of interest to those that like books about the holy grail. There's enough cyberpunk.sci-fi elements to entertain fans of the genre but it's toned down enough not to put off the casual reader.
One of my favourite books, unfortunately Nylund has never come close to writing anything along the same lines.
One of my favourite books, unfortunately Nylund has never come close to writing anything along the same lines.
April 20, 2018
A very strong 4.0 stars
I really wanted to love this more than I eventually did.
On one hand, the writing is spectacular (Nylund did get nominated for a World Fantasy Award in '98 which, in my experience, is usually a sign of strong prose, if nothing else) and there is probably more creativity in these 350 pages then there are in most other author's entire career.
But I also found the story frustrating because I felt the backstory of the main character, which we get hints of here and there, was more interesting and engaging than the actual main grail quest. Particularly the entire subplot of the medieval esque society living in the destroyed planet. I just found it didn't fit well with the tone of the rest of the story. And what's funny is that Fall of Reach, which is the book Nylund is most known for, actually focuses a great deal on the backstory and rise of John (aka The Master Chief) in a way that felt like taking the best parts of Game of Universe and making it the focus of a story. I think that's one of the reasons Fall of Reach is such a strong novel.
But all this complaining doesn't hide the fact that this book is still incredibly well done and should have gotten WAY more recognition at the time of it's release. (It should have at least merited a Hugo nomination)
I really wanted to love this more than I eventually did.
On one hand, the writing is spectacular (Nylund did get nominated for a World Fantasy Award in '98 which, in my experience, is usually a sign of strong prose, if nothing else) and there is probably more creativity in these 350 pages then there are in most other author's entire career.
But I also found the story frustrating because I felt the backstory of the main character, which we get hints of here and there, was more interesting and engaging than the actual main grail quest. Particularly the entire subplot of the medieval esque society living in the destroyed planet. I just found it didn't fit well with the tone of the rest of the story. And what's funny is that Fall of Reach, which is the book Nylund is most known for, actually focuses a great deal on the backstory and rise of John (aka The Master Chief) in a way that felt like taking the best parts of Game of Universe and making it the focus of a story. I think that's one of the reasons Fall of Reach is such a strong novel.
But all this complaining doesn't hide the fact that this book is still incredibly well done and should have gotten WAY more recognition at the time of it's release. (It should have at least merited a Hugo nomination)
September 14, 2016
I went back and forth on this one. Because on one hand, the soul-borrowing concept is fantastic and it's a space search for the Holy Grail story, which is exactly the spot I always want to be in. But Nylund kept interrupting my fun with upsetting shit. Germain as a conflicted, tortured assassin is fine, if played-out, and I was fully prepared for the scenes that would show us the horrible events that led him to his life in a murder company. But it's hard to prepare yourself for rape in a book that feels like a side story in the Star Wars universe and once Nylund introduces that aspect of Germain's childhood, he keeps coming back to it, especially right at the end. Personally I wish that he hadn't had that element in the book, especially as explored as it was, because I don't think that it added anything and for me, it really changed the entire tone. I still enjoyed large parts of the book and I was fascinated by the descriptions of how Germain's abilities worked but it gets heavy and that distracts away from all the fun space stuff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2022
An early book from Eric Nylund, but I think it is one of his best.
Gives a hard sf slant on magic with excellent character development and plot.
Has anyone seen this book in Audio format?
Gives a hard sf slant on magic with excellent character development and plot.
Has anyone seen this book in Audio format?
October 18, 2020
The boundary between fantasy and science fiction isn't always clear-cut -- especially when works like "A Game of Universe" set out to deliberately blur the line further by incorporating elements of both. A space opera incorporating magic, elements of high fantasy, and a quest for the Holy Grail? How do you classify a work like this? Or you can just sit back and enjoy it -- it's not a perfect novel, but it's a lot of fun, and blends elements of high fantasy, space opera, cyberpunk, and Arthurian legend into a sometimes-chaotic but always entertaining story.
