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The Long Game
The unnamed narrator of The Long Game is an Adept, a member of an Ecclesiastical order charged, among other things, with opposing a race of immaterial demons, creatures capable of possessing and controlling human minds. Complicating the narrator’s life is the fact that, over time, he has developed a cordial “relationship” with one of the demons. Complicating matters further is the unexpected arrival of Amalasomtha, a young woman with impossible abilities who claims to have come from the remote — perhaps mythical — country of Idalia. She also claims that, for reasons she does not entirely understand, she has been tasked with capturing one such demon and returning with it to Idalia. The truth, it turns out, is considerably more complex.
Amalasomtha’s arrival sets in motion a chain of events encompassing murder, magic, deception, and an array of unintended consequences. By the story’s end, this consistently witty account of demonic possession, hidden agendas and Ecclesiastical politics has taken us to some unexpected places and given us a glimpse of a larger story still, the “long game” that lies at the heart of all human history.
Cover illustration by Vincent Chong
Amalasomtha’s arrival sets in motion a chain of events encompassing murder, magic, deception, and an array of unintended consequences. By the story’s end, this consistently witty account of demonic possession, hidden agendas and Ecclesiastical politics has taken us to some unexpected places and given us a glimpse of a larger story still, the “long game” that lies at the heart of all human history.
Cover illustration by Vincent Chong
108 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2022
17 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
About the author
K.J. Parker
132 books1,710 followersK.J. Parker is a pseudonym for Tom Holt.
According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.
According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
December 18, 2022
“I considered the little voice. It wasn’t a demon, it was me. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference.”
I found this quite delightful, actually, with the undertones of Pratchett/Gaiman Good Omens and Tchaikovsky’s One Day All This Will Be Yours. A story of representatives of two competing factions - a demon and one of the unspecified “good guys” - getting tied up in what seems to be a strange conspiracy, needing to perhaps work together. With a bit of misanthropically sociopathic twist, but delightfully so.
“You see, for reasons I’m not authorised to disclose, I have a sort of a business relationship with the demon who was in your mind earlier today—”
“You’re defined by the side you’re on, and there are always sides.”
You are either going to love the tone of this book or be really turned off by it. I’m in the former group — the sorta-flippant, snarky and unbelievably self-absorbed narration by a very unlikable protagonist grew on me after a few pages, and then elicited quite a few chuckles even.
“Now we’ve got that over with,” I said, “tell me. Did you kill the prior or not?”
“That hurt.”
“The slow dripping noise is my heart bleeding. Did you or didn’t you?”
After the initial slightly perplexed chuckles this book made me ponder a bit on the nature of friendships and how transactionality can play into that. Then my tired brain fell asleep and any profound thoughts went “glonkkk” and what I was left with was the vague feeling that what can be considered valid basis for friendships is not always that straightforward, and good/bad division just depends on which side you’re viewing it from.
And sometimes we are just playing a reeeeaaaally long game.
Clever and fun, even if it leaves you pretty perplexed for at least half of the story.
Rounding up to 4 stars.
“Something I’ve noticed about people. The smarter they are, the dumber they can sometimes be. There’s something about great wisdom and learning that unlocks a person’s vast latent capacity for doing really stupid things, when the opportunity presents itself.”
—————
Buddy read with Carol and Stephen who did not love it as much as I had, and inspired by Jennifer, who did.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
December 27, 2022
Sadly, a miss.
A first person, unnamed and quite likely unreliable narrator has to finesse a situation with demon and a traveler from a possibly mythical land. Our narrator is both arrogant and mockingly self-depreciating, airily dismissive of things he doesn’t want to consider or share.
"And what you should really be asking yourself (but you haven’t, because I’ve deliberately distracted you with my meretricious narrative tricks) was someone like me doing in Sabades Amar in the first place?"
World-building is curious. There is sanctioned magic and unsanctioned/demonic magic, and the language used for the sanctioned type sounds similar to Western churches. The voice is so breezy, it’s hard to tell what is needful and what is extraneous. There are a few bits where I enjoyed the writing:
"He was going through his host’s memories, absorbing them as coherent narrative and excreting them as a dream"
I don’t particularly like deliberately tricky narratives, where the speaker is going out of their way to conceal information from the reader or obscure details. It violates the contract between the author and reader, so I think it needs to be done for a reason. Is it done with a reason here, is the question, and I think it is, but perhaps with malicious intention. I prefer an Oceans Eleven kind of sleight-of-hand.
“I felt as though he’d pulled off a mask, and his own face underneath was indistinguishable from it.”
Then there's the structure, careening back and forth in time with nary a page break or transition, and sometimes, using visual transitions where none are needed. Here's my attempt to reproduce, with breaks, a typical section:
“Ah well,” I said. “It wouldn’t do if we all thought the same. You’re Idalian.”
⊇⊆
(Which was, of course, impossible. Except—
Idalia, if it exists, which is not universally accepted, is eight thousand miles away. Liutprand of Gallen claimed to have reached it five hundred years ago, on his way to the Moon."
