Name: The Calling (Endgame, Book 1)
ISBN: 9780007585212

James Frey

Nils Johnson-Shelton

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... The first book in a game-changing new series by bestselling author, James Frey.

The Calling (Endgame, Book 1)

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.

The Calling

alexandra

reading this book was slow and slightly painful. it wasn’t the worst book i’ve ever read, but it most certainly wasn’t the best.

i hate to compare novels with other novels, but i couldn’t help but think of it like the hunger games. the plot is something along the lines of: twelve teenage representatives fight to the death in an epic end-of-the-world type of games. the circumstances are different, but the main gist of things are the similar.

the story is told from an omniscient (kinda) third-person pov. at the start of every chapter, it’ll tell you who’s pov you’ll be viewing from. it would be weird because there would be some chapters where you would feel omniscient, but others it would feel like third-person. it was awfully confusing to me because it would seem like the story was more focused on the plot, and not a certain character. however, in the end it still seemed focused on a character.. sorta. um… what?



i liked how the characters were diverse and distinct. each player was from a “line” in history, so they were all from different races and places. (rhyming~) it made me curious about history and how our civilizations were built. we travel the globe, stopping at places that aren’t popular in books, which i enjoyed.

however, i couldn’t connect with any of the characters. the players of the game were heartless, sadistic, irrational, and sometimes annoying. it wasn’t until the last two pages that there was some emotion shown through. before that, i was convinced the feelings were fleeting, or they were trying to use each other one way or another. there was also a love triangle going on.. *groan* as i mentioned earlier, it would feel like the story was focused on the plot, but randomly throughout the novel, there would an implying love triangle thrown in. the relationships were artificial and forced; i couldn’t sense any chemistry between any of the characters. i think it would've been better if the romance was gone altogether. it was there, but not there.

my favorite part of the novel was the concept. although it was similar to the hunger games, the differences were clear and made it unique. there would be clues and other hints dropped throughout the novel: certain capital letters, spaces between words, symbols and photos here and there. it was interesting because it would feel like you were solving a mystery. i was hoping it would all be explained at the end, but it turns out you were supposed to figure it out yourself.



overall, i did not enjoy this book. i thought it was quite interesting at first, but it eventually got really slow and it wasn’t enough to keep me going for it. the characters were unstable; the relationships were dry. i was confused on what was going on, and i didn’t particularly like the writing style. i’m curious to know what happens next, but i don’t think i’ll actually pick up the next book.

FULL REVIEW HERE!

– alexandra

Vilde

Read through netgalley.com. 

Endgame: The Calling got to be one of the most heavily promoted book that I've come across for ages — and to add another comment to that, an overhyped title.

Short said. Endgame is definitely not as The Hunger Games as many have commented on the similarities found in the blurb. They are not the same thing, in my opinion. I can definitely see myself have loved this book, except that I was not sold on it. The only aspect of the Endgame I found fascinating was the twelve lines and their background.

Many have commented on it's blurb that it's sounds too similiar to The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins — something that I can't vouch for. Endgame and The Hunger Games' similarity might only be 12 bloodlines (pff) against 12 districts, the ages group and the competition to fight until one stands alone and is the winner. For me those are just similarities, but in execution, they are not at all the same. But for me, the most striking similarity is that children are competing against each other and killing each other (but on another side, please name other book series where dystopian themes are promonitent and children are killing each other in a competition/rebellion or something similar).

Endgame was okay, but a bit confusing about all the characters: the only one I managed to actually remember after the end of it was Sara(h?), Christopher/Christoffer, Jago, Chiyoko (or what her name was, but of the Mu line) and the weird Chinese dude with tics. I think the intent of the plot is one that might sell for less critical readers, but for me it was not really a huge hit. It was okay, not bad or good in the sense that I really liked the book or loved it. I also think that the incredible huge promotion around it also kills it a bit, although I understand the intention behind it and running it over "all" platforms, but the competition is a over-kill in my opinion. It was unfortunately not a hit for me.

The Calling (Endgame, Book 1)

Reviews