Germain is an assassin for hire who has the ability to absorb the souls and talents of those he kills... but as a consequence he absorbs part of their personality, and so is constantly at war with those he shares headspace with. It's thanks to these other personalities that he finds himself recruited for a most unusual quest -- to find the Holy Grail. If he succeeds he gets untold wealth, but if he fails, his soul is forfeit. With the aid of a star pilot who seems disarmingly familiar, a drug-addicted computer genius, and a powerful but overly obedient AI, Germain must compete with fellow Grail hunters, grapple with the other personalities in his head, and face the demons of his past if he's to acquire the grail and save his soul...
If you like your fantasy and your science fiction to stay in their own tidy compartments and never the twain shall meet, this isn't the book for you. Space dogfights, computer hacking, and wretched hives of scum and villainy exist side by side with magicians, angels, demons, and other supernatural elements. It makes for an odd combination at times, and honestly some of the elements don't gel together as well as others. But it makes for an entertaining read nonetheless, and honestly I was having too much fun with the story to question it much.
Germain as a character is fascinating, a complex being who manages to have a semblance of honor despite being a pragmatic assassin sharing his headspace with any number of unsavory characters. The plot also raises questions about whether he actually has absorbed the personalities of those he's killed or if he's merely insane, which makes for a fascinating alternate angle for the story. Other characters don't get quite as much fleshing out, and I found the insta-romance with star pilot Victoria to be eye-rolling (the plot makes attempts to justify it, but they come off as a little weak in my opinion). Still, Germain is a fascinating enough character that it makes up for some of this.
A word of warning -- this book contains references to sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and the same being inflicted on children. Read at your own risk if you're bothered by mentions of these. I honestly find using sexual assault as a cheap means to add drama to a character's backstory to be disrespectful and obnoxious, but that's just me.
"A Game of Universe" is a genre-busting experiment that is a bit uneven at times and has its issues, but was still a fun read. If you don't mind a novel that plays fast and loose with the boundaries of its genres, give this a shot.
Germain is an assassin for hire who has the ability to absorb the souls and talents of those he kills... but as a consequence he absorbs part of their personality, and so is constantly at war with those he shares headspace with. It's thanks to these other personalities that he finds himself recruited for a most unusual quest -- to find the Holy Grail. If he succeeds he gets untold wealth, but if he fails, his soul is forfeit. With the aid of a star pilot who seems disarmingly familiar, a drug-addicted computer genius, and a powerful but overly obedient AI, Germain must compete with fellow Grail hunters, grapple with the other personalities in his head, and face the demons of his past if he's to acquire the grail and save his soul...
If you like your fantasy and your science fiction to stay in their own tidy compartments and never the twain shall meet, this isn't the book for you. Space dogfights, computer hacking, and wretched hives of scum and villainy exist side by side with magicians, angels, demons, and other supernatural elements. It makes for an odd combination at times, and honestly some of the elements don't gel together as well as others. But it makes for an entertaining read nonetheless, and honestly I was having too much fun with the story to question it much.
Germain as a character is fascinating, a complex being who manages to have a semblance of honor despite being a pragmatic assassin sharing his headspace with any number of unsavory characters. The plot also raises questions about whether he actually has absorbed the personalities of those he's killed or if he's merely insane, which makes for a fascinating alternate angle for the story. Other characters don't get quite as much fleshing out, and I found the insta-romance with star pilot Victoria to be eye-rolling (the plot makes attempts to justify it, but they come off as a little weak in my opinion). Still, Germain is a fascinating enough character that it makes up for some of this.
A word of warning -- this book contains references to sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and the same being inflicted on children. Read at your own risk if you're bothered by mentions of these. I honestly find using sexual assault as a cheap means to add drama to a character's backstory to be disrespectful and obnoxious, but that's just me.
"A Game of Universe" is a genre-busting experiment that is a bit uneven at times and has its issues, but was still a fun read. If you don't mind a novel that plays fast and loose with the boundaries of its genres, give this a shot.
March 20, 2017
This was a wild ride, but a really enjoyable one.
The way magic worked in this world was really interesting. The personalities in Germain's mind were really diverse and entertaining, although I'm still not quite sure why Celeste was in there to begin with; she didn't seem to have that many useful talents. I really enjoyed the psychologist and 55 though. There were a lot of unexpected but welcome plot twists in this as well.