It was a triple trifecta of meh for me: unreliable and unlikable narrator, sloppy narrative style and an ultimately problematic theme. The ending was only mildly redemptive for me, and was so focused that it belied the slow and interruptive nature of the prior pages. This is one where your mileage will definitely vary.
Jennifer and Nataliya loved it, while Stephen was more measured; see their reviews for a discussion of the positives.
A first person, unnamed and quite likely unreliable narrator has to finesse a situation with demon and a traveler from a possibly mythical land. Our narrator is both arrogant and mockingly self-depreciating, airily dismissive of things he doesn’t want to consider or share.
"And what you should really be asking yourself (but you haven’t, because I’ve deliberately distracted you with my meretricious narrative tricks) was someone like me doing in Sabades Amar in the first place?"
World-building is curious. There is sanctioned magic and unsanctioned/demonic magic, and the language used for the sanctioned type sounds similar to Western churches. The voice is so breezy, it’s hard to tell what is needful and what is extraneous. There are a few bits where I enjoyed the writing:
"He was going through his host’s memories, absorbing them as coherent narrative and excreting them as a dream"
I don’t particularly like deliberately tricky narratives, where the speaker is going out of their way to conceal information from the reader or obscure details. It violates the contract between the author and reader, so I think it needs to be done for a reason. Is it done with a reason here, is the question, and I think it is, but perhaps with malicious intention. I prefer an Oceans Eleven kind of sleight-of-hand.
“I felt as though he’d pulled off a mask, and his own face underneath was indistinguishable from it.”
Then there's the structure, careening back and forth in time with nary a page break or transition, and sometimes, using visual transitions where none are needed. Here's my attempt to reproduce, with breaks, a typical section:
“Ah well,” I said. “It wouldn’t do if we all thought the same. You’re Idalian.”
⊇⊆
(Which was, of course, impossible. Except—
Idalia, if it exists, which is not universally accepted, is eight thousand miles away. Liutprand of Gallen claimed to have reached it five hundred years ago, on his way to the Moon."
It was a triple trifecta of meh for me: unreliable and unlikable narrator, sloppy narrative style and an ultimately problematic theme. The ending was only mildly redemptive for me, and was so focused that it belied the slow and interruptive nature of the prior pages. This is one where your mileage will definitely vary.
Jennifer and Nataliya loved it, while Stephen was more measured; see their reviews for a discussion of the positives.
March 25, 2022
Hmmm...this is a strange one. Full review to come.
December 3, 2022
Turns out I have a thing for campily sociopathic novellas. This one is acerbic, clever, and messy, reminding me variously of Good Omens, Murderbot (but unethical), and One Day All This Will Be Yours. Supernatural entities jumping in and out of human hosts, trying not to run afoul of bureaucracy, playing a long and twisty game...what's there not to like?
I don't currently have the brain space to write a real review, and I'd like to reread it before doing so (maybe January?), so I'm just going to leave an excerpt that perfectly captures the tone.
My first taste of K. J. Parker, and I'm definitely up for more.
I don't currently have the brain space to write a real review, and I'd like to reread it before doing so (maybe January?), so I'm just going to leave an excerpt that perfectly captures the tone.
I'd chosen the flower market because, in the midterm practicals, failure is acceptable under certain circumstances. One of them is being sent to find a demon but there aren't any demons about. Fair enough; everybody has a blank day sometimes, and as we know, there's only a couple of hundred thousand of the critters in all of Creation. Just now I chose my words with care; faint but distinctive. You have to be quite close to pick up the scent. If, all things considered, you feel it's not in your best interests to pick up a scent, there's no better place in the city than the flower market, which stinks to high heaven of flowers to the point where you can hardly breathe.
My first taste of K. J. Parker, and I'm definitely up for more.
April 10, 2022
4.5/5
K.J. Parker is a master of the novella format. He always delivers excellent twists and a great reading experience. In The Long Game, we follow an unnamed narrator as he grapples with supernatural and political challenges.
The narrator, an adept of the Craft, is able to enter the minds of others to expel interdimensional demons that compel them to do evil deeds. However, he's befriended one of the demons and they have a cordial, mutually beneficial relationship.
Things get complicated when he meets Amalasomtha, a young woman with impossible abilities who hails from remote (and believed mythical ) Idalia. Her superiors have tasked her with capturing a demon. As you'd expect from Parker, the truth is nuanced and political in nature. Expect murder, magic, deception, hidden agendas, and glimpses of a larger story, the titular Long Game.
As a massive fan of Parker's writing, I loved the condensed story full of vignettes and jumps in time (used to introduce characters or give us the context of the situation). Like many of Parker's narrators, this one is comically self-absorbed and morally flexible. He's not happy with his current circumstances (doing fieldwork) and would prefer to work as a researcher and a teacher.
His demonic friend is also weary of his superiors. The idiotic bureaucracy annoys them both, so they help each other and exchange false information to feed their superiors. Except, one of them is playing a longer game.
Parker packs The Long Game with action, twists, and betrayals. He also weaves in playful humor and a healthy dose of cynicism with a light, sure hand. I love the novella format, and The Long Game kept me riveted every second of the wild ride.
