Day 24: A Book You Wish More People Would Have Read

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

This one is the first book of her Age of X series which to date only has two books published. The main reason being that it didn’t sell well enough so the publisher decided to not go ahaed with the rest of the series.

But I really like this series. It’s a little more adult than her hugely popular Vampire Accademy series but the style is otherwise the same. Why wasn’t this more popular? I. Need. The. Next. Book.
But after so many years its futile to keep waiting… Even though Richelle insists that if time allows she will self-publish the rest of the series… It’s just that she has to write her contracted books first… It’s been over 5 years now. Do you think its time to give up?

The story and setting of this series is quite interesting: It’s set in a rather futuristc world that nevertheless has some dystopian story elements to it (virus nearly destroyed all of menkind). There is some destructive religious extremism in the past that let the RUNA to strongly monitor all religions in its territory. Justin used to be an investigator of religious groups but got exiled when he claimed something supernatural was going on. He is given a second chance when Mae comes to fetch him back for the RUNA because his skillset is required. Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills. Together they investigate a serial murder case that may or may not have a religious background.

I like the world that Mead created. Most of her other series are set more or less in our world with a supernatural element hidden. But with this series she created something new. Maybe it was that the market was over-satiated with dystopian novels at the time but worse books than this became really popular. And I can’t emphasize how much I’m craving the next book because book 2 ends on a cliffhanger of sorts.

So yeah, I really wish more people had read this for purely selfish reasons. ^^’

2
2

    Goodness, finally, someone else who agrees with me! This was SUCH a unique series and had ALL my favorite elements (fantasy, good worldbuilding, flawed characters, and GODS!) and I just don’t understand WHY it didn’t sell well!

    She says she’s written the third book, but who knows when she’ll publish! My soul feels tortured!

    2
    1

      I’m not familiar with this author’s works but as a young adult, I have to admit that our generation’s reading habits follow trends and as a whole we are very likely to ignore good stuff

      1
      0