Past Imperative: Round One of the Great Game

This is volume 1 of "The Great Game." I read the whole series and liked it tremendously, though as an American I wasn't very familiar with the British imperial culture that makes up so much of the books. (Edward Exeter grew up as the son of a British administrator living overseas, and the magical world he visits has a similar colonial outpost of Brits, plus in many ways is like India.) I didn't really get it entirely. Then, just recently, I read Rudyard Kipling's novel "Kim" for the first time, and it all made sense. "The Great Game" is how Rudyard Kipling (and maybe others) referred to espionage in the service of the British administration in England. Like the character of Kim, Edward Exeter is an Englishman who sympathizes completely with the local population, and wanders among them disguised as a holy man. I now view Past Imperative and the following two books as sort of a really wacky and cool tribute to Kim, though I don't know if it was meant that way. I strongly recommend that you read both the series and Kim (which is an outstanding book in its own right).

As you can ask my dear friend, I was reading this book day and night! I finally finished it after reading it for TWO WHOLE DAYS!! I LOVED IT!! Keep in mind, it's a couple hundred pages and I would not put this down. Bravo!!!

Absolutely teriffic book! I was fascinated how Duncan could mention such wild scenarios in an off-the-cuff way, then quietly fill in the gaps in following pages. I'm now searching for anything else he's done...

Yet another worlds-encompassing work from David Duncan, "Past Imperative" is a great read. Pairing World War I England with an alternate universe, Duncan spins an involving tale that easily suspends disbelief.Choosing subjects wisely, Duncan manages to fill the reader's mind full of engrossing detail in fewer words than one would think possible. Similarly, the characters are fleshed from the inside out and the reader is left with his own understanding of who each character is.Fans of Duncan's earlier work will recognize the trademark world scope of his writing. The story takes place not in a setting, but in a world.In "The Great Game", Duncan reveals some interesting thoughts about human nature, society, and our faith. All of these interesting things occur while you enjoy a great story.

What a strange book! The concepts are so completely strange when you first start to read - the Five Great Gods?!? But it was a wonderful read, and I give it a two thumbs up. Besides, Duncan writes better than I do. (Ha-Ha.)