Official Blurb excerpt: THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING. PLAY NOW. OR WE ALL LOSE.
After centuries waiting in secret, twelve unbroken bloodlines, armed with hidden knowledge and lethal training, are called to take humanity’s fate into their hands… Bryan High School, Omaha, Nebraska: Sarah stands at her graduation ceremony – perfect SATs, a star athlete, her life ahead of her. Then a meteor wipes out half her school. But Sarah is not hurt and not surprised. Because she is the Player of the 233rd line – the Cahokian. And she knows what this means….. Endgame is here....

People who like books like The Hunger Games

Whilst the book as a whole didn’t make me want to jump up and down for joy, the concept wasn’t a bad one. Following twelve people around the world as they all hunt for the same thing (a key): not a bad way to get as many cultures into a book as possible. The drama and tension was there right from the off – perhaps it even needed to be a little more chilled for a little longer. The story and plot were fine: it was an “okay” tale.

Not far into the book I realised why it may not have had very good ratings. Many critics have likened it to Sunzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy and I can see why. Credit where it’s due though, it is not at all so similar that I’d accuse it of being a copy. In fact, I am surprised anyone would. I also noticed that it was definitely not going to be the easiest book to read – I was right!
For me, the writing and structure made me want to rip my eyeballs out. The writing style changed quite a lot throughout. One minute there was loads of very short snappy sentences (there to build tension but only irritated) and the next there was lots of mile long paragraphs that (in my view) went no where. I really don’t like giving bad reviews. However, I’m trying to learn to be honest.
And the numbers! Oh the numbers! As someone who hates numbers anyway, this book deepened my hatred. The book actually said how I felt about this, itself:

"Alice rubs her head. Her head hurts. All these numbers and formulas."

Characters: Hmm. I think this may be where the book really falls down. There isn’t too many, per se. But the way they are presented to the reader, really irritated me. Every chapter is dedicated to a separate character (or a few). I’ve seen this done very effectively in other books. However, I don’t feel like I was given the opportunity to get to know the twelve “players” properly. Yes, I’ll admit, a few characters stood out. But I think that was because I related to them more. Thus, for me, the other nine, or so, just didn’t make sense.

Read something very different

I wasn’t keen. It took me far too long to read this book, and I don’t think that was down to me! Normally, this kind of book is right up my street, but it failed to grab me. I hoped I’d love it, but I really cannot see me getting excited about the next book.

I know many people will adore this book. I can understand why, but it wasn’t for me!

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Created Jan 15, 2015 at 8:32am • Submit your own review...