The Grand Game Book Review 1-8

The Grand Game by Tom Elliot

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Well, it has been a little while since my last review and it’s not my fault, really it’s not. I blame Tom Elliot because I have had my nose stuck in his Grand Game Series and I lost track of time. Sooo…. it looks like I have a new author to wax lyrical about. I blew through all 8 volumes in six weeks and I am thinking of doing it all again if my withdrawal symptoms get too bad.

Over the past few years I have, by and large, enjoyed my LitRPG but few of them have lived up to my first experience in the genre ‘He Who Fights With Monsters’ by Shirtaloon and many frankly have been repetitive, not very engaging past the first few books, overpowered, overhyped and fallen (for me) by the wayside. But my word, Tom Elliot knocked this series out of the park and thankfully he is not done yet.

The story starts with no fluff, no back story and no Mr Nice Guy with a sorry past, because other than his name, Michael, our protagonist knows nothing at all about himself or where he is from let alone the world he finds himself in. It begins with him falling through a void of nothingness only to awaken in a strange world he does not recognise or understand. So begins Michael’s journey in the Grand Game.

This is a portal adventure, that barely pauses for breath. The character levelling is typical but also quite nuanced and very detailed such that it can fill a few pages but at the same time is easy to follow. The opening book deals primarily with a dungeon crawl, a proving ground in which few survive the many challenges and whilst most of the players band together for strength in numbers Michael, not knowing anything or anyone and certainly not who to trust, goes it alone. It’s a harsh lesson but in the crucible of fire, you are tempered or you are broken (That is my line – I did not pinch it from the book, honest, in fact I might use it in myself in my own writing, it sounds like something Hiro would say or Keeper). Anyhow… back to the review… As Michael adapts to this new reality, the only one he now knows, he learns more about not just the dungeon he is in but the Powers that rule.

I found the story riveting. The books are one big continuous tale, indeed the chapters follow on from each book. As he progresses, Michael will learn a bit about the adjudicator, the mysterious entity that oversees the Grand Game and about the machinations of the many Powers that rule and the Factions of Light, Dark and Shadow that balance the world. He will navigate alliances, find friends in unlikely places, make many enemies and uncover along the way the hidden history of the Forever Kingdom and his purpose in it.

It has been a while since I have blown through a series as quickly as this one. I found it utterly compelling. The world-building is well done and gradually introduced as we see the world through Michael’s eyes and learn as he learns.

This is a LitRPG, and there are many nods to fantasy gaming, MMOs and the like so if that is not your bag then this book may not be to your liking. However, if you do, or if you are curious about LitRPG I couldn’t think of a better series to sink your teeth into. Be warned though, there is a lot of blood-letting along with our hero’s daring-do but it is more than just that. Trust me, give it ago and I think you might just find a new favourite too.



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