Lynnie
young adult, action/suspense, fantasy
We both enjoyed The Calling. Lynnie discovered it and her great review convinced Amy to try it. This partial description from Goodreads is as good as any: Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game that would determine our future. This is Endgame.
Amy's review
The Calling is like a combination of The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) and I Am Number Four (Pittacus Lore). Now, I know a lot of people have said that certain books are similar to, or in the same vein as, The Hunger Games but I’ve never agreed. However, this one is the most like The Hunger Games that I’ve read because the characters are teenagers who find themselves pitted against one another, most likely to the death. There is also a lot of graphic violence. However, these teens were trained their entire lives for the opportunity to play the Endgame so they are not as helpless as most of The Hunger Games tributes found themselves. This novel is similar to I Am Number Four because there is a lot of action and movement, lots of high-tech/super-smart/special-ability teens working towards a common goal (although, they are definitely not all on the same team), some members of the elite crew team up with normal humans, and there is the presence of probable aliens. And, guess what—there is a reason that this novel feels a lot like I Am Number Four—the author, James Frey, is one of the authors behind the pseudonym Pittacus Lore under which the Lorien Legacies series is authored.
I enjoyed the pace and the structure of the novel. It was interesting, creative, and full of fun characters to love and hate. There is also a real game woven into the story that readers can play with the goal of winning valuable prizes. However, I just wanted to read the novel and ignored all the special clues.
At first, I thought I would have trouble keeping track of all the key Players. But that turned out to be a non-issue. However, I am sure it is going to give me trouble when the new sequel is released after such a long span of time occurs. In fact, I wish I had just waited to read this novel until more of the sequels were out. While only one other sequel, still untitled, is currently slated to be published (in October 2015), the Endgame is set up to be played in three segments which would naturally imply a trilogy is in the works. I've made notes for myself about each of the remaining characters so that it’ll be easier to play catch-up with the sequels.
Lynnie's review
I stumbled onto this book because another friend had posted it on Goodreads and I'm so glad I did!
The Calling is an action-packed story from beginning to end. I found some similarities to Frey's other work, The Lorien Legacy series (under the nom de plume Pitticus Lore)- certainly in writing style & that there's a group of impressive teens (no super powers in this book though) fighting to save the world, or at least some piece of it.
The Calling is more brutal in its end-of-the-world scenario than the Lorien Series. There's plenty of blood, gore, and fighting right from the beginning. There's no doubt that these teens mean business and will do whatever it takes to succeed in The Game they have been called to play. The characters are solid & it's easy to find favorites among them.
I did not play along with the game in the book- I simply found it too tedious to try to look up all the footnoted references, preferring instead to read & enjoy the story without stopping frequently to look something up on the computer. For those who want to play along though, there appears to be plenty to piece together.
Based on Frey's other series I was prepared for an annoying cliffhanger in the end, so I wasn't shocked when it happened. The Calling does end in a cliffhanger, but not one that's so ridiculous you immediately hate everything you've read previously. Most importantly, at the end of The Calling, I'm still interested in what will happen next & I look forward to reading the next book.
Over all, I think if you like the Lorien Legacy series, or YA action in general, you'll enjoy this.
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