Master of the Game [Mass Market Paperback]

Sidney Sheldon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1983

One of Sidney Sheldon's most popular and bestselling titles, repackaged and reissued for a new generation of fans. Kate Blackwell is one of the richest and most powerful women in the world. She is an enigma, a woman surrounded by a thousand unanswered questions. Her father was a diamond prospector who struck it rich beyond his wildest dreams. Her mother was the daughter of a crooked Afrikaaner merchant. Her conception was itself an act of hate-filled vengeance. At the extravagent celebrations of her ninetieth birthday, there are toasts from a Supreme Court Judge and a telegram from the White House. And for Kate there are ghosts, ghosts of absent friends and of enemies. Ghosts from a life of blackmail and murder. Ghosts from an empire spawned by naked ambition! Sidney Sheldon is one of the most popular storytellers in the world. This is one of his best-loved novels, a compulsively readable thriller, packed with suspense, intrigue and passion. It will recruit a new generation of fans to his writing.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A master storyteller at the top of his game.' USA Today 'Compulsively readable.' New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Sidney Sheldon is the mega-selling international author of seventeen previous bestselling novels. He features in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most translated author. He is also a highly acclaimed, award-winning scriptwriter for stage, film and television. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Not Avail (August 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446329185
• ISBN-13: 978-0446329187
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,839,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Best known today for his exciting blockbuster novels, Sidney Sheldon is the author of The Best Laid Plans, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Stars Shine Down, The Doomsday Conspiracy, Memories of Midnight, The Sands of Time, Windmills of the Gods, If Tomorrow Comes, Master of the Game, Rage of Angels, Bloodline, A Stranger in the Mirror, and The Other Side of Midnight. Almost all have been number-one international bestsellers. His first book, The Naked Face, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "the best first mystery of the year" and received an Edgar Award. Most of his novels have become major feature films or TV miniseries, and there are more than 275 million copies of his books in print throughout the world.

Before he became a novelist, Sidney Sheldon had already won a Tony Award for Broadway's Redhead and an Academy Award for The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. He has written the screenplays for twenty-three motion pictures, including Easter Parade (with Judy Garland) and Annie Get Your Gun. In addition, he penned six other Broadway hits and created three long-running television series, including Hart to Hart and I Dream of Jeannie, which he also produced. A writer who has delighted millions with his award-winning plays, movies, novels, and television shows, Sidney Sheldon reigns as one of the most popular storytellers of all time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Sheldon tale of greed, lust, and revenge, November 19, 2004

By 

Kona (Emerald City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Master of the Game (Mass Market Paperback)

Sidney Sheldon's story of big business, lust, greed, and revenge spans four generations, starting with Jamie McGregor, who leaves Scotland in 1850 to strike it rich in the diamond fields of South Africa. He overcomes many hardships, becomes a millionaire, and starts the Kruger-Brent company. His daughter, Kate, pushes the company until it becomes a world-wide conglomerate, and moves her headquarters to America. To her chagrin, her son Tony wants to be a painter, not a businessman. His twin daughters, Alexandra and Eve, are as different as can be. One of them may be a killer...

The book is absolutely riveting, with Jamie's adventures putting him in a new danger on every page. Kate, the so-called Master of the Game, spends most of her ninety years buying and manipulating everyone in her path, in her relentless search for a worthy corporate successor. As in all of Sheldon's books, there is action, suspense, romance, and memorable characters that his fans are sure to enjoy.

Kona

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of his game..., March 14, 2005

By 

Honey (Heaven) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of the Game (Mass Market Paperback)

Sheldon was at the top of his game when he wrote Master of the Game. It is a classic Family Saga/Epic that spans decades. Many writers tried to duplicate Sheldon's success with the same formula but so many fell short because Sheldon was one of, if not the best when came to writing family drama. This is an excellent read, one I can guarantee will not only hold your attention anc capture your imagination, it will not allow you to put it down, until you're finished.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pure brain candy: Loads of fun, but short on substance, July 22, 1999

By 

Craig Childs (Cordova, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of the Game (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Sydney Sheldon novel I've read. You don't often find stories this enticing. I was hooked from the first page, a vivid scene of the 90-year old heroine surveying her life, her family, and ghosts of old mistakes come back to haunt her. Despite its hefty length, this book kept me coming back for more, daydreaming at work about what would happen next, and staying up late at night to get to the next chapter. I read it in just a few days even though with my schedule it usually takes me at least a week to finish a book.

However, despite the story's addictive sway, Sheldon's writing style did not meet my expectations. After reading all the glowing reviews at Amazon.com, I expected this to be a terrific epic that would leave me awed and inspired, something in the vein of Gone With the Wind or Lonesome Dove. Instead, "Master of the Game" is more akin to John Jake's "North and South" -- yes, it is a multigenerational saga full of adventure, betrayal, and suspense, but it resembles a television screenplay more than a novel. The author moves from scene to scene, from tragedies to triumphs and back again, at a breakneck pace with only the barest attention paid to character development and plausibility. While I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story, it started to seem a bit melodramatic and predictable. You didn't have to be a brain surgeon to realize that [spoiler alert!] Salomon van der Mewre was going to cheat Jamie McGregor out of the money. Or that Tony would fall in love with Marianne rather than Lucy - and that it was Kate's plan all along. [end spoiler].

This book is pure brain candy, all fun with no substance. Similar to a night-time TV soap like Dallas -- you can predict what is going to happen, you know it is wildly improbable, but yet it has just the right mixture of intelligence, ruthlessness, and intrigue to keep you coming back.