Rating: 
Summary: Very original
Review: I read this book a while ago and it still sticks in my mind. I thought the story was really great but I just couldn't imagine an ending that I thought would be sastisfying. But somehow Dave Duncan managed to suprise me and the ending was really good and it worked with the rest of the story. I also happened to like the very last line and what it implied. It's a very good book and it's really original. I would recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting trilogy
Review: I'm writing this review based on the whole trilogy not just this one book. This is one of those trilogies where it makes you read it again and again. Many things happen between the lines. He writes from one person's perspective to another. At first it seemed unusual and hard to follow (mainly book 2). The first book was different, it brought me in. It really holds it's own with it's (not-so-originality) going to another alternate reality/planet. The story is VERY tight. In order to grasp EVERYTHING that's going on, you really have to pay attention to detail when he switched to another point of view, whethere it's Dosh, Smedley, Exeter, Alice or Eleal! Alice was the last to enter...and she's along for the ride...just like Alice in Wonderland wondering what to make of it all as the conspiring polical mess of human pawns creates the "Great Game" of Nextdoor. Book 2, was the most BORING book of Duncan's I have ever read. WWI over and over and over and Captain Smedley's emotions...Edward speaking in past tense of his story on Nextdoor, as it fills the gaps from the end of the first book...ugh. I almost wanted to read the Simarillion....REALLY. Well, after a year hiatus from the books I started reading where I left off. Like pushing and old flat tire up a steep hill....I finished Book 2...and I really liked Present Tense by the end of the book! I started reading Future Indefinite...why couldn't his second book read this well!?!? Everything starts falling into place...everyone is on Nextdoor... it's the religious experience for all on that world. I think it ends quickly, because it took him most of book 3 for us to finally understand the 5 and all the other personalities of the Strangers and interactions with each other that could have been explained better or more in Present Tense. The last book has been a blast to read! Truly a trilogy you'd need to read a second or third time to understand it all and see everything you didn't before. Another "read-me-again" trilogy from Dave Duncan like his first King's Blades trilogy, but for the Great Game...I can only read this ONCE. Only 3 stars for this rough read, but very tight story.
Rating: 
Summary: The Great *YAWN*
Review: Ok, major disappointment here. I LOVE the other series that Dave has written, but this one fell on it's face. The 'thrilling' climax at the end of the book takes up about 1/2 page, and it's as told by someone who saw it, not the actual event.... COME ON Dave, you can do better than thi!
Rating: 
Summary: A satisfying ending...
Review: Sometimes it is tough to maintain a high level of action and detail and suspense over a trilogy, but Dave Duncan has surpassed my expectations! The final book of the series is excellent... it ties together all loose ends from the trilogy and ends with a few bangs rather than one. It was a completely satisfying experience to read The Great Game trilogy. Duncan's many-layered approach is thought-provoking as well as entertaining. I highly recommend all three books.
Rating:
Summary: The stunning conclusion to a very good series.
Review: This book is the truly excellent conclusion to an original and generally very readable series. The first two books, "Past Imperative" and "Present Tense" are very good though slightly patchy - the plot is uneven enough in places to make them less than compulsive reading, but this book is enough to make the entire series a classic, a must-read for any fan of the genre. In "Future Indefinite", Edward Exeter sets out to deliberately fulfil the prophecies of the Filoby testament and 'bring death to Death'. His progress through the land and the prophecy as an increasingly (and deliberately) messianic figure (with some surprising overtones of the gospels) is among the most evocative and compelling of Duncan's writing. The central dilemna of the character is maintained with absolute consistency throughout (namely, how to defeat Zath without performing even worse deeds to acquire more mana), but despite the absolute internal logic of the text, Duncan somehow manages to spring a totally surprising but eminently satisfying ending (which is obvious in retrospect, but impossible to anticipate). Basically, read this book now. Read the first two books in the series (they're worth reading in their own right, but essential as a prelude to this masterpiece), but be prepared for something special with this book. Fantasy at its best.
Rating:
Summary: The stunning conclusion to a very good series.
