Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up Log in. Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Video Audio icon An illustration of an audio speaker. Audio Software icon An illustration of a 3.
Software Images icon An illustration of two photographs. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. Master of the game Item Preview. EMBED for wordpress. Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published by Harper Collins Publisher first published August More Details Original Title.
Peter Templeton Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Master of the Game , please sign up. I've got a question that popped into my head after reading the novel. Kate Blackwell - a lady who was ambitious, diplomatic, got everything she wanted, never backed down , manipulative, and she was a dark character.
Sneha i believe that the inner urge to power and control that she possess.. Christina Thomas oh definitely! See all 9 questions about Master of the Game…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Master of the Game. I know what you're thinking. You have lost all credibility now that you've included pseudo-romance novels on your goodreads list!
Sidney Sheldon is a surprisingly talented writer, and the plot twists are many and dramatic. You might throw your copy against a wall in frustration over a character's actions. You will definitely lose sleep when you obses I know what you're thinking.
You will definitely lose sleep when you obsessively stay up all night reading "just one more chapter A definite beach book, but not so trashy that you'd feel guilty reading it in public. In fact, you might even read it more than once. I have recommended Master of The Game to all kinds of readers and everyone has adored it. Even macho guys. Even snobby scholars. Even so-called nonreaders who never venture further than Us Weekly. I was finally able to wean my grandma off Lavyrle Spencer with this.
A hipster friend braved ridicule at Skylight books so she could buy her own copy because of course I demanded mine back. My sister bought the German translation because she misses it while living in Europe. Ok, so maybe this isn't exactly on par with Salinger. But if the definition of a good book is one you love reading, this comes pretty close. View all 12 comments. May 25, Nazia rated it it was amazing Shelves: suspense-thrill-mystery , favorites , most-favourite-of-em-all.
Too good for words. I have never in my life read such kind of book. I don't have any idea how in living hell am I gonna review this book because I don't think I am capable enough or good enough with words to describe what I went through while reading it or what I am feeling after completing it. This book is truely entertaining and it's a kind of book which you get to read once in 10 years. It's a saga of a billionare family including it's 5 generations.
The Blackwell family is a hideous f amily who are the richest in the world and is full of dark secrets,murders,thefts. Evey member of this family has it's own story and every member has it's own secret to share. The characters were both ambitious and desperate to get what they wanted. Nothing seemed like a limit in this book,nothing seemed wrong,whether it was Jamie using someone for revenge or Kate sleeping with someone for the sake of business or Evie killing someone for money.
Every character wanted,needed money,power and control. The way book started with Jamie Mcgregor's quest in searching diamonds in Africa,the way he overcame every obstacle in his path was just brilliantly written. I was out of mind in my attempt to complete this book. The characters were toooooo awesome,specially the characters of George Mellis and Evie just blew my mind.
Normally books have good storyline with pinch of romance,drama and suspense perhaps but this book is just one of it's kind.
A book with everything,it was an overwhelming experience reading this book. View all 11 comments. View 2 comments. If you want to win, you have to learn to be a master of the game. Not only it's unputdownable but also unpredictable book. What can I say? The writing style is superb! Every chapter does not end with the cliff-hanger, but it end with the twist.
The story is very well-planed. Master of the Game told the story of the Mcgregor , the Diamond-trading family. From the poor to very wealthy and powerful family of the world. You guys will gone through sine the father generation Jamie Mcgregor till his daughter Kate Mcgregor who is the lead of this book Wanna know abt the MC?
Kate Mcgregor is such a character I hate and love. Her greedy ambition for power made her cruel in my eyes, but this lady is also intelligent that made me applaud for her out loud! She is the master of her life, her game.
She manipulate people's life, her family, and even her beloved ones. But that's it, I did enjoy to read about her.
She is such a strong powerful bussiness woman I want to be. View all 17 comments. Jun 22, Jokoloyo rated it liked it. By reading this novel, I understood what is a page-turner. This soap opera style story is not my thing, but I managed to finish the novel pretty quick. I read this novel in my younger days and I don't dare to read this book nowadays.
It is one of the I-would-like-this-book-better-at-my-younger-age book with the standard television drama show plots. This book was a good novel and I could still remember the main plot. I was charmed by the storytelling for a reader without any reading preference yet By reading this novel, I understood what is a page-turner. I was charmed by the storytelling for a reader without any reading preference yet. View 1 comment. This was my first Sheldon novel when I was still in the idea that he was a she.
