Review: The Forbidden Game Series - LJ Smith

 

 

Have you ever scoured the bookshops for a certain book series and then when you had given up all hope, you find it and not just one of three books but the whole trilogy in the one book.

That's what happened to me with LJ Smith's The Forbidden Game Trilogy

Review: The Forbidden Game - Books #1-3 Omnibus - LJ Smith - June 2010

When I first saw this series available at Whitcoulls for like $5 , I literally was overjoyed and excited with glee as I had asked the library earlier to buy this series but recieved a response to say it was out of print. So imagine like my surprise when I saw it at the local bookstore and for $5 - SO CHEAP.  The Forbidden game is an collection of the three stories in the trilogy and starts with the first book where we meet the main character Jenny whose boyfriend Tom is about to celebrate his birthday and Jenny wants to buy a game - something special and unique. She ends up finding an odd game store and purchases a game. The game though has black magic attached and ends up being a portal to another world - the shadow world . The characters of the story are then transported into this paper house where they are to live out their worst nightmares and the scary thing is - these nightmares can be deadly and one of them won't make it out alive. This story in a way reminded me of the movie starring Robin Williams "Jumanji". At the end of the first book, the main characters chuck the game away but of course they are not quick enough as the game is stolen by Jenny's arch-enemies two bullies named PC and Slug who end up disappearing and are trapped in the game , releasing Julian - the master of the game into the world who wants to take Jenny back to the Underworld as his Queen and wife. In Book #2 , Jenny and her friends must play the game once more before anyone else gets hurt in their neighbourhood , but can they play the game and remain friends with the knowledge of what happened last time they played it. Will more members of the group remain stuck in the game or will they be released ?  How many people will have to get killed before Jenny realises that Julian isn't leaving without her one way or another. In Book #3 , the final chapter of the Forbidden Game - the friends are off to an amusement park and Jenny's grandfathers house to discover how to trap Julian and what better place to head than where the game first created and where Julian first met Jenny when she was 5yrs old.

The Forbidden Game is a great trilogy and awesome for fans of the Supernatural realm . It mixes well together aspects from the game "Jumanji" and the hit TV show starring the Winchester Brothers "Supernatural".

LJ Smith is more famously known for her series "The Vampire Diaries" which were made into a TV series and her books "Nightworld". However, my all time favourites of LJ Smith's was the "Dark Visions" Series.