Customer Reviews

The Game of Sunken Places

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't trust anything or anyone! As much as I hate to use cliché's, in this book absolutely nothing is as it seems, and clues hide themselves in the strangest of places. Oftentimes, the solution that seems most obvious is not the solution. What a wonderful book of twists and turns!

I was won over immediately by the writing style. At once dark and flippantly humorous, the author has a fine eye for detail, and more than once I found myself laughing out loud, only to be silenced moments later due to a suspenseful turn of events. You'll find, in the beginning, that a dictionary will come in hand, and I urge you to look up any words you don't understand. More often than not, you'll find that the knowledge of the word enriches the reading experience, and the quirkiness of the "big word" is appropriate for the setting. For example, phthisis means pulmonary tuberculosis. And as it's used in the book, it's hysterical. Really.

The actual game described in the title is astonishingly innovative; I've never seen anything like it. To say anything about it gives too much away, so I'll hope only that you trust me.

The Booklist review, as well as the inside jacket flap, do a wonderful job of setting the scene, so I'll end by saying: this book NEEDS to have a broader reading audience. At the writing of this review, the book ranked 73,034 on Amazon's listing. That must change. I have a very difficult time imagining someone reading this book and not being highly entertained, for there is ample entertainment value, of myriad kinds, on every page. If you take my recommendation, you won't regret it.

When I first got this book I wasn't sure what to expect. The opening flap suggested a Chronicles of Narnia kind of feel, but what I got was totally different.
The book starts out when the main character, Gregory and his friend Brian are invited to stay at Gregory's Uncle's old house in the country. There they discover a lost civilization, a mysterious game, and many extrodinary adventures and creatures.
For me, this book was not only a captivating read but had me laughing so hard I was on the ground in tears.
This bok was well written, but some of the words may be a bit difficult to understand (and there are no dictionary quotes like in "A Series of Unfortunate Events").
I highly reccomend this book for anyone who loves fantasy, particularly if you enjoy lost countries and mythical beings made to fit into our own world without flaw.

"The woods were silent, other than the screaming." Right from this first sentence of THE GAME OF SUNKEN PLACES, readers get a good idea of the creepy fun they're in for in M. T. Anderson's masterful new fantasy novel. In addition to being genuinely scary, Anderson's novel also manages to be wickedly clever and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

If you just look at the book's jacket, you'd think THE GAME OF SUNKEN PLACES was one of those old-time adventure novels. And, in many ways, you'd be right. The story does feel very old-fashioned, even though it's set in the present day. Part of the book's nostalgic feel comes from the plot. There's the eccentric (borderline insane) uncle living in a ramshackle mansion in the woods of Vermont, for one thing. Gregory and his best friend Brian travel by train to stay with Gregory's uncle during their autumn school vacation.

Uncle Max meets them with a horse and carriage, brings them to the isolated mansion, and takes away all their modern-day possessions, leaving them with nothing to wear but old-fashioned nightgowns and knickerbockers. The two friends find themselves in an attic nursery, filled with toys from the past, including the mysterious "Game of Sunken Places" board game.

As soon as Brian and Gregory turn over the hourglass timer that starts the game, they get the feeling that this is no simple game of Parcheesi. Instead, the game board, which represents the dark woods outside the mansion, is filled with sinister characters like the ogre Snarth, the mysterious opponent Jack Stimple, and the bitter elf Wee Sniggleping, who spends all his time convincing Brian and Gregory that he's not like one of those cheerful Keebler Elves. The boys meet these real-life characters as they navigate the game board, answering riddles and solving puzzles along the way, and the plot has as many twists and turns as the game board itself does.

The action-packed plot is reason enough to pick up THE GAME OF SUNKEN PLACES; what sets this novel apart, though, is the details. From Gregory's wisecracks --- many of which make no sense but are nonetheless hilarious --- to bizarre descriptions of Hummel figurines ("Little German children, wearing lederhosen, kissed while carpets of fungus crawled and devoured them"), the book is filled with quirky, sometimes creepy surprises that may have readers falling off the edge of their seats with laughter.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

An ancient grudge. A mysterios game. Murderers, monsters, and ghosts. How long can Brian and Gregory survive?
When Gregory gets a strange invitation from his adopted uncle, he's not sure what to expect. One thing's for sure, what's about to happen, was definitely not on his list.
This creepy book is like one giant roller coaster, twisting and turning you, taking you down sheer drops you never saw before. "The Game of Sunken Places" keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very last page! I love how the author makes the setting seem so real. It's almost like you've been there before.
I suggest this book to any mystery lover. Theres riddles to solve, puzzles to figure out, and the suspense is exelent! You can feel yourself getting nervous as some one stalks Brian in the woods, or as the Gelt of Winnower passes overhead.You practically faint at the "roller coaster drop" ending.If you are a person who likes mystery, suspense, and a little fantasy, you sould definitely read this book.

Larke Galyan
age: 13

Ever since he wrote Feed I've been a fan of his writing abilities and was glad that he wrote a book for a younger audience. Two boys, best friends take a week vacation to an uncle's house-yes, a rich, eccentric and incredibly old-fashioned uncle. The boys are trapped in a mysterious game, one is which they do not no the rules, the objective, the other players, and worse of all the potential deadly consequences to winning, losing, or even not playing. Shrouded in mystery, it seems everyone in the uncle's house, including the staff knows of the game and are all under an oath of secrecy.

The more you find out about "The Game" the more questions you have and the less certain you are about the possible purpose and outcomes of the game. Fascinating, and even in the end, not all the questions are answered (deliberately-for example I STILL am not sure why it's called the Game of Sunken Places) and that leaves the door open to reexamine the game at a later point in time.

I'm 11 and I really enjoyed this book. It's a really good book for kids and adults. Anyone who's interested in science fiction mystery with some humor will love this book. There's really nothing I didn't like about it, it's the best thing I've ever read. It's kind of depressing that not many people know about it. Read it! This summer! Or else!

M.T. Anderson's The Game of Sunken Places is way beyond far-fectched, even for the genre of fantasy, as two boys embark on a board game that leads them to hidden cities, trolls, and ghosts, among many other fantasical things. The author keeps the story moving quickly and has some nicely timed twists and turns along the way to keep the reader's attention. This is a good thing as the holes within the plot could be jarring if one is not swept quickly past them. The sense of whimsy demonstrated at the beginning sags slightly as the book gathers steam but it is replaced with a greater touch of danger at just the right moments. Overall, this is a enjoyable children's fantasy if not a classic.

This book has an intriguing premise, certainly, though one that is slightly hampered by a presentation that was only adequate. I thought Anderson's writing style was rather flat and matter-of-fact. The bones of the story were good, but I wasn't overly impressed by the way it was told; it didn't really spring to life for me as much as it might have done.

I suppose what I would consider the main failure here is the perfunctory way the two best friends' relationship is sketched. There could have been so much more done with this aspect of the plot; it's obvious by the way they interact that they are changing and maturing as the game proceeds. Gregory learns to curb his tongue a bit and think more of others, and Brian comes out from Gregory's shadow as he becomes a little bolder. But this is all given short shrift; the characterisations were not very deep and this lack of attention to detail was a missed opportunity on the part of the author.

When I reached the end of the story I also had some MAJOR moral/ethical questions about what took place. So much so, that a few elements of the novel left a sour taste behind. So, that's a definite minus. (I can't really say anything further about this without giving away major plot elements, though!)

Another drawback was that I REALLY wanted to see some artwork in this book, if only a detailed depiction of the magical game-board with all the paths and geography laid out. It would have helped the reader follow the story more easily and drawn them into this world. Lack of such a map was a major omission in my opinion, and I wonder that such an illustration was not included.

However, I overall I still enjoyed the story well enough that I'll say, go ahead---give it a try. We'll call this a slightly reserved recommendation. I rated this at three stars, but I suppose a more detailed rating (if such a thing were possible here on Amazon) would result in my giving it about three-and-a-half stars. A sequel has recently been published (six years after the release of the first novel) titled "The Suburb Beyond the Stars"---I'm curious to see what happens next and will likely read it at some point.

Yet another great David Frankland design on the dust jacket of this book. It's bizarre what a draw Frankland's art is for me. Every time I see one of his covers I want to instantly buy the book, no questions asked.

Filled with non stop action, intrigue, and excellent, witty humor, the Game of SUnken Places is a true classic that belongs on every shelf.
For those of you who enjoy "Jumanji" and more recently "Zathura", you might think "here we go again." You would be dead wrong. THough the game is central to the overal plot, the story is taken to a more grand scale then the books previously mentioned.
Filled with truely unexpected plot twists and turns, Mr, Anderson will keep you guessing until even the last page.
The humor is excellently placed and truely funny. It will have you quoting lines such as

"Someday I want to be a shower curtain repairman. To me, shower curtain repair provides the perfect level of high adventure and mental challange."

Filled with a the ingenuity of a true suspense novel and peopled by a surprising array of creatures, characters, and locations, there is something in this book for everyone.

Highly recommended from a fantasy fan and author.

The Game of Sunken Places truly surprised me. When you look at it, it doesn't really look like a book that would captivate anyone above the age of 12, and through the first few chapters it continues this perception.

But then somewhere around a third of the way through the book, it changes. The plot became more intricate, the action more exciting, and the story all the more inviting.

I was surprised at this change but not disappointed. After the first third The Game of Sunken Places became a great fantasy mystery that should entertain and please readers of many ages. And while I never truly loved the protagonists I didn't feel as if their lack of depth detracted from the story or the targeted audience. Because of this and it's interesting plot I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone in late elementary to middle school (grades 3 through 8) and feel this book would make a great summer read.

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