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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
The concept behind Black Chalk grabbed me right from the get-go. The idea of an innocent game evolving into something more sinister and the effect that would have on its participants seemed both intriguing and tragically realistic. The ‘winner’ stands to walk away with a sizeable prize – not just the stakes of their fellow players, but a considerable sum added to the pot by the mysterious Game Society, provided the players promise to keep the Game and the Game Soc private.
And now, after living with the game hanging over their heads for fourteen years, the remaining players must meet up for their final round, and who knows better than your best friends what will break you? As the story develops, one is forced to wonder whether it’s possible to ‘win’ the Game. Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is to survive it.
The novel begins in the aftermath of the Game, and we can immediately see the devastating psychological effects on the narrator, who now lives a hermit's existance, trapped by a complicated web of OCD routines and guilt over the Game. The story of the formation of the friendship group and the birth of the game is told through flashbacks interspersed through present day scenes. I did find this slightly disorientating initially, as the current day is in the first person, whilst the flashbacks are in the third person, and it is not apparent for quite some time which player our narrator is. This turns out to be an intentional twist by the author, and as the novel progresses it works very well indeed.
Psychologically, this book is utterly incredible. Each of the 6 players has their own issues and Achilles heel before the Game even begins, and as the Game progresses we can see the differing effects of stress on each individual as they struggle to deal with the humiliating consequences and are lead deeper and deeper into the pitfalls of both pride and revenge.
Unbelievably, this is Christopher Yates’ debut novel. It is dark, disturbing and compelling, contains sneaky plot-twists and the characterisation is magnificent. In short, it’s ingenious.
Disclaimer: I was sent an ecopy of Black Chalk by NetGalley for the purposes of this review, but the opinions given are, as always, entirely my own.
And now, after living with the game hanging over their heads for fourteen years, the remaining players must meet up for their final round, and who knows better than your best friends what will break you? As the story develops, one is forced to wonder whether it’s possible to ‘win’ the Game. Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is to survive it.
The novel begins in the aftermath of the Game, and we can immediately see the devastating psychological effects on the narrator, who now lives a hermit's existance, trapped by a complicated web of OCD routines and guilt over the Game. The story of the formation of the friendship group and the birth of the game is told through flashbacks interspersed through present day scenes. I did find this slightly disorientating initially, as the current day is in the first person, whilst the flashbacks are in the third person, and it is not apparent for quite some time which player our narrator is. This turns out to be an intentional twist by the author, and as the novel progresses it works very well indeed.
Psychologically, this book is utterly incredible. Each of the 6 players has their own issues and Achilles heel before the Game even begins, and as the Game progresses we can see the differing effects of stress on each individual as they struggle to deal with the humiliating consequences and are lead deeper and deeper into the pitfalls of both pride and revenge.
Unbelievably, this is Christopher Yates’ debut novel. It is dark, disturbing and compelling, contains sneaky plot-twists and the characterisation is magnificent. In short, it’s ingenious.
Disclaimer: I was sent an ecopy of Black Chalk by NetGalley for the purposes of this review, but the opinions given are, as always, entirely my own.
Nope. Weird book. Crazy hermit writing a diary, and writes about his past where a bunch of university friends invented and played a Game. The Game’s consequences were basically to embarrass yourself through some task assigned by the others. Of course these tasks escalate as the Game goes on. Except they’re also quite lame. IDK didn’t seem that big a deal or grounded in reality at all.
Everyone is a weird, pretentious twat and this whole situation seems both unrealistic and stupid. I like exactly one half of one character in this book.
Glad I got it as an e-book because I had to look up quite a few words. I mean, abstemious? Fuck off. But I suppose it befits these affected assholes. Oh look, I said befits. It’s rubbing off on me.
Everyone is a weird, pretentious twat and this whole situation seems both unrealistic and stupid. I like exactly one half of one character in this book.
Glad I got it as an e-book because I had to look up quite a few words. I mean, abstemious? Fuck off. But I suppose it befits these affected assholes. Oh look, I said befits. It’s rubbing off on me.
Wow. Sinister. Dark. Thrilling. Makes you wonder how much of life is a game. Well done, author.
The premise is that a group of friends in college plays a game with increasingly severe consequences. The unfolding of said game in the story takes a little while, but this is still a pretty quick read with some good plot twists. Additionally this book shifts between the present (told in first person) and fourteen years ago (told in third person) and the reason for that is eventually revealed in an interesting way. If you enjoy dark stories or college campus stories or both, would recommend.
