Customer Reviews

Shadow Game

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The only problem some people have with this book, I think, is the addition of a storyline. In the Carpathian romances Feehan created, the stories was mainly about love, and situations were added for that love to occurr and grow. In this current novel, there's actually a bit more in the telling dealing with pychic powers and struggles for politcal power. Lily Whitney is the daughter of a well known, wealthy scientist. She's brought onto a project of his dealing with the enhancement of psychic abilities, a field in which she knows plenty because she herself posseses them. When her father is murdered, he sends her one last message, telapathically, telling her to free the men of the current experiment and correct his past mistakes. The actual freeing of the men takes place in about the last half of the book, which is a rediculously long amount of time when you take into consideration the extent of the Ghostwalkers' powers, but it allows Lily to do a little bit of the sleuth thing and find out some interesting tidbits about her past.

While it was interesting and sort of a relief to actually read something different from Feehan, she seems to want to make up for it with excess sex. Towards the end, I felt that she focused more on that than developing the story. And I never really got a feel for the characters. It seemed like Feehan should have worked on making them more understandable emotionally, instead of mainly writing of the central character's intense lust for each other. It got repetative, I am sorry to say, which in a romance novel isn't a good thing.

This also makes me point out that, here, Feehan has tried to create something like a family among Lily, her hired hands, and the other men. But it doesn't quite work. Lily hardly gets to know any of the characters. Mainly all she does is discover those interesting bits and pieces of her past, enough to ensure some sequels, and then has sex with Ryland, her love interest. It got to be a bit slow, and yet if Feehan had put something like a major linking of the Ghostwalkers' and Lily's minds for even a brief moment, it would have been easy to accept.

Not that I'm saying this book was terrible. I liked it, yeah, and I'll read the following books, but it had a few flaws that I think the editors and Ms. Feehan really should have smoothed out before this was published.

Like many fans out there, I first began reading Christine Feehan through her Dark Series, which I really enjoy. So I decided to give her newest book "Shadow Game" a chance, even though it is not part of the Dark Series.

Shadow Game started strongly, and the premise was interesting. Both the main characters, Lily and Ryland, also seemed very interesting and their interactions were in typical Feehan style, wrought with humor and sexual tension. The secondary characters added to the background and it is obvious that Feehan plans to write more sequels to this book later on.

However, by the middle of the book, the story started to drag and by the end it lost steam. The book involved some scenes of Lily and Ryland, which I felt were not really necessary to the storyline (Sure I like the love scenes like any one else, but after awhile it became repetitive.) I found myself skipping pages. As a result, it felt like the storyline was pushed to the side. At the end, everything ends abruptly. The bad guys are found out and caught in one simple twist. The whole thing turned out to be anticlimatic.

All in all, it was ok. Not great reading but a passable attempt by Christine Feehan. Hopefully she will do better next time, if she does decide to continue with this series.

The government is experimenting again and you guessed it, something has gone wrong. A specially recruited group of psychic men from the Special Forces headed by Captain Ryland Miller have agreed to have their psychic abilities enhanced, thus the "Ghostwalkers" are created. Greed breeds evil and when mixed with the military you can be assured their inherent need for secrecy will add another layer of problems.

Dr. Paul Whitney headed up the Ghostwalker project, however, Colonel Higgens has stepped in to take the project in a different direction. Dr. Whitney brings in his daughter, Dr. Lilly Whitney to help discover why Captain Miller's team is dying, and then ends up murdered. Lilly's last contact with her father comes thru her psychic abilities and begins the hunt for who is killing the Ghostwalkers as well as their creator. Lilly and Ryland are thrown together to solve her fathers murder and save the lives of his remaining men. Their psychic link forms a bond that deepens even though the information Lilly uncovers in her fathers lab rocks her belief in herself and any emotions she feels.

Ms Feehan's new series has murder, betrayal and greed forming the basis of her new storyline. Genetic manipulation, straight from todays headlines, makes for a gritty edge to the first of what I hope will be a long continuing series. I've never been disappointed in a Feehan novel and this one is no exception. Her recurring theme of strong men and the independant women who love them is one of the best reasons to pick up Shadow Game. Be prepared with a drink and time to read as you won't want to put it down until you are done. I've been reading the "Dark" series for over 3 years now and never thought that I would find a better group of men to read about, but I must admit that The Ghostwalkers may give them a run for the money

I have to admit that I wasn't excited when I bought this book. I've been waiting rather unpatiently for Dark Melody and wasn't even sure I wanted to read this one. But Christine Feehan totally suprised me! I won't write a storyline about this book as several reviewers have done it already but let me just say that I couldn't put this book down! I read it in one night. I didn't expect to like this book so much and it's obvious to me that she's setting up for another series with these characters. I'll be waiting for the next book!!

