duane@anasazi.UUCP (Duane Morse) (10/17/85)
The jacket reads: "In the lands of the True Game, your lifelong identity will emerge as you play. Prince or Sorcerer, Armiger or Tragamor, Demon or Doyen... Which will it be?" This book is the first of a trilogy, the other two being NECROMANCER NINE and WIZARD'S ELEVEN. The world is one in which the important individuals have "talents" -- reading minds, predicting the future, moving objects from a distance, etc. Those without a talent are called pawns; they generally are servants and are used as cannon fodder in battles between those with talents. Young people are educated in playing the Game, identifying the players, etc., at the Houses of Gamemasters. Only at such schools is the Game played for demonstration purposes only. The story concerns 15-year-old Peter who has been at such a house all his life. Like most others his age, he has yet to discover his talent. His best friend, a teacher, betrays him, and he is sent on a journey to another school for safekeeping. He is pursued, and he learns about the world and his heritage. Peter tells the story himself. The pace starts out slow and picks up with each chapter. The world seems to be well thought out and the characters are more fleshed out than in most books. Peter acts like a 15-year-old, unlike some books in which the young characters act much older than their ostensible ages. I was fascinated to catch glimpses of how this world is related to our world. I had read the second book of the series some time ago; I normally don't read books out of sequence, but the second seemed verying interesting and I couldn't find the first book at the time. I enjoyed the second very much, and I liked the first one too. I give KING'S BLOOD FOUR 3.0 stars (very good), and I look forward to reading WIZARD'S ELEVEN. -- Duane Morse ...!noao!terak!anasazi!duane (602) 870-3330