Gameboard Of The Gods by Richelle Mead

"He disappeared down a hallway, and Mae sat down at the bench. She played a few lines of Danse Macabre  and then let her hand drop as it began to shake from the implant's metabolism."



Vampire Academy author Richelle Mead is back with a new series set in the future, a strange future plagued by religious persecution and genetic machinations. I have been eagerly anticipating this new series, as I am a bit of a fan of the usual Mead escapist fantasies. Starting out, however, I was a little underwhelmed. The voices in Justin's head were a little distracting to begin with and it took quite some time to get to grips with this new world.

I have read some less than favourable reviews, however, my advice would be to take a deep breath and acclimatise because the pace finally picks up just over midway through and being the first of a series the high level of exposition is pretty much a necessity before the action starts. I'm certainly looking forward to the sequel. I find her series often start slowly but really kick things up a notch as the series progresses, once the reader has grown to know and love the characters. It is in that spirit that I look forward to the next volume. Sexy, smart, strong female characters are Mead's speciality - for other examples see especially Georgina Kincaid, my favourite succubus.

 4 out of 5 - this could be the start of something.