This almost was a 'so-so', but the wonderful descriptive prose and beautiful world that Collins created saved it for me and kept me reading. I much preferred The Binding and I think because The Grand Jeux was so mysteriously described throughout, it was actually distracting, because I kept feeling like I was at a loss for info. If the author's note about The Glass Bead Game had come first rather than post script, I would have felt more settled.