I first read this book in 1985, in the UK, when the three short novels that make up the series were published as a beautiful Trade Paperback under the title "The True Game".It had a huge impact on me at the time and made me a Sherri Tepper fan for life. "The Gate To The Women's Country" and "Grass" are still two of my favourite Science Fiction books.I decided to refresh my memory of it by listening to the audiobook and see how I feel about it after thirty-one years.Sadly, there is no audiobook v...

So much meat and depth in only 200 pages. Interesting characters, strange worlds, and a magic system that is complex, well-drawn, and completely fascinating. While the story and adventures themselves are entertaining on their own merit, Tepper also smartly and seamlessly integrates commentary on power, on those who have it and those who use it, on the contempt that power breeds, on the vanity of those who have it. For such a short book, it is not a quick read, but the book is never slow, either....

Okay. Peter is the classic fantasy hero who doesn’t have a clue at the beginning of the story. But there is a twist. And the land of the true game is a fantasy invention par excellence.To say much more would be to spoil the surprises.Just read it

OMG so good. Tepper wrote "Grass", which was also very good, which got me wondering about what else she had written. And this is fantastic - well written, quick reading, featuring all the elements of a good story. There is a lot of depth - a vast history - that is hinted at, powerful and interesting characters, so much going on. I'm so impressed. This book had some of the feel of an Octavia Butler book, but crossed with Lord of the Rings.

I read this book several times & liked it, but really wanted to find the rest of the series. I did finally find them & it was interesting. The second trilogy was a disappointment, though.There are an interesting set of powers, social groups & areas that are based on chess. The plot is pretty standard, but the window dressing is fairly unique & well done.

I'm not entirely sure what to think of this novel. For a short fantasy book, it sure feels like it takes a long time to get started. The first 25% or so is an exercise in baffling the reader with new terminology and odd rules that at first appear to be from an RPG, but which later become more explicitly the rules of the magic system of this world.To me, this entire story felt like a tabletop strategy game that the author had played, and then spun a tale out of. It makes sense, inasmuch as the wo...

An Amazon review that sums up my thoughts:I am not sure that this is Sheri Tepper's first novel, but it is certainly the one that put her on the creative map. Tepper introduces a now world, an unusual theory of magic, and a striking hero. One of the things I appreciate while reading it is that it refused to lie down and just be a 'coming of age' tale of a new mage. Instead, every time you settle into what most would think was 'the plot groove' something unusual happens to prove that not only is

The storyline was something very different for me. The basic plot is that life is simply a chess match. Those that I would consider "noblemen" were called Gamesmen and had specific powers related to their position in The Game. The peasant-type characters were called Pawns and were subject to the will of the Gamesmen and could be sacrificed for the benefit of the play if necessary.The protagonist, Peter, is a 15 year-old boy who's powers are just beginning to manifest due to the dire circumstance...

I'm reading this in the omnibus but logging the books individually. This was fun and engaging -- Tepper's world building skills are phenomenal, especially with such a short book. The building takes time, though, which leads to a rushed climax and two page denouement that might leave me disappointed if I couldn't just turn the page into the next book. I'm really excited to see where she takes this world - it looks like there are several related series after this trilogy.Edit: it strikes me that t...

Fantasy world in which people have magical talents and fight each other using them. This could be sooo boringly formulaic, but Tepper manages to move things along in various pleasantly surprising directions, in a nicely balanced style that is neither too flat nor too flowery and is a joy to read. The characterisation is somewhat lacking, but maybe that will get more "page time" in the next two books of the trilogy, which I am keen to launch into after this well-crafted introduction.

While some of the writing is unpolished, King's Blood Four, which is Sheri S. Tepper's first published novel, showcased the creativity that keeps me coming back. Others have written books based on chess games, others have written fantasy novels with multiple psychic powers, Kings Blood Four uses both as the backdrop for a clever coming of age story.

This is a favorite and has been for 25+ years. Tepper's worldbuilding and sense of whimsy (without sacrificing gravity) still amaze me. First volume of the first if three trilogies, and the characters and world get richer and richer with each chapter.

This is a re-read of a old book from the old-moldy past (mine). I'd forgotten how word dense a writer she is and how I needed to keep a dictionary close at hand since this wasn't on Kindle (oh, how spoiled we become). I appreciated how she transitioned from 1st person (Peter) using him as a vehicle to provide a 3rd person overview of things happening while he was off stage. As always, she's got fully-fleshed out characters and my mind is trying to wrap itself around "The Great Game." Clearly, th...

Still holds up 35 years later and I enjoy the foreshadowing.

Classic fantasy. Protagonist involved in plots far above him. Very enjoyable.

