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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
No tengo una opinión clara sobre el libro. A momentos le hubiese dado una estrella, en otros cuatro o incluso cinco.
La manera en la que está escrito no tiene ningún mérito. Frases cortas, capítulos cortos, todo acción. Esto hace que la lectura sea rápida y ágil y no te quedas atascado aunque haya momentos en los que la historia en sí no te atraiga demasiado.
Ahora, en cuanto a la historia... Es una extraña mezcla entre The Hunger Games, La Llave del tiempo y muchas otras distopías. Para mi gusto, busca el resultar chocante recurriendo a una violencia muy basta, sin ningún tipo de gusto y a la que en nada te vuelves insensible. Por otro lado, los personajes... Como ya dije a lo largo de la lectura, este libro tiene el record de personajes que me caen mal. Sólo Jago se salvaba en ocasiones, An (aunque cuando narraba él me ponía histérica), Shari y Alice se salvan. Aunque por la manera que está escrito, sin profundizar en nada, resulta muy difícil encariñarse con los personajes y la verdad es que ninguna muerte me afectó. Es más, poco me faltó aplaudir cuando Christopher muere (qué petardo, por favor).
No creo que me compre la continuación, pero bueno. Como entretenimiento es aceptable.
La manera en la que está escrito no tiene ningún mérito. Frases cortas, capítulos cortos, todo acción. Esto hace que la lectura sea rápida y ágil y no te quedas atascado aunque haya momentos en los que la historia en sí no te atraiga demasiado.
Ahora, en cuanto a la historia... Es una extraña mezcla entre The Hunger Games, La Llave del tiempo y muchas otras distopías. Para mi gusto, busca el resultar chocante recurriendo a una violencia muy basta, sin ningún tipo de gusto y a la que en nada te vuelves insensible. Por otro lado, los personajes... Como ya dije a lo largo de la lectura, este libro tiene el record de personajes que me caen mal. Sólo Jago se salvaba en ocasiones, An (aunque cuando narraba él me ponía histérica), Shari y Alice se salvan. Aunque por la manera que está escrito, sin profundizar en nada, resulta muy difícil encariñarse con los personajes y la verdad es que ninguna muerte me afectó. Es más, poco me faltó aplaudir cuando Christopher muere (qué petardo, por favor).
No creo que me compre la continuación, pero bueno. Como entretenimiento es aceptable.
This book is really good! I stayed up for hours at night because this was so good. It's all action and it doesn't have boring or slow parts and it was so quick to read! Even though it's not the shortest book that I've read it was probably one of the quickest. Sometimes fast paced books are really hard to keep up with, not this time. Well, maybe little, but can't complain. I enjoyed reading it from start to the end. I'd recommend this book for those who have a few days off from work or school and want to read a good book. You can't stop reading.
What I'm now thinking is that maybe Earth is just an entertainment for its creators. What if it's only created so that Endgame could happen.
Spoiler
It's confusing at the end, but it started to reveal some Hunger Games like things.What I'm now thinking is that maybe Earth is just an entertainment for its creators. What if it's only created so that Endgame could happen.
A boring page turner, weird? Once I really got time to read this one, I read pretty quickly. But I dislike the story so much. I didn't care for any of the characters. I really wanted this to be good but I don't even think I'll read the 2 other books!!
Whoa that was one wild ride! Can I have book two?
Verhaal: 4/5 Twaalf Spelers, heel veel plaatsen, bijfiguren, symbolen en cijfers. Alles heeft een betekenis. Puzzel er
maar op los! Kraak de code!
Karakters: 4/5 Zeer interessante figuren. Zelfs degene met wie je niet echt een diepgaande band krijgt (omdat asshole, teveel ego, of moordmachine)
worden wel uitgediept.
Schrijfstijl: 4/5 Loved it! Zowel de hoofdstukken van alle verschillende karakters die een zekere rol in het spel spelen,
als de toevoegingen in de vorm van voetnoten (achterin het boek staan er linkjes; linkjes naar google maps, youtube filmpjes
en wikipedia achtige websites) evenals de platen/illustraties/afbeeldingen.
Herlezen: Zeer waarschijnlijk. Nu eerst snel door naar deel twee!
Side note: Wanneer je dit boek als 14, 15 jarige leest is alles echt supercool!
Wanneer je dit boek als zijnde volwassene leest, kan de informatie die je via de linkjes krijgt (behoorlijk) disturbing zijn. Op het eerste gezicht lijken het "conspirecies" of hoaxes, maar de bronnen blijken toch "legit" vanuit verschillende officiële instanties. Creepy soms...
This review originally appears on What Am I Reading?
Rate: 5
Format: One thing you’ll notice right away when reading this book is that there are no indented paragraphs and no spaces between paragraphs. This doesn’t mean that each chapter is one long paragraph, but they aren’t as clearly defined like in a conventional novel. More often than not you can tell when a paragraph ends based on whether a sentence ends mid-line and there’s no subsequent sentence. It doesn’t make the story difficult to read, just different.
Another thing you’ll notice when reading this book is all the numbers. At times, Frey goes overboard in his exactness. Not only do numbers show up a lot, there are also many long decimal. There are coordinates, seemingly random clues, and even times explained to down to its nanoseconds.
Third, and my last thing about the format, the Calling has changing narrative forms. At first, the book is in the first person and the speaker talks to the reader, but then it shifts to a third person multiple point of view. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but at times, the POV changes between paragraphs instead of between chapters, which most people are used to. This was jarring at first, but I got used to it as I read on. Since the focus of the speaker changes often, it’s best to read the title of each chapter, which tells you which characters will be present in the chapter and you can anticipate the voices and any POV changes.
Similarity to the Hunger Games: So I didn’t read the original synopsis of this book, but from the reviews I saw on Goodreads, a number of people complained that they wouldn’t read this book because it sound a lot like the Hunger Games. I’m here to say that only minor details of this book are like the Hunger Games. If I wasn’t looking for connections between the two books, I wouldn’t have thought the Calling is like the Hunger Games.
*Both books center on 12 teenagers. They’re called Tributes in THG and Players in TC.
*In TC, Players kill each other because the faith of humanity depends on the winner and only one can win (I have a theory against this, but it’s irrelevant here). In THG, Tributes kill each other for sport and entertainment. Teens are killed in both books, but the reasons why are different.
*TC is more like a complex, deadly treasure hunt, while THG is a game based on surviving.
Christopher: Christopher is a useless character. He isn’t a Player, but he gets in the way until the end. And surprise, surprise (can you hear my sarcasm?), Christopher is used to create an unnecessary love triangle. Besides being upset that Frey inserts the cliché of a love triangle (cause really love triangles are becoming tiredly clichéd), he uses a flat character like Christopher to do it. The whole time I was rooting for Jago because he at least seemed to have some substance. I was glad to see Christopher go because he was a character that added unnecessary drama. If Frey really needed to spice up the book, he could have had the Players cross paths more often instead of giving so much screen time to this non-Player character.
All in all, you should read the Calling because it’s not your usual YA novel. I found it interesting because even though it’s called a science fiction book, it’s more like a pre-apocalyptic story. Also, even though the characters have difficult names and some are complete monsters, if you get into the story, you’ll be reading to the end. I can’t wait for the next book so I can continue reading all the drama.
Rate: 5
Format: One thing you’ll notice right away when reading this book is that there are no indented paragraphs and no spaces between paragraphs. This doesn’t mean that each chapter is one long paragraph, but they aren’t as clearly defined like in a conventional novel. More often than not you can tell when a paragraph ends based on whether a sentence ends mid-line and there’s no subsequent sentence. It doesn’t make the story difficult to read, just different.
Another thing you’ll notice when reading this book is all the numbers. At times, Frey goes overboard in his exactness. Not only do numbers show up a lot, there are also many long decimal. There are coordinates, seemingly random clues, and even times explained to down to its nanoseconds.
Third, and my last thing about the format, the Calling has changing narrative forms. At first, the book is in the first person and the speaker talks to the reader, but then it shifts to a third person multiple point of view. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but at times, the POV changes between paragraphs instead of between chapters, which most people are used to. This was jarring at first, but I got used to it as I read on. Since the focus of the speaker changes often, it’s best to read the title of each chapter, which tells you which characters will be present in the chapter and you can anticipate the voices and any POV changes.
Similarity to the Hunger Games: So I didn’t read the original synopsis of this book, but from the reviews I saw on Goodreads, a number of people complained that they wouldn’t read this book because it sound a lot like the Hunger Games. I’m here to say that only minor details of this book are like the Hunger Games. If I wasn’t looking for connections between the two books, I wouldn’t have thought the Calling is like the Hunger Games.
*Both books center on 12 teenagers. They’re called Tributes in THG and Players in TC.
*In TC, Players kill each other because the faith of humanity depends on the winner and only one can win (I have a theory against this, but it’s irrelevant here). In THG, Tributes kill each other for sport and entertainment. Teens are killed in both books, but the reasons why are different.
*TC is more like a complex, deadly treasure hunt, while THG is a game based on surviving.
Christopher: Christopher is a useless character. He isn’t a Player, but he gets in the way until the end. And surprise, surprise (can you hear my sarcasm?), Christopher is used to create an unnecessary love triangle. Besides being upset that Frey inserts the cliché of a love triangle (cause really love triangles are becoming tiredly clichéd), he uses a flat character like Christopher to do it. The whole time I was rooting for Jago because he at least seemed to have some substance. I was glad to see Christopher go because he was a character that added unnecessary drama. If Frey really needed to spice up the book, he could have had the Players cross paths more often instead of giving so much screen time to this non-Player character.
All in all, you should read the Calling because it’s not your usual YA novel. I found it interesting because even though it’s called a science fiction book, it’s more like a pre-apocalyptic story. Also, even though the characters have difficult names and some are complete monsters, if you get into the story, you’ll be reading to the end. I can’t wait for the next book so I can continue reading all the drama.
Irgendwie verwirrend. Aber auch wahnsinnig gut. Erinnert mich sehr an Hunger Games. Ist aber dennoch anders :D Ich freu mich auf Band 2 :D
Could not get as into this book as I wanted to. The premise is good but there is just something about the way it's written that keeps me from really being able to get sucked in.
Received an ARC from coworker who attended ALA in Las Vegas. Actual rating = 2.5 stars
When my colleague returned from ALA, he plopped a stack of ARCs down on my desk and said “Go nuts.” I sifted my way through them – and I was amazed that THREE of the four ARCs I opted to read have the number 12 as an intricate plot-point. I guess I can see the theme of the fall/winter publishing catalog!
Straight off: this is NOT HUNGER GAMES! I can see where folks would think that by reading that there are twelve players fighting for their lives. But the similarities end at the number 12. I admit that I, too, had the thought that this would be another hang-on-the-coat-tails-of-Katniss book. But, when I reached the bottom of page one, it was quite clear to me that this is NOT HUNGER GAMES. It is not post-apocalyptic; it is apocalyptic – or it could be if they all lose:
Twelve original lines of humanity remain. Each of the twelve lines must designate and train a Player between the ages of 13 and 20. The Player must be ready to be called into the Endgame at any moment. When one player ages out of eligibility, the line must select another Player. They are not super-heroes, they do not have any super-powers. They are strong, smart, quick, talented, but very, very human. They play for real: when Endgame starts, they play for the lives of everyone in their line. If they live, their line lives. And Endgame? It is starting now.
I may have been better off reading this book not knowing of the immense marketing campaign that is going to accompany the release. We are talking more than the typical book tour. Google is creating a mobile game that will allow readers to play along with the characters in the novel. There is an actual puzzle that readers will get to try to solve for an actual gold coin prize. The movie rights to this trilogy have already been purchased by 20th Century Fox. And the ARC? It arrived in a gold box with four flaps to open before the book is revealed.
