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Endgame #3
Rules of the Game
At the Calling, kepler 22b told the Players, “The rules of Endgame are simple. Find the keys in order and bring them to me.”
For Sarah, Jago, Aisling, Maccabee, Shari, An, and Hilal, Endgame has reached its final phase. The third key, Sun Key, is all that stands between one Player saving their line—or perishing along with the rest of the world. And only one can win.
But maybe the rules are not so simple. Maybe kepler 22b misstated them. Maybe he underestimated the Players.
West Bengal, India. Maccabee has Earth Key and Sky Key and he is determined to find Sun Key. He Plays to win, always. But fate can turn in the blink of an eye. Especially for the Player who carries the strange child, Sky Key, with him to the end.
Kolkata, India. An Liu Plays for something more certain: death. His tics have returned, his mind fractures. Will these prevent him from destroying Endgame, and the world along with it?
Sikkim, India. Aisling Plays for something more fleeting: life.
And in spite of all that’s happened in Endgame, Aisling has help. Sarah, Jago, Shari, and Hilal share her mission. Sun Key must not be found. For these Players, the rules of the game have changed.
No matter what they’re Playing for, all of the remaining Players have one thing in common: They are all willing to die to achieve their mission, whatever this may be.
For Sarah, Jago, Aisling, Maccabee, Shari, An, and Hilal, Endgame has reached its final phase. The third key, Sun Key, is all that stands between one Player saving their line—or perishing along with the rest of the world. And only one can win.
But maybe the rules are not so simple. Maybe kepler 22b misstated them. Maybe he underestimated the Players.
West Bengal, India. Maccabee has Earth Key and Sky Key and he is determined to find Sun Key. He Plays to win, always. But fate can turn in the blink of an eye. Especially for the Player who carries the strange child, Sky Key, with him to the end.
Kolkata, India. An Liu Plays for something more certain: death. His tics have returned, his mind fractures. Will these prevent him from destroying Endgame, and the world along with it?
Sikkim, India. Aisling Plays for something more fleeting: life.
And in spite of all that’s happened in Endgame, Aisling has help. Sarah, Jago, Shari, and Hilal share her mission. Sun Key must not be found. For these Players, the rules of the game have changed.
No matter what they’re Playing for, all of the remaining Players have one thing in common: They are all willing to die to achieve their mission, whatever this may be.
327 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2016
161 people are currently reading
5908 people want to read
About the author
James Frey
72 books3,322 followersJames 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.
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.
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December 20, 2018
Δεν θυμάμαι τίποτα από αυτό το βιβλίο, περα από το κομμάτι που με ξενερώσει, οπότε 2.
May 14, 2018
"I choose to be the person I want to be".
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué las sagas que empiezan tan bien van decayendo y terminan fatal? ¿Por qué, Endgame? Tú me gustabas.
Vaya, pues qué decir. Endgame empezó siendo una historia súper épica en la que doce Jugadores entrenados para ser los mejores tenían que pelear alrededor de todo el mundo para salvar a su linaje de un súperapocalipsis del que sólo uno podría salir vivo. Todo pintaba genial, era una competencia de ingenio, de fuerza y de habilidades tremendamente sangrienta, además. Luego los Jugadores empezaron a morir, las llaves fueron encontrándose y las alianzas se formaron, pero el final del segundo libro fue muy decepcionante. Nos dicen durante dos libros que los Jugadores son personas letales que harán lo que sea para ganar Endgame, pero cuando se encuentran frente a una prueba durísima eligen no cumplirla porque de repente su humanidad aparece...
En este tercer libro, que yo esperaba repuntara un montón y nos salvara de la pasividad del segundo, los Jugadores se dividen en dos grupos: los que Juegan para vivir y detener Endgame y los que Juegan para ganar Endgame y condenar a los demás linajes a la aniquilación absoluta. Todos siguen viajando de un lugar a otro del mundo, visitan monumentos, buscando supuestos aliados y tratando de hallar la llave que acabará con el Juego de una vez por todas. Vamos, que se sigue repitiendo la fórmula del segundo.
Aquí, lo único que cambia es que aparece más directamente kepler22, uno de los organizadores de Endgame, pues ve amenazado el plan milenario de que el Juego se lleve a cabo satisfactoriamente y sin sabotajes, pero ni siquiera esas partes tienen mucho sentido. En realidad, nunca sabemos muy bien quiénes son estos kepler y por qué existe Endgame ni nada así.
¡Ah! Otra cosa que me molestó bastante fue lo poco trascendental que fue la caída del gran asteroide en la Tierra. Se supone que es un asteroide que, básicamente, borrará de la faz de la Tierra la mitad del mapa, pero cae y no nos describen consecuencias ni la escena de impacto. Dicen que las condiciones son terribles, pero los Jugadores siguen viajando por el espacio aéreo y haciendo como si nada. "Oh, volcanes... guay. Anda, un terremoto, pues qué le hacemos".
De las pocas cosas que rescato es una escena cercana al final cuando, por fin, después de 84 años, los Jugadores vuelven a verse cara a cara y vuelven a sacar todas esas habilidades de las que hacen alarde durante todo su entrenamiento. Sí que debo reconocer que hubo dos muertes que no me esperaba nada, que me dejaron absolutamente fría y con ganas de más explicaciones. ¿Recuerdan las dos líneas de Sinsajo en las que matan a Finnick y tú no sabes qué sucedió, si en realidad está muerto o no, pero luego te das cuenta de que claramente lo acaban de asesinar? Pues así me sentí con las dos muertes que les refiero. Son tan rápidas que no las pude procesar, pero me dolieron. Allí le dije adiós a mis dos personajes favoritos.
Ahora, lo que NO rescato es el final. ¿EN SERIO? Es que de verdad... Todo este gran hype de destrucción masiva, muerte de linajes y la inevitabilidad del destino para que ese fuera el final. Dioses...
Y, bueno, algo que quiero mencionar para terminar esta reseña y esta saga es que, en este tercer tomo particularmente, me molestó muchísimo el estilo de escritura. No sentía que me estuvieran narrando un libro, sino dando un informe militar en muchas ocasiones... Y entiendo que todo tiene que ver con las pistas y el Juego real de descifrar enigmas para ganar dinero, pero esta vez me pareció bastante abrumador.
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué las sagas que empiezan tan bien van decayendo y terminan fatal? ¿Por qué, Endgame? Tú me gustabas.
Vaya, pues qué decir. Endgame empezó siendo una historia súper épica en la que doce Jugadores entrenados para ser los mejores tenían que pelear alrededor de todo el mundo para salvar a su linaje de un súperapocalipsis del que sólo uno podría salir vivo. Todo pintaba genial, era una competencia de ingenio, de fuerza y de habilidades tremendamente sangrienta, además. Luego los Jugadores empezaron a morir, las llaves fueron encontrándose y las alianzas se formaron, pero el final del segundo libro fue muy decepcionante. Nos dicen durante dos libros que los Jugadores son personas letales que harán lo que sea para ganar Endgame, pero cuando se encuentran frente a una prueba durísima eligen no cumplirla porque de repente su humanidad aparece...
En este tercer libro, que yo esperaba repuntara un montón y nos salvara de la pasividad del segundo, los Jugadores se dividen en dos grupos: los que Juegan para vivir y detener Endgame y los que Juegan para ganar Endgame y condenar a los demás linajes a la aniquilación absoluta. Todos siguen viajando de un lugar a otro del mundo, visitan monumentos, buscando supuestos aliados y tratando de hallar la llave que acabará con el Juego de una vez por todas. Vamos, que se sigue repitiendo la fórmula del segundo.
Aquí, lo único que cambia es que aparece más directamente kepler22, uno de los organizadores de Endgame, pues ve amenazado el plan milenario de que el Juego se lleve a cabo satisfactoriamente y sin sabotajes, pero ni siquiera esas partes tienen mucho sentido. En realidad, nunca sabemos muy bien quiénes son estos kepler y por qué existe Endgame ni nada así.