So satisfying I really loved the complications and details with narrative and narration such a cleverly crafted concept and an excellent story!
Such an excellent book, I'm only docking 0.5 stars for the psychic damage.
What I liked:
* the clues and reveals are deployed with surgical precision. It hands you so many breadcrumbs without being obvious
* There was more than one mystery set up with reveals all throughout the book
* jumping back and forth between timelines which created such a dynamic picture of the stakes and chessmoves
What I did not like
* these characters are so mental. I need to soak my brain in bleach to forget them.
My one comfort is that I cannot believe ppl like this exist in the real world
What I liked:
* the clues and reveals are deployed with surgical precision. It hands you so many breadcrumbs without being obvious
* There was more than one mystery set up with reveals all throughout the book
* jumping back and forth between timelines which created such a dynamic picture of the stakes and chessmoves
What I did not like
* these characters are so mental. I need to soak my brain in bleach to forget them.
My one comfort is that I cannot believe ppl like this exist in the real world
There is a lot to like about this book - the blurb does an excellent job of putting it across and enticing you to read, and the mystery of the first half of the book is well built. I liked the fact that the story was being told to us many years after 'The Game' and that we find out most of the details in flashback as it allowed the author to mete out the tension.
Unfortunately, I was not especially invested in the group of students - I keep seeing books compared to The Secret History, so I really must read it sometime - Chad is an interesting character, but the rest of the group fell a bit flat for me.
I wonder if, had I read this book at another time, I might have liked it more - my appetite at the moment for shadowy groups controlling people's lives is small, perhaps influenced by our current political situation?
Regardless, I gave it three stars as I enjoyed a lot of elements of the book, but I felt the ending was too drawn out for my liking, and yet it still managed to end incredibly abruptly once all was revealed.
Copy received via Netgalley.
Unfortunately, I was not especially invested in the group of students - I keep seeing books compared to The Secret History, so I really must read it sometime - Chad is an interesting character, but the rest of the group fell a bit flat for me.
I wonder if, had I read this book at another time, I might have liked it more - my appetite at the moment for shadowy groups controlling people's lives is small, perhaps influenced by our current political situation?
Regardless, I gave it three stars as I enjoyed a lot of elements of the book, but I felt the ending was too drawn out for my liking, and yet it still managed to end incredibly abruptly once all was revealed.
Copy received via Netgalley.
I LOVED THIS BOOK. I enjoyed the unreliability of the narrator and the idea that maybe he isn’t actually the person writing the story. I also enjoyed the entire aspect of the game- I thought it was such an original idea and a truly twisted version of life. I will say that the game was SUCH a complex thing to me honestly and wish we had gotten a little more explanation, after fourteen hours of audio, I STILL don’t really understand how the cards and dice work together to produce the outcome. The characters were so real and brought a new dimension to the story when they started fighting and dropping out of the game.
The difference in the setting of the present New York and of the past London was such a nice juxtaposition of who you are fourteen years ago and the guilt you can carry for all that time. One of my biggest complaints about the New York setting is that it seemed convenient? It’s such a convenient place for a person to hide and get lost in the crowd, but also the perfect place to find that person again. I will say that the setting DID set up the ending nicely, as it made a perfect escape for Chad (who’s ending is a puzzle and I would love to know to where he disappeared since GAMESOC wanted him so bad).
The only other complaint is the side character Misty. Very stereotypical and annoying. But I otherwise deeply enjoyed this novel.
The difference in the setting of the present New York and of the past London was such a nice juxtaposition of who you are fourteen years ago and the guilt you can carry for all that time. One of my biggest complaints about the New York setting is that it seemed convenient? It’s such a convenient place for a person to hide and get lost in the crowd, but also the perfect place to find that person again. I will say that the setting DID set up the ending nicely, as it made a perfect escape for Chad (who’s ending is a puzzle and I would love to know to where he disappeared since GAMESOC wanted him so bad).
The only other complaint is the side character Misty. Very stereotypical and annoying. But I otherwise deeply enjoyed this novel.
1.5 stars
This is by far not the worst book I've ever read but I wanted to dnf it so many times and absolutely did not care about any of the characters.
This is by far not the worst book I've ever read but I wanted to dnf it so many times and absolutely did not care about any of the characters.