Status
Available
Local notes
PB Mac
Collections
Series
Genres
Publication
Aladdin (2007), Edition: Reprint, 512 pages
Description
With more questions than answers about Saint Dane, Bobby travels to the territory of Quillan and is forced to play games where only the winner survives.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
512 p.; 5.13 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member hoosgracie
Bobby travels alone to Quillan after being taunted into it by Saint Dane. Quillan is a world were games mean death. There is also a crisis with Mark and Courtney which should lead to an interesting book the next go round.
LibraryThing member sparklegirl
Very Good.. I absolutely love these books, they should make a movie...
LibraryThing member bcjunior13
Bobby Pendragon is no ordinary teen. Since his literary debut in The Merchant of Death, young Bobby has ceased to be solely a figment of DJ MacHale’s imagination but an inter-dimensional hero, an American teen from Stony Brook Connecticut who carries the fates of the entire universe on his
In line with the other books of this series of journeys out of this world, and dimension, The Quillan Games by DJ MacHale provides readers with a twisting, unrelentless attack on the reader. The Travels and adventures of Bobby Pendragon, Second Earth’s Traveler, come to a pseudo climax in this novel in which MacHale lays the framework for the future of Bobby’s exploits and his mission as a Traveler.
The Quillan Games also provides new prospective on the problems that we face here, even on little old Second Earth. The novel centers on a city that is colossal in its magnitude; where human life is governed not by democracy but a single corporation. BLOK, the de-facto leader of the territory Quillan rules with an iron fist, literally. Using sophisticated Robots as peacekeepers and police officers, the monopolistic corporation insures both the further consumption of their product as well as the continuation of undisputed hegemony. BLOK is claimed, by MacHale, to have started out as a small supermarket where the business radically reduced the costs of its commodities in order to allure- in reality, to coerce- prospective clientele into buying the astronomically low priced goods; while at the same time, bleeding out competition that had no hope of operating at sustained losses. Although the trusts and monopolies of the early 20th Century, i.e. Standard Oil, are long gone along with their outright, unchallengeable command policies, the possibility of resurgence of BIG Business is a looming one, a worry that MacHale invites us to ponder.
Although The Quillan Games is one of the better books in the Pendragon Series, it would be advisable and beneficial to prospective readers to begin their Travels with Bobby and company with the first of the series: The Merchant of Death.
All great journeys start with a single step, missing the first jump into Halla would be a mistake that would surely distort the bold, new vision of the world MacHale imparts on to his numerous, categorically fervent disciples.
The Quillan Games is a fantastic read and recommended for all those already familiar with Bobby Pendragon: Hero, Traveler, and Normal Teenage
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adolescent shoulders. In MacHale’s masterpiece, the young Stony Brook Point Guard is roped on an out-of-this world adventure with his Uncle Press who turns out to be a Traveler, an individual who is able to travel to different Territories: a sort of inter-dimensional/time-traveling/space-man who works with his fellow Travelers to preserve balance in the Territories in order to preserve balance in Halla, the connector of all the Territories. Halla, protected by Travelers is in the sights of one Saint Dane, a Traveler whose main goal is to instill chaos and havoc in the once peaceable Territories. It is in this plight that Bobby finds himself pitted relying on instinct good friends and all too familiar sense of adolescence.In line with the other books of this series of journeys out of this world, and dimension, The Quillan Games by DJ MacHale provides readers with a twisting, unrelentless attack on the reader. The Travels and adventures of Bobby Pendragon, Second Earth’s Traveler, come to a pseudo climax in this novel in which MacHale lays the framework for the future of Bobby’s exploits and his mission as a Traveler.
The Quillan Games also provides new prospective on the problems that we face here, even on little old Second Earth. The novel centers on a city that is colossal in its magnitude; where human life is governed not by democracy but a single corporation. BLOK, the de-facto leader of the territory Quillan rules with an iron fist, literally. Using sophisticated Robots as peacekeepers and police officers, the monopolistic corporation insures both the further consumption of their product as well as the continuation of undisputed hegemony. BLOK is claimed, by MacHale, to have started out as a small supermarket where the business radically reduced the costs of its commodities in order to allure- in reality, to coerce- prospective clientele into buying the astronomically low priced goods; while at the same time, bleeding out competition that had no hope of operating at sustained losses. Although the trusts and monopolies of the early 20th Century, i.e. Standard Oil, are long gone along with their outright, unchallengeable command policies, the possibility of resurgence of BIG Business is a looming one, a worry that MacHale invites us to ponder.
Although The Quillan Games is one of the better books in the Pendragon Series, it would be advisable and beneficial to prospective readers to begin their Travels with Bobby and company with the first of the series: The Merchant of Death.
All great journeys start with a single step, missing the first jump into Halla would be a mistake that would surely distort the bold, new vision of the world MacHale imparts on to his numerous, categorically fervent disciples.
The Quillan Games is a fantastic read and recommended for all those already familiar with Bobby Pendragon: Hero, Traveler, and Normal Teenage
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LibraryThing member savageknight
Just when you think you've won... it's all taken away from you! In this longest of the books so far, Bobby's skills and agility are stretched as he must constantly battle to stay alive against unstoppable Dados! There's another secret brewing there and it starts to bleed through when Saint Dane's
What is the "convergence" and when's it coming? Hints are slowly scattered! :)
After 7 books, the similarities between the territories are starting to creep through. The different roles on each territory and the impending revolts are starting to look alike. There are enough subtle differences to not bother me too much (as long as I don't think about it) and would not necessarily make a difference to the core audience.
The situations are still clever with enough of a twist to keep it fresh but at this point it's becoming clearer whenever SD takes on an undercover identity. Then again, those identities are really just shells meant to distract the heroes and not the readers, so it's no big deal :)
It's all coming to a head and Quillan will never be the same!
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plans for Mark are slowly revealed!What is the "convergence" and when's it coming? Hints are slowly scattered! :)
After 7 books, the similarities between the territories are starting to creep through. The different roles on each territory and the impending revolts are starting to look alike. There are enough subtle differences to not bother me too much (as long as I don't think about it) and would not necessarily make a difference to the core audience.
The situations are still clever with enough of a twist to keep it fresh but at this point it's becoming clearer whenever SD takes on an undercover identity. Then again, those identities are really just shells meant to distract the heroes and not the readers, so it's no big deal :)
It's all coming to a head and Quillan will never be the same!
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LibraryThing member TomKsoccerbeast16
From his first step on Quillan Bobby was scared. After being chased by mechanical spiders, then being chased by mechanical men Bobby didn't like the territory expessially when he had to compete in games and the prise is to survive. Pendragon needs to find out what Saint Daine is up to. Will Bobby
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save the territory or will it come crashing down? Find out by reading the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member DenzilPugh
Two words: Scary Good!
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
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.
I’m reading a book right now, 100 Cupboards which is also very good, and I’ll review it later.
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
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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.
I’m reading a book right now, 100 Cupboards which is also very good, and I’ll review it later.
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LibraryThing member Bodagirl
Even though I started this series over 10 years ago, getting back into the world was quite easy. I'm also impressed with the inventiveness of MacHale's world.
BookRiot Challenge 2016 | Task 5: A middle grade novel
BookRiot Challenge 2016 | Task 5: A middle grade novel
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Pages
512