The Serpent
Gameshouse Novella 1

Thiene est une jeune fille mariée à un joueur compulsif qui passe son temps à perdre son argent et à boire. Un jour Thiene est abordée pour rentrer dans une partie où elle devra faire preuve de ruse afin que son candidat soit élu tribun de Venise. Ce roman très court m’a beaucoup déroutée au début. E......more

4.5/5 I didn’t listen when people told me to read Claire North. Silly me.  The Serpent opens Gameshouse trilogy of novellas. It takes place in 17th century Venice, where a young, lovelessly married woman named Thene discovers the joy of a game. In the Gameshouse you can play the games we all know and......more

Such a great story of intrigue and transcendence, shrouded in the mystery of the Gamehouse, the secretive organization of unknown origins that seemingly transcends space and time as it pulls the puppet strings of history. North draws me in with her magnificent, evocative prose, bursting with insight......more

Examines the shadows – see her there, so proud, so straight! Thene, Thene, there is no fear now: there is only the player. She watches and defies the dark to do her harm; it is her dark, her night, her city; to her will it shall bend, if it bends to anything at all. There are many authors where,......more