I'm still perplexed as to whether put this as a book which I love to hate or hate to love. I was wildly cheering for Jamie all though his doomed-to-fail crazy plan to steal the Van der Merve diamonds with Banda. And then he did a total degree on Margaret and became an misdirectedly cruel and vengeful sadist. It was similar with Kate. I liked her when she risked everything for her friendship with Banda. But al Erm.. But all along, she was calculative and manipulative. Poor Tony, her son, falling victim to her deliberate ruses.
And I refuse to consider the evil spawn Eve, no matter how ingenious she was.. Guess what I'm trying to say is that I got so swept away with the story and that's what makes it a 4 star read. Even though it's a book that I hate-love-whatever! View all 6 comments. Feb 12, Angie B rated it it was amazing. I first read this book when I was 12 years old; I had nothing to read one Friday night, so borrowed this from my Mum's bookshelf, without asking her.
I started reading and from the prologue onwards I was completely hooked! I huddled under my duvet, with a torch, unable to put it down and had finished it by Sunday.
I was completely mesmorised by the sheer scope of the material; the locations, the exciting adventures of Jamie and Banda and their tentative yet heartfelt friendship. I felt sorry for I first read this book when I was 12 years old; I had nothing to read one Friday night, so borrowed this from my Mum's bookshelf, without asking her. I felt sorry for Margaret, punished because of her father's mistakes and felt sad when little Jamie died because of his father's mistakes.
I loved the way Kate carried on her father's legacy and managed to make it in a man's world. Yet I hated how she manipulated her own son because he wanted to do something different with his life.
The only characters I didn't really like were the twins. Eve, a typical bitch and Alex, a typical doormat. I didn't feel they were as interesting as their predecessors. Of course the romance scenes were also a little lost on me, at the time, but on the whole I totally loved this book and I heartily recommend it. It started me reading adult books, as 'Sweet Valley High' never had the same appeal after this.
I've read it many times since and it never loses its appeal and the story always feels fresh. The mini-series is also surprisingly faithful to the story, as many are not, so I'd recommend that too once you've read the book. View all 4 comments. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Everyone asks what your favorite book is, but now if anyone ever asks what my least favorite is, I have an answer. Until today, I would have said I love all books!
Just don't. There is not a likeable character in the book. Okay, there's one, but he's a VERY minor character. Banda is a black man living in South Africa in the early part of the century, fighting for civil rights. He was cool, I would have hung out with him. They're all manipulative, evil, conniving bitches.
This one fucks a girl to get back at the girls father and gets her pregnant and refuses to marry her, even though she loves him and had nothing to do with the original offense. That one ruins her only son's career as an artist to make him run their big global corporation and then convinces his wife to have children, even though it will kill her.
He finds out and shoots the old bitch, gets a lobotomy, and spends the rest of his life finger painting. One of those twins consistently tries to kill her sister from the time they're five. A plastic surgeon ruins his wifes face because she's cuccolding him every day, but he blackmailed her to marry him in the first place.
There is one not evil character. She's stupid and clueless. I would have put it down hours ago, but I just wanted to see how it would come out, hoping everyone would get what they deserved. No one. I can see no point to this book. I hate it, and I'm selling it on e-bay to get it out of my house.
View all 3 comments. I am sure the last Sidney Sheldon book I read was about 40 years ago, give or take a few years!! Jeez, that sounds soooooo old! This one was definitely a step back in time, back to the eighties. A good tale, to be sure but definitely a bit dated now. I might pick up another one of his in an another year or so. I was reading some reviews of his I am sure the last Sidney Sheldon book I read was about 40 years ago, give or take a few years!!
I was reading some reviews of his books and his life and came across this quote Once I started the book, I wasn't able to put it down Sometimes you just need to go back to "old school" and indulge in a bit of nostalgia! This one was made into a TV mini-series. I was on YouTube last night, after I finished it, checking out the actors I think will pass! A bit too much "cheese" in that version for me It would have worked forty or so years ago. And as for Kate Feb 15, Diana rated it it was amazing.
I read this years ago and loved it. It was definitely a relaxing reread worth while for me. Jan 31, Avanthika rated it it was amazing.
This deadly woman goes around shuffling the cards of her own family members to fuel her naked ambition. Story of passion, manipulation, hardships and betrayal.
There are logic holes and no apparent reason why the characters of the plot behave in a irrational way, but the pace with the story traveled kept me hooked. Once readable. Sep 30, Kaung Myat Han rated it it was ok. A close friend's stepfather insisted me to read this novel "Master of the Game" by Sidney Sheldon telling me that it was one of his all-time favorite novels. He even felt obliged to lend me his copy. Well, what could I say? I looked at the paperback book and it's nearly pages long.