¡Ah! Otra cosa que me molestó bastante fue lo poco trascendental que fue la caída del gran asteroide en la Tierra. Se supone que es un asteroide que, básicamente, borrará de la faz de la Tierra la mitad del mapa, pero cae y no nos describen consecuencias ni la escena de impacto. Dicen que las condiciones son terribles, pero los Jugadores siguen viajando por el espacio aéreo y haciendo como si nada. "Oh, volcanes... guay. Anda, un terremoto, pues qué le hacemos".
De las pocas cosas que rescato es una escena cercana al final cuando, por fin, después de 84 años, los Jugadores vuelven a verse cara a cara y vuelven a sacar todas esas habilidades de las que hacen alarde durante todo su entrenamiento. Sí que debo reconocer que hubo dos muertes que no me esperaba nada, que me dejaron absolutamente fría y con ganas de más explicaciones. ¿Recuerdan las dos líneas de Sinsajo en las que matan a Finnick y tú no sabes qué sucedió, si en realidad está muerto o no, pero luego te das cuenta de que claramente lo acaban de asesinar? Pues así me sentí con las dos muertes que les refiero. Son tan rápidas que no las pude procesar, pero me dolieron. Allí le dije adiós a mis dos personajes favoritos.
Ahora, lo que NO rescato es el final. ¿EN SERIO? Es que de verdad... Todo este gran hype de destrucción masiva, muerte de linajes y la inevitabilidad del destino para que ese fuera el final. Dioses...
Y, bueno, algo que quiero mencionar para terminar esta reseña y esta saga es que, en este tercer tomo particularmente, me molestó muchísimo el estilo de escritura. No sentía que me estuvieran narrando un libro, sino dando un informe militar en muchas ocasiones... Y entiendo que todo tiene que ver con las pistas y el Juego real de descifrar enigmas para ganar dinero, pero esta vez me pareció bastante abrumador.
August 9, 2017
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: Rules of the Game
I was really excited for this one to come out. The first book in this series made me into a reader, and I still thank James Frey for that. So I was so excited for December to finally arrive and this book coming out and for me running to the store and FINALLY buy the conclusion to one of my most anticipated books. But then my copy arrived and I was soooo disappointed by the hardcover edition and about the thinness of the book. Only 327 pages? WHAT? How can you conclude my favorite series in only 327 pages!! Well unfortunately he couldn’t:(
Design (2,0 stars)
Ok let me tirade a little more about the appearance of this book!(skip to the next chapter if you like, haha) Why in the Hell would you make the third installment in a series 3 millimeter higher than the first two. I’m so furious?! Who decided this? (I’m a bit obsessed by height I know) But that wasn’t even the worst. I’m a book collector. I especially love hardbacks because of their beautiful dust jackets and hidden art in the naked cover of the books. The previous books had the endgame symbol carved into the book with beautiful colors matching the dust jacket. This book NOPE! No art. No beautiful imprint. I was so disappointed. The spine of this one just doesn’t match the other two. The material of the hard back is also different! It makes me so sad and it doesn’t look good on my shelves.
Contains spoilers from here down for the whole “Endgame series”!
Start of the book (3,5 stars)
It took me some time to remember what had gone down in “Sky key”, but it is summarized quite well through the lines and I picked up the story quite fast for a book that I read 1,5 years ago. I had forgotten all about this super tense situation but I sunk right back in the book and needed to know how this book was concluded.
The writing style (4,0 stars)
But I can imagine that people have trouble reading these books. The chapters are super short and the pov switches like every other line. But I really enjoyed this, it kept it alive. One off the reasons that I loved the first two books so much is the writing style. It’s just so easy to follow, even if you’re following about 10 persons thoughts in one room Frey can make it work. I love how simple he writes action and how easy I could follow that too. It gets never vague or confusing and it was always pleasant to read. I also really like that he can say things with so few words. He doesn’t need a hundred pages to make someone’s personality stand out or make a conversation happen.
But yeah I’m still not a fan of the riddles in this book, I just didn’t see the pattern. And there is nothing wrong with that, because the story on itself is cool and I didn’t buy the books to go treasure hunting. BUT this book only has 300 pages, and if a quarter of them are images or riddles that have in my opinion nothing to do with the story then I’m getting frustrated.
The world building (2,0 stars)
I still really like the concept of endgame. I enjoyed that the story takes place all around the world. There are so many cultures woven into this book that collide or work together. That’s amazing to read about. I still love all the lines, the symbols on every chapter, their names and the diverse players. I think this whole endgame was designed super clever and believable. But unfortunately there where a lot loose threads and unbelievable things that I would have liked to see different.
One of the things that I couldn’t stand was the kepler and this whole supernatural alien species. It wasn’t fitting to mix in some weird alien shit that is super vague through the whole book and doesn’t play a big part in any of the books. And I hated how he seems to be some sort of observer but later he gets to also acts and make situations have different outcomes. And I just didn’t understand the keplers.. Who are they?Besides some alien species that is also human and confusing. What do they want? Besides endgame to have one winner. How do they look? Besides having 7 fingers. Where do they life, do they have their own planet? I just didn’t get their motivation in this book to start endgame and hated that because that was the whole point of endgame and therefore these book. What did they get out of it if endgame would be completed? I just didn’t get it.
Then another thing, I still don’t understand the point of Endgame! I mean yeah to make the strongest line survive and kill the rest of the civilization? But there never was an explanation why now? How? or just why..? And dumping an huge asteroid on the earth kind of kills everyone, including the earth? I just really disliked the story about the whole world going down by this asteroid. That is just sooo cliché and I hated how there wasn’t done something original that ends the world. And how do these makers have ‘the power’ to send an asteroid to earth!?! They don’t control the universe, right? Then yet another thing I think is quite weird, earth doesn’t do anything about it! Asteroids can be viewed from thousands of miles away and then alarms should have sounded. Then earth had time to do something like shoot a rocket to destroy it. And since it takes so many days in this book to make the asteroid collide with earth I kept wondering why everyone just accepted their fate and did nothing but die.
This book had a few things that were mentioned and that I was shocked about! And then there never was paid attention to again, like it never happened or was never stated. I wanted explanations, at least a few lines could have been added to explain why? I feel like not a lot of things got the attention they deserved and that made the story quite sloppy and unrealistic. I also felt that the motivation off people wasn’t really stated in this book.
Like Ea’s men. Why do the men still continued to go after the players and the monuments. What is their motivation? Your leader is gone? We don’t really get the side of those people and that pisses me of because they were ‘the bad guys´ and I didn’t know why? There are also lines in this book about Wayland messing with the genetics of these men. Uhm what? How? Iew? That needed to be specified and explained more. And then towards the end the man just disappear and we never hear of them again? Another thing was that the players knew how to fly a plane, what, how?
Plot (2,5 stars)
The pacing of this book was alright, sometimes a little too fast, but yeah if you only have about 300 pages to conclude a trilogy that is necessary. I would rather have a story pacing a little faster than too slow. Even though sometimes it was a little sudden that players showed up at a scene after being on the other side of the world a few pages ago (not meaning the telepathy). It felt so rushed; decisions, events, thoughts, there wasn’t time to have a normal conversation or come up with a normal strategy. At least that wasn’t shown in this book. I guess there must be deliberation because at some point everyone knew off plans that the reader didn’t knew about. The decisions that are made didn’t make sense to me sometimes because the thinking process wasn’t shown at various points.
It just never reached a climax, they kept being on the move and fighting and strategizing but there never was a point that I was like wauww we are getting somewhere. It always had the same pacing and kind of the same events. There never was something original or renewing. I missed twists. Everything was predictable and maybe I would have rather had that they didn’t make amends and that they just kept playing. That would have made it more exciting because in the beginning of this book it is already clear that 6 against 1 that who is going to win.
I didn’t agree with the decision to kill of Stella right away, actually the whole plan is hers, the stuff is hers, the enemies are hers. And she didn’t say as much as hello and then she dies?! I was really angry about this because I thought she would give me some answers but apparently not?
