Startgame [Paperback]

Andy Secombe (Author)

Book Description

At a cocktail party to launch his latest creations, called Adam and Eve, God is challenged to a bet by the Devil (who crashed the party). The fallen angel, unimpressed by the Boss's new toys, wagers that, far from being the custodians of Earth that God has created them to be, mankind will instead destroy itself. God, a golfing enthusiast with a fragile ego, can't refuse in front of all his guests, and so accepts. If Satan wins, he gets his place back in Heaven and control of what's left of the Earth. If he loses, he will retire into outer darkness and never bother Him more. But the key momentum of this story is the relationship between Martin Gray, a simple dentist whose life is unravelling, and the angel Gabriel, a mack-wearing Danish pastry fan, and their attempts to stop the Devil laying waste to the Earth. In which they are aided by Martin's son Luke, the angel Michael, and by Luke's sometime friend Henry, thrash-metal fan and conspiracy theorist. 'Secombe occupies his ground with confidence and never lets logic get in the way of his plot'- "Guardian". 'Terry Pratchett, beware' - Brighton Argus.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Secombe (Limbo) limply recycles a worn-out plot: a bet between God and the Devil has placed the world in jeopardy. Gods lack of interest in the bets outcome and his obsession with golf forces Archangel Gabriel to enlist depressed dentist Martin Gray to help uncover the Devils final scheme, with the only clue the word Endgame. Martin is an absurdly bad selection, but he does his best to assist while dodging an IRS agent, trying to patch up his marriage and attempting to connect with his teen son, Luke. There are some amusingly wacky moments, such as Frank Sinatra and Francis Drake ferrying souls to the afterlife and Gabriel, wearing only a loincloth and a trench coat, skulking around gobbling danishes, but readers will be frustrated by Secombes two-dimensional, clichéd characters and the tiresomely predictable story line. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

A former actor, Andy Secombe lives on a farm in rural Devon, and this is his fourth novel (following Limbo, Limbo II and The Last House in the Galaxy).

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Clearway Logistics Remainders (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405053585
• ISBN-13: 978-1405053587
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,152,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but could be better., September 4, 2011

By 

Skylark (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endgame (Paperback)

In 'Endgame', God and the Devil wager the Earth in a bet, and it falls on an average English family to ensure that the world isn't plunged into World War 3.

I found this book to be a nice, everyday diversion, which sits squarely in the middle of the quality spectrum of books. For a comedy, I didn't find it particularly funny, but the plot was full of action and it was easy to read.

However, it really fell down on character development. The main character, Martin, is not very likable, and remains unlikable throughout the whole story - and he was the most developed character in the book! It really annoyed me how he treated his parents-in-law like scum for no justifiable reason, and assaulted his coworker (who hadn't done anything wrong) and got away with it. I was also annoyed at the highly derogatory tone employed towards many of the other characters such as the parents-in-law and gamer geek Henry, who was portrayed as a sad and deranged loser throughout the whole book despite the fact that he did more to help save the world than Martin did.

The other thing that disappointed me was the fact that the characters were overwhelmingly male, and the few females there were didn't get to do much except nag the men and slap people on the cheek - oh, or be rescued by the brave hero (the dislikable Martin) and fall head over heels in love with him for no other reason than that he saved their life. It's hard to get any more stereotypical and one-dimensional than that.

So overall, not a bad book, but not one I'd read a second time.