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Ghatten's Gambit #1
Sunderlies Seeking
Delighted at the prospect of journeying to the Sunderlies, twins Jenneth and Diccon befriend the ghattens Pw'eek and Kwee, but the trip is overshadowed by suspicious disasters, including a storm at sea that sweeps two of them overboard
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 11, 2016
I liked it, but I was a little disappointed by it as well. The plot didn't really go anywhere and the ending was a bit of a let down and left me confused on a few points. Still, I was very happy that Doyce and Jenret were still important characters and that it didn't focus entirely on their kids, though I liked Diccon and Jenneth too.
May 22, 2008
The first time I read this book I had to check to make sure Gayle Greeno actually wrote it. The writing wasn't very good. The characters weren't well develpoed and somehow ALL the character growth that occured in the first series was totally undone.
I read the whole thing, disliked it, and promptly decided to forget this whole second series existed.
I read the whole thing, disliked it, and promptly decided to forget this whole second series existed.
Read
August 8, 2019I did not like this story. I probably will not finish this book ever. Don’t know the author and too many other fantasies to read.
January 31, 2020
So sad the other three were so good After 100 pages I gave up the story line is all over the place new characters with no explanation who they are
To bad since the others were good
To bad since the others were good
September 12, 2021
The story for me is slow pace fantasy. Everyone has something working on, in their life. But not so much development in the new coming of eumendico and seekers but I think since its only book one of the Gattens' Gambit it sure raise a question what kind of adventure will face for Diccon and Jenneth. Also can't wait for what awaits Byrlie and Harry.
February 25, 2015
In one of my previous reviews for Greeno's ghatti books, I had mentioned how I had hoped she'd expand on her world and perhaps on some of her characters from the original trilogy. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, though...
Greeno is a good writer. She's among my favorites, if not my top favorite. I found it easy to keep going and turning the pages even in times when I felt a little frustrated. I did actually like this book. It's not as good as the previous three, but it's still a good read, so if you liked the others, you may as well give this one a try as well. Only, just don't expect anything to have changed all that much.
One thing about the previous three books that bothered me was that there didn't seem to be enough focus on Doyce and Khar. I didn't feel like their characters had been fleshed out as well as they could have been. I'm glad to see that they received a greater focus in this book, but unfortunately I found myself far more irritated with them than enjoying the progress. Doyce has turned whiny and overly stubborn and most of the way through, Khar is downright snotty! As for Jenret and Rawn, there is very little focus on them yet again, but what little focus there is makes Jenret out to be a complete idiot and Rawn too passive and willing to allow him to do really stupid things without any scolding. I was very disappointed about that.
I was most interested in Jenneth and the search to find her and I had wished there would have been more focus on her. I liked what I was shown of her character and would have loved to see some more development for her, but after a time, she's focused on hardly any. I would have liked the book a lot more if the main plot had revolved around Jenneth, her getting lost, and the search to find her. The rest could be cut out and that would have made for a good story on its own, in my opinion.
As always, there is mystery woven into the story. Greeno has a way with keeping the questions leaving you wondering until the end. Her mysteries are never very predictable. Sometimes, though, the mystery woven into this plot made me really frustrated. In fact, sometimes I felt downright upset by it! Granted, that didn't make me feel very happy, but if it had that kind of effect on me, then I have to admit that the author must be doing something right.
Another disappointment is the repetitive nature of the plot. Though the financial situation they're dealing with is not very much like the plot elements of the past books, it still does tie into what was happening in those past stories, though not terribly directly. The other elements of the plot, though, tie directly to the previous books. While I can understand wanting to keep the theme related, it still feels like it's been done too much. I wanted to see something fresh, some new and exciting danger rearing its head. Alas, no.
Really, though, if you liked the original trilogy and you're interested in reading this book, go for it. Even if you find you don't like it, at least give it a try first.
Greeno is a good writer. She's among my favorites, if not my top favorite. I found it easy to keep going and turning the pages even in times when I felt a little frustrated. I did actually like this book. It's not as good as the previous three, but it's still a good read, so if you liked the others, you may as well give this one a try as well. Only, just don't expect anything to have changed all that much.
One thing about the previous three books that bothered me was that there didn't seem to be enough focus on Doyce and Khar. I didn't feel like their characters had been fleshed out as well as they could have been. I'm glad to see that they received a greater focus in this book, but unfortunately I found myself far more irritated with them than enjoying the progress. Doyce has turned whiny and overly stubborn and most of the way through, Khar is downright snotty! As for Jenret and Rawn, there is very little focus on them yet again, but what little focus there is makes Jenret out to be a complete idiot and Rawn too passive and willing to allow him to do really stupid things without any scolding. I was very disappointed about that.
I was most interested in Jenneth and the search to find her and I had wished there would have been more focus on her. I liked what I was shown of her character and would have loved to see some more development for her, but after a time, she's focused on hardly any. I would have liked the book a lot more if the main plot had revolved around Jenneth, her getting lost, and the search to find her. The rest could be cut out and that would have made for a good story on its own, in my opinion.