K.J. Parker is a master of the novella format. He always delivers excellent twists and a great reading experience. In The Long Game, we follow an unnamed narrator as he grapples with supernatural and political challenges.
The narrator, an adept of the Craft, is able to enter the minds of others to expel interdimensional demons that compel them to do evil deeds. However, he's befriended one of the demons and they have a cordial, mutually beneficial relationship.
Things get complicated when he meets Amalasomtha, a young woman with impossible abilities who hails from remote (and believed mythical ) Idalia. Her superiors have tasked her with capturing a demon. As you'd expect from Parker, the truth is nuanced and political in nature. Expect murder, magic, deception, hidden agendas, and glimpses of a larger story, the titular Long Game.
As a massive fan of Parker's writing, I loved the condensed story full of vignettes and jumps in time (used to introduce characters or give us the context of the situation). Like many of Parker's narrators, this one is comically self-absorbed and morally flexible. He's not happy with his current circumstances (doing fieldwork) and would prefer to work as a researcher and a teacher.
His demonic friend is also weary of his superiors. The idiotic bureaucracy annoys them both, so they help each other and exchange false information to feed their superiors. Except, one of them is playing a longer game.
Parker packs The Long Game with action, twists, and betrayals. He also weaves in playful humor and a healthy dose of cynicism with a light, sure hand. I love the novella format, and The Long Game kept me riveted every second of the wild ride.
May 10, 2022
A delightful novella by KJ Parker - about demons and exorcists! Typical fare from the author, jumping quickly between wry humour, murder and observations on Good and Evil.
It’s linked to a couple of recent novellas with a related storyline (e.g. Prosper's Demon) but is a stand-alone and doesn’t rely on any world building in the other stories. It tells the story, via first person narration, of a travelling medieval priest/exorcist and his relationship with a demon who he often comes across in his exorcisms!
It does, I guess, pursue a similar theme to that in his other novellas, maybe even many of his stories, that what we call Good and Evil are often interdependent, that things are ‘greyer’ than people believe. In this story characters we would normally consider to be opposed on ethical grounds find themselves with a common cause.
Being a novella the story doesn’t get too complex and maybe the very ending seemed just a little too trite but for much of the story I had that tingle of delight in my spine that I often get from reading this author.
It’s interesting that KJ Parker’s longer fantasy books and series almost never have any magical aspects, perhaps being closer to alternative historical fiction. But his novellas often do have some supernatural side to them, as here. Roll on the next imaginative story, please…
It’s linked to a couple of recent novellas with a related storyline (e.g. Prosper's Demon) but is a stand-alone and doesn’t rely on any world building in the other stories. It tells the story, via first person narration, of a travelling medieval priest/exorcist and his relationship with a demon who he often comes across in his exorcisms!
It does, I guess, pursue a similar theme to that in his other novellas, maybe even many of his stories, that what we call Good and Evil are often interdependent, that things are ‘greyer’ than people believe. In this story characters we would normally consider to be opposed on ethical grounds find themselves with a common cause.
Being a novella the story doesn’t get too complex and maybe the very ending seemed just a little too trite but for much of the story I had that tingle of delight in my spine that I often get from reading this author.
It’s interesting that KJ Parker’s longer fantasy books and series almost never have any magical aspects, perhaps being closer to alternative historical fiction. But his novellas often do have some supernatural side to them, as here. Roll on the next imaginative story, please…
March 9, 2022
Taut, cynical novella about ambition, evil, good, friendship, idealism, corruption, and what happens when you mix all of those together in the person of an world-weary, misanthropic, arch cleric and demon hunter. I'm not sure if Parker was trying to give a parable about the dangers of associating with the enemy or preaching that the conflict between ideals and friendship is impossible to avoid. Either way, this was a fun read, typical of his novellas.
**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 26, 2023
When all else falls, use your intelligence
K J Parker occupies a special place in my speculative fiction Hall of Fame. He earned it with his ability to combine black humor, sarcastic first person delivery and extremely smart and twisted plots that always boil down to some moral and ethical dilemmas. His books are not satisfied to take me for a wild ride: they always strive to make me think about actions, consequences and responsibilities.
Craftsmanship and practical ruthlessness can also be found in almost every story penned under this nom de guerre for Tom Holt.
The Long Game can be described as a typical Parker novella: an irreverent, clever narrator who plays a game with the reader, disguising the direction and the goal of the journey in order to provide some delayed gratification when all the sleighs of hand are revealed.
... because I’ve deliberately distracted you with my meretricious narrative tricks
>>><<<>>><<<
An alternative title could be The Exorcist and the Mystery Lady
The exorcist is telling the story of how he came across a young lady in a small town in the middle of nowhere: a pretty picture of beauty and tranquility as she reads a book in the sunny courtyard of a local inn. He just wants to have a little polite conversation, right?
Except ...
Here’s some excellent advice for you. If you’re going to make a horrible mess, don’t do it in Sabades Amar. It’s too small and too far from anywhere.
How we get from Hello to horrible mess in under 100 pages is part of the inimitable charm of the author. I should probably be a little more explicit.
