Four gods have created a race of creatures each, the race that survives will determine the one true God. This is the Game, and this book is the book of that Game.

The humans, elves, dwarves and orcs are all participants in the Game, whether they know it or not. Their stories intertwine, with each chapter focusing on the life of one significant character as the Game progresses.

It's rather lovely, in a weird sort of way, to read a book where the orcs not only play a key role in the story, but are on an equal footing.

The dwarves are bureaucrats and scientists, as well as the conventional mountain-dwellers you'd expect. They spend most of the book in meetings where the only decisions seem to be to not make any decisions (I've worked for companies like that myself).

The elves are hampered by a queen who is disinterested in doing any ruling.

The humans are the only ones who appear to know they are part of the Game. They are led, as always, by a backstabbing cretin who is not only in charge of running the city, but also the head of the church and the army, and the judge who presides over cases that he himself has brought to bear. Corruption is rife!

Needless to say, if you want to know how it pans out you need to read this book, although be warned that this is the first in a series, so don't expect to find out who wins the Game this early on. I'm already looking forward to the next book.

I received my copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.