As always, there is mystery woven into the story. Greeno has a way with keeping the questions leaving you wondering until the end. Her mysteries are never very predictable. Sometimes, though, the mystery woven into this plot made me really frustrated. In fact, sometimes I felt downright upset by it! Granted, that didn't make me feel very happy, but if it had that kind of effect on me, then I have to admit that the author must be doing something right.
Another disappointment is the repetitive nature of the plot. Though the financial situation they're dealing with is not very much like the plot elements of the past books, it still does tie into what was happening in those past stories, though not terribly directly. The other elements of the plot, though, tie directly to the previous books. While I can understand wanting to keep the theme related, it still feels like it's been done too much. I wanted to see something fresh, some new and exciting danger rearing its head. Alas, no.
Really, though, if you liked the original trilogy and you're interested in reading this book, go for it. Even if you find you don't like it, at least give it a try first.
July 15, 2010
I remember loving her first book, The Ghatti's Tale, but this one I abandoned about 100 pages in. There were entirely too many people to keep track of, too much exposition, especially about the shared history with the first trilogy, too much info dumping in the guise of someone's thoughts (I'm sorry but people just don't think in essays).
I got the feeling that the author thought the book was going to be about the twins becoming adult, but couldn't help herself and made the book really about their mother's mid-life crisis at the idea of her children growing up and what to do about the state of her marriage and what to do with herself from now on.
There's a great voyage to a distant land. If the twins had been able to go on this voyage by themselves and learn to cope and become adult, this would have been an interesting rite of passage book. But nooooo, both parents decide to go along, so we get to hear all about them instead of the twins.
Won't be reading the next two in this series.
I got the feeling that the author thought the book was going to be about the twins becoming adult, but couldn't help herself and made the book really about their mother's mid-life crisis at the idea of her children growing up and what to do about the state of her marriage and what to do with herself from now on.
There's a great voyage to a distant land. If the twins had been able to go on this voyage by themselves and learn to cope and become adult, this would have been an interesting rite of passage book. But nooooo, both parents decide to go along, so we get to hear all about them instead of the twins.
Won't be reading the next two in this series.
May 14, 2012
Very disappointed by the start of this trilogy.
I read the first trilogy, and enjoyed it. I was hopeful starting this series, but by the first 100 pages, I had to really struggle to continue it. In fact, the only reason I did was because I was on vacation and had no other books with me to read.
Nothing about this book makes you want to continue reading it, or the rest of the series. Very slow starting, and very repetitive and boring. What mostly attributed to this, was the fact that the author introduced a lot of new (and very pointless) characters. Constantly switching back and forth between three or four different characters, with no emotional attachment to the new ones- very annoying, and by page 200ish, I stopped reading all the point of views that didn't have to do with Doyce or Jenneth/Diccon.
I'm not sure what happened to cause this series to fall so terribly- but like one other reviewer said, if you like the first trilogy, put this one down and pretend it doesn't exist (unless you're a very stubborn, die-hard reader).
I read the first trilogy, and enjoyed it. I was hopeful starting this series, but by the first 100 pages, I had to really struggle to continue it. In fact, the only reason I did was because I was on vacation and had no other books with me to read.
Nothing about this book makes you want to continue reading it, or the rest of the series. Very slow starting, and very repetitive and boring. What mostly attributed to this, was the fact that the author introduced a lot of new (and very pointless) characters. Constantly switching back and forth between three or four different characters, with no emotional attachment to the new ones- very annoying, and by page 200ish, I stopped reading all the point of views that didn't have to do with Doyce or Jenneth/Diccon.
I'm not sure what happened to cause this series to fall so terribly- but like one other reviewer said, if you like the first trilogy, put this one down and pretend it doesn't exist (unless you're a very stubborn, die-hard reader).
May 6, 2009
I remember really liking the Ghatti's Tale series, so I picked up this novel not long ago. I had a much harder time getting into this series though, for whatever reason. The copy I had bought used had someone's notes in the margins trying to keep the character's relationships straight too, so maybe I wasn't the only one feeling the lack of character establishment.
couldnt-finish
June 20, 2015Although the book is under fantasy book, the story itself didn't feel like it was a fantasy novel. I couldn't get into the storyline myself and kept getting myself confused at times. I might try and finish in the future but for now I don't think that I can.
August 4, 2011
This was a very ponderous read for me. I had to slog thru it rather than enjoy it. The ending was satisfactory, but took a lot of work to get there.
December 6, 2017
read 11.22.12-11.23.12
October 20, 2015
The change in scene and additional characters invigorated this series for me. While there was still too much agonizing by all and sundry, the story moved quickly.
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September 8, 2013Loved the whole series - looks like I am going to re-read it once more!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews