King’s Blood Four

Sheri S. Tepper 1983 Buy from Amazon.com

Sometimes you come across a novel that is just right. It has all the bits you’re looking for and it’s interesting and funny and creative, and you read it over and over. King’s Blood Four is like this. The first published novel of Sheri S. Tepper, and the first in the True Game trilogy, it’s the kind of book you can dive into.

Peter is a schoolboy. He lives in one the of Houses in Schooltown, learning how to play the True Game. Some people are pawns, people who live and work and are used up by the Game. Some people are Gamesmen, who manifest talents sometime in their teens and must learn how to play the Game of be destroyed. The talents define what kind of Gamesman you are, perhaps a Demon, able to read thoughts, perhaps a Sorceror, able to store and release power. Every child in schooltown has the potential to be a Gamesman, pawns are not taught about the game.

Peter is only a youth, but he is dragged from his peaceful schooltown life into the Game, betrayed by someone he loves. His adventures from that point teach him a great deal about himself, others, and about something they don’t teach in schooltown, something called justice.

This book is an amazing adventure into a world that is complex, dangerous, and most of all fun. With humor and empathy Tepper shows us what might happen if these talents were real, what society might develop. Although classed as young adult, it doesn’t read like it, it’s quite rich enough for any adult, and if you enjoy fantasy, then this book is one you’ll love.

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