The Forbidden Game: The Hunter; The Chase; The Kill [Paperback]

L.J. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Forbidden Game | Publication Date: June 8, 2010

This spectacular repackaged bind-up of a beloved trilogy begins with a board game. What was supposed to be an evening of celebration with friends, fun, and games becomes a night of danger, drama, and obsessive love. Because when Jenny, her boyfriend, Tom, and their friends begin to play the Game, it comes to life. Suddenly they are in a dark world where Julian, the gorgeous guy who sold Jenny the Game, rules as Prince of the Shadows. Julian makes their darkest nightmares realities—and he will do anything to claim the beautiful Jenny as his prize. The Game is real, and the only way to win is to face your most secret fears. You cannot quit—to lose the Game is to lose your life. And that is just the beginning….

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

L.J. Smith is the NYT Bestselling author of the Night World and The Vampire Diaries series.  She has written over twenty-five books and lives in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416989404
• ISBN-13: 978-1416989400
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Let's see, I've known that I wanted to be a writer since I was about six, when a teacher praised a horrible poem I'd written. I wrote my first book in high school, finishing it in my first year of college. Then I became a special ed teacher before I was able to become a writer full-time. That's about it!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest book I wish I never read....., June 5, 2010

By 

Sunny - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Forbidden Game: The Hunter; The Chase; The Kill (Paperback)

Okay, this is the weirdest review I have ever done, so don't give me a hundred "not helpful votes" please. I am just trying to be honest.

The first part of the book Jenny is looking to buy a game (at a game store) because she is having a group of friends coming over to her house to hang out. At the game store she chooses the most "unusual" game to buy because the "guy" at the game store talks her into buying this particular game. Fast forward a little - Julian (the guy at the store) is actually from the dark world. He has been watching Jenny for years, from a far and is totally in love with her. He wants her with him in his world. Jenny's boyfriend thinks differently. Any hoo...Jenny's friends start the game not knowing that it is a "forbidden game". It turns out that the game is magical... and here are the rules - if Julian wins, he gets Jenny - if Jenny and her friends win, they go free. Simple right? - Wrong - because Julian is in charge of the game.

The characters are all likeable. Julian (the villain), you have a love/hate kind of thing going on. This book takes you thru 3 books. This book is the most unique book I have ever read! Smith did an excellent job of making this a book so that you are so far drawn in, you will stay up till 4 in the morning to see how it ends.

I think it is a possibility that it is one of the best books I have ever read.

** *Possible Spoiler***-
However, to do it all over - I would not have read the book!!! The ending broke my heart, literally. I cried so much at the ending that I was dripping tears on the pages. I have never reacted to a book this strongly. I finished reading it at 4am and cried in bed until 6am. The next morning my husband asked me what was wrong and I just started crying all over again and then I had to explain to him I was crying over a "fiction book". He hugged me and asked me to tell him the story and then he let me cry some more. (I have the best husband in the world!!) So...............I know this is a weird review. I wish I had never opened the book because it haunts me.

**Update to Spoiler**
I read this book back in July of 2009 - nearly a year ago when I first wrote my review. I feel differently now. I am so glad I read the book. Since then I have learned sometimes to make a great book, you don't necessarily have to have a perfect "Happily Ever After". Actually - not having a perfect "Happily ever After" is what sometimes makes the most excellent and memorable books!!! So - looking back - I am very glad I did read it!!!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars L.J smith Fans will enjoy!, June 11, 2010

By 

April Williams "shantiece williams" (Flordia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forbidden Game: The Hunter; The Chase; The Kill (Paperback)

The book starts off with Jenny wanting a game for her boyfriend tom's birthday party. So she goes to this shop and this blue eyed boy named Julian pursuades her into getting the game. She gets it but little does she know it's a real life game when they get sucked into it. There they meet Julian again he is a shadow man who's in love with Jenny and has been watching over her. Some might consider Julian a "bad guy" but I found him very apealing I was drawn to him like Gabriel in Dark visions. Well the book take on a roller coaster when they enter the shadow world. I don't wan't to spoil anything but Jenny did grow up from beggining to end I was shocked at her choice. Then I was shocked toward the end. Sometimes L.J smith doesn't choose the man I want her too and it actually leaves me in tears. Like another customer said she cried. I cried too because it was not what I was expecting. But anybody who's an L.J smith should read this book it is by far one of her best.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I Am My Only Master...", July 13, 2010

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Forbidden Game: The Hunter; The Chase; The Kill (Paperback)

Well, I do have to thank the Twilight phenomena for one thing at least, and that's that the collected trilogies of Lisa Jane Smith have been pulled out of the Simon and Schuster publishing vault, given brand spanking new covers, and re-released for both a new reading audience, and old-time fans who are ready to fill in the gaps on their bookshelves.

