The Serpent: The Gameshouse, Part One (Gameshouse)

by Claire North

The first installment of the Gameshouse, a mesmerising tale of a mystical gambling house whose deadly games of chance and skill control the fate of empires.

In seventeenth century Venice exists a mysterious establishment known only as the Gameshouse.

There, fortunes are made and fortunes are broken over games of chess, backgammon and every other game under the sun.

But those whom fortune favours may be invited to compete in the higher league . . . a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on a scale as big as the British Isles.

Not everyone proves worthy of competing in the higher league. But one woman who is about to play may just exceed everyone's expectations.

Though she must always remember: the higher the stakes, the more deadly the rules . . .

The three installments of the Gameshouse are also available in a single edition.

• ISBN10: 0356504492
• ISBN13: 9780356504490
• Publish Date: 3 November 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 96
• Language: English

Reviews

[adamfortuna]

The Gameshouse is more than a place for chess. It's a place where you can wager your skills and memories against others where the game takes place in life itself. What drew me into this story, besides the world and the main character, was the succinct conversation style. It felt as though every word was calculated and organized by the characters - which fits right into the games story.