January 15, 2011

Review : The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

Title : The Forbidden Game
Author : L.J. Smith
Reading Dates : 13 Dec - 18 Dec 2010
Forbidden Game, Collector's Omnibus Edition
The books included in the Forbidden Game
The books in the series includes :
  • The Hunter
  • The Chase
  • The Kill
From Amazon :
To capture the love of Jenny Thorton, Julian--a visitor from a dark world--draws Jenny and her friends into forbidden games; the contest for a human soul. The prize is Jenny's freedom. The stakes are all of their lives. Jenny's friends are determined to help her win. But Julian is the master of the Game. Jenny's most desperate fight will be with him, this eerily handsome boy with electric blue eyes. He knows her deepest secrets, her darkest fears. He has almost infinite power. And the only thing he wants is for Jenny to surrender to him--body and soul.


Book Review of The Forbidden Game.
I have to say that the main attraction of The Forbidden Game was Julian. He might be the villain but he’s also the most interesting character in the entire story. Not the kind of guy I’d want to meet in real life, but the kind that makes for very exciting reading. And as for his being evil, well, I didn’t really see him as such. That would be like calling a wild animal evil. To me, he was simply something out of this world and acting on the natural instincts of his kind. Judging him by human standards seemed wrong somehow.

As for the other characters, none of them really shone. The heroine starts off being rather boring and irritating with the way she lets herself get walked all over by her boyfriend. But once he disappears and she starts to take charge, then she becomes fairly likable. One thing I found really strange though was the way she thought of Tom. As far as I could see, the only thing she seemed to love about him was his looks. The only times when she thought of his character were the times when he was being difficult. So much so, that I couldn’t help thinking that she might be better off without him.

Aside from that, I also enjoyed the first one the most because of the different incarnations Julian takes on while playing the game. I loved the way how the author made it possible that such diverse mythologies and believes could mix. It was just too bad there wasn’t more of the same theme explored in the subsequent books.

One major complain I have about the books is the pacing of the story. The first one was pretty good, getting the reader interested right off with Jenny in trouble. The second though starts off rather slowly and fails to build up the tension. In fact, nothing seemed to be happening in the story until Julian makes his personal appearance halfway to the end. The last book which I’d expected to start off with a bang actually plodded along despite the cliffhanger ending of the second. The only parts that were interesting were the ones when Julian makes his appearance.

All in all, a good read but not one I’m eager to re-read soon.

My conclusions :
  • Would I re-read the book ? Yes, but not until I've forgotten most of the story.
  • Would I want to read the next book in the series if there were one? Maybe. It would depend on who it was about.
  • Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? No.
  • Who would I recommend this too? Paranormal fans might like this.
  • For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? Borrowing the books would be sufficient.

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