This installment in the series was Kind of like a long road trip from the west coast where exciting stuff happens in California and then in Nevada or Arizona or Colorado and then eventually you get to someplace that's all grasslands and strip malls / I will be heading on to book three but there were some doldrums here in book two for me. ( )

  This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer.   Title: Present Tense Series: The Great Game Author: Dave Duncan Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Fantasy Pages: 418     Synopsis: Edward comes back to our world, after 3 years in Next Door. Only now, because of his acceptance of the Filoby Testament, he is in greater danger here than he ever was over in Next Door. So his friends convince him to go back. While planning out the steps for returning to Next Door, Edward tells them about the last 3 years and what has transpired.   My Thoughts: This time around, the story was all about Edward. There was no Eleal or other secondary character. One storyline was about him in England, the other about him in Next Door.   This was a good solid read. Duncan knows how to spin a tale that is engaging but without a lot of wind and bluster. Nor do you get your heart rate up by screaming at the idiotic characters. Can't stand that when an author does that and thankfully Duncan stays away from it.   The ideas of Free Will & Pre-Destination are mentioned, but they aren't really explored. Edward, his father and others, have all tried to break the Filoby Testament and have only made it happen and in the end of the book Edward seems to have basically given up and just accepted that what it says will happen. The whole FreeWill/Pre-Destination debate has been going on for Millenia, so I didn't expect Duncan to solve it, but I guess I was expecting a little more philosophizing about it.   Finally, and most importantly. absolutely nothing Nacreous ever showed up. I was pleased. " ( )

This series just gets better and better! Subtle, intelligent, as broad as it is deep. ( )