The narrator doesn’t offer us his name, but he explains in detail about his job as a sort of special investigator of paranormal activities for the ecclesiastical authorities. He is trained as an Adept, able to sniff out the demons who infiltrate his word in order to possess and control their human victims.
Adepts have what is known as the Knack: the ability to also enter the minds of infected humans and to battle the demons in that virtual space, using powerful and spectacular spells. This makes them pretty cocksure and arrogant with the talent-less part of the population. It doesn’t usually lead to troubles, but there are always exceptions to the rules.
Fact; women can’t be adepts. They’re physically incapable of harbouring the Knack, just as men can’t give birth to babies.
Except (there’s always an Except); that’s not actually true. A tiny, tiny proportion of women have the Knack.
The narrator becomes painfully aware that the pretty lady with the book can dish out the magics as well, if not better than himself. Which probably means a more subtle approach is needed, the one alluded to in my opening quote.
People say a lot of weird stuff. And just because it’s in a book, it ain’t necessarily so.
Apparently, the lady comes from Idalia, a land so distant that it is considered mythical and all sort of weird claims are made about the place and the inhabitants by authors who never visited Idalia. She is on a secret mission of her own, on a quest to find a solution for the perennial wars that are destroying her homeland.
The adepts are, needless to say, all thoroughly enlightened philosopher-kings and queens whose only interest is pure science and the pursuit of truth and beauty, but very occasionally a difference of opinion arises over some fine point of aesthetics or academic protocol, and then all hell breaks loose.
Which brings me to one of the core concepts in the opus of K J Parker: there’s always a war, a confrontation between barbarians and civilization. And there’s always somebody who is super smart, who invents a new way to wage war or a new way to manufacture weapons that may win in the short term but will always produce unexpected and undesirable long term complications.
After all, a weapon’s just a tool put to a particular use.
I am making general comments here in order to keep the dynamic of the duel between the Adept and the Lady free of spoilers. Trust me for now, it will be a wild ride and our super smart and super talented narrator will have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate to us the axiom of diminishing returns in brain power:
Something I’ve noticed about people. The smarter they are, the dumber they can sometimes be. There’s something about great wisdom and learning that unlocks a person’s vast latent capacity for doing really stupid things, when the opportunity presents itself.
>>><<<>>><<<
After all the mishaps and the misunderstandings and the lessons in demon hunting, the story will eventually unveil the morality play, the hidden motivator for the events unfolding in Sabades Amar.
In a world divided between day and night, land and sea, living and dead, human and animal, all the countless binary distinctions by which we make sense out of chaos, it’s inevitable.
You’re defined by the side you’re on, and there are always sides.
Morals and ethics come and go, fluid and mutable as the whims of dressmakers and milliners.
Except ...
... the are always exceptions and, as our Adept admits at one point people make friends in the most surprising places . The heart works in mysterious ways and the brain is not always quick to follow up on all the implications of these alliances. Which may put you in an embarrassing position with these unlikely friends when your priorities shift
While I’m beating the metaphorical crap out of my friend, let’s pause for a moment and consider the concept of greater love.
Hoping that these few teasers and imprecise reveals have wetted your appetite for a trip to Sabades Amar, where the fate of the world might just as well be decided, I am closing now with one last observation about the stories of K J Parker: they all take place in a shared universe, and I find it truly rewarding to see his imaginary world expanding to new territories and new concepts – the author’s own version of the Long Game.
We think of something clever, but you stop us, so we go back and reshape it into part of a longer game.
December 13, 2022
Addendum, and a bit of rebuttal to my first thoughts:
Thinking on this story some more, the key question to consider is who really is the evil one? The narrator is adamant that the demons are evil. But are they? We only have his word they are.
Thinking about it this way Parker was more clever than I gave him credit for. Upping my rating to a stretch 3 on this basis. The writing though - still not great IMO. I still believe it's a 50 page story stretched to 100.
-----------
Original review:
Can’t say this did much for me.
On the plus side: The demon is fun.
The minus: The narrator is an unlikeable ass. There is little world building. What there is is tired and done before. I figured out exactly how it was going to end - also done before and better - mid way through. Most annoying for me - there's a lot of stupidly nonsensical narrative that should have been excised long before publication.
On my buy, borrow, skip - skip. You have better things to do with your time.
Thinking on this story some more, the key question to consider is who really is the evil one? The narrator is adamant that the demons are evil. But are they? We only have his word they are.
Thinking about it this way Parker was more clever than I gave him credit for. Upping my rating to a stretch 3 on this basis. The writing though - still not great IMO. I still believe it's a 50 page story stretched to 100.
-----------
Original review:
Can’t say this did much for me.
On the plus side: The demon is fun.
The minus: The narrator is an unlikeable ass. There is little world building. What there is is tired and done before. I figured out exactly how it was going to end - also done before and better - mid way through. Most annoying for me - there's a lot of stupidly nonsensical narrative that should have been excised long before publication.
