Share for friends:

Read The True Game: Kings Blood Four/Necromancer Nine/Wizard's Eleven (1996)

The True Game: Kings Blood Four/Necromancer Nine/Wizard's Eleven (1996)

Online Book

Rating
4.18 of 5 Votes: 4
Your rating
ISBN
0441003311 (ISBN13: 9780441003310)
Language
English
Publisher
ace

The True Game: Kings Blood Four/Necromancer Nine/Wizard's Eleven (1996) - Plot & Excerpts

First off, this review is somewhat less than objective as this book holds a great deal of nostalgia value for me. I first read this book almost 25 years ago, shortly after reading the Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped - which is actually a prequel and written later, and at the time it opened me up to a new style of literature and a very different brand of fantasy writing. I have re-read The True Game many times over the years, and whenever I do it is always through a certain filter which takes me back to that first read.The True Game is Tepper's first book, and in it you can see the prototype for many of her ideas and themes which run through pretty much all of her other books - feminism, social conscience, and environmentalism to name just a few which spring to mind. We also see the blending between fantasy and science fiction, and many of the same story-telling tools. While the novel is perhaps somewhat raw in style, and some of her later books are technically tighter and have stronger characterisation and better prose, this really is the quintessential Tepper and the ideas behind the tale, and the story itself and the world she builds are as exciting today as they were all those years ago.The story itself is told through the eyes of Peter, a sheltered teenager, in the land of the True Game, where some people are 'Gamesmen' and have special or magical powers. Their interactions often are through conflict of duels or wars, and their society is governed by the rules of the 'Game'. When Peter gets used as a minor piece in a game of subterfuge the safety of his school house is shattered and he soon finds himself aborad in the wider world, and on a journey of more than one dimension.While this is Tepper's first book and it was only later on she went on to write the Mavin trilogy and the Jinian trilogy (which are stronger and better books to be honest - but together the series forms an entire whole), and the Mavin series is the prequel which is set decades before the events of the True Game, if you can get hold of the Chronicles then you should do so and read them first. The Jinian series comes afterwards and ties up the loose ends which True Game leaves and eliminates that slight feel of disatisfaction which comes at the end of the book with a few too many things being left undeveloped. Sadly, both these series have been out of print for a long time now and are increasingly difficult to find.At the end of the day, a must read for any fan of Sheri S. Tepper, and highly recommneded for those who are looking for thinking fantasy and a book which will stay with you for years to come.

Peter is a young man at a magic school--but it's not just any magic school, and it's not just any world. Peter is a member of a society formed around a chess-like game called "the True Game." His school is for children of the powerful magic-users who are the higher-powered "pieces" in the game. Through betrayal by a close older friend, a teacher at the school, Peter is forced to leave the school and sent to another school, several days' journey from where he has lived his entire life. Through that journey, Peter begins to discover just how real the True Game is, and perhaps how little sense it makes, as well. A foundling, Peter knows nothing about his parentage, but he soon comes to find that his lineage is more important than he could ever know--and that he has a gift that is truly unique among players of the True Game.As the series progresses, we find out more and more about Peter, his parents, and where exactly the True Game originated. We also start to discover that the players of the True Game may not be the original inhabitants of the planet, and that there are layers of mystery underneath the game of 'wizard's chess' that consumes its players.A friend loaned me this series and, having read a lot of Tepper's later novels, I was surprised at how truly pure fantasy this trilogy was... at least until I started to see the science fiction elements underlying the fantasy. A warning for those who don't read a book if the first few pages don't draw them in: I was initially a little put off by how much Tepper seemed to want her reader to swallow without any initial explanation. Just hang in there for a chapter or so. The vagueness of her descriptions, I believe, is meant to put you in a position where you're on a sort of even footing with the protagonist, who, to be honest, is pretty naive about his entire world. Everything becomes more clear and more engaging quickly, and the rest of the series makes it more than worth it.

What do You think about The True Game: Kings Blood Four/Necromancer Nine/Wizard's Eleven (1996)?

