[WUD]≡ Read Free The Game Laurie R King 9780553801941 Books

The Game Laurie R King 9780553801941 Books

Download As PDF : The Game Laurie R King 9780553801941 Books

The Game Laurie R King 9780553801941 Books

The title of this book refers to what the British called "The Great Game," the long struggle between England and Tzarist Russia for hegemony on the Indian subcontinent. This is the first of three sequential novels. I am inordinately fond of all three and urge you to read them all. They do not need to be read in sequence. Each can stand alone. Each has its own distinctive plot and characters. They need not be read in order, though Laurie King picks up threads and carries them through masterfully. In this, the first of the three, we find Russell and Holmes en route to an unidentified Kingdom among the many under the sway of the British Empire. It is the first part of the 20th Century, before WW I. Russell and Holmes endure a long ocean voyage to the Middle East, during which we meet a curious cast of characters who will subsequently reappear mysteriously and unexpectedly. The distinguishing characteristic of this book is that it becomes a sequel to Rudyard Kipling's much admired novel, "Kim," about Kimberly O'Hara, the orphaned son of one of the many Irish men who had enlisted in the British Army, for service on the Indian subcontinent. Kim had lived, hand to mouth, after the deaths of both parents, and among other tasks had become the devoted "chela," or servant of a Indian Buddhist holy man who was seeking Enlightenment. When some officials of the British Raj discovered his presence and his language and survival skills, they educated him and employed him as a sort of free lance spy. Kim has disappeared and Mycroft Holmes enlists Mary & Holmes to find him. The novel includes the King of one of the semi-sovereign Indian Kingdoms and a daring escape from his grasp. As ever, Russell and Holmes have several alarmingly hair raising adventures along the way. I hope that reading this book inspires you to read Kipling's novel as well.
(The two other novels in this sequence are "Dreaming Spies," which finds Mary & Holmes in Japan, following in the footsteps of the great Japanese poet Basho, master of Haiku, and "Locked Rooms," in which Mary returns to San Francisco to settle the legacy from her parents. "Dreaming Spies" again reflects Laurie King's inspiration by an important creator of great literature. "Locked Rooms" gives Holmes the opportunity to establish another group of "Irregulars," formed by intelligent street urchins, like Billy & his friends in London.)


Tags : The Game [Laurie R. King] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Laurie R. King’s bestselling mystery series featuring Mary Russell and her husband and partner, Sherlock Holmes,Laurie R. King,The Game,Bantam,0553801945,Historical - General,Mystery & Detective - Traditional,British;India;Fiction.,Intelligence officers;Fiction.,Women detectives;India;Fiction.,British,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Mystery & Detective Traditional,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Fiction Mystery & Detective Traditional British,Fiction-Historical,Fiction-Mystery & Detective,GENERAL,General Adult,India,Intelligence officers,KING, LAURIE, R. - PROSE & CRITICISM,Mystery & Detective - Series,Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths,MysterySuspense,United States,Women detectives,Holmes, Sherlock (Fictitious c,Russell, Mary (Fictitious char