- We’re told by the narrator that demons smell terrible. Smell is how even the wimpiest good guys can spot someone inhabited by a demon. The narrator agrees to let a demon help him cheat on his test to become an adept. The demon possesses his accomplished tutor to steal the test questions and then the narrator to supply answers during the test. Yet the tutor and room full of students never sense the demon? Do demons only smell when they want too?My first by Parker. If this is representative of his writing, it will be my last. A 100 page story that could have been accomplished in 50 to better effect. I considered DNF’ing it all the way to the last 20 pages. Only kept with it because I was buddy-reading it with friends,
- The narrator and mystery lady are in an abandoned tannery. Bit of a squabble. She opens a “ravine” under the narrator and he falls in. A ravine? Not just a deep hole? A ravine which implies scale in all directions? And no one in the we’re told small town notices what must have caused an earthquake?
- the whole murdered prior bit was a waste of ink/pixels that added nothing to the story.
-
On my buy, borrow, skip - skip. You have better things to do with your time.
December 12, 2022
Our unnamed exorcist narrator may not be as good at his job as he would have us believe. Heh. I think this might be the most fun of the exorcist/bureaucracy [damn that's hard to spell] stories.
September 26, 2022
4.25. I have no idea what I just read but I do know it was brilliant.
November 11, 2021
Another splendid KJ Parker short novel, characterized by droll wit and intelligence. Many familiar elements abound: a flawed narrator; personable demons; and, convoluted plot twists. The book stands alone and drives to an effective conclusion using elegant but accessible language and perfect pacing. Parker (aka Tom Holt) is a great writer and Subterranean Press does a wonderful service publishing his work.
December 12, 2022
Good to see my ol’ favourite is as keen as ever. 4.5⭐️
March 20, 2022
In Long Game, the narrator is a field agent for an ecclesiastical order responsible for exorcising demons and maintaining the fight against Evil. In the course of his career, he has developed a friendship with someone from the other side and occasionally visits him so they can provide each other gossip and definitely tell each other the truth about everything. But when a mysterious young woman ends up crashing their latest meeting, the narrator gets dragged into a muddy situation involving a possibly mythical country, a murder and a deal with demons.
My only experience with K.J. Parker prior to this was some of the stories in the anthology Academic Exercises, which gave me an intro to Parker's cynical, sly humor and tendency to mix philosophy and theology with fantasy elements. The Long Game was exactly what I expected and more from Parker.
I love his snide cleverness even as I get why it isn't everyone's cup of tea. The narration in this story is fairly chaotic and jumps frequently between present events and past meetings between the narrator and his friend. The narrator is honestly not a terribly wonderful person but the appeal is similar to Glokta from First Law. You don't enjoy them because they're good people, but because they're interesting.
I haven't read much Parker so I don't have strong comparisons here, but if you enjoy very cynical, very dry humor and grumbly protagonists who think they're quite clever, this is an enjoyable read. I will certainly be picking up more from Parker in the future.
My only experience with K.J. Parker prior to this was some of the stories in the anthology Academic Exercises, which gave me an intro to Parker's cynical, sly humor and tendency to mix philosophy and theology with fantasy elements. The Long Game was exactly what I expected and more from Parker.
I love his snide cleverness even as I get why it isn't everyone's cup of tea. The narration in this story is fairly chaotic and jumps frequently between present events and past meetings between the narrator and his friend. The narrator is honestly not a terribly wonderful person but the appeal is similar to Glokta from First Law. You don't enjoy them because they're good people, but because they're interesting.
I haven't read much Parker so I don't have strong comparisons here, but if you enjoy very cynical, very dry humor and grumbly protagonists who think they're quite clever, this is an enjoyable read. I will certainly be picking up more from Parker in the future.
November 12, 2021
thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this e-arc!
this is only my second KJ Parker work I've read, but I already know he's becoming one of my favorite authors. the way he forms his stories and includes both serious philosophical discussions and humorous dialogue is such a skill, and both balance each other perfectly.
the idea of the long game, constantly doing your part in the world because that's just what you're meant to do, and no matter the outcome you still trudge on. it's a very interesting way of thinking. this book will definitely be stuck in my mind for a while
this is only my second KJ Parker work I've read, but I already know he's becoming one of my favorite authors. the way he forms his stories and includes both serious philosophical discussions and humorous dialogue is such a skill, and both balance each other perfectly.
the idea of the long game, constantly doing your part in the world because that's just what you're meant to do, and no matter the outcome you still trudge on. it's a very interesting way of thinking. this book will definitely be stuck in my mind for a while
January 22, 2022
This is my first book by this author and it wasn’t even on my radar until I saw it on netgalley. I just thought the premise looked interesting and wanted to give it a try.
I’m not sure I knew what was happening here for quite a while after I started reading. The writing style of the unnamed narrator talking to us was unique; the tone of the writing was quite humorous but it also felt like the author was trying too hard sometimes or being a bit condescending. There was also too much infordumping happening and I couldn’t grasp a lot of the information because it’s too short of a novella to understand everything.
