Rules of the Game

Rules of the Game by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton (3
 stars, hardback, 327 pages)

This book is the third and final chapter of the Endgame Trilogy.
 Over the course of this series, twelve teenage representatives of the bloodlines of ancient civilizations compete in a life or death struggle to find and unite three keys and win salvation for their line. As this book begins, seven players are still alive with one very close to winning. The rules have changed, though, and their purpose for playing is not the same as it was when they started.

I loved the rapid pace of the action, and the apocalypse theme.
 (I think “disaster science fiction” is closer to describing this book than the “dystopia” people like to bandy about.) I was very invested in the arc of the characters, which is why I just had to finish the series. Unfortunately, this book has significant
 weaknesses. These included the introduction of new characters to keep track of in a series driving towards a necessarily apocalyptic conclusion. Nori’s role was so small as to make me wonder why they even bothered introducing a character. Jenny’s role was so important that it should have been played by somebody with whom we were more familiar. Stella’s role in this book was as a mere plot device. The conclusion was weak, little more than a deus ex machina thinly disguised as a celebration of an ancient belief.

The biggest problem with the book is the why - what the Makers wanted to get from all of this. They conducted this genetic bloodlines thing that spanned all of human civilization, and planted these tools for the players to gather them at the right time and… do what with it? kepler 22b was obviously lying to the players and the lines about their survival, but I don’t think we ever learned what the aliens got out of the whole deal. Maybe their motive was discussed at some point in the second book that I’ve forgotten, but their stakes were not sufficiently clear to me. I’m not alone in this, as several other reviewers express the same reservation. I guess their motives were supposed to be arcane and unknowable, but it weakened the story dramatically. Perhaps Baitsakhan was right in the first book when he said “This is Endgame. There is no Why.” This is interesting/nihilistic as a philosophical idea, but pretty annoying if it’s the only motivation for an otherwise fascinating book series.

Rules of the Game is a mediocre conclusion to a series with a fascinating premise and a strong beginning, but I appreciated it anyway. I may have liked the third book more if the events of the second book were fresher in my memory.