Really enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be a very interesting, taut suspenseful,psychological thriller; right up to the end. One of the most anti-climatic endings I've ever come across. It was like the author caved in at the end the same way the character Chad gave up without a fight. Quite a disappointment. ( )

“The true gambler plays for the thrill, the sheer ecstasy of taking part. And the purest thrill comes not from the idea of winning but from the fear of defeat, from there being something real and valuable on the line. If there’s nothing to lose, then where’s the thrill? The true gambler does the opposite."

Christopher Yates-Black Chalk

I just do not get how anyone could give this under a 4. I first heard about Black Chalk when I read a review of it, not online, but in a magazine. I knew I had to have it. I read through the night, finished it in the wee hours and was immediately pissed off at finishing. I wanted more.

This is s spell binding book about a group of college students who participate in a game. It's sort of a test of all of them psychologically. They never expect the game to take hold of their whole utter being but that is precisely what happens. As the game goes on, the interest of all the students in winning it, spirals out of control. But there can be only one winner and out of that, is where darkness and tragedy strike.

This book has been compared to "The Secret History" but I actually like this better. It is a pounding intense dramatic piece of fiction that I just could not turn away from.

ENDING SPOILERS..STOP NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ:

I really would like to see a part two of this book. I think there is a story there just waiting to happen! Yet I could understand if the writer chooses not to. I have also read many a sequel that do not live up to the original book so I guess my feelings are a bit mixed on the subject.

I loved this book and found it intense, moving, powerful and unputdownable. ( )

Light reading after the previous book I read, (Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity). College kids set up a game with humiliating consequences for the losers of each round. PoV alternates with that time and the present in which the narrator is clearly disturbed and probably not who he seems. It was entertaining and kept me hooked but ultimately meh. Several big secrets weren't that big or satisfying.

Also, it throws me out of a story when characters have odd names (unless it's taking place in a foreign culture or on Mars or something) so "Jolyon" always gave me a bit of a jolt. ( )

It took awhile and the idea was interesting. College kids playing a “game” with consequences for the loser. The consequences tend to be embarrassing and increase in difficulty as the game continues. And am still concerned about the end, dealing with a book, and one character not knowing where it went, but I may not have been close enough attention. One of the (many) downsides of listening to a book vs reading: harder to go back and re read. The narrator was good. 3.5 stars ( )

Starts out promising, but just feels like an average thriller by the end. ( )