I really enjoyed this book and hung on every word (not to mention I stayed up all night to read it). Capt. Ryland Miller, the hero in this book, is wonderfully sensuous, romantic and sexual! The book is very exciting, and the plot is unique. The supporting characters are very strong, too. I can't wait to read Nico's story! The romantic scenes in this book are plentiful and hot -- fabulous! I especially like the comaraderie between Capt. Miller and his men, and between Lily and her household staff. I loved this book and I can't wait for its sequel, Mind Game, which is due out in August 2004 -- it will be a long wait, but worth it. If you love Christine's Dark series, you will be just as enthralled with Shadow Game! Ryland Miller could hold his own against any Carpathian! If you enjoy passion and undying allegiances and loyalty, you will love this book by Christine Feehan. If you've never read her books before, you're in for a real treat. The only problem is trying to decide which one to read next!

Her eyes were too big for her face. How many times do we have to be told this before we finally get it through our thick skulls that HER EYES WERE TOO BIG FOR HER FACE!!!

I too have read all of Christine Feehan's books and I have enjoyed every one of them - until this one. Back up and regroup Christine. You are one of the most imaginative writers out there right now, but you have an intelligent audience and you need to write to them.

There wasn't even a reason to believe that these two dogs in heat should even be together, much less in love. The only reason I could see that Ryland fell in love with Lily was that HER EYES WERE TOO BIG FOR HER FACE. Thirty times we needed to be told this?

One last thing. Why didn't we find out if the dead father actually did or did not do something to cause their instant attraction? Such a big deal was made out of this possibility throughout the book and yet, we never find out. The father probably didn't do anything because Ryland fell instantly in love with Lily because HER EYES WERE TOO BIG FOR HER FACE.

That's all. I will say no more. Sorry Christine - you can do so much better than this.

I'm a new fan to Christine Feehan so I've not yet had a chance to sample some of her other works. But after reading so many romance books, I thought that there wouldn't be another story that would move or surprise me...until this one.

Shadow Game is a colorful miasma of action, sensuality and brilliance, beautifully woven into a really, really great storyline. But the best of it is the dialogue: It's a great blend of wit, romance, and tough-guy talk that was mesmerizing and entertaining. The plot unfolds at a slow pace but the almost animal attraction between Lily and Ryland hits you hard in the face from the moment they meet. There are so many twists to the story that you're left with a few unanswered questions, but the end leaves you satisfied and anxious for the next installment.

This leads me to my one complaint about this book: the multiple sexual liaisons between Ryland and Lily were overkill. I thought they drew attention from the main plot and sometimes diluted the intensity of the danger they were in. As it was, the dialogue and narration alone were already enough to convince me of the magnitude of their feelings for each other. Everything else was just unnecessary excess.

Regardless, I still recommend this as a great read.

Captain Ryland Miller is a basically a "rat" in a cage as are his men in his military unit. They volunteered for a highly classified experiment to enhance the psychic abilities they each had. Dr. Peter Whitney is the head scientist with Colonel Higgens the military liaison. Several of Captain Miller's men have died of "brain bleeds" and other suspicious causes. They are all separated and can only communicate infrequently via telepathy.

Dr. Whitney and Col. Higgens come to talk to him and have brought guards and Dr. Whitney's daughter, Lily who is also a doctor and scientist. Dr. Whitney has asked his daughter to consult on the project as he is not sure why some of the men have died.

Ryland is immediately drawn to Lily and she to him. They communicate telepathically which scares Lily at first. Shortly after she is linked with her father and she realizes he is being killed and almost doesn't separate herself from him in time but with Ryland's telepathic help she does. In the coming days, no one else seems to know her father is dead not just disappeared and Lily becomes worried as she delves into her father's secret laboratory and papers finding secrets about him and herself that are very hard to take in.

The story progresses as Lily helps Ryland and his team break out and shelters them. Ryland, Lily and his team also work to find out how his other men died and who is responsible as it soon becomes apparent it is not Dr. Peter Whitney.