"The True Game" is a compilation of Sheri S. Tepper's first three novels "King's Blood Four," "Necromancer Nine," and "Wizard's Eleven," all released from 1984 through 1985, and the first part of what became a nine-novel set; the other two belonging to the "Mavin the Manyshaped" trilogy, and the "Jinian" trilogy.I have to say that I am biased towards these novels as that purchased "King's Blood Four" back when it was first released, and at that time I was still both a young-ish reader (14-years-old), and a young writer. I enjoyed the books so much that, when they were stolen (my ex-husband's car was stolen with all of my Tepper books in a box inside), I forked out the extra money to replace them, as well as purchase more."The True Game" is mainly fantasy set in a medieval-style world, with some surprising sci-fi elements thrown in as we follow Peter, a young man in his adolescence, growing both in age and experience to find out what his "talent" is in a world where everything is a "game" and those with any ability to survive have "talents." By the word "Game," one could say "battle" or "fight" instead. There are always those "gaming" against one another, plotting, planning, fighting even in an underhanded fashion. And there are rules! By the word "Talents," one could also say things such as "supernatural powers," each one, or each mix of several earning the person who wields them a title, as well as a formal dress they are expected to wear. A person who is a telepath, for instance, is called a Demon. A person who can fly is an Armiger.For those who are "Gamers" in the sense of playing table-top role-playing games such as the classic Dungeons and Dragons, I have a feeling that you would enjoy this series immensely.
—Mary Lynn E. Longsworth

I read this trilogy (this version of the novel is 3 books in one and it is the actual version I read) in a matter of days and it drug me back into the Sci-F-/Fantasy world kicking and screaming. I had read the genre during my days as a bookseller but by the time I stopped buying books with my employee's discount, the field had lost my interest..... too many books by the same people with the same ideas. But a friend (whose taste in books I liked) recommended this and it was what I needed to try sci-fi/fantasy again. That genre name may be trouble. Why mix the two? Why shelve them together? I think the two could be segregated and the results would be generally good. But the True Game does make a case for keeping the fields together.The novel is set in a very fantasy-feeling setting, with the characters living predestined to play a part in the Game (of Life?). The big question is what part do they play (literally, as each discovers in their late teens what skills they have and are then assigned a role... think RPG 'classes' though with many more options). This story follows one particular young man as he starts to figure out not only what his role in the game is but what the game is actually about (which leads into a more sci-fi realm). It was a good, solid read and shows the author's ability to be very non-mainstream in her story. Many of Tepper's other novels are similarly unique. Some are more readable than others. This is a my personal favorite of her books thus far.
—Antigone

I was in the mood for a re-read and so I revisited the world of Mavin Manyshaped and Jinian StarEye. The Omnibus The True Game contains 3 novels centered around Peter, who we discover partway through the book is Mavin's son. But thanks to a serendipitous discovery, he is much more than a just a shape shifter, more than just a boy coming of age.While some of the writing is unpolished, King's Blood Four, which is Sheri S. Tepper's first published novel, showcased the creativity that keeps me coming back to her work. Others have written books based on chess games, others have written fantasy novels with multiple psychic powers, Kings Blood Four uses both as the backdrop for a clever coming of age story. The beginning of Necromancer Nine, the 2nd book in the trilogy, was weaker, and unfortunately contains a sexual awakening scene which is just explicit enough that I will not be handing these books to my newly-turned 11 year old. Without the implications of rape/forced sex, the rest of the fare in the books is appropriate to middle-grade readers. I liked the journey told in Wizard's Eleven, but found the villain to be badly developed and the ending unsatisfying. While I can't say much without spoilers, I think parts of the resolution were insufficiently forshadowed and came out of nowhere. But we got to meet the connecting characters that lead to the other 6 books set in the same enchanting world.In total these three short juveniles make for a satisfactory introduction to Sheri S. Tepper and the clever world of The True Game.
—J L's Bibliomania

Write Review

(Review will shown on site after approval)

Read books by author Sheri S. Tepper

Read books in category Middle Grade & Children's