What I did end up liking was the kind of friendship that had developed between the narrator and the demon over the years and how they both keep trying to help each other but put up a pretense that they are reluctant to do so. I also thought the whole discussion about “The Long Game” was fascinating - how is a war between good and evil, even if there are no true winners and losers, everyone is obligated to keep the fight going because that’s how it’s supposed to be. I feel like I’m not explaining it well but it was a cool discussion towards the end of the book and that’s what made me close this novella with not too much of a disappointment.
In conclusion, I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but it just wasn’t my kind of story or narration. Maybe if you’ve read the author’s previous works and liked the style, or just enjoy flippant and tongue-in-cheek kind of writing, this might be your cup of tea. So while I did end up feeling ok about it and it left me thinking a bit, there were also a couple of moments where I felt uncomfortable and I’m not sure how to articulate that. Overall, it just wasn’t for me and I probably won’t find it too memorable.
I’m not sure I knew what was happening here for quite a while after I started reading. The writing style of the unnamed narrator talking to us was unique; the tone of the writing was quite humorous but it also felt like the author was trying too hard sometimes or being a bit condescending. There was also too much infordumping happening and I couldn’t grasp a lot of the information because it’s too short of a novella to understand everything.
What I did end up liking was the kind of friendship that had developed between the narrator and the demon over the years and how they both keep trying to help each other but put up a pretense that they are reluctant to do so. I also thought the whole discussion about “The Long Game” was fascinating - how is a war between good and evil, even if there are no true winners and losers, everyone is obligated to keep the fight going because that’s how it’s supposed to be. I feel like I’m not explaining it well but it was a cool discussion towards the end of the book and that’s what made me close this novella with not too much of a disappointment.
In conclusion, I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but it just wasn’t my kind of story or narration. Maybe if you’ve read the author’s previous works and liked the style, or just enjoy flippant and tongue-in-cheek kind of writing, this might be your cup of tea. So while I did end up feeling ok about it and it left me thinking a bit, there were also a couple of moments where I felt uncomfortable and I’m not sure how to articulate that. Overall, it just wasn’t for me and I probably won’t find it too memorable.
August 16, 2022
Color me disappointed. This felt like an earlier, reworked draft of Prosper's Demon. The writing and concept are very similar. The world is the same. I thought Inside Man and Prosper's Demon were brilliant and original. This one didn't live up to them and added nothing new.
The main character is very unlikable and rather misogynistic. He calls a female character a bitch and a lunatic. I'm starting to wonder what K. J. Parker is like in real life. His characters tend to be self-centered, antisocial, and grumbly. Inside Man had a joke about pronouns that skirted neatly between "he is grumbling about pc culture" and "plausible deniability." I've been reading and believing the best, but at this point I'm stepping off my "K. J. Parker is a brilliant, underrated author!" soap box.
In sum, this was an ok story with ok writing, a problematic main character, and concepts that felt recycled from the author's earlier work.
The main character is very unlikable and rather misogynistic. He calls a female character a bitch and a lunatic. I'm starting to wonder what K. J. Parker is like in real life. His characters tend to be self-centered, antisocial, and grumbly. Inside Man had a joke about pronouns that skirted neatly between "he is grumbling about pc culture" and "plausible deniability." I've been reading and believing the best, but at this point I'm stepping off my "K. J. Parker is a brilliant, underrated author!" soap box.
In sum, this was an ok story with ok writing, a problematic main character, and concepts that felt recycled from the author's earlier work.
April 24, 2022
I have read KJ Parker’s first two demon books, and this is the third set in the same world. Even as the third, this one felt like it was written earlier as it has a weaker voice and plot than the earlier two. It feels unfinished. Part may be that the point of view is not the demons who are a lot more fun, but everything is just laid out at the end without the MC figuring much of anything out for himself. I probably won’t continue with KJ Parker’s demons but do recommend the first one for anyone who has not read it. All in all, it read as an earlier or recycled draft of his own work without any of the charming or fun snarky moments.
December 5, 2022
This is part of the Demons and Priests (aka Magicians) series of novellas and short stories and while it gets to the usual mumbo-jumbo of the "long game" (the title obviously refers to that concept which we are familiar from a bunch of other similar stories) and that frankly always leaves me cold, the in-between action has a lot of cool twists and the usual irony of the author.
While not quite on par with the best of the short novels (see Purple and Black, the more recent Mightier than the Sword and the upcoming Relics in the author's new 2023 collection for the gold standard of 100 odd pages KJ Parker short novels), The Long game is still very entertaining and definitely recommended
While not quite on par with the best of the short novels (see Purple and Black, the more recent Mightier than the Sword and the upcoming Relics in the author's new 2023 collection for the gold standard of 100 odd pages KJ Parker short novels), The Long game is still very entertaining and definitely recommended
March 30, 2022
I'm coming to love K.J. Parker and his writing. But I'm afraid this novella just wasn't it *for me*. I fell in love with his work reading Purple & Black as well as Blue & Gold and will be starting one of his novels soon. Parker (so far from what I read) is always unpredictable and which is one reason I love his work so much. I love me a good twist!
I felt a bit lost while reading this novella and even though I know the ending, I think it would make for a good re-read watching the story unfold. I encourage all Parker fans to give this a try even though I didn't find this to be for me.
I felt a bit lost while reading this novella and even though I know the ending, I think it would make for a good re-read watching the story unfold. I encourage all Parker fans to give this a try even though I didn't find this to be for me.
March 29, 2022
3.5 stars, a fun if sometimes a bit too twisty novella
KJ Parker has long been one of fantasy's best novella writers and it's evident why even in The Long Game, one of his weaker entries. The Long Game is the story of an unnamed mage adept trying to figure out why a mysterious woman with unfathomable powers is ransacking his house. The narrative voice is strong, the pacing sprightly, and the the characters full of personality.
It's easy to get sucked into the story of The Long Game even though relatively little happens and the actual importance of the story is deliberately made unclear by the end. This book touts itself as being a return to Parker's comedic writing which is, I think, perhaps the wrong thing to champion in this book. While I don't think it's an unfunny book, the humor is more quirky than funny. You're more likely to knowingly smirk at a line than chuckle at it.
The only real weakness here though is that the story has several twists which start to pile up on top of each other and don't always feel like they impact the story beyond being a twist for the sake of it. I'd estimate about half of these twists could probably be dropped without affecting the overall story though I do wonder if that would also impact the pacing. However, I think the pacing would have still been fine if it was a bit slower and I'm not a big fan of needless twists so I ultimately docked the novella half a star for that aspect.
If you're a fan of Parker, then this novella is well worth a read. It is quite fun and has some interesting little ideas even if it does like tweaking the reader's nose a bit too much with a few unneeded twists. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novella for review.
KJ Parker has long been one of fantasy's best novella writers and it's evident why even in The Long Game, one of his weaker entries. The Long Game is the story of an unnamed mage adept trying to figure out why a mysterious woman with unfathomable powers is ransacking his house. The narrative voice is strong, the pacing sprightly, and the the characters full of personality.
It's easy to get sucked into the story of The Long Game even though relatively little happens and the actual importance of the story is deliberately made unclear by the end. This book touts itself as being a return to Parker's comedic writing which is, I think, perhaps the wrong thing to champion in this book. While I don't think it's an unfunny book, the humor is more quirky than funny. You're more likely to knowingly smirk at a line than chuckle at it.
The only real weakness here though is that the story has several twists which start to pile up on top of each other and don't always feel like they impact the story beyond being a twist for the sake of it. I'd estimate about half of these twists could probably be dropped without affecting the overall story though I do wonder if that would also impact the pacing. However, I think the pacing would have still been fine if it was a bit slower and I'm not a big fan of needless twists so I ultimately docked the novella half a star for that aspect.
If you're a fan of Parker, then this novella is well worth a read. It is quite fun and has some interesting little ideas even if it does like tweaking the reader's nose a bit too much with a few unneeded twists. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novella for review.
May 14, 2022
The Long Game is Parker’s eleventh novella since 2009. With 20 novels and two short story collections, Parker's output is high quality and consistent. In the Long Game, we follow an unnamed narrator as he grapples with supernatural and political challenges.
The narrator, an adept of the Craft, can enter the minds of others to expel demons that compel them to do evil deeds. However, he's befriended one of the demons and they have a cordial, mutually beneficial relationship.
As usual, The Long Game displays Parker’s great storytelling combined with his wry humour. It is a well-paced story that is engaging with a few plot surprises. The major theme explored is observations between Good and Evil. He also discusses philosophical issues balanced with sharp wit and sharper dialogue.
As always, whether Parker writes long or short stories or in between stories, they are charming, with engaging characters, playful, and full of twists.
As a Parker fanboy, I highly recommend ANY Parker book.
The narrator, an adept of the Craft, can enter the minds of others to expel demons that compel them to do evil deeds. However, he's befriended one of the demons and they have a cordial, mutually beneficial relationship.
As usual, The Long Game displays Parker’s great storytelling combined with his wry humour. It is a well-paced story that is engaging with a few plot surprises. The major theme explored is observations between Good and Evil. He also discusses philosophical issues balanced with sharp wit and sharper dialogue.
As always, whether Parker writes long or short stories or in between stories, they are charming, with engaging characters, playful, and full of twists.
As a Parker fanboy, I highly recommend ANY Parker book.
April 25, 2023
3.5 stars
This is my first time reading K.J. Parker and it certainly won't be the last.
The writing style took a while to get used to - I loved it but sometimes it was hard to figure out what was the "Present Time" and what were the "Flashbacks", especially in the beginning, and at some point the usage of present tense and past tense on a page clashed for me in a confusing "Do I not know English?" manner.
It certainly made me look up a few words/terms, so here's that. It feels intellectual, and I wouldn't say it's a good inspiring type of intellectual, but at least it's more of a "pretentious" type which can be very hard to get into, rather than "on the nose" intellectual like Babel (I'd rather read pretentious than on the nose, although I think both are cringe).
This is my first time reading K.J. Parker and it certainly won't be the last.
The writing style took a while to get used to - I loved it but sometimes it was hard to figure out what was the "Present Time" and what were the "Flashbacks", especially in the beginning, and at some point the usage of present tense and past tense on a page clashed for me in a confusing "Do I not know English?" manner.
It certainly made me look up a few words/terms, so here's that. It feels intellectual, and I wouldn't say it's a good inspiring type of intellectual, but at least it's more of a "pretentious" type which can be very hard to get into, rather than "on the nose" intellectual like Babel (I'd rather read pretentious than on the nose, although I think both are cringe).
December 17, 2021
There’s a lot of humor in this short little fantasy piece about an unnamed magical cleric (?) and the demon he’s sworn to fight, but considers a friend. I liked the pacing and the dialogue a lot. The cover - not so much - it reminds me a lot of The Royal Diaries series that I read in middle school, like Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595.
I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and Subterranean Press in exchange for an honest review.
I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and Subterranean Press in exchange for an honest review.
February 24, 2022
The Long Game by K J Parker-Another tale told by an unreliable and unnamed narrator about his dubious heroic feats and exploits. He can look into peoples minds and exorcise any demons, but also has a demon acquaintance on the side. It's the usual snarky, entertaining mix of adventure and intrigue with Parker's usual twists and turns. I found it enjoyable and also much the same as the last three books, but if you're a fan it's a must have.
December 23, 2022
A short story about a demon-hunting priest who is so-so at his job, and has a demon as a friend. A woman from another land shows up looking for a demon to take home, of course that demon is his friend. One of a number of books the author has written dealing with a moral dilemma.
April 29, 2022
Never ever would I have believed that K.J. Parker could write something that I would give only two stars. But here we are.
This is a pseudo-sequel to Prosper's Demon, with a touch of Two of Swords, tied together in a way that I just couldn't get that interested in it. I'm used to there being that "Oh." moment at the end of his books that makes me realize how he's toyed with me, but here the ending just seemed to trickle off, with no real conclusion.
I should have known this would be a mediocre read when it took me multiple days to finish it....
This is a pseudo-sequel to Prosper's Demon, with a touch of Two of Swords, tied together in a way that I just couldn't get that interested in it. I'm used to there being that "Oh." moment at the end of his books that makes me realize how he's toyed with me, but here the ending just seemed to trickle off, with no real conclusion.
I should have known this would be a mediocre read when it took me multiple days to finish it....
February 9, 2022
We follow an unnamed narrator that belongs to an order tasked with opposing a race of demons that are capable of possessing people. However, he seems to have a cordial relationship with one of the demons. When he meets Amalasomtha, his life is thrown in disarray.
In the beginning, I could not understand what was going on. We are thrown in the middle of the world without any explanation of the world nor of the magic. So, I was really confused in the beginning. However, Parker is able to build the world enough without clarifying it through the narrative by the way the characters interact and we are able to grasp how the magic works as it is happening. It is a prime example for showing and not telling. So, even though the beginning is confusing, I felt I was able to catch up.
I really enjoyed the humor and the wittiness of the narrator specially when it comes to his relationship with the demon. And I loved the plot overall, where it started and how it ended and what the title of the book means, hinting at the war between good and evil with neither side ever winning nor losing but everyone playing their parts because they have to. I really liked how the story feels like a chess game and I felt the story really fit the novella format.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
PS. I imagined the demon as Luci from Disenchantment and that made it really fun for me.
In the beginning, I could not understand what was going on. We are thrown in the middle of the world without any explanation of the world nor of the magic. So, I was really confused in the beginning. However, Parker is able to build the world enough without clarifying it through the narrative by the way the characters interact and we are able to grasp how the magic works as it is happening. It is a prime example for showing and not telling. So, even though the beginning is confusing, I felt I was able to catch up.
I really enjoyed the humor and the wittiness of the narrator specially when it comes to his relationship with the demon. And I loved the plot overall, where it started and how it ended and what the title of the book means, hinting at the war between good and evil with neither side ever winning nor losing but everyone playing their parts because they have to. I really liked how the story feels like a chess game and I felt the story really fit the novella format.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
PS. I imagined the demon as Luci from Disenchantment and that made it really fun for me.
April 1, 2022
K. J. Parker does it again! He takes an unnamed Adept in an ecclesiastical order (think something on the order of the Jesuits) who are tasked with controlling "demons" that are infesting people. The Long Game is set in the same world as Prosper's Demon and Inside Man. The adept is just traveling through a small town when he gets involved in solving why a murder takes place Of course there is a demon involved, an old acquaintance of the adept's, a strange lady, temptation, and a very complicated "long game" being run by the demons. The fun of a Parker book is the character interactions and the devious ways the author makes the reader consider what they would do. Another fun read!
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title!
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title!
December 31, 2021
I keep coming back to this series by this writer because it's just so well done. There isn't much else to say about it. The idea that good versus evil is a long game that neither side wins but neither side loses is at the core of this story. You could look at what the writer has done with the other books and see how he keeps building on what came before it. But here's the trick, each story is a stand alone story that loosely connects to the previous stories. That way a new reader does not have to know everything that came before it. For those who have read the other stories this just adds to the enjoyment of the series. It's a win-win situation for everyone.
I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book.
I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book.
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