I started reading this series forever ago. Not even kidding. Remember those little leaflets of Scholastic books that you used to get in elementary school, which would prompt you to beg your parents for pocket money so you could order one? I'm pretty sure I bought the first 4 books out of one of those. Then stuff happened. Mostly, I bought other books instead. I read the next two from the library and then just didn't read the rest (I think this had something to do with the fact that I was reading them as they came out and by the time the next one came out, I was thinking about other books). Anyways, I saw this, and the next one, in the library the other day like a blast from the past and I decided to pick them up. It took me a while to finish, mostly because I'm not as invested in the series as I once was, but I am now prepared to (finally) review it!This book, more than anything else, reminds me of The Hunger Games, though of course it was published many years earlier. Now before you rush out to buy it on that statement alone, let me remind you that this is the 7th book in a fairly long series, and you will probably be extremely lost if you start there (and the rest aren't even remotely Hunger Games ish. Sorry).The premise of the world (called "territory" in this series) Quillan is a world much like ours that has been taken over by a single company. This company controls everything, from what foods you eat to what television you watch. Similar to the Hunger Games, the main form of entertainment is the "games," most of which are deadly, and all of which are televised (on big screens in the street too, you can't possibly miss it). The people have forgotten their rich heritage and forgotten how to think. Our hero, Bobby Pendragon, is swept into the games and forced to fight for his life only minutes after arriving in the territory, without a clue what is going on.It is interesting, to me, to pick up a series that you never finished as a kid. I can see why I loved it - it is very original and I still love that. There are so many different territories that it seems like MacHale gets to world build constantly, but that doesn't detract from the action. He somehow has figured out how to build his worlds in a way that is quick but gives a full sense of where you are.Then, of course, there are the sections about Bobby's two friends Courtney and Mark, who still live in our world (Second Earth in the series). They are his acolytes, and we see Bobby's entire story through their eyes - he magically sends them journals that they have to read and keep safe for him... I forget why, it's very early on in the series, and hasn't been that important yet.*SPOILER ALERT!*But the thing that made this book stand out from the rest of the series, for me, is how twisty it has become. I don't remember how long Bobby has been traveling on his own, but he is now making decisions for himself, trying to figure out who to trust. He makes some definite mistakes in this one. We don't find out until the very end, but someone Bobby trusts basically screws him over. This is the novel, much like Book 4 of Harry Potter, that marks a turning point in the series. Bobby is becoming an adult. It's a really important part of the series, and I like how MacHale deals with it. It happens so fast that when Courtney sees him at the end, she doesn't recognize him.Bottom line: If you liked Hunger Games and Harry Potter, this series is definitely for you. It'll be a little weird at first, but give it a chance and I can almost guarantee it'll grow on you.This series is 10 books long and was finished in 2009. The first novel is The Merchant of Death and can be found in both novel and graphic novel formats.
For those who haven’t read the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale, you simply must. Plot twists I don’t see coming, well developed characters and a developed plot that keeps everything moving. MacHale is amazing! Every book takes place on a different world, territories that exist in the same universe, tied together by "flumes," which people like Bobby Pendragon can travel. Bobby, the main character, is a Traveler, who has the responsibility to keep the universe safe from a bad guy, Saint Dane. Each book is incredible, riveting, but the interesting thing is how each world has characteristics that make it close to our own. Overpopulation, or pollution, or too many video games... each world has a problem that will cause it’s downfall, and it’s not consequential that our own world has to deal with all of them.Book 7’s world, Quillian, is a world where games reign supreme. People stake their meager incomes, even their children or their own lives, on the games, in a winner take all bet that would insure that families and children would eat well, or doom them into servitude or worse. The parallels to gambling in this world, or even more striking, the need to waste millions of dollars on the lottery (which is state run), are very obvious. But that’s not all. The games are run not by the government, but by one company, a company called BLOK that was, at one time, no more than one of many businesses trying to compete in a free market economy. But by undermining the other companies on prices, buying out manufacturing processes, and slowly creating a monopoly on everything from clothing to food to automobiles to whatever, BLOK became the only company on the planet, and therefore, had all the power, even more than the governments. When Saint Dane was telling all this to Bobby, all I could think of was that this was Walmart taken to the nth degree. This was the free market system, without regulation or anti-trust policies in place, and then progressed to the point where Walmart was the sole governing system in the world.The economy that MacHale describes is one where communism has been reached by the control of capitalism. It makes sense, that if Walmart were to control everything, they could regulate it so you had no money, and while you might be somewhat provided for, they in turn would have all the money, and so it would be the equivalent of communism, but with a dangerous and lethal twist. Robots could take care of all the dangerous and lethal problems in the world, but humans are cheaper to make and if there’s an endless supply of them (Consumerism), then it makes economic sense to use humans to do things that would kill them otherwise. But since they wouldn’t want to do that, you make it a punishment for losing in a profit winning game that would provide entertainment to the down-trodden, as well as give them an incentive to bet what money they had, or even their lives, for a chance of living better, if even for a short time.This book ranks up there with Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984. This series is a must for any middle or high school student, and every teacher should read them and maybe even use them in school.
What do You think about The Quillan Games (2006)?
Amazing!!!!!All I can say is...if you value your sleep, or are super busy and the slightest bit of distraction will throw off your schedule, this book...who am I kidding this entire book series is not for you! Honestly I have told myself over and over that if a dull moment ever comes I'll stop reading and do something else...the problem is there doesn't ever really seem to be one! This book is action packed and thrilling in every way imaginable! Even while completely knowing and understanding that you don't know everything, somehow D.J. MacHale somehow figures out how to lull you into a sense of somewhat security and the turn your entire world upside down! I can normally interpret how things are going to turn out long before they ever happen but these books have definitely kept me guessing! In other words I'm dying to know what is going to happen next! Well I'm going to start the next book and as Spader says Hobey Ho!
—Ashley
Like always, the Pendragon series is full of twists and turns and good and evil. Espeically this one.Book Seven; The Quillan Games.Bobby travels through the flume to the territory of Quillan. What he sees there is not pretty: A company larger than the goverment called BLOK is controling everything. Litterally; everything.BLOK creates thier own style and color of clothes, so people can only wear what BLOK gives them: black, dark green and grey. That's it. No more color.Why can the people of Quillan only wear what BLOK gives them? Becuase it is the only bussiness; others closed down because citizens came like hungry sheep to the low prieces of BLOK.People became so incredibly poor becuase when the worked for BLOK, BLOK payed close to nothing. Bottom line is: the people of Quillan are zombies; they obey every little thing BLOK tells they do to beucase they are terrifed they might get killed in the Games if they disagree. The Games are turnometns BLOK made to earn money; deadly fights and obsticle courses, tests of wit and will.Booby must somehow stop these Games that are destorying the territory and its people...but then, he gets tricked into competing in the Games, and is suddenly everyone's simbol of hope; he is a symbol to the people telling them not to give in to the way things are. "Rise up and fight BLOK, the company the is destoring your lives! Get revenge!"Can Bobby help the devistayed people of Quillan?I thought this book was wonderful, the author did a great job. And he occasonaly tosses in hilarious comments that make me laugh like crazy. A few paragraphsa were predictable, but all-in-all, it was a great book. His characters are memerable; good and evil, and he writes fight scense that stick in your head forever! And the ending was a pure cliffhanger! I loved this book.
—Janeen-san
Pendragon Book Seven: The Quillian Games is the seventh book in a ten book series about a teenager named Bobby that travels throughout time and space trying to save Halla (every time every thing) from an evil person named Saint Dane. Saint Dane is trying to find the turning point on each territory to make the territory fall into chaos. In the seventh book Bobby has to save the territory Quillian from a company called Blok that is controlling their lives. I personally think The Quillian Games was a great book . There were so many twits and turns. You never knew what would happen next, and it always kept you on the edge if you seat. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sci-fi type books or anyone that has read any of the Pendragon books.
—Katie Zeimet