Where else does an author knit a person into existence?

The first book about Mavin Many-Shaped and her son, Peter, in the world of the True Game.

Absolute garbage

An interesting first novel to a series!Positives:The world building seems very vast in this series but having read just the first book I am still confused. I am hoping that the future novels in this series will provide more clarity and the payoff will be a very interesting world.I think it's almost delightful but also annoying at how on the nose Peter is written as a 15-year-old. He is so stupid about worldly things that it is frustrating, but hopefully as he ages in the series this will pay off...

King’s Blood Four takes place in the land of the True Game: a vaguely pre-modern/European fantasy land in which territory is taken and held through elaborate magical battles called Games. In Games, each side controls different players that have unique abilities: some can fly, some can read minds, and some can compel loyalty. The exact rules of the game are left unexplained, but from what we learn it works somewhat like chess. The story begins in a school town where young gamesmen learn the strat...

I appreciated a number of the author's later works and am considering reading this trilogy of trilogies but needed to remember the details of the ones I read so long ago.The book is short. It's streamlined but there are hints of more complexity/nuance. There's not nearly as much meat here as the author would later include in her novels.It hooked me long ago with the idea of real-life playing out like a game of chess.Some of that enjoyment remains but now I get more out of the explorations of cla...

King's Blood Four (1983) 160 pages by Sheri S. TepperAt the age of four Peter was left on the doorstep of the school in Schooltown with no memory of his mother or any family. The school teaches future gamesmen about the True Game, but really the students are there to keep them safe. Schooltown is [relatively] free from Game. Mandor is one of Peter's instructors and uses his position and Talent, beguilement, to take advantage of Peter. During festival the the rules are loosened. Mandor calls game...

A dear friend gifted me this whole series of books as a “welcome back to kicking it, biologically” present - ironically just in time to provide easy reading while I am back in the hospital.What a throwback! Fantasy in a pseudo-European pseudo-early-modern world where the elite among humanity develop ‘talents’ which also make them game pieces in an elaborate “True Game”. I believe one of the blurbs on the book jacket mentioned “yeah… did not expect to so love a book whose third word is ‘Gamemaste...

Very good. I am a big Tepper fan and needed a comfort read, so re-read this series. It was the first Tepper book I read and it has lost nothing over time. Tepper is a wonderful writer, quirky and with something to say. This series is more fantasy than most of her books, which are more sci-fi, and it is a great original fantasy story. I love Teppers characters they are very real and you always relate to her protagonists. This is the first of a trilogy, which make a full story, they are not huge t...

Reread this for the first time in 10 years after finding it in the garage. Loved this book when I was younger, and it still has merit, but the narrative is not as strong as it could be -- clearly Tepper has become a much stronger author with her more recent books. The initial description of the world of the True Game was very interesting to me given that I played chess when I was a boy, as the book has lots of fun with chess metaphors without restricting itself too much and becoming a burden. As...

This was really a re-read for me. I read this back in '83 when it came out in paperback and I was 17 or 18. It's interesting to go back to something that I read as, fundamentally a kid, and see how it holds up. The good news it that it's still a good read and it has me itching to back and finish this series and then the other related 2.What's more interesting is reading the early parts of this book in the context of the Catholic Church scandal and post MeToo. Tepper was always a bit ahead of her...

Tepper's first books were very unique and original fantasy (or, sort of sci-fi, but that's not obvious at all until well into the series). The prose is lightly minimalist, with many things left unsaid and unexplained. It's not until the first book is nearly finished until you really understand all the roles of the pieces of the True Game--where the series is going isn't apparent until the third volume. It's rare to read such supple prose and original narrative. A gem of a series.

Took me a little to get into the story. Need some background on the Game to get what is going on. Is about warring and fighting which is not my favorite but not as much as say the Vance story I just read which was almost all warring. Plus, she has an interesting premise on the Game which makes it better for me. Interesting because this is one of her earlier works. Some themes that show up in her later work are not as developed yet.

An interesting, unusual spin on high fantasy in a world where everyone is, essentially, a chess piece. It's short and a bit dated (or maybe that's just the cover?) but darn do I wish the world was spelled out a bit more. Will almost certainly read the rest of the series because it was plenty intriguing, and they're short, and I was lucky enough to find all three at a used book store some years ago.

This is an incredible book. It started as a game of chess and Sheri Tepper turned it into something far beyond what most of us could have imagined. From the lovely writing to the incredible story, this is one of my favorite books. If you like fantasy, really good fantasy, this is a must read. I'm only sorry it took me so long to discover it. I won't say anything about the plot because the surprises are best discovered while you read. A heart (and head) felt five stars.