Book Review: The Grandmaster’s Gamble

Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

An ancient evil rises, a ruthless senator seeks revenge, an empire senses a threat to its power, and Norman is stuck in the middle.

Grandmaster’s Gamble starts with a powder keg of opposing forces, and nearly every character feels like a lit match tossed into the fray. The first book in the Nightwyrms’ Resurgence series, this novel combines elements of sci-fi, horror, cyberpunk, and grimdark to create an infinitely compelling narrative.

A trio of students from the Illustrious Academy, the most prestigious and most demanding educational facility in the Irvanian Empire, seeks out an ancient civilization, hoping to unlock some of their impressive technological secrets for their dissertations. The last thing they expect is to find an ancient evil stirring on the Yaskh planet. 

Now Norman, the brains behind this venture, must conceal the sentient parasite attached to his leg as well as the death of one of his teammates. This is easier said than done; his teammate was a brutal senator’s son and physicals are par for the course at the Illustrious Academy.

Norman is nothing if not resourceful. With his fierce intellect, he’s determined to keep his ill-fated trip a secret, find a way to get the Nightwyrm off his leg, and create a shiny new dissertation in time to secure an advantageous sponsor. 

Unfortunately, he may have underestimated all of his opponents. Senator Greymus and his family are more ruthless and well-connected than he could have imagined. The Nightwyrm has too much to lose to give up without a battle. And, as for sponsors, well, every student in school is fighting for them and no lengths are too far to go to get one.

The world of Grandmaster’s Gamble is a complex, nuanced affair that incorporates a long, colorful history of socio-political upheaval and half-forgotten societies. This is a fully immersive, dark adventure we’re set on. Using Norman as the main vehicle for this narrative keeps the story grounded and human enough to relate to while the viewpoint switches show the vast scope of what lies beyond his perspective.

Grandmaster’s Gamble covers a lot of ground. There are long swathes of time where the narrative moves away from one of the storylines, and it can be jarring to go back to some of these, especially the ones that only appear in the novel a couple of times. There are also situations where readers are told that an event leads to a particular outcome, but the connection between the cause and effect are not shown.

This is a promising start to a grimdark sci-fi adventure. We get a glimpse of a vast and terrifying world, and it’s clear that there’s potential for this story to grow exponentially as it continues. The ending is as much a hook as the beginning, and it sets the scene for the stakes to rise even higher in the next novel.

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