Germain's backstory was really tragic and sad, although I think Nylund went a little overboard with the intensity. Omar was a strange character; he seemed to be just a means to tie some of the story bits together and was a little confusing. The way time worked was also a little confusing; why be able to travel faster than the speed of light only for relative time to take away any advantage of it to begin with?
This was such a fun book to read from start to finish and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys science-fiction novels that are a little strange.
The way magic worked in this world was really interesting. The personalities in Germain's mind were really diverse and entertaining, although I'm still not quite sure why Celeste was in there to begin with; she didn't seem to have that many useful talents. I really enjoyed the psychologist and 55 though. There were a lot of unexpected but welcome plot twists in this as well.
Germain's backstory was really tragic and sad, although I think Nylund went a little overboard with the intensity. Omar was a strange character; he seemed to be just a means to tie some of the story bits together and was a little confusing. The way time worked was also a little confusing; why be able to travel faster than the speed of light only for relative time to take away any advantage of it to begin with?
This was such a fun book to read from start to finish and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys science-fiction novels that are a little strange.
June 2, 2018
Romantic the wonderful mix of magic and science
This book has a tremendous except metric and science. It is amazing the way the author makes many different combinations of magic and science. Also there's a lot of romance in this novel. A little bit of the time travelers wife before the time travelers wife book was ever written
This book has a tremendous except metric and science. It is amazing the way the author makes many different combinations of magic and science. Also there's a lot of romance in this novel. A little bit of the time travelers wife before the time travelers wife book was ever written
January 3, 2024
There were some aspects of this book that kind of threw me off, but overall I found it incredibly entertaining. I'm not a fan of hard sci-fi, so to me this was a perfect blend of sci-fi and fantasy/magic elements. I greatly enjoyed Germain and his character, and will now be looking for books similar to this.
April 14, 2025
Read this because I read The Fall of Reach and loved it. This book was nuts and should have way more reviews. On the surface, the magic and religion and space travel make this seem almost like a spoof, but it was great. Very strange, but tied together so well that there wasn't anything confusing, yet nothing was predictable.
November 2, 2025
It was interesting. I wasn't expecting a high fantasy tale underneath the sci-fi but it worked and kept me entertained. There are some religious undertones that might annoy some readers but overall if you like Nylund's style and want to read some of his earlier work, this is definitely worth the time.
November 16, 2024
This had a few really good elements but a lot of bad ones. Pretty incoherent at times, needless child rape (there are other ways to create a Traumatic Backstory™), and it also fails the Bechtel test. Felt like science fiction from the 70s (not a compliment).
August 25, 2019
This has always been my favorite book.
November 14, 2019
One of the best books I've read
I wish there was more to read, put this one up there with Enders game. Just get this one already.
I wish there was more to read, put this one up there with Enders game. Just get this one already.
May 10, 2021
Great story
Loved this book - a great twist on the hunt for the grail. A science fantasy with tones of Space Opera. Great fun.
Loved this book - a great twist on the hunt for the grail. A science fantasy with tones of Space Opera. Great fun.
February 2, 2022
Dialouge was unbelievable and poorly written. I had no attachment to any of the characters. Couldn't even finish the book.
April 21, 2024
This might be my favorite book.
A unique blend of sci fi, fantasy, mystery, and more that just does everything right. I don’t know what else to say. Go read it.
A unique blend of sci fi, fantasy, mystery, and more that just does everything right. I don’t know what else to say. Go read it.
October 6, 2016
This novel is an absolute delight! Eric Nylund weaves multiple flavors of science fiction, grail mythology, psychoanalysis, magic, and philosophy into a blended experience that is unforgettable.
Imagine the Holy Grail/King Arthur myth, revisited with elements of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', 'Fight Club', and Kevin Smith's 'Dogma', and then trim all the fat so that the pages flow with a fast and lean tempo.
If you like science fiction, magic, assassins, space operas, and page-turning fun, this novel will sate your multiple appetites at once.
I bought my digital copy from Amazon for $4.00. Best four bucks I have ever spent on entertainment and inspiring fiction!
Don't take my word for it, though; go and read this book now. I suggest start on a Friday night because you won't want to stop until you finish this story to its very satisfying conclusion!
