6.35k reviews for:

Damin Gambit

Walter Tevis

4.09 AVERAGE

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

solid it's just kinda annoying that this has provided me with the delusion that i am actually a master in chess and could beat all of these players with my eyes closed when i can barely remember the moves that all the pieces are allowed to make.

the chess scenes were the most interesting which was kinda shocking because honestly the other scenes were okay and who the fuck thinks about chess scenes as interesting? trust me they were interesting in this book. especially in comparison to the other scenes because those lacked depth which was a shame because at some point it felt like they would expand the backstory of a character and explain their role in the book and deepen the relationship between them and beth but it didn't actually happen ever.

which i thought was slightly disappointing because i did like the characters and i liked the different connections between them and beth but it just fell flat sometimes. idk i think it was probably the way beth herself was written because her thought process wasn't always the most interesting to read which in turn made most of her inner monologue about other characters less interesting and that ended up in making said characters less interesting.
informative inspiring medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I love self destructive characters

Watched the Netflix show and liked the book as much!

The author made the tension in the matches palpable for me, despite my literally knowing only how chess pieces move.  His descriptions of the possible moves the heroine contemplated were lost on me, but the story was still gripping.  It helped that I’d seen the Netflix series first!

Here’s my book report: The book is well written. The movie follows the book very closely. So much so that there are no surprises. The ending deviates a bit.

I wish I’d read the book before watching the movie.
dark informative sad medium-paced

Orphaned female chess prodigy with addictions rises in the Cold War tournament world. 
adventurous emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings