Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Gameshouse
- The Serpent, The Thief and The Master
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Gameshouse
Buy Now for £13.00
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
From the author of the word-of-mouth phenomenon The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August comes a mesmerising tale of a mystical gambling house whose deadly games of chance and skill control the fate of empires. Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets.
It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost though chess, backgammon - every game under the sun.
But those whom fortune favours may be invited to compete in the higher league...where the games played are of politics and nations, of economics and kings. It is a contest where Capture the Castle involves real castles and where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent.
Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all....
From Claire North, author of word-of-mouth best-seller The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and one of the most original new voices in modern fiction, comes the mesmerising tale of the Gameshouse, where games of chance and skill control the fate of empires.
Originally published as three digital-only instalments: The Serpent, The Thief and The Master.
Critic reviews
"Utterly readable, utterly believable and compelling...one of the fiction highlights of the decade." (Judy Finnigan on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August)
"Beautiful and gripping." (Guardian on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August)
"North's talent shines out." (Sunday Times)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Gameshouse
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeavons88
- 13-07-18
Just excellent!
I'm a fan of Claire North's writing in general, but I think these interrelated novellas are her best work so far. Tightly written, engrossing, thrilling, each novella can stand on its own, but the plot arc also carries satisfyingly across from the start of the first to the end of the third.
Special mention for Peter Kenny's excellent performance, perfectly matching the slightly mystical, slightly weird tone of North's writing. He gets the delivery dead right, capturing the all-powerful but troubled characters of the games players as they compete with each other, using the world as their board and humanity as their pieces.
I don't really understand why this is audiobook/download only, but you lose nothing by listening rather than reading.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- jojo
- 08-11-20
Not north's best
Entertaining but not fully engaging. struggled to buy into the belief system that left the characters in thrall, that somehow might justify to them such carnage in the narrative. Limp in contrast to her great book The Disappearance of Hope, but without having checked I'd imagine it's an earlier
work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. P.
- 28-07-17
A really good idea for a story.
What an interesting idea! I really loved the concept of our lives as pieces in a huge game and in places , very compelling but the pace flagged a few times and I found the narrator 's breathy delivery quite irritating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- craig
- 14-12-15
Another top listen from claire. .
Such a big scale! I maybe would have liked some more explanation as to how the higher league debts were paid, otherwise, I really cannot wait for what this author might bring us next time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 29-05-18
Entralling from start to finish
Loved all of it. Couldn't decide if Thai accents were appropriate in book two though.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeminar
- 09-09-16
Stunning trilogy
The Gameshouse is a wierd place, but between the three stories, a strange group runs the world. The three stories are novellas in their own right, but with a few common threads running through them.
Having just finished the trilogy, I want to go back, as I now realise that The Serpent was the framing for The Master.
A definite worthwhile read, possibly not as gripping as 15 lives, but still stunning.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 09-11-20
Geography lesson throughout the centuries.
Lots of chasings, running and killings. Power struggle at the highest level. I have listened to action loaded story after story which lead to very little and would have given up half way but for the excellent narration.
The author must be congratulated for cultural and geographical knowledge of the least travelled to places. Ms North's semantic talent is considerable, however I did miss the necessary conclusions, or reason if you like, to the vast amounts of danger endured by the protagonists.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- NICK
- 27-05-20
The coin turns, the coin turns...
The oddly familiar but dystopian world of Claire North fascinates again. Part vicious war drama, part dreamy travelogue The Gameshouse left me equally thrilled and exhausted.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah H
- 11-12-15
Riverting listen
What did you like most about The Gameshouse?
I enjoyed listening to all 3 books individually and how they intertwined with one another.
What did you like best about this story?
The character development - you felt like you were privy to the game, and the characters developed in a way that you only saw what was relevant to the game at that time
What about Peter Kenny’s performance did you like?
I thought Peter Kenny was wonderful - he has a captivating voice and he made each character sound/feel different without being cheesy
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Its all just a game!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kush
- 03-12-15
An amazing story that is wonderfully read!
Claire North has a knack for uncanny plotlines but the execution is superb. The story had me gripped throughout and even though there are a lot of things happening, it does leave you wanting for more, in a good way.
The idea of the Gameshouse is brilliant, and without giving any spoilers, it did have me thinking if I myself would enter it if I ever saw a door with a lion's head.
Peter Kenny does a wonderful job at the narration too making the whole experience a delightful one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful