Sampler Review: Endgame: The Calling

  Title: ENDGAME: The Calling

Author: James Frey, Nils Johnson-Shelton

Expected Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins

I received a sampler copy of the book from the publisher for review, all the thoughts are my own.

Synopsis:

"Twelve ancient cultures were chosen millennia ago to represent humanity in Endgame, a global game that will decide the fate of humankind. Endgame has always been a possibility, but never a reality…until now. Twelve meteorites have just struck Earth, each meteorite containing a message for a Player who has been trained for this moment. At stake for the Players: saving their bloodline, as well as the fate of the world. And only one can win.

Endgame is real. Endgame is now. Endgame has begun.

Google Niantic is building a mobile location-based augmented reality videogame inextricably tied to the books and mythology, a major prize will be tied to a puzzle in each book, and Twentieth Century Fox has bought the movie rights.

Read the Books. Find the Clues. Solve the Puzzle. Who will Win?"

First things first: People who think this book is like the Hunger Games: YOU ARE WRONG.

First thought of people (who haven’t read the book and just hates James Frey): IT’S TOTALLY HUNGER GAMES AGAIN WHY DOES FREY EVEN BOTHER TO WRITE THIS?!

Me: Don’t judge a book by just its description. And Oh Note to you: PLEASE DON’T EVER SAY SOMETHING OR EVEN ANYTHING ABOUT A BOOK, IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YOURSELF. YOU’LL JUST MAKE A FOOL OUT OF YOURSELF.

I first read about the book in my email. It’s from a reviewing site that invited me to review and read a sampler about it and it’s totally worth it. This is a new book by James Frey (mostly known as Pittacus Lore) who we know hasn’t given up on writing yet. It’s a book that combines fiction and reality. It’s a book full of mysteries and clues that the readers need to solve in order to open a real vault with real gold coins worth real $500,000. How awesome is that?

The characters:

We are the PLAYERS. We are 12 in number. (They are not like the tributes. They do not come from different places, they are of different ancient races) We must be older than 13 and younger than 20 (They do not get out all dead except the winner of the game, they just become ineligible) Once the game begins, we must deliberate and decipher, move and murder (Not like the Hunger Games again more like the 39 clues rather)

PLAY.

SURVIVE.

SOLVE.

THIS IS ENDGAME.

When I got a sampler copy of this book I immediately started reading it (And knew I was going to read it). And I can’t stop. It’s THAT good for lovers of science fiction and historical fiction. The writing is easy and the flow of the story is smooth. The pacing is not that draggy and not that fast-just right. The point of view is written in third person and is not disorienting-just right. The humor, love and adventure are definitely in between the lines. The first 70+ pages plus pages topped my high expectations as James always does. There’s not a line in the book that would get you bored, I promise. While others think it’s like the hunger games, I have found out that it’s more like The 39 Clues but not exactly, just a little bit-mixed with something more galactic. As the author had said, it’s more like Masquerade (the book he has read when he was still a kid).

When I was done I reading book I literally shouted: “WHY ARE THE NEXT PAGES MISSING?!! I NEED IT NOW! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THIS?!

It was so utterly, totally amazing, I started digging out information about the book and I found out something so cool, I cannot stop muttering “wow” to myself. Wanna know what I found out?

It’s just that the characters (YES THE CHARACTERS) are based from REAL PEOPLE (YES REAL BREATHING, EXISTING PEOPLE) in Twitter. I don’t know how James and his team did that but it’s just so unbelievably cool. I so wish I was one of the chosen (LIKE I HAVE TWITTER, TOO RIGHT?!). Like what the author had said and I quote, “This book is a fiction mixed with reality.” “MUCH OF THIS BOOK IS FICTION, BUT MUCH OF THE INFORMATION IN IT IS NOT.” Read and you’ll know.

Now let the countdown begin! 10 days to go before it gets released. 10 days to go before Endgame officially begins. We readers are the unwitting billions. We are the innocent bystanders. We are the lucky losers and unlucky winners. We are the audience at a play that will determine our fate.

I’m now going to leave you a quote of the girl (who I’m rooting for, in other word I’m on her team)

#TeamSarahAlopay

“My secret is that I have no secrets. I am as you see me. I am happy and able because I allow myself to be happy. I learned young that being active breeds more activity. That the gift of studying is knowledge. That seeing grants sight. That if you don’t fear anger, you won’t feel angry. Sadness and frustration, even tragedy, are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean that happiness isn’t there for us, for all of us. My secret is that I choose to the person that I want to be. That I don’t believe in predestination, but in choice that each of us chooses to be the person we are. Whatever you want to be you can be; whatever you want to do you can; wherever you want to go you can go. The world, and the life ahead, is ours for the taking. The future is unwritten and you can make it whatever you want it to be.”

“Endgame is real. And Endgame is coming.”

Coming or not. I’m totally looking forward for this one blast of a book!

RATE: 5/5 STARS