Imagine the Holy Grail/King Arthur myth, revisited with elements of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', 'Fight Club', and Kevin Smith's 'Dogma', and then trim all the fat so that the pages flow with a fast and lean tempo.
If you like science fiction, magic, assassins, space operas, and page-turning fun, this novel will sate your multiple appetites at once.
I bought my digital copy from Amazon for $4.00. Best four bucks I have ever spent on entertainment and inspiring fiction!
Don't take my word for it, though; go and read this book now. I suggest start on a Friday night because you won't want to stop until you finish this story to its very satisfying conclusion!
April 9, 2016
A sci-fi retelling of the quest for the Holy Grail! Need I say more??
Well in case I do...
Nylund is such a master of world-building (or universe building, rather), I just couldn't put this book down. There's something for everyone: mind-bending physics, time travel, world-hopping, religious fanatics, alien mobsters, shoot-outs on corrupt planets, angels, demons, and everything but the kitchen sink.
Miraculously, Nylund ties it all together in this epic quest that sucks you in and keeps you thinking long after the last page. I've read this three times now, and you can bet your stars I'll be back to read it again - it's just that good.
Well in case I do...
Nylund is such a master of world-building (or universe building, rather), I just couldn't put this book down. There's something for everyone: mind-bending physics, time travel, world-hopping, religious fanatics, alien mobsters, shoot-outs on corrupt planets, angels, demons, and everything but the kitchen sink.
Miraculously, Nylund ties it all together in this epic quest that sucks you in and keeps you thinking long after the last page. I've read this three times now, and you can bet your stars I'll be back to read it again - it's just that good.
April 29, 2016
This was such a fun read and one of my favorite science fiction novels so far. The sci fi elements were perfectly balanced; they didn't feel like the author was showing off like some of the other books I've read. I didn't find myself confused at any point, and the imagery was truly stunning. Sometimes it felt a bit too much like a video game, like Nylund was playing "what would Germain do if this happened"? But I loved the way he weaved together all the plot elements in the end. It was clever and creative, and I nearly started reading it again right away so that I could see how everything fit together with the ending in mind.
March 13, 2021
These types of books seem to be rare nowadays -- stand-alone, fun reads that start fast and keep going at a pace unconcerned with world building and planting the seeds of a multi-part series. Perhaps for this reason, it has remained almost a hidden gem among sci-fi/fantasy fans (the crossover between the two genres also makes it unique), and seems to hold a special place to many of these readers. The number of high reviews and people saying this is one of their favorite books ever was good enough to attract my interest, and the book did not disappoint. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a quick, entertaining break from the door stop series.
April 10, 2012
This is such a simple and simply written book, but there is a wistful quality about it and the story that keeps drawing me back. Cloaked in the deliberately cliche elements of a space opera, this story turns out to be a gentle fable about loneliness and longing.
This is a book that I go back to and reread.
This is a book that I go back to and reread.
May 4, 2015
Awesome
Game of thrones meets Star Wars - but that doesn't even describe it. Amazing book. I will read again and recommend the shit out of it to anyone who cares about spirituality and science.
Game of thrones meets Star Wars - but that doesn't even describe it. Amazing book. I will read again and recommend the shit out of it to anyone who cares about spirituality and science.
August 26, 2015
I remember reading this years ago and that it was a fantastic book, so when I saw it on Kindle I picked it up....very much not as good as I remembered.
Still a good book, the story of a Grail Quest and one man's salvation from his internal daemons, but nothing particularly special unfortunately.
Still a good book, the story of a Grail Quest and one man's salvation from his internal daemons, but nothing particularly special unfortunately.
June 29, 2016
I don't even remember the last time I read this, but at that point in time I already committed myself to pick this book up again. It's an intelligent, slightly playful and simply satisfying take on the Grail Quest...in space.
August 30, 2009
This along with Nylunds Pawn's Dream are among my favorite books
March 5, 2010
Unique, rich science fiction/fantasy world.
Story of sin, harrowing, redemption, bears further allegorical, philosophical, psychological analysis.
Story of sin, harrowing, redemption, bears further allegorical, philosophical, psychological analysis.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews