I'd been curious about this book for a long time. We received a copy at work before it came out and just a quick look at it was enough to make me wonder. First of all, this version was a pre-version of the book and on the first page it was stated that "this book does not contain the original riddle" ... Okay? I found that sentence so weird, but it would be months before I figured out what it meant.

Then there is what's written on the front, on the back and on the second page on the original.

“Endgame is real. Endgame is now”

“The world will end. Now. Let the games begin.”

“A lot in this book is fictional, but some is not. Endgame is real. And endgame is coming”

So yeah, the book really caught my attention, but I kind of forgot it for some months. Then it became available in the e-library.

The Calling is written by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton and it was published October the 7th in 2014. It holds the genres Science fiction and Dystopia. It’s a story, but it’s also something more.

The human race has in all time been watched by alien creatures that are our gods. Every religion, every myth and story about the Gods are just versions of the real story about the alien creatures. Since the beginning of time there has existed 12 bloodlines, and they have been preparing for what is coming. Trained and prepared for the end of the world.

When endgame comes, 12 people have to fight each other in order to be the one that holds the three keys and be victorious. The victor and his/her bloodline will be the only ones to survive the end of the world. The keys will be hard to find. There will be riddles, battles, alliances, murder and trickery.

The Calling takes place right about when endgame starts, and it is very exciting to read. We get to know the 12 contestants, some crazier than the others. Everyone is given a riddle to solve in order to find the first key, and everyone has different methods for winning. All from “kill everyone you see” to “stay in the shadows”. The chapters switches between some of the contestants and it’s interesting to read about how they think and act differently. Reading about them trying to solve their riddles, fighting each other, avoiding each other and slowly getting closer to the key is just really exciting. I absolutely enjoyed this book, and hope it’s not too long until the sequel comes. The story works really great, and I’m not even sure which one of the contestants I'm rooting for. There are some weird parts as well though. I really don't get some of the characters, but maybe that's also the point. We're talking about 12 different characters here, from all over the world. And I may not agree with everything that happens, but that's also hard to say since the story isn't finished yet. So all in all, so far so good. The story is exciting and entertaining and I recommend it to everyone who likes dystopia and science fiction.

Some chapters ago I wrote that endgame is a story, but also something more, so I'll explain some of it to you. It has to do with the "original riddle" I told you about in the beginning.

When I read the book, I noticed that on the end of every chapter some strange things would appear. Things that had nothing to do with the story, and made no sense. It took days before I figured it out. It's really not that hard to understand what these random things is, but this cryptic, mysterious things absolutely increased my reading experience. It became sort of a bonus at the end of the chapters when I saw them appear, every time with hopes that it would finally make sense.

And this, this exact experience, is why I try to never google books before I read them. And this is also why I'm not going to tell you what it is either. Read the book. Figure it out for yourself. It will be a so much better experience than to read it online.
★★★☆☆

Obs: I’ve been reading the Norwegian version, so all the quotes are my own translation of them. It may not be the exact same in the english version.