My biggest hang-up was the puzzle for readers to solve. I was so distracted by possible clues and trying to figure out what the reader would be having to solve and/or find that I often found myself having to go back and re-read sections because I had spaced-out on the “what could that mean for the prize” moments. It was made very clear in the introduction to the ARC that the real clues would only be contained in the published novel; the ARC was filled with space-filler clues. But I was still distracted! And, I was even more distracted when I discovered that the endnotes were urls that led to even more information! I stopped reading and ran to my computer more than a dozen times.
Yet, despite the distractions, I was intrigued with the story, captivated by the characters, and thoroughly engrossed in the multiple locations readers got to explore as the story progressed. But did I love it enough to re-read the published novel? Nope. Did I enjoy the game enough to want to try to solve the puzzle? Not a chance. Count me out. Do I want to read the 2nd and/or 3rd books in the trilogy? Maybe. Marketing for the 2nd book may push me to pick it up but if I’m as distracted by the puzzle as I was this time, I’ll put it down.
I’m glad I read this. I will now be able to discuss it intelligently with patrons. And, I can see many game-loving reluctant readers being drawn in with the real-life play-along.
When my colleague returned from ALA, he plopped a stack of ARCs down on my desk and said “Go nuts.” I sifted my way through them – and I was amazed that THREE of the four ARCs I opted to read have the number 12 as an intricate plot-point. I guess I can see the theme of the fall/winter publishing catalog!
Straight off: this is NOT HUNGER GAMES! I can see where folks would think that by reading that there are twelve players fighting for their lives. But the similarities end at the number 12. I admit that I, too, had the thought that this would be another hang-on-the-coat-tails-of-Katniss book. But, when I reached the bottom of page one, it was quite clear to me that this is NOT HUNGER GAMES. It is not post-apocalyptic; it is apocalyptic – or it could be if they all lose:
Twelve original lines of humanity remain. Each of the twelve lines must designate and train a Player between the ages of 13 and 20. The Player must be ready to be called into the Endgame at any moment. When one player ages out of eligibility, the line must select another Player. They are not super-heroes, they do not have any super-powers. They are strong, smart, quick, talented, but very, very human. They play for real: when Endgame starts, they play for the lives of everyone in their line. If they live, their line lives. And Endgame? It is starting now.
I may have been better off reading this book not knowing of the immense marketing campaign that is going to accompany the release. We are talking more than the typical book tour. Google is creating a mobile game that will allow readers to play along with the characters in the novel. There is an actual puzzle that readers will get to try to solve for an actual gold coin prize. The movie rights to this trilogy have already been purchased by 20th Century Fox. And the ARC? It arrived in a gold box with four flaps to open before the book is revealed.
My biggest hang-up was the puzzle for readers to solve. I was so distracted by possible clues and trying to figure out what the reader would be having to solve and/or find that I often found myself having to go back and re-read sections because I had spaced-out on the “what could that mean for the prize” moments. It was made very clear in the introduction to the ARC that the real clues would only be contained in the published novel; the ARC was filled with space-filler clues. But I was still distracted! And, I was even more distracted when I discovered that the endnotes were urls that led to even more information! I stopped reading and ran to my computer more than a dozen times.
Yet, despite the distractions, I was intrigued with the story, captivated by the characters, and thoroughly engrossed in the multiple locations readers got to explore as the story progressed. But did I love it enough to re-read the published novel? Nope. Did I enjoy the game enough to want to try to solve the puzzle? Not a chance. Count me out. Do I want to read the 2nd and/or 3rd books in the trilogy? Maybe. Marketing for the 2nd book may push me to pick it up but if I’m as distracted by the puzzle as I was this time, I’ll put it down.
I’m glad I read this. I will now be able to discuss it intelligently with patrons. And, I can see many game-loving reluctant readers being drawn in with the real-life play-along.