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Review
"Fourth entry in Baker's wonderful series. . . . By turns hilarious, terrifying, sad, and provocative, and always utterly intriguing. If there's a better time-travel series out there, go find it." - "Kirkus Reviews" (Starred Review) on "The Graveyard Game"
"If John LeCarre wrote science fiction, it might read like "The Graveyard Game."" -"The New York Times"
"I recommend this without reservation. It's smart, funny, and sardonic: nicely blended portions of each. Crisp, skillful writing and can't-miss characters kept me up until two in the morning. I expect you'll lose sleep, too."--Harry Turtledove on "The Graveyard Game"
"Kage Baker has a very good fantasy career in front of her if Anvil is a sample. Here style is infused with a subtle hum
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YOU KNOW SOMETHING, father? Sin exists. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
The Graveyard Game opens in 1996, with one of Mendoza's best friends (Lewis) wondering what happened to her, especially after he briefly encounters a version of her that was inexplicably thrust forward from 1862 (before she ran away). He tries to recruit Joseph into his search, who is more than willing to join. It seems he thinks he saw Mendoza and her lover in 1923, plus he feels responsible for her. Years pass as their investigation continues, and they uncover more and more dirt on the Company. Why do some operatives disappear with no record? Why, as the 24th century approaches (this book actually ends in the late 23rd century), do secrets become even more impenetrable? Why is there little record of what happens leading up to 2355? Why does Mendoza's lover keep reappearing, and what is his connection to the Company? And, most importantly to Lewis as events unfold, who are the people who seem to know about the immortals and also seem to know how to damage one?
Baker throws us a bit of a change-up in The Graveyard Game. Despite there being a lot of personal interaction (especially between Lewis and Joseph) that Baker excels at as usual, the most interesting thing about the book is the world that Baker has created. As time passes in great chunks, she is able to show us how much the world has changed, and it's not very pretty. Britain has enforced veganism, personal interaction is almost forbidden. The birth rate has plummeted as people spend more and more time paying attention to their inner child and not having any real ones. It's against the law to do anything that might be bad for you (heaven forbid if you have a beer!). People get around this by living in the wilds, or out on sailboats in international waters.
Every time the scene shifts years, Baker takes a bit of time to tell us what's going on in the world. The best part, though, is that it's not as much of an infodump as it might be. All of this is told in the context of telling us what Lewis is up to, or Joseph. Many of the details slip out in the narrative. Sometimes it's used to explain just what the other immortals are thinking, especially as we get nearer the time of "The Silence" in 2355. They see this world as it approaches, and they have to wonder just what they are saving all of this stuff for.
Factions are starting to form inside the Company operatives, and many of them are just disappearing. Joseph seems to know a bit about what is going on, but his investigations get increasingly dangerous. He tries in vain to keep Lewis out of most of the danger, and watching Baker handle the relationship between these two is great. Lewis is a bookish, Noel Coward type who is at home in a library. He just won't let his investigation of Mendoza's lover go, despite Joseph's warnings. Joseph is the same character we've known and loved in the previous books: sarcastic, intelligent, witty and dedicated. You can tell that he feels deeply about Mendoza, almost like a father-figure (since he did recruit her into the Company) and he's increasingly horrified as he uncovers more and more about the Company he's serving. He's also very loyal, both to Mendoza and his own father-figure who disappeared a long time ago.
The Graveyard Game features these two immortals at the expense of everybody else. There are some other immortals in the book who are well-characterized, but they don't get the extensive treatment. We do see some familiar figures from past books throughout the course of Joseph's search, and that's always a pleasure. Baker handles them all deftly, giving us just enough information so that we think we know them without having to delve too deeply into them. She also handle the switch from personal to action very well, with a vivid description of a battle between three immortals and a Roman unit that was obliterated in England in the 1st Century.
I can't say enough good things about The Graveyard Game, or this series in general. You owe it to yourself to pick it up. Don't let the second book get you down. Just read it and absorb the Company politics, and then move on. If you do, then you'll be rewarded with wonderful books like Mendoza in Hollywood and this one.
David Roy
The best thing I could say about this book I think would be to tell you that I intend to purchase this book immediately. And, I've already read it once!
I'm also a fan of Asimov's Science Fiction and Amazing Stories, both of which have printed related novellas and short stories which really add extra flavor to this book series. I constantly found myself connecting the dots as they say, which added to the experience.
Mind you the story stands on its own, but I implore you to read the whole lot! Ms. Baker is a consumate story teller, I found myself really THERE with Joseph and Lewis. If you pick up this book I guarantee you will never look at two locals in California the same again, Catalina Island and Ghiradelli Square. I defy you not to laugh out loud at the antics of Joseph and Lewis in San Francisco in the late 1900's. I found myself saying "Of course he would! I would!"
I cannot type more for fear of spoiling my favorite parts for the rest of you.
Read this book! If for no other reason than so you may wait with me for the next wonderful installment!
-wayne
The most important thing for you to know before you buy this book is that you should do some pre-reading. Although the story does stand on it's own, it will make a heck of a lot more sense if you've read Baker's earlier Company books. BUT in addition to reading the books (Garden of Iden, Sky Coyote, and Mendoza in Hollywood), you'll understand a lot more of what is going on if you read Baker's short stories featuring several characters important to the story. The only place that I know of to get these stories is online at fictionwise.com. It's a set of 6 stories that explain where the heck these characters came from and what they are doing.
If there is any shortfall in this book, it is in the details missing from the story but present in the short stories. Since I had read the short stories already, this didn't bother me. But if you haven't read the short stories, I personally think you will spend a lot of time scratching your head and going "what the heck?", "huh?", and "who is THAT?!?".
When last we saw everyone's favorite Company operative Mendoza, she was having a major breakdown and killing a bunch of mortals. Then she disappeared. Graveyard Game (which has oddly few graveyards) is about her friends Joseph and Lewis searching for her. Joseph was the operative who originally recruited Mendoza and it seems like he feels a lot of personal guilt for what has happened to her. Lewis has a bit of a crush on Mendoza and he's also fascinated or possibly obsessed by her love affair with "the tall Englishman" (Edward).
This book is radically different than the early Company novels because all of those novels start in the past. This novel starts around the current time and moves forward from there. One of Baker's major strengths in earlier novels is that she is great at writing historical fiction. She puts in all sorts of neat details and goes to the extra effort to make her history believable. In earlier novels, I could always understand the perspective of the cyborgs with their technological sophistication reacting to backwards mortals. However, in the Graveyard Game, Baker does a relatively good job of showing people in the future. I had a harder time understanding the world she was creating, though.
Overall, as with all of the earlier company novels, a fun read and definitely worthwhile.
Secrets like, what happened to the prehistoric Enforcers? What lies behind the mysterious date of 2355? And what happens to good cyborgs gone bad?
I love Baker's Company novels. They're well-written and easy to read. Baker creates enjoyable characters that stay within their parameters. They don't veer off into directions that leave the reader shrugging shoulders in exasperation. I enjoy the fact that Baker incorporates Cyborg characters from her other novels and short stories. It's fun to see how the various characters mature and grow over the centuries (especially watching Latif grow from a child to a cyborg).
Baker's novels are light easy reading. They won't challenge you, but they will intrigue you and more than likely keep you up past your bedtime. Recommended.
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