I first found this book as I was searching for a Christmas
gift for a relative and I couldn’t resist buying it for myself (this is what
happens when I enter a bookstore…I buy more for myself than others!). The description on the jacket had me
intrigued. After reading the first
chapter while standing in the store as I considered buying it, I was
hooked. If it weren’t for the holidays
and the mountainous load of work I have had since, I would have finished this
book a lot sooner. This is a very fast
read and one worth taking the time.
That being said…The
Calling is the first in a trilogy surrounding ‘Endgame’ where twelve
players are given clues for a global scavenger hunt. Don’t let the classification fool you, ‘Endgame’
is anything but a game, in the traditional sense, and is more like a countdown
to the end of the world. The twelve
players have not been chosen randomly. They have been trained their entire lives
in the art of combat, weaponry, history, cryptography, survival skills,
assassination skills, military tactics, etc. in order to 'play.'
Their participation in the game is not to satisfy the whims of a blood
thirsty corporation, or a corrupt government to secure food or an education. Endgame is much more serious, and is played
to satisfy the whims of an extraterrestrial race of beings that hold the fate
of the entire world in their hands.
The Calling
follows a select few of the twelve players as they attempt to crack their first
clue and obtain the first of three keys needed to ‘win’ the game. Tied to the book is an online game the
reader can also play with real money at stake (although I do believe that, considering
the book was released in October, there may already be a real life winner to
the first prize). Either way, books two
and three are also supposed to have real world cash prizes so it’s worth
getting involved now. But I digress…
Inside the book are puzzles, clues, and geographic
coordinates that you, the reader, can interact with, and guess where the
characters are going to be before you read about it. Even if you don’t play, the story is still
enjoyable with only a few, minor irritations.
Namely - the love triangle.
Considering this book is intended for young adults, I can
understand the marketing ploy of having a love interest and/or triangle present
itself, but the way it presents itself, and subsequently plays out, feels forced
and completely unbelievable. The only
other complaint I have is that the authors have written the story where you
know who the winner will be by reading the first five chapters. The details are unknown of course, but the
knowing is there and it takes some of the suspense away. A lot of focus is given to only a few players
and I left the story wanting to know more about the rest. I am hoping that book two will follow some of
the other players a bit more thoroughly as I feel their stories are more
intriguing than the ones we were given in the first book.
Overall, if you are a fan of science fiction and adventure
stories, this is one for you. If you are
relying only on the hate filled reviews of those who haven’t read the book, I
believe you are doing yourself an injustice.
It was a relief not to read yet another dystopian young adult rehash.
Here’s the bit from the publisher:
Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game that would determine our future.
This is Endgame.
For ten thousand years the lines have existed in secret. The 12 original lines of humanity. Each had to have a Player prepared at all times. They have trained generation after generation after generation. In weapons, languages, history, tactics, disguise assassination. Together the players are everything: strong, kind, ruthless, loyal, smart, stupid, ugly, lustful, mean, fickle, beautiful, calculating, lazy, exuberant, weak. They are good and evil. Like you. Like all.
This is Endgame.
When the game starts, the players will have to find three keys. The keys are somewhere on earth. The only rule of their Endgame is that there are no rules. Whoever finds the keys first wins the game. Endgame: The Calling is about the hunt for the first key. And just as it tells the story of the hunt for a hidden key, written into the book is a puzzle. It invites readers to play their own Endgame and to try to solve the puzzle. Whoever does will open a case filled with gold. Alongside the puzzle will be a revolutionary mobile game built by Google’s Niantic Labs that will allow you to play a real-world version of Endgame where you can join one of the lines and do battle with people around you.
Will exuberance beat strength? Stupidity top kindness? Laziness thwart beauty? Will the winner be good or evil? There is only one way to find out.
Play.
Survive.
Solve.
People of Earth.
Endgame has begun.
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