The ending (2,0 stars)
The ending was so underwhelming and disappointing. From the point where Sara and Jago died this book was lost for me. I understand from the writers point of view because it would come as something unexpected (well as a shock for me!) but I was so disappointed by it. I wanted them to live happily ever after, to have babies, be cute together, but also to have a part in the end of endgame. And the way they died made me even madder. Like an execution, not a change to defend themselves, I just… I wanted so much more from them, I shipped them so much en this.. this just wasn’t right. The last thoughts from Sarah… This just broke my heart.
So after this drama we still need to deal with An, urgh, and the maker and everything. I just hated that An didn’t die sooner in this book, I HATED IT! He was creepy and annoying and I skipped half of his chapters due to the annoying ticks. And he ruined everything with his stupid Mu accomplice, who I still don’t understand the motivation off.
I expected the biggest battle and heroism I had ever read about. But instead I got an old woman that only plays a part in the last 100 pages of this book and one shot that ends everything. This made me so mad!! I wanted a battle between the maker and I wanted the players to bundle their powers and together stand strong. But this never happens and I found it quite easy to just make this the end. And how can this be the end? There were so much more keplers? Why didn’t they take the place of 22b, why didn’t they take his place and make them finish endgame? Why didn’t they attack earth? I also still don’t understand why this needs whole endgame thing needs to happen. What would happen when the kepler would have succeeded? Yeah the player would die, but what off the rest of earth? There are so many unanswered questions and I’m so annoyed and displeased. Why in the Hell are there so much novellas and side stories and isn’t this an normal book. Frey should have put way more energy in the conclusion of his series then to write an enormous amount of novellas and spin off series. But also the meeting from Shari and little Alice was in my opinion not written in the right way. The only thing it says is they embrace.. The END. I was reading it to read that moment and then to only have 3 sentences dedicated to such a sensitive moment made me angry.
The epilogue was also disappointing, although I liked the message it contained it was again underwhelming, predictable and boring. And I really missed Sara and Jago.
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: Rules of the Game
I was really excited for this one to come out. The first book in this series made me into a reader, and I still thank James Frey for that. So I was so excited for December to finally arrive and this book coming out and for me running to the store and FINALLY buy the conclusion to one of my most anticipated books. But then my copy arrived and I was soooo disappointed by the hardcover edition and about the thinness of the book. Only 327 pages? WHAT? How can you conclude my favorite series in only 327 pages!! Well unfortunately he couldn’t:(
Design (2,0 stars)
Ok let me tirade a little more about the appearance of this book!
Contains spoilers from here down for the whole “Endgame series”!
Start of the book (3,5 stars)
It took me some time to remember what had gone down in “Sky key”, but it is summarized quite well through the lines and I picked up the story quite fast for a book that I read 1,5 years ago. I had forgotten all about this super tense situation but I sunk right back in the book and needed to know how this book was concluded.
The writing style (4,0 stars)
But I can imagine that people have trouble reading these books. The chapters are super short and the pov switches like every other line. But I really enjoyed this, it kept it alive. One off the reasons that I loved the first two books so much is the writing style. It’s just so easy to follow, even if you’re following about 10 persons thoughts in one room Frey can make it work. I love how simple he writes action and how easy I could follow that too. It gets never vague or confusing and it was always pleasant to read. I also really like that he can say things with so few words. He doesn’t need a hundred pages to make someone’s personality stand out or make a conversation happen.
But yeah I’m still not a fan of the riddles in this book, I just didn’t see the pattern. And there is nothing wrong with that, because the story on itself is cool and I didn’t buy the books to go treasure hunting. BUT this book only has 300 pages, and if a quarter of them are images or riddles that have in my opinion nothing to do with the story then I’m getting frustrated.
The world building (2,0 stars)
I still really like the concept of endgame. I enjoyed that the story takes place all around the world. There are so many cultures woven into this book that collide or work together. That’s amazing to read about. I still love all the lines, the symbols on every chapter, their names and the diverse players. I think this whole endgame was designed super clever and believable. But unfortunately there where a lot loose threads and unbelievable things that I would have liked to see different.
One of the things that I couldn’t stand was the kepler and this whole supernatural alien species. It wasn’t fitting to mix in some weird alien shit that is super vague through the whole book and doesn’t play a big part in any of the books. And I hated how he seems to be some sort of observer but later he gets to also acts and make situations have different outcomes. And I just didn’t understand the keplers.. Who are they?
Then another thing, I still don’t understand the point of Endgame! I mean yeah to make the strongest line survive and kill the rest of the civilization? But there never was an explanation why now? How? or just why..? And dumping an huge asteroid on the earth kind of kills everyone, including the earth? I just really disliked the story about the whole world going down by this asteroid. That is just sooo cliché and I hated how there wasn’t done something original that ends the world. And how do these makers have ‘the power’ to send an asteroid to earth!?! They don’t control the universe, right? Then yet another thing I think is quite weird, earth doesn’t do anything about it! Asteroids can be viewed from thousands of miles away and then alarms should have sounded. Then earth had time to do something like shoot a rocket to destroy it. And since it takes so many days in this book to make the asteroid collide with earth I kept wondering why everyone just accepted their fate and did nothing but die.
This book had a few things that were mentioned and that I was shocked about! And then there never was paid attention to again, like it never happened or was never stated. I wanted explanations, at least a few lines could have been added to explain why? I feel like not a lot of things got the attention they deserved and that made the story quite sloppy and unrealistic. I also felt that the motivation off people wasn’t really stated in this book.
Like Ea’s men. Why do the men still continued to go after the players and the monuments. What is their motivation? Your leader is gone? We don’t really get the side of those people and that pisses me of because they were ‘the bad guys´ and I didn’t know why? There are also lines in this book about Wayland messing with the genetics of these men. Uhm what? How? Iew? That needed to be specified and explained more. And then towards the end the man just disappear and we never hear of them again? Another thing was that the players knew how to fly a plane, what, how?
Plot (2,5 stars)
The pacing of this book was alright, sometimes a little too fast, but yeah if you only have about 300 pages to conclude a trilogy that is necessary. I would rather have a story pacing a little faster than too slow. Even though sometimes it was a little sudden that players showed up at a scene after being on the other side of the world a few pages ago (not meaning the telepathy). It felt so rushed; decisions, events, thoughts, there wasn’t time to have a normal conversation or come up with a normal strategy. At least that wasn’t shown in this book. I guess there must be deliberation because at some point everyone knew off plans that the reader didn’t knew about. The decisions that are made didn’t make sense to me sometimes because the thinking process wasn’t shown at various points.
It just never reached a climax, they kept being on the move and fighting and strategizing but there never was a point that I was like wauww we are getting somewhere. It always had the same pacing and kind of the same events. There never was something original or renewing. I missed twists. Everything was predictable and maybe I would have rather had that they didn’t make amends and that they just kept playing. That would have made it more exciting because in the beginning of this book it is already clear that 6 against 1 that who is going to win.
I didn’t agree with the decision to kill of Stella right away, actually the whole plan is hers, the stuff is hers, the enemies are hers. And she didn’t say as much as hello and then she dies?! I was really angry about this because I thought she would give me some answers but apparently not?
The ending (2,0 stars)
The ending was so underwhelming and disappointing. From the point where Sara and Jago died this book was lost for me. I understand from the writers point of view because it would come as something unexpected (well as a shock for me!) but I was so disappointed by it. I wanted them to live happily ever after, to have babies, be cute together, but also to have a part in the end of endgame. And the way they died made me even madder. Like an execution, not a change to defend themselves, I just… I wanted so much more from them, I shipped them so much en this.. this just wasn’t right. The last thoughts from Sarah… This just broke my heart.
So after this drama we still need to deal with An, urgh, and the maker and everything. I just hated that An didn’t die sooner in this book, I HATED IT! He was creepy and annoying and I skipped half of his chapters due to the annoying ticks. And he ruined everything with his stupid Mu accomplice, who I still don’t understand the motivation off.
I expected the biggest battle and heroism I had ever read about. But instead I got an old woman that only plays a part in the last 100 pages of this book and one shot that ends everything. This made me so mad!! I wanted a battle between the maker and I wanted the players to bundle their powers and together stand strong. But this never happens and I found it quite easy to just make this the end. And how can this be the end? There were so much more keplers? Why didn’t they take the place of 22b, why didn’t they take his place and make them finish endgame? Why didn’t they attack earth? I also still don’t understand why this needs whole endgame thing needs to happen. What would happen when the kepler would have succeeded? Yeah the player would die, but what off the rest of earth? There are so many unanswered questions and I’m so annoyed and displeased. Why in the Hell are there so much novellas and side stories and isn’t this an normal book. Frey should have put way more energy in the conclusion of his series then to write an enormous amount of novellas and spin off series. But also the meeting from Shari and little Alice was in my opinion not written in the right way. The only thing it says is they embrace.. The END. I was reading it to read that moment and then to only have 3 sentences dedicated to such a sensitive moment made me angry.
The epilogue was also disappointing, although I liked the message it contained it was again underwhelming, predictable and boring. And I really missed Sara and Jago.
March 18, 2017
(ακολουθεί κριτική στα Ελληνικά)
This is the worst book I've read in years and I'm writing this review both in english and greek so that everyone can see what a waste of money it was!
OMG, where should I start? It's not that I loved the previous two and this failure came out of the blue. But I actually had hopes for a grand finale..... but nope. There is not the big meteor-crashing-earth scene nor the magnificent final battle I was expecting. It really let me down. Thank God my favorite characters lived. And what was that scene in the end??? I couldn't care less...
Moreover, I really don't think this is a literature novel since there's nothing literary in the book. Full of repeats, short periods and foolishly described scenes/objects that damn me if I ever really managed to picture them in my mind.
Utter failure. Ugh...
Pardon my english.... and STAY AWAY of it!!
Είναι το χειρότερο βιβλίο που έχω διαβάσει εδώ και χρόνια!! Δε ξέρω καν από πού να ξεκινήσω! Δεν είναι ότι λάτρεψα τα άλλα δύο, αλλά όντως περίμενα κάτι καλό για το μεγάλο φινάλε!! Αλλά δεν μας έκαναν τη χάρη.Δεν υπάρχει σκηνή που να περιγράφει την πτώση του Αβαδδών από κάποια κοντινή οπτική γωνία ούτε σκηνές χάους και φρίκης!! Αλήθεια τώρα;; Κοτζάμ μετεωρίτης έπεσε!!! Περίμενα κάτι παραπάνω από έναν απλό σεισμό και σύννεφα σκόνης! Επίσης δεν υπάρχει κάποια φοβερή μάχη στο τέλος, άρα fail και δω!
Έζησαν οι 2 αγαπημένοι μου χαρακτήρες,πάλι καλά! Ωστόσο, η σκηνή στο τέλος τελείως άκυρη! Δε με ένοιαξε καν.
Στο λογοτεχνικό κομμάτι τώρα-γκουχ γκουχ- ούτε καν το θεωρώ βιβλίο λογοτεχνίας. Δεν υπάρχει ούτε στο ελάχιστο δείγμα λογοτεχνική γραφής. Γεμάτο ηλίθιες επαναλήψεις ("Ο τάδε αισθάνεται. Αισθάνεται. Αισθάνεται." -Σιγά ρε Ρουβά!), εκνευριστικό μικροπερίοδο λόγο(λες και δεν έχουν μάθει για την υποτακτική και παρατακτική σύνδεση των προτάσεων στο σχολείο), μία λέξη ανά σειρά
- ή το ΤΡΑΓΙΚΟ μία λέξη σε μία ολόκληρη σελίδα (και καλά για σασπένς;) και τα ηλίθια τικ του Αν ΜπρρρρρρρρρρρρμπλινμπλινκΜρπρρρρρρρρρ.
Επίσης, ας συζητήσουμε λίγο τις αποτυχημένες περιγραφές των σκηνών ή των αντικειμένων, που ανάθεμα και αν μπόρεσα ποτέ να φανταστώ στο μυαλό μου αυτό που περιγράφουν!!!
Αχ,Ουρανοί, νεύρα!! Έδωσα 15 ευρουλάκια για 434 σελίδες που, αν αφαιρέσεις τις ολοσέλιδες εικόνες(ήταν μέρος του γρίφου;),τα τικ, τις επαναλήψεις και το τραγικό που ανέφερα πιο πάνω, χαλαρά θα ήταν οι μισές!!! (δεν είμαι τσιγκούνα, το θέμα μου δεν είναι τα λεφτά, είναι ότι τα έδωσα για μια μ******-μπαρδόν)
Μπορεί να θυμηθώ και άλλα στραβά αργότερα και να τα προσθέσω, η λίστα μου δε τελειώνει εδώ!
ΑΠΑΡΑΔΕΚΤΟ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the worst book I've read in years and I'm writing this review both in english and greek so that everyone can see what a waste of money it was!
OMG, where should I start? It's not that I loved the previous two and this failure came out of the blue. But I actually had hopes for a grand finale..... but nope. There is not the big meteor-crashing-earth scene nor the magnificent final battle I was expecting. It really let me down. Thank God my favorite characters lived. And what was that scene in the end??? I couldn't care less...
Moreover, I really don't think this is a literature novel since there's nothing literary in the book. Full of repeats, short periods and foolishly described scenes/objects that damn me if I ever really managed to picture them in my mind.
Utter failure. Ugh...
Pardon my english.... and STAY AWAY of it!!
Είναι το χειρότερο βιβλίο που έχω διαβάσει εδώ και χρόνια!! Δε ξέρω καν από πού να ξεκινήσω! Δεν είναι ότι λάτρεψα τα άλλα δύο, αλλά όντως περίμενα κάτι καλό για το μεγάλο φινάλε!! Αλλά δεν μας έκαναν τη χάρη.Δεν υπάρχει σκηνή που να περιγράφει την πτώση του Αβαδδών από κάποια κοντινή οπτική γωνία ούτε σκηνές χάους και φρίκης!! Αλήθεια τώρα;; Κοτζάμ μετεωρίτης έπεσε!!! Περίμενα κάτι παραπάνω από έναν απλό σεισμό και σύννεφα σκόνης! Επίσης δεν υπάρχει κάποια φοβερή μάχη στο τέλος, άρα fail και δω!
Έζησαν οι 2 αγαπημένοι μου χαρακτήρες,πάλι καλά! Ωστόσο, η σκηνή στο τέλος τελείως άκυρη! Δε με ένοιαξε καν.
Στο λογοτεχνικό κομμάτι τώρα-γκουχ γκουχ- ούτε καν το θεωρώ βιβλίο λογοτεχνίας. Δεν υπάρχει ούτε στο ελάχιστο δείγμα λογοτεχνική γραφής. Γεμάτο ηλίθιες επαναλήψεις ("Ο τάδε αισθάνεται. Αισθάνεται. Αισθάνεται." -Σιγά ρε Ρουβά!), εκνευριστικό μικροπερίοδο λόγο(λες και δεν έχουν μάθει για την υποτακτική και παρατακτική σύνδεση των προτάσεων στο σχολείο), μία λέξη ανά σειρά
Η είσοδος παραμένει μαύρη και άδεια για τέσσερα λεπτά.
Πέντε.
Έξι.
Εφτά.
Οχτώ.
- ή το ΤΡΑΓΙΚΟ μία λέξη σε μία ολόκληρη σελίδα (και καλά για σασπένς;) και τα ηλίθια τικ του Αν ΜπρρρρρρρρρρρρμπλινμπλινκΜρπρρρρρρρρρ.
