The Traitor's Game

The Traitor’s Game is what you would expect from a Jennifer A. Nielsen book: lots of plot twists and changing alliances.  If you haven’t read her other works, she’s also written The Mark of the Thief trilogy (see blog post here), The False Prince trilogy, and A Night Divided (see blog post here). 

This one is set in a fictional country of Antora where a tyrannical Lord Endrick has taken control.  With the help of the Dominion, he’s wiped out the rest of his Endrean people and stolen their magic so he’s practically immortal.  Or is he?  The Coracks and the Halderians (two rebel groups trying to fight Lord Endrick) believe there is a dagger that holds magic that can kill Lord Endrick, the Olden Blade.  Enter Kestra.  Her father is Lord Endrick’s right-hand man and a part of the most powerful family in the country, and she may be the only one who knows where the blade is hiding.  So, the Coracks blackmail her into helping them find the blade.  In the middle of all the politics, there is also a tension between Kestra and one of her captors, Simon, who used to be her childhood friend.  A romantic entanglement is the last thing Kestra wants (or needs) if she’s going to get through this scenario alive.

I’m still on the fence about how this series will go.  I felt like there was a lot going on with all the different groups vying for power.  It was hard at times to keep track of all of them and who was mad at whom.  For example, the Coracks were the ones who planned Kestra’s kidnapping and blackmail, but on their way back to her home, they are also raided by the Halderians who may happen to have a mole in the Corack operation.  Crazy, right?  Then she also decided to throw magic in the mix, too?  It seems like a fantasy hodgepodge.

I do have to give kudos to the main character, Kestra.  She’s a multifaceted character with many layers.  She can defend herself (and does multiple times by stealing knives off soldiers or disabling them with defense moves) and she’s a pro at compartmentalizing her priorities (which is good because between an arranged marriage, Simon’s obvious feelings for her, and figuring out who she can trust with her darkest secrets, she has her brain full).  I can’t wait to see how she gets herself out of her tangled situation (don’t worry, this is the first of a trilogy).

Was I in love with it?  Not really.  Will I read the sequels when they come out?  Definitely.  

*This book just came out at the end of February, so check it out now!