Review: This book is the truly excellent conclusion to an original and generally very readable series. The first two books, "Past Imperative" and "Present Tense" are very good though slightly patchy - the plot is uneven enough in places to make them less than compulsive reading, but this book is enough to make the entire series a classic, a must-read for any fan of the genre. In "Future Indefinite", Edward Exeter sets out to deliberately fulfil the prophecies of the Filoby testament and 'bring death to Death'. His progress through the land and the prophecy as an increasingly (and deliberately) messianic figure (with some surprising overtones of the gospels) is among the most evocative and compelling of Duncan's writing. The central dilemna of the character is maintained with absolute consistency throughout (namely, how to defeat Zath without performing even worse deeds to acquire more mana), but despite the absolute internal logic of the text, Duncan somehow manages to spring a totally surprising but eminently satisfying ending (which is obvious in retrospect, but impossible to anticipate). Basically, read this book now. Read the first two books in the series (they're worth reading in their own right, but essential as a prelude to this masterpiece), but be prepared for something special with this book. Fantasy at its best.
Rating: 
Summary: How Could You?
Review: This book started out very well. It was well written and packed with action, very well paced. HOWEVER, two elements ultimately marred my enjoyment of this work. 1. The character developement. I may be the only person with this thought, but somehow, it seems as if somewhere between book two and book three we are missing a great deal of storyline. SOMETHING happened to provoke a major chage in his main character, but we get no transition period. He is one person in book two and a COMPLETELY different individual in book three, one to whom we as readers have little access. Yes it makes the story very unpredictable, but it also makes it very hard to care about the main character. Also his annoying tendency to bring in new characters, give us background, flesh them out and then discard or ignore them makes little sense. 2. The ENDING! OH my God what happened? The climax is MAYBE one page! I was so upset by this! It was unpredictable, I'll give you that but it was also bereft of all hope and ended the book on a severe down note. Once the major event occurred, it was impossible for me to be buoyed by any bones he threw to those who wanted a more hopeful palatable ending. I really did throw this book away after I read it, that's how much it upset me. It ruined an otherwise enjoyable series for me.
Rating:
Summary: How Could You?
Review: This book started out very well. It was well written and packed with action, very well paced. HOWEVER, two elements ultimately marred my enjoyment of this work. 1. The character developement. I may be the only person with this thought, but somehow, it seems as if somewhere between book two and book three we are missing a great deal of storyline. SOMETHING happened to provoke a major chage in his main character, but we get no transition period. He is one person in book two and a COMPLETELY different individual in book three, one to whom we as readers have little access. Yes it makes the story very unpredictable, but it also makes it very hard to care about the main character. Also his annoying tendency to bring in new characters, give us background, flesh them out and then discard or ignore them makes little sense. 2. The ENDING! OH my God what happened? The climax is MAYBE one page! I was so upset by this! It was unpredictable, I'll give you that but it was also bereft of all hope and ended the book on a severe down note. Once the major event occurred, it was impossible for me to be buoyed by any bones he threw to those who wanted a more hopeful palatable ending. I really did throw this book away after I read it, that's how much it upset me. It ruined an otherwise enjoyable series for me.
Rating:
Summary: Mocking the Belief of Millions
Review: This is the book that made me swear off Dave Duncan forever.
The first book, while slow from time to time, held a great deal of promise, and I was looking forward to seeing the interaction between those of our world, those of Nextdoor, and those from other worlds which were said to also connect to Nextdoor -- only that never happened.
Instead of being given a rousing, epic tale of power, sacrifice, and triumph, we're given an unabashed and cynical debasement of Christ's procession and death. I kept thinking, as I was reading it, that he would sort of richochet away from it: that he would only touch on the matter briefly and move on. But he didn't. He mocked it, and millions of believers, right through to the final paragraphs. I was stunned, and I was appalled.
I have read a great many books from Dave Duncan, and thought him a reasonably good writer, but I will not be buying another book from this author.
Rating:
Summary: A good conclusion to a spell binding series.
Review: This is the final book in the 'Great Game' trilogy. Because everything is coming together in this book, the impression is that the storyline is predictabable. Except it isn't. The ending is completely unexpected
|
