FOR THE SAKE OF SIDNEY SHELDON
Sidney Sheldon's Mistress of the Game is a 2009 novel by Tilly Bagshawe. It is the sequel to Sidney Sheldon's critically acclaimed 1982 novel Master of the Game, which had debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller List and was later adapted into a 1984 television miniseries. Mistress of the Game
continues the story of the powerful Blackwell family as the lifelong
conflict between twins Eve and Alexandra extends to their children.
Following the death of Kate Blackwell, her granddaughters, Eve Blackwell-Webster and Alexandra Blackwell-Templeton, give birth at roughly the same time. Eve, vowing revenge at her whole family, gives birth to Max, whom she raises to hate his father and relatives. Alexandra gives birth to Alexandra "Lexi" Templeton, but dies from complications, but Lexi is raised in a loving household with her father Peter and her brother Robbie. As a child, Lexi is kidnapped and raped, and while she is rescued, an explosion leaves her completely deaf.
On their joint eighteen birthday, Max is jealous of Lexi's easy ability to draw Kruger-Brent's board members to her. Robbie, a successful pianist, plans to give his share of the company to Lexi, which would make her 2/3 in control of the company when she turns twenty-five. Eve sends Max to seduce her, forming a romantic relationship with her and sending her to a doctor to cure her hearing. Lexi lets her guard down and willingly gives him the code to her safe, where he finds a memory card filled with racy pictures from her college days and leaks it to the public. The board members unanimously agree to terminate Lexi from Kruger-Brent, giving full control to Max. However, after a year, Lexi's new company "Templeton" restores her professional reputation and outshines Kruger-Brent, which is failing due to Max's unsteady control.
Templeton's African branch comes into conflict with Phoenix Industries, owned by her distant relative, Gabriel McGregor. Though mutually attracted to each other, Gabriel refuses to cheat on his wife, and they agree to be business partners. Gabriel falls into depression after his family is murdered, and he and Lexi form a relationship. Gabriel disapproves of Lexi's obsession with Kruger-Brent, despite Lexi's promises to forget about it. However, she steals from Gabriel's charity fund to buy out most of its companies and causing it to go bankrupt despite Max and Eve's attempts. Max commits suicide. The Kruger-Brent board members agree to sell to Lexi, who restores the company back to its power. Gabriel finds out about her theft and breaks up with her before she can inform him of her pregnancy. But before she can abort the baby, Gabriel returns and reconciles with her, and they marry after the birth of their daughter, Maxine.
Eve, on her deathbed, hallucinates the ghosts of people in her past. She sends a threatening note to Lexi admitting that she knows what she did and has sent another note to the police. The police take Lexi to the police station after her wedding, but Gabriel, Robbie, and two of their loyal servants help her escape to her villa in Maldives with Gabriel and Maxine, where she is hopeful for future knowing that, unlike Eve, she can still play the game.
CONCLUSION
Tilly succeeded in bringing back Sidney Sheldon's characters alive but the characters were dancing for Tilly's tune and not Sidney's. If you want to be famous, write a sequel to a bestseller, don't go after the legend! Sidney Sheldon was and forever will be the master storyteller.
As for the characters, I'd like to start with Gabe. He is a drug addict, loser, criminal and a prisoner. When he is released and suspected for a fraudster again, the natural reaction would be to think he is guilty. But the detective who inquires the case believes in him even though he knows Gabe is an ex-con. Seriously? What was I reading? Sidney Sheldon's sequel or some self motivating crap? The characters were co-operative and lending a helping hand in every step of his. Dhai helps him in real estate business. His friend from "prison" (yeah that's right. People are very generous and kind) is financing him to start a real estate business from scratch. Tara agrees to marry him on a lousy second date. He works for AIDS charity. He hires a detective to spy on Lexi. Now that is purely Tilly not Sidney! This is not Jeffrey Archer's or James Rollins.. It is Sidney Sheldon's! It has to be thrilling, manipulative, evil cut throat competition. There was no room for warm sentiments in the Master of the Game nor should there be any in its sequel!
