The Gameshouse

The World Fantasy Award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August presents a mesmerizing tale of a gambling house whose deadly games of chance and skill control the fate of empires.

Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets. . .

It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost through chess, backgammon — every game under the sun.

But those whom fortune favors may be invited to compete in the higher league. . . a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent.

Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all. . .

• "An eerily plausible dystopian masterpiece, as harrowing as it is brilliant"
  Emily St. John Mandel, bestselling author of Station Eleven, on 84K
• "An extraordinary novel that stands with the best of dystopian fiction, with dashes of The Handmaid's Tale."
  Cory Doctorow on 84K
• "Everybody needs to read 84K. Consistently thoughtful fiction like this needs to be championed. I'll admit it, I'm a little in awe of the author. Her work is sublime.... Claire North deserves your undivided attention. Buy the book, read it. Your brain will thank you.... If there was a rating higher than highly recommended this book would receive it."
  The Eloquent Page
• "A terrifying setting that feels rooted to the present day.... Imbued with a menace that feels both recognizable and urgent, and the decisions the characters make as a result feel uncomfortably real."
  RT Book Reviews on 84K
• "Another captivating novel from one of the most intriguing and genre-bending novelists currently working in the intersection between thriller and science fiction."
  Booklist (starred review) on 84K
• "A furious, confrontational book that's extremely smart... its energy is infectious and its ideas are fiercely provocative."
  SciFiNow on 84K
• "Put simply, this book just blew my mind. A remarkable writer, doing extraordinary things, and I think this is her best book yet."
  Blue Book Balloon on 84K
• "Claire North goes from strength to strength.... A tense, moving story."
  Guardian on 84K
• "One of the most distinct and compelling SF novels of the year thus far."
  Toronto Star on 84K
• "A dystopian anthem for the modern activist... a cracking thriller.... Quite simply, North's best book so far."
  Starburst on 84K
• "Evocative, thought-provoking... I'll read anything she writes."
  Omnivoracious on 84K
• "The truly scary thing about 84K is how convincing this dark, brutal class-divided Britain is."
  SFX
• "Vivid and disturbing."
  Publishers Weekly on 84K
• "A fascinating look at the decisions society is taking now."
  The Bookbag on 84K
• "Claire North's writing is terrific, smart, and entertaining."
  Patrick Ness on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
• "Claire North is a true original, a master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination."
  
  Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls, on The Sudden Appearance of Hope
• "Wonderful novel...held together by a compelling mystery involving nothing less than the end of the world itself. Beautifully written and structured...a remarkable book."
  Booklist (starred review) on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
• "A subtle study of friendship, love and the complexity of existence."
  Eric Brown, Guardian on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
• "Wholly original and hauntingly beautiful. North is a writer to watch."
  Kirkus on The End of the Day
• "North is [a] consistently intriguing writer."
  Locus on The End of the Day