Επίσης, ας συζητήσουμε λίγο τις αποτυχημένες περιγραφές των σκηνών ή των αντικειμένων, που ανάθεμα και αν μπόρεσα ποτέ να φανταστώ στο μυαλό μου αυτό που περιγράφουν!!!
Αχ,Ουρανοί, νεύρα!! Έδωσα 15 ευρουλάκια για 434 σελίδες που, αν αφαιρέσεις τις ολοσέλιδες εικόνες(ήταν μέρος του γρίφου;),τα τικ, τις επαναλήψεις και το τραγικό που ανέφερα πιο πάνω, χαλαρά θα ήταν οι μισές!!! (δεν είμαι τσιγκούνα, το θέμα μου δεν είναι τα λεφτά, είναι ότι τα έδωσα για μια μ******-μπαρδόν)
Μπορεί να θυμηθώ και άλλα στραβά αργότερα και να τα προσθέσω, η λίστα μου δε τελειώνει εδώ!
ΑΠΑΡΑΔΕΚΤΟ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 18, 2018
I love this series, I'm still Crazy about it..but not how it ends..
The Calling (🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟)
Sky Key (🌟🌟🌟🌟 ¼ )
Rules of the Game (🌟🌟🌟 ½ )
How something started that Epic, international crisis ending in one single chamber...that's the crisis of the Endgame then.
TBR
The Calling (🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟)
Sky Key (🌟🌟🌟🌟 ¼ )
Rules of the Game (🌟🌟🌟 ½ )
How something started that Epic, international crisis ending in one single chamber...that's the crisis of the Endgame then.
TBR
May 6, 2017
I've just found this secret dialog between the authors.
"I think there are too many players left alive."
"Okay, I'll write some quick, unsatisfying deaths for a couple more of them."
"And whatever happened to those other keplers?"
"Lalalala...I can't hear you!"
"Should we describe what happened to the east coast of North America?"
"Nah, the book's long enough. Just a vague hint, then wrap it up."
"Are we going to actually explain ANYTHING?"
"No. I just wrote this because teen dystopian fiction is a gold mine and I wanted people to forget about that memoir where I totally lied about my life."
"Oh."
"I think there are too many players left alive."
"Okay, I'll write some quick, unsatisfying deaths for a couple more of them."
"And whatever happened to those other keplers?"
"Lalalala...I can't hear you!"
"Should we describe what happened to the east coast of North America?"
"Nah, the book's long enough. Just a vague hint, then wrap it up."
"Are we going to actually explain ANYTHING?"
"No. I just wrote this because teen dystopian fiction is a gold mine and I wanted people to forget about that memoir where I totally lied about my life."
"Oh."
December 21, 2017
Κρίμα, πολύ κρίμα. Δεν μου άρεσε καθόλου. Δεν υπήρχε το μεγάλο, ωραίο, έντονο φινάλε που θα ταίριαζε σε μια τριλογία. Οι μακροσκελείς βαρετές και ανούσιες περιγραφές υπήρχαν και εδώ, και μάλιστα ήταν δοσμένες με τέτοιο τρόπο που δεν μπορούσα να φτιάξω εικόνα στο μυαλό μου. Κοινώς: διάβαζα, διάβαζα, διάβαζα και δεν καταλάβαινα τι διαβάζω και για ποιο λόγο τα διαβάζω. Η βασική υπόθεση θα μπορούσε να καλύψει 20 σελίδες, άντε 50 με κάποιες σάλτσες, όλες οι υπόλοιπες ήταν περιττές.
Επίσης δεν υπήρχε καμία περαιτέρω ανάλυση χαρακτήρων και καμιά απολύτως ανάλυση συναισθημάτων, και αυτό με ενόχλησε πολύ κάποιες στιγμές που η πλοκή απαιτούσε συναισθηματισμό.
Τέλος πάντων, ζορίστικα αλλά το τελείωσα.
Η άποψή μου για την τριλογία (συνολικά) είναι εδώ:
http://kiallovivlio.blogspot.gr/2017/...
Επίσης δεν υπήρχε καμία περαιτέρω ανάλυση χαρακτήρων και καμιά απολύτως ανάλυση συναισθημάτων, και αυτό με ενόχλησε πολύ κάποιες στιγμές που η πλοκή απαιτούσε συναισθηματισμό.
Τέλος πάντων, ζορίστικα αλλά το τελείωσα.
Η άποψή μου για την τριλογία (συνολικά) είναι εδώ:
http://kiallovivlio.blogspot.gr/2017/...
June 26, 2017
A pretty satisfying ending, a lot of action, unexpected deaths, all and all, I liked it very much. What I really want is a good TV series adaptation.
February 5, 2017
I will give my full review and why I took off a star after a certain someone *cough* Fern *cough* finishes it because my New Year's resolution is to spoil less. Overall, I thought this was a okay ending to the series. I thought it was definitely the weakest of them all, but that could be because there are fewer characters as the series went on and I didn't like most of the ones who were left standing in this book. I think the ending was pretty good and it wrapped up the series well, although for a reason I won't name I feel like I didn't get the closure I needed.
UPDATE: I really hated how the deaths were written. Maccabee and Sarah both died in 1 second. I got no closure. AND Jago didn't even get a perspective in this book. I don't know his final thoughts or anything about his thoughts at all in this book. But maybe it's for the better because Sarah's last thoughts about Jago were that his breath was bad.
UPDATE: I really hated how the deaths were written. Maccabee and Sarah both died in 1 second. I got no closure. AND Jago didn't even get a perspective in this book. I don't know his final thoughts or anything about his thoughts at all in this book. But maybe it's for the better because Sarah's last thoughts about Jago were that his breath was bad.
January 1, 2017
UGH MY EMOTIONS AND BRAIN ARE EQUALLY NOT OKAY AFTER THAT. That was almost too much to handle. The final installment in the Endgame trilogy was just as action packed and non-stop as the first two books, but felt a little more unhinged than the first two. That's where my main issue comes in, the logic behind it all was nearly impossible to keep track of in the end. Everything happens so fast that you don't usually have time to think about it but now that it's all over, I'm thinking, and I'm just like "huh??" And while dying is pretty much a norm in this series, there were some main characters, three books in, whose deaths felt almost purely for shock value, and that reaalllyyyy bothered me. A lot. Even so, this was an exciting globe-trotting adventure, and I never have, and probably never will read, more realistic and intense action.
Honestly my five star rating is just because of how much I was affected by this book, and because I'm rating it from such an emotional place. It might lower later on.
Honestly my five star rating is just because of how much I was affected by this book, and because I'm rating it from such an emotional place. It might lower later on.
January 6, 2018
The Endgame series has been pure madness. It was a breath of fresh air and a portal towards another world. Genius!
I have to say I didn't agree with some aspects of this book (half of the time, reading this book made me feel angry), but I can't give it less than 5 stars, because it was amazing! The writing style, the action, the details, the characters and the mistery... these things deserve more than 5 stars. 👍
P. S. The ending though... I really didn't expect it to end like that. My little Alice, I fell in love with you!
I have to say I didn't agree with some aspects of this book (half of the time, reading this book made me feel angry), but I can't give it less than 5 stars, because it was amazing! The writing style, the action, the details, the characters and the mistery... these things deserve more than 5 stars. 👍
P. S. The ending though... I really didn't expect it to end like that. My little Alice, I fell in love with you!
February 26, 2018
4,5
Estoy un poco triste, por como acabaron varios de mis personajes favoritos.
Me quedaron muchas dudas acerca de que eran exactamente los Kepler y otras cosas más relacionadas con el funcionamiento Endgame, espero que en el futuro publiquen Spin Offs, para que expliquen estas cuestiones que quedaron inconclusas.
En general, diria que es un un final de trilogía bastante satisfactorio y con una gran cantidad de giros y sorpresas.
Definitivamente, estoy bastante ansioso de ponerme con la saga de los Legados de Lorien, lo más pronto posible. El estilo de escritura de este autor es bastante bueno y adictivo, y adoro la manera en la que caracteriza y desarrolla a sus personajes.