I finished the book anyway. It is about four generations of McGregor family. So, it's more like an epic story. My only favorite part was the captivating story about Jamie McGregor's adventures and how he tried har A close friend's stepfather insisted me to read this novel "Master of the Game" by Sidney Sheldon telling me that it was one of his all-time favorite novels.
My only favorite part was the captivating story about Jamie McGregor's adventures and how he tried hard to gain wealth out of his cleverness. Kate Blackwell was hardly my favorite character. She seemed to be inconsiderate, harsh and manipulative. All of them later turned out to be weak characters mentally. They're not as strong and ambitious as the previous characters.
Lusty romances and sexual manipulations kicked in the triangle between the twin sisters and George Mellis at the later parts of the novel. With insufficient character developments, this novel is at best mediocre to me sorry Sheldon fans and the ending's also a bit disappointing. Not my cup of tea and I'm not quite so sure about reading his other books. Nov 18, Bren fall in love with the sea. Like many of his books, this is pretty long but the pages fly by.
It's a historical family saga and tells the story of Kate Blackwell whom you may not like to much or maybe you will. Kate is a rich and powerful business executive. As the outline of the book explains she is an "enigma. On the surface this would seem to be a character study about this woman. But it is so much more than that.
Kate's dad was a diamond prospector who struck it rich. Her mother was the daughter of a crooked merchant. There are ghosts in Kate's past, enemies that need to be dealt with. And there is much tragedy, personal victories and deeply poignant happenings.
I have read almost all of Sheldon's books and there is no question but that this is one of the heaviest. Don't read this if you are in a bad or sad mood. I mean it. Some of Sheldon's books are fun but light. This book is spellbinding but dark. Very dark. I absolutely loved this book and loved reading about the diamond prospecting.
Jamie was an utterly fascinating character and much of the book has a cultural slant as a great deal of it takes place in Africa. There was a follow up which was also good but not AS good. This one however is a must read for fans of Historical fiction, family sagas, cultural reads, or all of the above. Apr 13, Elizabeta rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites , owned.
What a book! Great story! Sheldon's story of big business, lust, greed, and revenge spans four generations, starting with Jamie McGregor, who leaves Scotland in to strike it rich in the diamond fields of South Africa.
He overcomes many hardships, becomes a millionaire, and starts the Kruger-Brent company. His daughter, Kate, pushes the company until it becomes a world-wide conglomerate, and moves her headquarters to America.
To her chagrin, her son Tony wants to be a painter, not a businessman. His twin daughters, A Sheldon's story of big business, lust, greed, and revenge spans four generations, starting with Jamie McGregor, who leaves Scotland in to strike it rich in the diamond fields of South Africa. His twin daughters, Alexandra and Eve, are as different as can be.
One of them may be a killer The book is absolutely riveting, with Jamie's adventures putting him in a new danger on every page. Kate, the so-called Master of the Game, spends most of her ninety years buying and manipulating everyone in her path, in her relentless search for a worthy corporate successor.
The author moves from scene to scene, from tragedies to triumphs and back again, at a breakneck pace with only the barest attention paid to character development and plausibility. While I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story, it started to seem a bit melodramatic and predictable. This book is pure brain candy, all fun with no substance.
Similar to a night-time TV soap, you can predict what is going to happen, you know it is wildly improbable, but yet it has just the right mixture of intelligence, ruthlessness, and intrigue to keep you coming back. View all 16 comments. Nov 05, Eric rated it it was amazing. Well - a confession must be made, I find it embarrassing when some people frequently tell me nowadays that I have done well to review "many African books and writers Alas, this is patently untrue!
It would shock such people to learn that over the years, most - actually like over 80 percent! Why I might focus on reviewing African works is simple: I r Well - a confession must be made, I find it embarrassing when some people frequently tell me nowadays that I have done well to review "many African books and writers Why I might focus on reviewing African works is simple: I reckon that the western world already has a throbbing surfeit of readers, critics, studies on their literary protagonists, which is not the case for most African works!
So why should I review eurocentric works? Also, why this preamble? After just re-reading this book, Master of the Game, I realised how much I love d the Sidney Sheldon novels, and how I read the whole series again and again in the recent past. If only I could do the same with African works! Anyway, Master of the Game is Sidney Sheldon at his best, featuring what he does best - a very powerful, alluring, larger-than-life woman Kate Blackwell who on the surface has it all.
Except that she doesn't. What she is obsessed with, especially as she gets older, is to have someone in the family to take charge of the mammoth monolithic Kruger-Brent company that she has sacrificed all her long life for.
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