The True Game

This is actually a sequence of nine books, starting with King's Blood Four, Necromancer Nine and Wizard's Eleven. They've been out of print awhile, but there's an omnibus paperback of these three novels published a few years back, which may be easier to find, called simply The True Game. They start off with that semi-cliched pretext of living chessmen, of people with fantastical psi-powers waging battle on various scales with each other...But it quickly escalates into truly grand adventure. Peter is an orphan in a Schoolhouse, a supposedly-safe nursery for the children of noble Gamesmen and Gameswomen. They spend their days learning the dizzying list of Talents, the multitudinous combinations of gifts of seeing, moving, healing, shapchanging, etc. Predictably, but excitingly, Peter lands in adventures of all kinds as his own Talent becomes known...The second trio of books deal with Mavin Manyshaped, Peter's long-lost mother. Incredibly unworldly settings---my favorite is the culture hidden away in a deep rift valley overshadowed by great trees and filled with roots and mists.The third trio is narrated by Jinian Footseer, a Wise-Ard (read 'wizard') whose mission of world-healing reveals startling facts about the origin of the Talents and the Gamesmen and the world.Tepper truly excels at world-building. I'm always glad to read anything with her name on it.

I started reading Tepper a year ago with Family Tree and I've been a fan ever since. I was excited to find the True Game, an epic from her early work. If you've read Tepper you know she builds her stories on a strong foundation of social inequality. But in True Game this sense of inequality is slightly more subtle and has a broader range than some of her other books. I was intrigued by the story's success in weaving the fundamentals of chess with a broad range of characters with "Talents" reminiscient of Dungeons and Dragons. The characters were pieces in the Game from Pawns, to Kings, Wizards and Dragons and they were playing for life or death. Her hero is just a boy, who by some genetic trick has unimaginable talent but still struggles with adolescence and gaining respect from his adult peers. I couldn't put the book down. This book combines science fiction and fantasy in a way that only Ms. Tepper can. It's a must read!!!

I've said it before (and I'm sure I'll say it again), Tepper is one of my favorite authors. This collection is interesting for the "historical" sense that it was her first effort. At a minimum, all one can say, is that she came out of the gate with a bang with her writing career. Note: I was almost put off by the "professional" reviewers that talk about this collection anticipating the Dungeon and Dragons craze because I then thought that the books would be focusing on "Dungeons and Dragons" somehow. The only similarity is that in Tepper's lands some people have different types of Talents (firestarting, mindreading, shapeshifting, to name a few) and the people with these talents can band together and battle (or as the book describes it "call game" with one another). So with that knowledge you can say these books don't anticipate D & D anymore or less than Tolkein did. The story line is a little more staight forward and with a smaller cast of characters than in some of her more recent books which makes it an easier read in that sense. But don't worry, if you are a long time Tepper fan, it is not all lite - there are still the good ol Tepper philosphical questions wound into the story that makes us enjoy her so much. With all that said, I think this collection is better than "standard". It's GREAT. Wizards and mindreaders, dragons, and "magical" talents galore. If you enjoy fantasy stories you'll enjoy this. If you have never read her, this is a great series to get introduced by (even though all of her books are great to be introduced to her by).

In "The True Game", Sheri S. Tepper not only provides compelling plot and fascinating settings, but a catalog of great issues of Western Thought.Inherent in all three stories is the uneasy opposition of science, religion, and magic; a debate that is not only applicable to Tepper's realm, but to the American ideal of freedom of speech and thought. Tepper asserts that the notion of heresy has more to do with tradition and fear than logic. She also pinpoints the attempt of science to compartmentalize religion and the supernatural with the invention of the Blues.Most fascinating, however, is her exploration of the quality of the human soul. Primary is the question of whether a "bad" person is born or made. The stories of the Midwives and the "soulless" births pose the idea that the soul is intrinsically good, but I don't know that she so much gives an answer as asks more questions.I only wish that all science-fiction and fantasy was as intelligent and challenging as "The True Game." I highly recommend it for anyone that wants a book outside the usual sword-and-sorcery realm. Beware, though, it is not cotton-candy fiction that melts in your mouth. These are ideas best chewed and digested.

When I saw this book I thought it was going to be all nine True Game books in one volume. Alas it is only the first three. I have all nine and treasure them! I went to some obscure used bookstores to complete the set. For those who want to try to find them all, here are the titles of all nine books in the order in which they should be read: 1. Kings Blood Four(1983) 2. Necromancer Nine (1983) 3. Wizard's Eleven (1984) 4. The Song of Mavin Manyshaped (1985) 5. The Flight of Mavin Manyshaped (1985) 6. The Search of Mavin Manyshaped (1985) 7. Jinian Footseer (1985) 8. Dervish Daughter (1986) 9. Jinian Stareye (1986). In addition, she also wrote another unusual trilogy after the true game books. They are great but also out of print: 1. Marianne, The Magus, and the Manticore (1985) 2. Marianne, The Madame, and the Momentary Gods (1988) 3. Marianne, The Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse(1989). Good luck!