Estoy un poco triste, por como acabaron varios de mis personajes favoritos.
Me quedaron muchas dudas acerca de que eran exactamente los Kepler y otras cosas más relacionadas con el funcionamiento Endgame, espero que en el futuro publiquen Spin Offs, para que expliquen estas cuestiones que quedaron inconclusas.
En general, diria que es un un final de trilogía bastante satisfactorio y con una gran cantidad de giros y sorpresas.
Definitivamente, estoy bastante ansioso de ponerme con la saga de los Legados de Lorien, lo más pronto posible. El estilo de escritura de este autor es bastante bueno y adictivo, y adoro la manera en la que caracteriza y desarrolla a sus personajes.
April 24, 2017
Update: The official cover is out!!!
I have created a fan-made cover since I cannot wait for the official one anymore. #ROFL
Wouldn't the series look good in our shelves?
To be published October 4, 2016.
I have created a fan-made cover since I cannot wait for the official one anymore. #ROFL
Wouldn't the series look good in our shelves?
To be published October 4, 2016.
April 5, 2017
It's absolutely one of my favourite trilogy I've read this year so far and maybe one of the best trilogies ever. It's action-packed and full of plot twist. Really worth reading.
And I'm so happy my fav characters stayed alive, you have no idea ;)))
And I'm so happy my fav characters stayed alive, you have no idea ;)))
September 20, 2016
Jesus Christ it's even worse than the previous two
September 16, 2021
My favorite book in the series was the first one. This one was alright, readable enough but, like Book #2, was a bit too convoluted for my taste. The action scenes would now than likely be conveyed better in a film or other visual format.
December 16, 2016
Endgame, las reglas del juego, no es el fascinante desenlace que esperaba encontrar y que me hizo desconectar la emoción que sentí con los dos primeros libros. Un final más o menos sólido en algunos aspectos, pero demasiado apresurado.
Reseña completa en THE BEST READ YET BLOG
Reseña completa en THE BEST READ YET BLOG
March 5, 2019
I had a great time reading Endgame. The writing was good, the characters solid, and even though I wish the ending was a bit different, it was not a complete disappointment. I will keep Sarah and Jago, Hilal and Shari and Alice, and even bloodthirsty Maccabae in my heart forever.
September 11, 2016
OK, here's the deal: if you like this series and you intend to buy the 3rd and final installment, DO NOT WORRY, since there are no real spoilers here. This book will be published on 3rd of October worldwide, and I am able to review it here just because I have just completed its translation to Serbian.
Ever since the beginning of the series there was this pressure to complete the translation in time for it to be published simultaneously with the original edition because of the interactive game included in the novels worldwide, and that would generally not be a problem if there hadn't been changes of the text sent at the very last moment for both previous installments. Nevertheless, I am pretty satisfied with the whole project.
Although I have thought, after the first book, that this was just another generic YA/Anunnaki/Conspiracy Theory/SF yarn, it strangely grew up on me and now I see it as a kind of a guilty pleasure reading. However, in this final book I was left with several important questions unanswered, and the most important one was: Why the hell is Endgame being Played at all? What does the Maker (kepler 22b) actually need the keys for? Whatever happened to Jordan and Aisling's sword (Falcata)? What was the reaction of the Makers' Conclave to the outcome of the Endgame? Etc. etc.
However, it's still an addictive and page-turning novel, and I was strangely sad to see some of the characters perish, which means that the authors had done a good job there. This would be a damn good TV show, or a spectacular movie. Still, I'll wait until the official publishing date before I add some of my musings which would lead to spoilers. Until then - have fun reading it!
Ever since the beginning of the series there was this pressure to complete the translation in time for it to be published simultaneously with the original edition because of the interactive game included in the novels worldwide, and that would generally not be a problem if there hadn't been changes of the text sent at the very last moment for both previous installments. Nevertheless, I am pretty satisfied with the whole project.
Although I have thought, after the first book, that this was just another generic YA/Anunnaki/Conspiracy Theory/SF yarn, it strangely grew up on me and now I see it as a kind of a guilty pleasure reading. However, in this final book I was left with several important questions unanswered, and the most important one was: Why the hell is Endgame being Played at all? What does the Maker (kepler 22b) actually need the keys for? Whatever happened to Jordan and Aisling's sword (Falcata)? What was the reaction of the Makers' Conclave to the outcome of the Endgame? Etc. etc.
However, it's still an addictive and page-turning novel, and I was strangely sad to see some of the characters perish, which means that the authors had done a good job there. This would be a damn good TV show, or a spectacular movie. Still, I'll wait until the official publishing date before I add some of my musings which would lead to spoilers. Until then - have fun reading it!
November 26, 2016
Wat heb ik genoten van deze serie! Wat jammer dat het nu echt afgelopen is.. Van jet begin tot het eind zat ik op het puntje van m'n stoel. Dit deel was alles behalve langdradig waar ik vaak bang voor ben bij series.. James en Nils jullie zijn geweldig!
February 16, 2023
Just wow, I really loved this book and all the characters. DC should make a series based in this.
Very thrilling and bold approach in the final book if the series and I really enjoyed every part of it.
Loved the characters
Very thrilling and bold approach in the final book if the series and I really enjoyed every part of it.
Loved the characters
February 6, 2017
Nachdem ich die ersten beiden Bände der "Endgame"-Trilogie innerhalb weniger Stunden verschlungen habe, musste auch unbedingt der dritte und letzte Band "Die Entscheidung" gelesen werden. Hier hatte ich mir einen actionreichen Abschluss mit vielen Wendungen gewünscht, was ich auch letztendlich bekommen habe.
Man muss zwar sagen, dass James Freys Schreibstil nach wie vor nicht gerade das Gelbe vom Ei ist und ich mir ein wenig mehr Anspruch gewünscht hätte, allerdings konnte mich der Autor wieder einmal mit seinen vielen Ideen überzeugen und vor allem auch unterhalten. Dazu lernt man manche Spieler weiterhin näher kennen, während andere dagegen immer mehr in den Hintergrund rücken und dort keinerlei Entwicklung mehr stattfindet. Dennoch habe ich die Spieler bei der oftmals turbulenten Suche nach dem Sonnenschlüssel sehr gern begleitet.
Auch hier geht es für ein Jugendbuch wieder einmal sehr brutal zu und man muss sich von einigen Spielern fast schon zu schnell verabschieden, allerdings konnte mich "Die Entscheidung" dennoch wieder einmal vollkommen überzeugen, auch wenn der Band auch nicht gänzlich ohne Schwächen auskommt.
Die wohl größte Schwäche ist für mich das Ende. An sich ist dies vollkommen nachvollziehbar, sodass man sich da eigentlich nicht beschweren kann. Mein Problem ist nur, dass ich jemand ganz anderen den Sieg gegönnt hätte. Da dies jedoch wie immer reine Geschmacksache ist, kann man sicherlich auch noch Wochen über das Ende diskutieren.
Das Cover ist schlicht, wirkt aber aufgrund des Symbols sehr edel. Sehr schön sind auch die vielen Codes, die man auf dem Schutzumschlag ertasten kann, sodass man erst auf den zweiten Band erkennt, wie detailliert das Cover letztendlich doch ist. Die Kurzbeschreibung ist ebenfalls gelungen und fasst Endgame gut zusammen, ohne dabei jedoch zu viel zu verraten.
Kurz gesagt: "Die Entscheidung" ist insgesamt ein spannender und actionreicher Abschluss der "Endgame"-Trilogie, den ich sehr gerne gelesen habe. Zwar kann man sich sicherlich über so manche Charakterentwicklung und vor allem über das Ende streiten, allerdings war es für mich dennoch ein rundum gelungener Abschluss und ich finde es sehr schade, dass schon wieder alles vorbei ist. Somit kann ich "Die Entscheidung" und die gesamte Trilogie nur empfehlen.