I am kind of disappointed to see how Robbie's character turned out. In The Master of the Game, the last scene goes like Kate getting tuned to manipulate her great grandson when she sees him at the Piano, waiting to build up a career as a Pianist and not as a Chairman in Kruger Brunt. I'd have least expected that sweet little aspiring pianist to be gay.
Lexi (Late Alexandra's daughter)is supposedly a wild cat (I don't see it) who is ambitious and righteous right from her childhood. Her moral values are crushed and her emotions are evidently shattered when she is kidnapped and raped as a child. But she doesn't let that or her deafness from the bomb blast affect her in anyway. She tracks down the rapist and kills him in the prison. She strides Kruger-Brunt office along side Max (Eve's son) and proves to be a prospective Chairwoman of the company. But the tide turns over when Max seduces her and lures her into bed (That's so gross because their mothers are twin sisters and they are cousins!). Anyway, their secret relationship and Max's sweet talks make Lexi believe in him. Max takes over as the chairmanship of Kruger-Brunt at the right time and Lexi is expelled. Now here is the part where the author's drawing comparison between Kate and Lexi has to ridiculed! Kate would have seen right through Max and his ruse, and she would would have out-witted him long before he could lay the trap for her. Lexi could not have been more of a puppy here. And she emerges back from ashes and builds her own company and loses it to win Kruger-Brunt back. While that is appreciated it is not really what one would expect from the Mistress of the game to short-sell her shares from Kruger-Brunt to rebuild the empire again. Lexi is definitely not the Mistress of Kate's game.
Max is just a lame pathetic despo and Eve is the puppet master. Eve is the only evil character but the credit goes to Sidney Sheldon as she is from Master of the game. The final touche with the letter even from her death bed, her intention to destroy everyone she blames for her misfortune was so like Eve.
I'd have rather preferred to read The Master of the Game again.
All that this book does is uplift Sidney Sheldon's fame and image. This book talks bad about Tilly Bagshawe: that she cannot be the Mistress storyteller. Honestly, I didn't like the book. For the sake of Sidney Sheldon's sequel, I read the book. Its not that worth to read the novel
REFERENCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Sheldon%27s_Mistress_of_the_Game
Following the death of Kate Blackwell, her granddaughters, Eve Blackwell-Webster and Alexandra Blackwell-Templeton, give birth at roughly the same time. Eve, vowing revenge at her whole family, gives birth to Max, whom she raises to hate his father and relatives. Alexandra gives birth to Alexandra "Lexi" Templeton, but dies from complications, but Lexi is raised in a loving household with her father Peter and her brother Robbie. As a child, Lexi is kidnapped and raped, and while she is rescued, an explosion leaves her completely deaf.
On their joint eighteen birthday, Max is jealous of Lexi's easy ability to draw Kruger-Brent's board members to her. Robbie, a successful pianist, plans to give his share of the company to Lexi, which would make her 2/3 in control of the company when she turns twenty-five. Eve sends Max to seduce her, forming a romantic relationship with her and sending her to a doctor to cure her hearing. Lexi lets her guard down and willingly gives him the code to her safe, where he finds a memory card filled with racy pictures from her college days and leaks it to the public. The board members unanimously agree to terminate Lexi from Kruger-Brent, giving full control to Max. However, after a year, Lexi's new company "Templeton" restores her professional reputation and outshines Kruger-Brent, which is failing due to Max's unsteady control.
Templeton's African branch comes into conflict with Phoenix Industries, owned by her distant relative, Gabriel McGregor. Though mutually attracted to each other, Gabriel refuses to cheat on his wife, and they agree to be business partners. Gabriel falls into depression after his family is murdered, and he and Lexi form a relationship. Gabriel disapproves of Lexi's obsession with Kruger-Brent, despite Lexi's promises to forget about it. However, she steals from Gabriel's charity fund to buy out most of its companies and causing it to go bankrupt despite Max and Eve's attempts. Max commits suicide. The Kruger-Brent board members agree to sell to Lexi, who restores the company back to its power. Gabriel finds out about her theft and breaks up with her before she can inform him of her pregnancy. But before she can abort the baby, Gabriel returns and reconciles with her, and they marry after the birth of their daughter, Maxine.
Eve, on her deathbed, hallucinates the ghosts of people in her past. She sends a threatening note to Lexi admitting that she knows what she did and has sent another note to the police. The police take Lexi to the police station after her wedding, but Gabriel, Robbie, and two of their loyal servants help her escape to her villa in Maldives with Gabriel and Maxine, where she is hopeful for future knowing that, unlike Eve, she can still play the game.
CONCLUSION
Tilly succeeded in bringing back Sidney Sheldon's characters alive but the characters were dancing for Tilly's tune and not Sidney's. If you want to be famous, write a sequel to a bestseller, don't go after the legend! Sidney Sheldon was and forever will be the master storyteller.
As for the characters, I'd like to start with Gabe. He is a drug addict, loser, criminal and a prisoner. When he is released and suspected for a fraudster again, the natural reaction would be to think he is guilty. But the detective who inquires the case believes in him even though he knows Gabe is an ex-con. Seriously? What was I reading? Sidney Sheldon's sequel or some self motivating crap? The characters were co-operative and lending a helping hand in every step of his. Dhai helps him in real estate business. His friend from "prison" (yeah that's right. People are very generous and kind) is financing him to start a real estate business from scratch. Tara agrees to marry him on a lousy second date. He works for AIDS charity. He hires a detective to spy on Lexi. Now that is purely Tilly not Sidney! This is not Jeffrey Archer's or James Rollins.. It is Sidney Sheldon's! It has to be thrilling, manipulative, evil cut throat competition. There was no room for warm sentiments in the Master of the Game nor should there be any in its sequel!
I am kind of disappointed to see how Robbie's character turned out. In The Master of the Game, the last scene goes like Kate getting tuned to manipulate her great grandson when she sees him at the Piano, waiting to build up a career as a Pianist and not as a Chairman in Kruger Brunt. I'd have least expected that sweet little aspiring pianist to be gay.
Lexi (Late Alexandra's daughter)is supposedly a wild cat (I don't see it) who is ambitious and righteous right from her childhood. Her moral values are crushed and her emotions are evidently shattered when she is kidnapped and raped as a child. But she doesn't let that or her deafness from the bomb blast affect her in anyway. She tracks down the rapist and kills him in the prison. She strides Kruger-Brunt office along side Max (Eve's son) and proves to be a prospective Chairwoman of the company. But the tide turns over when Max seduces her and lures her into bed (That's so gross because their mothers are twin sisters and they are cousins!). Anyway, their secret relationship and Max's sweet talks make Lexi believe in him. Max takes over as the chairmanship of Kruger-Brunt at the right time and Lexi is expelled. Now here is the part where the author's drawing comparison between Kate and Lexi has to ridiculed! Kate would have seen right through Max and his ruse, and she would would have out-witted him long before he could lay the trap for her. Lexi could not have been more of a puppy here. And she emerges back from ashes and builds her own company and loses it to win Kruger-Brunt back. While that is appreciated it is not really what one would expect from the Mistress of the game to short-sell her shares from Kruger-Brunt to rebuild the empire again. Lexi is definitely not the Mistress of Kate's game.
Max is just a lame pathetic despo and Eve is the puppet master. Eve is the only evil character but the credit goes to Sidney Sheldon as she is from Master of the game. The final touche with the letter even from her death bed, her intention to destroy everyone she blames for her misfortune was so like Eve.
I'd have rather preferred to read The Master of the Game again.
All that this book does is uplift Sidney Sheldon's fame and image. This book talks bad about Tilly Bagshawe: that she cannot be the Mistress storyteller. Honestly, I didn't like the book. For the sake of Sidney Sheldon's sequel, I read the book. Its not that worth to read the novel
REFERENCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Sheldon%27s_Mistress_of_the_Game
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