Reviews

The Game by Diana Wynne Jones

purplepaperback's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.0

evelyn_grace_83's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book was all over the place and had very little explanation, there is very little resistance from the main character Hayley, the main character despite all the revelations she undergoes in the story. However this is a Diana Wynne Jones book, so this isn't necessarily surprising, and it is quite a fun and quick read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Minor: Death

lisamchuk's review against another edition

4.0

A good kids novel about myths, mostly Greek but other fables too, written as a rolicking family adventure.

applegnreads's review against another edition

3.0

short novella. not bad.

aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition

I've come to expect great things from Diana Wynne Jones, but this novella sadly failed to match those expectations. It was playful enough, but lacked her usual irrepressible wit and unexpected plot turns. I agree with the other reviewer here that there were definitely not enough pages to develop all the characters introduced, by any means. The story seemed in a hurry to get to the ending, which wasn't really that satisfying anyway, because we'd only had half an hour to warm up to a couple dozen characters. It was so quick a read that it's hard to say it was an actual waste of time, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it. It flowed poorly and I think she messed with her mythology. Several plot twists felt forced, as if Jones was simply trying to link things together to achieve a semi-coherent book. While I think the premise could have been a good story as a fully fledged novel two or three times this length, it's just too much detail for one tiny book. I've read short stories that stayed with me for years afterwards; this novella didn't stay with me for the next half hour. I found it exceptionally poorly written for an author whose prowess as a writer I've come to love and respect a great deal.

kat_33's review against another edition

4.0

I loved the writing style and all the greek mythology references.
perfect for pjo lovers!

alyashah's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

4.25

duriangray's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

glitterkitter's review against another edition

4.0

An interesting tie in with various myths and stories. It could get confusing if you don't know the Greek myths all that well (which I don't) which could be especially an issue seeing as this book is aimed at younger readers.

lesliebean's review against another edition

3.0

I read this book while hanging out with my eight-year-old nibling. IT had a promising premise and set-up but imo ultimately fell flat with its premature ending. If it had been fleshed out into a full novel instead of crammed into a novella, it would have been dramatically improved.