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darlingfarthings 's review for:
Endgame: The Calling
by James Frey, Nils Johnson-Shelton
(I honestly didn't think of The Hunger Games when reading this book, shame on me.)
But anyway.
This book was difficult to read. People have talked about how wonderful it is that there's no one to root for, but... there is someone we're supposed to root for.
Sarah Alopay and Jago Tlaloc. Possibly one of the most generic girls in the world, and some odd sociopath that somehow happens to fall for her.
I didn't like either of these protagonists. Sarah seemed shallow, Jago inspired little intrigue and most romantic tension they had could probably be observed by shutting two teenagers in a room together for a few hours. Any two teenagers. Regardless of chemistry. Do you know why?
I couldn't see any chemistry between the two at all.
In general, this book was almost unbearable, and the odd references to angles (ooh, look, my fingers are currently at 42 degrees, look at me) were anything but impressive.
There was, however, one single saving grace to this book that saved me from just rage-quitting and shutting it away forever.
Chiyoko Takeda.
Maybe, as an Asian, I was naturally biased towards Chiyoko, but just look at her relative complexity. She's mute and trained to be a killer, trained to save her line at all costs, but she bursts with honour, refusing to kill Jago when he was asleep. She knows something the other players don't about the rock thing, making her interesting. Her odd Asian-Asian possibly racist gross romance with an emotionless-ish An Liu involving ripping off fingernails and sniffing them to curb his twitch was upsetting, but I still really liked Chiyoko due to her personality, skills, and the aesthetic image of her changing from one wig to another, tracking the other players, each time as a different person. And honestly, the fact that she was chosen to represent her line despite her distinctive muteness speaks volumes of her skill and sheer, utter talent.
But guess what happens to her.
She's killed.
I don't mind it when characters I like are killed, but upon visiting the wiki, I discovered that her death fuels An Liu's later motivations as a character. I.e. the sole reason for her death was to give An Liu power, to make him more interesting, to give him motivation. So essentially, Chiyoko Takeda, the most interesting character in the novel, was used as fodder for the boring manspain of a racially insensitive caricature of a Chinese man.
...
In short: I won't be reading the sequel.
But anyway.
This book was difficult to read. People have talked about how wonderful it is that there's no one to root for, but... there is someone we're supposed to root for.
Sarah Alopay and Jago Tlaloc. Possibly one of the most generic girls in the world, and some odd sociopath that somehow happens to fall for her.
I didn't like either of these protagonists. Sarah seemed shallow, Jago inspired little intrigue and most romantic tension they had could probably be observed by shutting two teenagers in a room together for a few hours. Any two teenagers. Regardless of chemistry. Do you know why?
I couldn't see any chemistry between the two at all.
In general, this book was almost unbearable, and the odd references to angles (ooh, look, my fingers are currently at 42 degrees, look at me) were anything but impressive.
There was, however, one single saving grace to this book that saved me from just rage-quitting and shutting it away forever.
Chiyoko Takeda.
Spoiler
Maybe, as an Asian, I was naturally biased towards Chiyoko, but just look at her relative complexity. She's mute and trained to be a killer, trained to save her line at all costs, but she bursts with honour, refusing to kill Jago when he was asleep. She knows something the other players don't about the rock thing, making her interesting. Her odd Asian-Asian possibly racist gross romance with an emotionless-ish An Liu involving ripping off fingernails and sniffing them to curb his twitch was upsetting, but I still really liked Chiyoko due to her personality, skills, and the aesthetic image of her changing from one wig to another, tracking the other players, each time as a different person. And honestly, the fact that she was chosen to represent her line despite her distinctive muteness speaks volumes of her skill and sheer, utter talent.
But guess what happens to her.
She's killed.
I don't mind it when characters I like are killed, but upon visiting the wiki, I discovered that her death fuels An Liu's later motivations as a character. I.e. the sole reason for her death was to give An Liu power, to make him more interesting, to give him motivation. So essentially, Chiyoko Takeda, the most interesting character in the novel, was used as fodder for the boring manspain of a racially insensitive caricature of a Chinese man.
...
In short: I won't be reading the sequel.