My one main problem in this story as I felt there was too much spent on Lily and Ryland falling into bed and/or having sex in dangerous places almost every other page. I would like to have had more time spent on both the "bad" guys and the members of Ryland's team to get to know their characters more and what they had actually gone through being part of this experiment. I have read Mind Game and Night Game and felt those were actually better stories so don't give up if this is the first you've read in this series!

Captain Ryland Miller leads a group of men, some military, others from various
Careers, but all are fierce, intelligent men. They were selected from a group of volunteers with extraordinary psychic abilities to participate in a military project headed by Colonel Higgens, led by scientist Peter Whitney. As the project progresses, the men begin to
have severe migraines caused by an overload to the brain as they are assaulted by enhanced emotions, voices, sounds, and noises. Ryland feels guilty for bringing his men
into this project and becomes more than their leader; he is their anchor forcing excess
energy that causes extreme pain from his men to himself.

When some of the men mysteriously disappear, Ryland begins to hate Higgens and Whitney. As their power increases, Higgens feels threatened and demands Peter isolate the men and put them in separate cages. Now they feel like laboratory rats being studied and their hatred builds
against Peter and the colonel they feel betrayed them. They secretly begin to telepathically
plan to escape from the lab.

Before they can escape, Peter and Higgens are joined by a woman so beautiful she takes
Ryland's breath away. And, somehow she acts like a magnet to relieve Ryland of his pain
by removing the assault of emotions and noise from him. Ryland is wary when she is introduced as Lily Whitney, Peter's daughter, but he senses a soul connection and believes she feels it, too. Furthermore, he senses emotions of guilt coming from Peter as he argues the need to reverse the processes with Higgens since the experiment isn't working as planned. Higgens adamantly refuses and Peter becomes suspicious of his motives.

Peter Whitney is missing and Lily's extraordinary psychic abilities show her he's been
murdered and thrown into the sea. Inconsolable, she works her way through her father's
notes and finds one to shock her even more. He left a message telling her of his suspicions, and asks her take over the project to find a reversal to help the men in the laboratory. Even more, he gives her information she never wanted to hear in her lifetime, information that could come close to destroying her. Ryland is inside her head and feels her pain and all he can think of is holding her to comfort and protect her.

The story that follows is different from previous dark Carpathian novels, but these men would make wonderful characters of that race. They are definitely alpha men, forceful, dominant and macho, Ryland having the strongest of these traits in this tale. Christine Feehan matches him with an alpha woman, as Lily has the same tendencies, making for a sizzling romantic novel, especially so since Ryland and Lily read each other and can live out each other's fantasies. Whew! Be sure to have a fan handy for this read <grin>.

The medical knowledge and explanations went over my head at times because it is so
finely detailed, telling this reviewer how well the facts were researched. Ms. Feehan brings in a great cast of characters in addition to the lead couple, and I can see the opportunity for future stories to develop. As always, there is a very strong thread of family running through this tale, though it's threaded differently in this story, and Lily must deal with information she learns about her past. Ryland will be there with his unconditional love to help her conquer her pain. SHADOW GAME is unique as the multiple plots unravel, and is sure to give readers several hours
of enjoyment and satisfaction. I'm thrilled to see Christine Feehan branch out from her
beloved Carpathian stories to offer a full length novel about the Ghost Walkers (so called because of their skills to invisibly blend into the shadows), and I sure hope there will be more to
follow this one. Readers and long-time fans will not want to miss this highly charged romantic suspense.

Carol Carter, Reviewer (As published on Romance Reviews Today)

Shadow Game is not a book that I would normally pick up and buy based on the cover (front picture or the brief on the back). But I love Ms. Feehan, and I have to have everything she writes so of course I gave it a shot. Once again, I was not disappointed. This story follows Lily, the brilliant daughter of a brilliant scientist who is experimenting with enhancement of psychic abilities. When Lily is asked for her input on the project she immediately senses something is wrong, and once her father is killed, has to help set things right. Captain Ryland Miller and his team of men (the men Lily's father experimented on) are held captive and being killed one by one. When she realizes Ryland is next on the list Lily has to get them out of there before it is too late for the both of them. This book was yet another page turner, and I am looking forward to future Ghost Walker novels (hopefully the next is Kaden's ;-)). I couldn't put this book down until I had read it from beginning to end. Ms. Feehan knows how deliver, and this book will not disappoint!