The Game Laurie R King 9780553801941 Books Reviews

I was a super fan of this series in the early days, but began to find the books a bit boring and stopped reading them. This was an interesting one as long as you can suspend disbelief beyond reason, and don't need a lot of plot. That sounds terrible, but I actually enjoyed reading the book. After an idiot beginning (no one has heard from this agent for 3 years, so you have to race like crazy to pack and leap aboard a boat; it can't wait a day or two), the book is a travelogue. Nothing much happens in the first two-thirds of the book except the odd red herring or two, but Russell and Holmes have an interesting ocean voyage, and then a tour of India. They manage extraordinary disguises, and find everything they need just when they need it, including just happening to run into exactly the people they need in one of the most populous countries on Earth. Actually, the action takes place in what is now Pakistan, and is packed into the last third of the book, where the pair once again manage the virtually impossible, ranging from impossible disguises whipped up on the spot to Russell beating the champion of India at his own game. That all goes to the suspension of disbelief. The setting and characters are fun, and made up, for me, for a slight lack of a plot. People who are plot oriented might not like this book, but I was pretty pleased with it. For many of the books I have been reading lately I have had to read two or three at a time, so I can regularly take breaks from one. That wasn't a problem here. I'll be back for the next in the series.
It was January 1, 1924, when Mycroft Holmes, recovering from an illness, called his brother Sherlock and his wife, Mary Russell, to London. The government had recently changed and it wanted to investigate the disappearance of Kimball O’Mara, (famous as the title character in Rudyard Kipling’s book KIM. When last heard of, he had been in India. Some British agents had been eliminated and there was also concern about the rising influence of the Communists. Mycroft asked Shelock and Mary to travel to India to learn what they could.
Mary is the narrator of the story and describes not only of the characters, scenery, and buildings but also of the food and clothing. In some cases, she contrasts it with what they had seen on previous adventures. For example “It was...both like our wandering time in Palestine and yet very different. Most of the difference lay in the population density.”
THE GAME refers not only to the intelligence community but also to the role of sporting events, particularly between the British and the Indians. Among the people they meet are a family from the United States and a Maharaja in India, with whom she spent several days in his magnificent home. Among the activities he offered to his guests was pig sticking. When one member of the American trio suggested having a world cup for pig sticking, the maharaja replied, “The British do not need to train for sticking pig. They simply arrange the rules to their satisfaction.”
Laurie King has excellent command of language and presents wonderful oral visions descriptions “My sacrifice was to be the climax of the evening’s events, and he had worked the crowd into a near frenzy, playing on their rustic gullibility as on a fine instrument.”
The book is adventure with some history thrown in to put it into context. As always, Laurie King’s writing is very detailed though, at times, seemed to drag. It is, however, an excellent addition to the series.
The title of this book refers to what the British called "The Great Game," the long struggle between England and Tzarist Russia for hegemony on the Indian subcontinent. This is the first of three sequential novels. I am inordinately fond of all three and urge you to read them all. They do not need to be read in sequence. Each can stand alone. Each has its own distinctive plot and characters. They need not be read in order, though Laurie King picks up threads and carries them through masterfully. In this, the first of the three, we find Russell and Holmes en route to an unidentified Kingdom among the many under the sway of the British Empire. It is the first part of the 20th Century, before WW I. Russell and Holmes endure a long ocean voyage to the Middle East, during which we meet a curious cast of characters who will subsequently reappear mysteriously and unexpectedly. The distinguishing characteristic of this book is that it becomes a sequel to Rudyard Kipling's much admired novel, "Kim," about Kimberly O'Hara, the orphaned son of one of the many Irish men who had enlisted in the British Army, for service on the Indian subcontinent. Kim had lived, hand to mouth, after the deaths of both parents, and among other tasks had become the devoted "chela," or servant of a Indian Buddhist holy man who was seeking Enlightenment. When some officials of the British Raj discovered his presence and his language and survival skills, they educated him and employed him as a sort of free lance spy. Kim has disappeared and Mycroft Holmes enlists Mary & Holmes to find him. The novel includes the King of one of the semi-sovereign Indian Kingdoms and a daring escape from his grasp. As ever, Russell and Holmes have several alarmingly hair raising adventures along the way. I hope that reading this book inspires you to read Kipling's novel as well.
(The two other novels in this sequence are "Dreaming Spies," which finds Mary & Holmes in Japan, following in the footsteps of the great Japanese poet Basho, master of Haiku, and "Locked Rooms," in which Mary returns to San Francisco to settle the legacy from her parents. "Dreaming Spies" again reflects Laurie King's inspiration by an important creator of great literature. "Locked Rooms" gives Holmes the opportunity to establish another group of "Irregulars," formed by intelligent street urchins, like Billy & his friends in London.)