The Graveyard Game

There's something wonderful about watching an author's style evolve. In her earlier novels of the Company, Kage Baker was clearly having fun, but at times (notably in Sky Coyote), she seemed to sacrifice character development for cheap humor. In her fourth novel, The Graveyard Game, she has proven to be capable of fully integrating the tragedy of her erstwhile heroine, Mendoza, with solid, complex character development. The Company is a shadowy organization (officially called Dr. Zeus) that has mastered time travel and immortality, and the cyborgs they've created as a part of their immortality process are the stars of the series. Mendoza, the heroine of the first and third novels, is this novel's macguffin. Her arrest at the end of Mendoza in Hollywood is unknown to all but a few Company operatives, and when, in the year 1996, Facilitator Joseph (who rescued Mendoza when she was a child, and views himself as her father), and Literature Specialist Lewis (who has been in love with Mendoza for centuries) find out about the arrest, they set out to discover what happened to her. Of course, since the Company monitors its agents remotely, and since few know what has happened, their quest spans hundreds of years, and starts to uncover the vast conspiracy that was only hinted at in Sky Coyote. Joseph already knew something was amiss -- the Enforcers, a group of Company operatives from the old days, when violence was a more common tool of the Company, have all vanished. Joseph's own "father," Badu, is among the missing, and he left an encrypted clue about his fate with Joseph (from which the book gets its title). Lewis, meanwhile, is uncovering even more unsettling news about Mendoza's fate, and that of her second human lover, Edmund Bell-Fairfax. Events that had previously been thought to be coincidences now appear to have been contrived by the Company. And the Company itself seems to have dark origins that were only hinted at previously. As Lewis and Joseph delve further into the conspiracy, and as the 24th century (and the official creation of the Company) approaches, the book takes our heroes down a paranoia-laden path, as they find reasons to distrust both their human masters at the Company and even some of their fellow cyborgs. Although Baker takes us through three centuries of conspiracies and tragedy (especially as we discover the fates of Mendoza's colleagues from the previous novel), she paces The Graveyard Game wonderfully, fleshing out Lewis and Joseph as genuinely interesting characters, providing some wonderfully humanizing (and humorous) moments along the way, including a delightful scene in which our heroes go on a chocolate bender -- chocolate having the same effect on them as alcohol on mortals. Lewis's love of Mendoza (and his obsession with Bell-Fairfax), and Joseph's anguish at losing both his father and his daughter, add a depth to their quest for the truth about who they are, and who they work for. This makes the tragic denouement al

Each new Company book adds so many new twists on the political intrigues, physics and players that I end up rereading a good deal of what's gone before just to marvel at the hints and red herrings that she's sprinkled innocently in her earlier books and short stories (highly recommended as they're part of the continuity). Graveyard Games is the most convoluted yet, with whole new levels of conspiracy and players involved. Throughout it all Kage Baker remains true to her characters, both central and incidental, creating some of the most intriguing and real heros and antiheroes in science fiction. And there's plenty of humor and "must read aloud" passages. This book starts in the present and extends into the far future. Baker creates an excellent if slightly melancholy future which leaves you wishing for the greenness of Tudor England or the free-spiritedness of her wild west. And at the same time, you just can't wait to get to 2355. The only problem, no Mendoza or seven foot, broken nose heart throbs. Guess I'll just have to wait for the next installment.

Baker's Company novels are getting darker and darker, and more and more addictive. Something truly awful is going to happen, and I can hardly wait to find out what it is! The Graveyard Game advances the plot, telling us a lot about Lewis' lonely life and Joseph's curiosity--and leaves us on the edge of our chairs. This novel would not stand alone--I doubt if it would make much sense without having read at least the previous one. Most recommended--to read them all, in order.

The 'Company' controls time, sending its immortal agents to capture and 'save' lost plants, books, artwork, and whatever else might have value in the future. Yet all of the company's power seems unable to prevent the spread of plagues that decimate the world's population and earthquakes that destroy much of the rest of the world. Or is it, perhaps, that the company is behind this destruction and lying even to its own agents?Two immortals, Lewis and Joseph, share an obsession with a strangely vanished immortal, Mendoza. Immortals are not supposed to disappear--they are, after all, immortal and Joseph and Lewis have all the time in the world to find her. As they investigate, they discover that more and more of the immortals have vanished, are vanishing as the world counts down to the year when all future communications ends. Just by looking, Lewis and Joseph create powerful enemies, yet they seem compelled to continue, to take risks that their thousands of years of life must tell them are dangerous. Their obsession continues to tug them on, however.Kage Baker does a wonderful job describing a future that is bleak largely because of people trying to do good--and an organization of incredible power but riddled with factions seeking their own, conflicting, goals. The concept drives the novel even when some of the individual characters are not fully motivated. I found THE GRAVEYARD GAME to be both page-turning and thought provoking--a powerful combination.

Every one of Kage Baker's Company books are great, either alone or taken as a series. This one, though, is the finest and most complicated yet. It's darker, but not bleak - a mature, complex story, very satisfying in itself and yet definately whetting the reader's appetite for more, more, MORE!The New York Times said that if John Le Carre wrote science fiction, it would read like the Graveyard Game. I think it's better than that: Le Carre lacks the intimate connection with the fate of the characters that Baker does so well and so easily. She clearly cares about her heroes, even when putting them through horrific adventures and fates - and because she does, so do you.As always, her evocation of place and time is flawless. It's even more interesting this time, since so much of the Graveyard Game takes place in the actual future. It's not a particularly NICE future, but it's awfully believable. And as usual, even her darker visions are leavened with genuine humor and stalwart heroism. Joseph and Lewis shine.They also entertain richly. There are scenes that are fall-off-your-chair funny (you'll never be able to keep a straight face in an ice cream parlor again) and absolutely gripping action takes, like the fate of the famed Lost Ninth Legion of the Romans. Ms. Baker continues to add romance to her story, so sadly lacking in most science fiction, but this time it's definately guy-stuff romance: toughness. Heroes. Action, adventure and chivalry, determined fights for lost causes.This is great story telling. I recommend it highly, and can hardly wait for the next one!