Man muss zwar sagen, dass James Freys Schreibstil nach wie vor nicht gerade das Gelbe vom Ei ist und ich mir ein wenig mehr Anspruch gewünscht hätte, allerdings konnte mich der Autor wieder einmal mit seinen vielen Ideen überzeugen und vor allem auch unterhalten. Dazu lernt man manche Spieler weiterhin näher kennen, während andere dagegen immer mehr in den Hintergrund rücken und dort keinerlei Entwicklung mehr stattfindet. Dennoch habe ich die Spieler bei der oftmals turbulenten Suche nach dem Sonnenschlüssel sehr gern begleitet.
Auch hier geht es für ein Jugendbuch wieder einmal sehr brutal zu und man muss sich von einigen Spielern fast schon zu schnell verabschieden, allerdings konnte mich "Die Entscheidung" dennoch wieder einmal vollkommen überzeugen, auch wenn der Band auch nicht gänzlich ohne Schwächen auskommt.
Die wohl größte Schwäche ist für mich das Ende. An sich ist dies vollkommen nachvollziehbar, sodass man sich da eigentlich nicht beschweren kann. Mein Problem ist nur, dass ich jemand ganz anderen den Sieg gegönnt hätte. Da dies jedoch wie immer reine Geschmacksache ist, kann man sicherlich auch noch Wochen über das Ende diskutieren.
Das Cover ist schlicht, wirkt aber aufgrund des Symbols sehr edel. Sehr schön sind auch die vielen Codes, die man auf dem Schutzumschlag ertasten kann, sodass man erst auf den zweiten Band erkennt, wie detailliert das Cover letztendlich doch ist. Die Kurzbeschreibung ist ebenfalls gelungen und fasst Endgame gut zusammen, ohne dabei jedoch zu viel zu verraten.
Kurz gesagt: "Die Entscheidung" ist insgesamt ein spannender und actionreicher Abschluss der "Endgame"-Trilogie, den ich sehr gerne gelesen habe. Zwar kann man sich sicherlich über so manche Charakterentwicklung und vor allem über das Ende streiten, allerdings war es für mich dennoch ein rundum gelungener Abschluss und ich finde es sehr schade, dass schon wieder alles vorbei ist. Somit kann ich "Die Entscheidung" und die gesamte Trilogie nur empfehlen.
October 24, 2017
Γιατί, γιατί, γιατί? Έχεις χτίσει μία υπέροχη, γρήγορη ιστορία γεμάτη δράση σε δύο βιβλία… Γιατί το κάνεις αυτό στο φινάλε?
1) Και περπατάμε, περπατάμε, περπατάμε και πουθενά δεν φτάνουμε. Ευτυχώς κάποια στιγμή χρησιμοποίησαν αεροσκάφη αλλιώς ακόμα θα περπατούσαμε…
2) Η δράση χάθηκε –στοπ- Μετεωρίτες πέφτουν, μάχες γίνονται, μνημεία καταστρέφονται κι εμείς είμαστε στην άλλη άκρη της γης…
3) Μεγάλο spoiler: Πάμε παρακάτω
4) Silver Alert! Χάθηκε η τελική μάχη. Η τουλάχιστον μία καλή τελική μάχη! Γιατί ρε παιδιά???
5)Ο Αν παραήταν κουραστικός σε αυτό το βιβλίο...
Γενικά όπως φαίνεται μέχρι τώρα, δεν μου άρεσε. Ο μόνος λόγος που παίρνει 2 αστέρια και όχι 1 είναι επειδή η όλη ιστορία είναι πολύ έξυπνη και με πολλές δυνατότητες αλλά χάνει σε πολλά σημεία.
Για να έχετε φτάσει σε αυτό το βιβλίο σημαίνει ότι έχετε διαβάσει τα προηγούμενα. Οπότε γνώμη μου είναι κρατήστε μικρό καλάθι και απλά απολαύστε το φινάλε χωρίς να περιμένετε πολλά. Αν περιμένετε ιστορία αντάξια των προηγούμενων θα απογοητευτείτε. Αν όμως απλά θέλετε να κλείσει η τριλογία τότε τα 2 αστέρια μπορεί να γίνουν και 3.
THE END.
1) Και περπατάμε, περπατάμε, περπατάμε και πουθενά δεν φτάνουμε. Ευτυχώς κάποια στιγμή χρησιμοποίησαν αεροσκάφη αλλιώς ακόμα θα περπατούσαμε…
2) Η δράση χάθηκε –στοπ- Μετεωρίτες πέφτουν, μάχες γίνονται, μνημεία καταστρέφονται κι εμείς είμαστε στην άλλη άκρη της γης…
3) Μεγάλο spoiler: Πάμε παρακάτω
4) Silver Alert! Χάθηκε η τελική μάχη. Η τουλάχιστον μία καλή τελική μάχη! Γιατί ρε παιδιά???
5)Ο Αν παραήταν κουραστικός σε αυτό το βιβλίο...
Γενικά όπως φαίνεται μέχρι τώρα, δεν μου άρεσε. Ο μόνος λόγος που παίρνει 2 αστέρια και όχι 1 είναι επειδή η όλη ιστορία είναι πολύ έξυπνη και με πολλές δυνατότητες αλλά χάνει σε πολλά σημεία.
Για να έχετε φτάσει σε αυτό το βιβλίο σημαίνει ότι έχετε διαβάσει τα προηγούμενα. Οπότε γνώμη μου είναι κρατήστε μικρό καλάθι και απλά απολαύστε το φινάλε χωρίς να περιμένετε πολλά. Αν περιμένετε ιστορία αντάξια των προηγούμενων θα απογοητευτείτε. Αν όμως απλά θέλετε να κλείσει η τριλογία τότε τα 2 αστέρια μπορεί να γίνουν και 3.
THE END.
February 7, 2017
This is a difficult one for me. I actually liked the ending BUT I can't stand all the unanswered questions. WHY? WHY did the whole thing happen? What was the freaking point??? I feel like the main plot came to a conclusion but it feels like a few chapters in between were cut out or something. The ones with the explanations. I was also disappointed with the cover. It does not look nice on the shelf next to the first and second book since the material of the dust jacket is black and of a different texture. I would have preferred the fan made cover but I'm probably the only person that's annoyed by that.
Overall I would still recommend the series to people that enjoy the dystopian genre but warn anybody that wants to pick it up that it suffers from disappointing third book syndrome.
Going into SPOILERS now, so be aware!
Like what was up with this hotel alien guy and his henchmen that wanted to destroy all of the monuments? Keppler 22b talked about him as if he were an enemy of his, so did that guy actually just want to stop the game? And what was up with this Stella Vyctory chick (what a pointless character!!!), Pop called her a traitor, maybe she really was since she wanted to prevent the monuments from beeing destroyed. I hate it when authors write in story lines or characters as plot devices and then never resolve them.
I did not understand the whole teleporting thing. This is set on earth and this magic stuff felt out of place for me. I can kind of come on board with the aliens doing that but humans through meditating?? Not so much. I'd rather have liked to see a scientific or technical explanation for that being possible.
Also HATED that Sarah and Jago just happened to meet Sarah's father on the road. That coincidence was waaay too far fetched for me.
Did not care for An Liu's new companion either! She was just there so that he could have someone to talk to. Well, someone other than the voice in his head.
A few things I did enjoy (Again, go away if you do not want to be spoiled please!):
- Pretty much all of the death scenes!
- that the author decided to kill off the couple and that he did it without letting one slowly bleed out in the others arms, I did not see that coming and I love it when books surprise me
- the relationship between Maccabee and little Alice (best part to me)
- the chapters from kepler 22 b's perspective (although I would have loved more of them)
- that Hilal survived since he was the person I was rooting for since the beginning
Overall I would still recommend the series to people that enjoy the dystopian genre but warn anybody that wants to pick it up that it suffers from disappointing third book syndrome.
Going into SPOILERS now, so be aware!
Like what was up with this hotel alien guy and his henchmen that wanted to destroy all of the monuments? Keppler 22b talked about him as if he were an enemy of his, so did that guy actually just want to stop the game? And what was up with this Stella Vyctory chick (what a pointless character!!!), Pop called her a traitor, maybe she really was since she wanted to prevent the monuments from beeing destroyed. I hate it when authors write in story lines or characters as plot devices and then never resolve them.
I did not understand the whole teleporting thing. This is set on earth and this magic stuff felt out of place for me. I can kind of come on board with the aliens doing that but humans through meditating?? Not so much. I'd rather have liked to see a scientific or technical explanation for that being possible.
Also HATED that Sarah and Jago just happened to meet Sarah's father on the road. That coincidence was waaay too far fetched for me.
Did not care for An Liu's new companion either! She was just there so that he could have someone to talk to. Well, someone other than the voice in his head.
A few things I did enjoy (Again, go away if you do not want to be spoiled please!):
- Pretty much all of the death scenes!
- that the author decided to kill off the couple and that he did it without letting one slowly bleed out in the others arms, I did not see that coming and I love it when books surprise me
- the relationship between Maccabee and little Alice (best part to me)
- the chapters from kepler 22 b's perspective (although I would have loved more of them)
- that Hilal survived since he was the person I was rooting for since the beginning
April 4, 2017
Leider der schwächste Band der Reihe. Die Charaktere rücken in den Hintergrund, die Geschichte zieht sich stellenweise und das Ende war wie zu erwarten, aber doch irgendwie anders. Hier hat Jamey Frey definitiv nachgelassen. Schade.
http://www.julias-wunderland.ch/2017/...
http://www.julias-wunderland.ch/2017/...
August 20, 2021
🐑 Rating: 1🌟
🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄
🌵 Am așteptat foarte mult finalul seriei, într-un sens bun. Eram curioasă de câștigător, și totuși ce se va întâmpla și cu ceilalți.
🌵 Pe cât l-am așteptat, pe atât de tare m-a dezamăgit. De asta, și recenziile la vol 1 și vol 2, nu le-am mai scris cu entuziasmul pe care-l aveam când am terminat cărțile (se poate vedea în story-urile salvate în repere).
🌵 Fără să dau spoilere, nu pot zice prea multe. Așa că, o să mă limitez la câteva lucruri.
🌵 Mi-a plăcut cartea până într-un punct anume. Pe tot parcursul seriei mi s-a dat impresia de total alt final. Dar efectiv complet alt ceva. Ce s-a întâmplat în ultima parte a cărții a fost oribil, nu am mai recunoscut ceea ce citeam.
🌵 Atât de groaznic a fost finalul, că m-am enervat cum n-am făcut-o de mult. Urăsc când autorul/autorii devin killeri de personaje care sunt foarte iubite.
🌵 Îmi dai un alt fir narativ, scris cu acțiune, să mă aștept la un final exploziv; și după vii și-mi trântești o bazaconie de sfârșit.
🌵 După pagina 250 nu am mai vrut să citesc absolut nimic. Dar am citit și cele 100 pagini rămase ca să n-o las neterminată...
🌵 Foarte foarte urât ceea ce s-a întâmplat. Nu mi-a plăcut deloc. Nu-mi pasă motivele din spatele acestor fapte. Am scăzut drastic rating-ul indiferent cât de ok a fost cartea înainte.
☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄
🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄
🌵 Am așteptat foarte mult finalul seriei, într-un sens bun. Eram curioasă de câștigător, și totuși ce se va întâmpla și cu ceilalți.
🌵 Pe cât l-am așteptat, pe atât de tare m-a dezamăgit. De asta, și recenziile la vol 1 și vol 2, nu le-am mai scris cu entuziasmul pe care-l aveam când am terminat cărțile (se poate vedea în story-urile salvate în repere).
🌵 Fără să dau spoilere, nu pot zice prea multe. Așa că, o să mă limitez la câteva lucruri.
🌵 Mi-a plăcut cartea până într-un punct anume. Pe tot parcursul seriei mi s-a dat impresia de total alt final. Dar efectiv complet alt ceva. Ce s-a întâmplat în ultima parte a cărții a fost oribil, nu am mai recunoscut ceea ce citeam.
🌵 Atât de groaznic a fost finalul, că m-am enervat cum n-am făcut-o de mult. Urăsc când autorul/autorii devin killeri de personaje care sunt foarte iubite.
🌵 Îmi dai un alt fir narativ, scris cu acțiune, să mă aștept la un final exploziv; și după vii și-mi trântești o bazaconie de sfârșit.
🌵 După pagina 250 nu am mai vrut să citesc absolut nimic. Dar am citit și cele 100 pagini rămase ca să n-o las neterminată...
🌵 Foarte foarte urât ceea ce s-a întâmplat. Nu mi-a plăcut deloc. Nu-mi pasă motivele din spatele acestor fapte. Am scăzut drastic rating-ul indiferent cât de ok a fost cartea înainte.
☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄🌵☄
February 17, 2017
DO NOT READ THIS TRILOGY OH MY GOD ITS NOT WORTH UR TIME AND EMOTIONS
Why didn't we ever learn why the Makers wanted the key? That was like the whole big thing and I feel like the authors couldn't come up with anything good enough so they just didn't give us anything at all.
Also, why did they kill all the people I loved? They set up characters to be protagonists and killed them for shock factor, without any closure or anything like...It was just one sentence Oh They Didn't Even Hear the Bullet! What kind of death is that ? My fav characters don't deserve that!!1
Also I lowkey feel like this series was like a combination of all the other dystopian novels out there and this was just the authors trying to capitalize on the Teen/Dystopian/Romance craze. Really disappointed in this book. The first two weren't great but I had a little hope for the series and thought it was okay but now idk its just mediocre and not worth your time...
Rip both my baes :(
Why didn't we ever learn why the Makers wanted the key? That was like the whole big thing and I feel like the authors couldn't come up with anything good enough so they just didn't give us anything at all.
Also, why did they kill all the people I loved? They set up characters to be protagonists and killed them for shock factor, without any closure or anything like...It was just one sentence Oh They Didn't Even Hear the Bullet! What kind of death is that ? My fav characters don't deserve that!!1
Also I lowkey feel like this series was like a combination of all the other dystopian novels out there and this was just the authors trying to capitalize on the Teen/Dystopian/Romance craze. Really disappointed in this book. The first two weren't great but I had a little hope for the series and thought it was okay but now idk its just mediocre and not worth your time...
Rip both my baes :(
March 5, 2017
Tercera y última parte de la trilogía. Es cierto que lo que es la acción es bastante más baja que en la anterior novela, ya que se centra más en las relaciones entre los jugadores y los linajes. Pero ha habido un par de giros argumentales y de muertes que no me esperaba para nada y que me han dejado con la boca abierta.
Una trilogía que me ha gustado mucho
Una trilogía que me ha gustado mucho
March 15, 2017
Murphy, şimdi patron kim?
Sancılı okuma süreci ve kitabın sıkıcılığından bahsetmeyeceğim, kısaca serinin en sevmediğim kitabı oldu & çıta gittikçe düştü.
Sevmediğim karakterlerin ölümünü gördüğüm, sevdiklerimin hayret ki başına bir şey gelmediği bir sürü olay oldu. Okurlara şimdiden Allah sabır versin.
Ben kurtuldum.
Sancılı okuma süreci ve kitabın sıkıcılığından bahsetmeyeceğim, kısaca serinin en sevmediğim kitabı oldu & çıta gittikçe düştü.
Sevmediğim karakterlerin ölümünü gördüğüm, sevdiklerimin hayret ki başına bir şey gelmediği bir sürü olay oldu. Okurlara şimdiden Allah sabır versin.
Ben kurtuldum.
October 7, 2024
It’s just so good! I just… 🥹 *sighs* I love this series with my whole heart and I know for a fact that it has directly influenced my writing style in the best way possible! The ending always gets me and I was absolutely gobsmacked the whole time, one hand on my heart or covering by my mouth as I read on.
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