Out of all Smith's body of work, it was "The Forbidden Game" that I was least familiar with. First published as a trilogy, the middle book was on the shelf of my school library, but the preceding and concluding installments were impossible to get hold of. For the last six years or so, all I had experienced was a story with no beginning and no end. As such, it was with immense satisfaction that I settled down with all three books handily bound together in one omnibus volume, previously published separately as The Hunter, The Chase and The Kill.

Jenny Thornton is preparing a party for her boyfriend Tom, and is exploring the neighborhood in search of a game that will entertain her core group of friends. Escaping from a couple of intimidating young men leads her into an unusual shop that seems to have exactly what she's looking for: a unique and unforgettable game: or so the shop owner promises her. Unnerved by his white hair and intense gaze, Jenny buys the game and hurries home where her friends await: sophisticated Audrey, spunky Dee, introverted Zach, cheerful Mike, winsome Summer, and of course, her football star and ruggedly handsome boyfriend. Though Jenny is having second thoughts, her friends immediately pounce on the mysterious game.

They're going to get more than they bargained for. Though I don't want to give away the specifics of a marvelously twisty plot, the teenagers find themselves sucked into a real-life game in which they are forced to confront their darkest fears, all of which has been planned by the Shadow Man, a mysterious and malignant youth who gets a kick out of tormenting them, but has a particular interest in Jenny...

Divided into three books, each one is based on a particular type of game that the protagonists are forced into: a race, hide-and-seek, and finally a treasure hunt, with the stakes escalating each time. Amazingly, this formula avoids getting repetitive, mainly because the characters grow and change over the course of their adventures, the format of each game is radically different, and the prize at the end of the game changes each time.

In terms of genre, "The Forbidden Game" sits squarely between Smith's usual paranormal-romance fare, and her earlier (and less known) work: two fantasy-adventure stories for children; in this case it's also quite reminiscent of the cult-classic Labyrinth. Since I still harbor suspicions that Stephanie Meyer was very heavily influenced by the writing of L.J. Smith, it's safe to say to any young YA reader who slavishly worships at the shrine of Edward Cullen will also find something to enjoy here. Smith uses the same storytelling elements to great effect: love triangles, a basis in well-known myths and legends, the power of friendship, and the melding of teenage issues with the supernatural realm. She also excels in her creation of what is generally known among literary types as "the cute but troubled bad boy". Put a supernatural spin on an insanely good-looking suitor who is completely undone by our young heroine and you'll have your target audience swooning in the aisles.

I must say however, that I found myself slightly puzzled over Julian's obsession over Jenny; not because she wasn't a strong and likeable female character, but because she was flanked by two best friends that were far more interesting: Dee, the brave and reckless Amazonian, and Audrey, the worldly yet sensitive Intellectual. If I was an immortal with a fascination for humanity, I'd have my eye on those two...

Still, Jenny deserves the title "heroine," particularly by the end of the three parts. Amusingly though, Julian admits to Jenny at one stage that he's been watching her throughout her lifetime, even at night when she's sleeping. Being a sensible young woman, Jenny is hardly impressed by this; rather she feels disturbed and violated. Are you listening, Bella Swan? Despite my uneasiness about the *entire* mindset (not just here, but in YA books in general) that postulates that a dangerous, abusive, malevolent male can be "saved" or "redeemed" by the love of an innocent young woman, I appreciate that Jenny's entire story arc is ultimately summed up in the mantra: "I am my only master." I can get behind that message for young girls.

"The Forbidden Game" ends up being Smith's best trilogy since The Secret Circle, a frantic and exciting story, littered throughout with clever riddles and twists, in which the teens must rely on their wits, courage and each other in order to survive the ordeal ahead of them. Smith can make situations truly frightening without veering off into gore or vulgarity, and has a wonderful grasp of these characters and what they're capable of. The bittersweet ending is handled well, and like many others have admitted, I too was up reading till the early hours of the morning.

As far as lightweight YA reading goes, L.J. Smith's nineties material is still relevant, and a welcome re-addition to the bookstores.