The Forbidden Game
Encyclopedia
The Forbidden Game trilogy is a series of novels by American author L. J. Smith
L. J. Smith (author)
Lisa Jane Smith, known professionally as L.J. Smith, is an American author of young-adult literature. Her books, which combine elements of the genres of supernatural, horror, science fiction/fantasy, and romance, are populated with young and apparently young human and supernatural characters...

 about a girl named Jenny who has been watched for years by a Shadow Man named Julian. Julian has fallen in love with Jenny and will do anything to take her for his own. The books are as follows: The Hunter (book 1), The Chase (book 2), and The Kill (book 3).

Publishing history

The Forbidden Game Trilogy was originally published in three parts, in 1994, by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

. They were released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in the following year by Scholastic UK. In 1996, the trilogy were republished by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

. All three books were also published together in one volume in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as a "Collector's Omnibus Edition", in 1997. The three books were republished as one volume called "The Forbidden Game: Bind-up Edition" in June 2010.

Plot summary

In the first book, The Hunter, Jenny is a young woman, living in California, who feels she has always been watched - and protected - in much of what she does. Preparing for her boyfriends 17th birthday party, she goes to a rough part of town where she is followed by two thugs her age. There, she buys a game, a glossy white box, simply called "The Game" from an enigmatic blue-eyed stranger who she seems to have a unusual connection to. She and her friends (Dee, Audrey, Mike, Zach, Summer and Tom) put together the paper house, invoke a rune, (Uruz) and awake inside the game, where the stranger from the shop - blue-eyed Julian, also known as 'The Shadow Man' - tells them they must travel through each room of the house, facing their worst nightmares. If they make it to the top of the house before dawn, they can go home; if not, they have to stay forever. All but Summer make it through their nightmares, and she is killed because she cannot face her worst fear and escape it. In the end Julian reveals the game they have been playing to actually be "Goats and Tigers." To rescue everyone else Jenny promises herself to Julian before locking him back into the closet. Everyone but Summer makes it out, but the ring Julian gave her is still there. It bears the words "All I refuse & Thee I choose." The group wants to burn the box which holds the game in it in the end but before they can come to a decision the two boys who followed Jenny home break in and steal the box, which holds both the game and Jenny's ring, and quickly leave.

In the second book of the trilogy, The Chase, the group of friends have to explain about the disappearance of Summer, while trying to find the box that contains the game. Julian was still trapped in the closet, but there was a chance that the two boys that stole the game might let Julian out. All of the friends begin to have nightmares, and unnatural weird occurrences at school are happening in the daytime. Finally, when Jenny is at the senior prom with a boy other than Tom, Julian appears. Julian gives Jenny a chance to break free from the promise, but the stakes were the same as the last game. This time the game is "Lambs and Monsters", where Julian is the monster, and the friends are the lambs trying to hide from him; for the lambs to win, they have to find the monster's base. One by one Jenny's friends start disappearing, and Jenny is the only one left. She manages to find the base in an old black and white photo by tricking Julian. She finds her friends, but to get out they have to pass through a wall of flames. Everyone makes it but Tom and Zach, and to get them back again, Mike, Dee, Audrey, and Jenny have to find a way into the Shadow World.

In the last of the three, The Kill, the remaining four run away to Monessen, the place where Jenny's grandfather had lived before being taken away by the Shadow Men. They believed that there was a portal to the Shadow World there, and there was. When the four enter the Shadow World, they find themselves in a closed amusement park. After looking and experiencing some of the attractions, which are made to be like nightmares, Julian appears, and he tells them that if they find three Spanish doubloons in the amusement park, everyone will get to go free. The four friends search through the amusement park and find Summer, who is still alive. They also find three other souls being kept by the Shadow Men, the two boys who stole the game, and Jenny's grandfather who had been taken when Jenny opened the closet door. They set the three free without knowing the consequences, and they find the three doubloon coins to save Zach and Tom. Right as they all are leaving, the Shadow Men appear and say that the group has taken the souls, which were theirs. The older Shadow Men want to take Jenny's soul, but Julian objects and fights the other Shadow Men off. They take Julian's life but he makes it back to Jenny's apartment. Before he dies, he tells Jenny that he has always loved her and to dream him in a place where there are no shadows. Julian's body turned into mist and shadows. Jenny ends up with Tom and the story ends with her wishing Julian well if he was ever reborn.

Jenny Thornton

Jenny is a beautiful and willful teenager who dates Tom Locke. Prior to the first Game, she is entirely subservient to Tom's wishes, dressing and acting exactly the way he wants her to. As the series progresses, Jenny and her friends fight against the antagonist Julian. In doing so, her friendships deepen; Jenny matures to become more responsible and independent.

Julian

The youngest of the Shadow Men, an ancient race that lives in darkness, with snow white hair, short on the sides and long in the back and on his forehead to almost cover his electric blue eyes protected by thick, black lashes. He fell in love with Jenny Thornton when the his fellow Shadow Men captured Jenny's grandfather. He watches over Jenny, protecting her from all harm, but upon Tom Locke's seventeenth birthday, Julian makes a move to claim Jenny.

Tom Locke

Jenny Thornton's boyfriend since the second grade. He is a star athlete and student, handsome and popular, and is known keeping his composure in emotional situations. He truly loves Jenny, but also takes her for granted. After seeing Julian's obsessive love for Jenny in the first game, Tom re-evaluates his careless attitude to his relationship with Jenny and decides that he is no longer good enough for her.

Audrey Myers

One of Jenny's best friends and the newest to their group. Audrey's father is a diplomat, and as a result, Audrey is well-traveled and sophisticated. However, beneath her chic facade, she is insecure about how other people perceive her. As she falls for Michael, Audrey comes to realize that it is what is on the inside that counts. She has auburn hair and chestnut eyes.

Deirdre 'Dee' Eliade

Jenny's other best friend. She is a fierce martial arts expert, and her physical strength comes in handy. Dee looks like an Egyptian princess, but she often feels overshadowed by golden Jenny and chic Audrey. Dee also has an irrational fear of technology and feels much more comfortable using the body rather than the mind.

Michael Cohen

Audrey's boyfriend. It is hinted at that he is Jewish, and seems to know the traditions of his people, if not an orthodox follower. His father is a science fiction author, which allows Michael to be more accepting of the situations the group faces. He and Audrey's relationship becomes less shallow as the series continues.

Zach Taylor

Jenny's Modern Art-inclined cousin. Zach has problems in his family, especially because his focus in his art photography tends towards the modern style, far from his ruggish father. Julian declares that Zach also has romantic feelings for Jenny, but Julian has a tendency to lie, and the veracity of this claim is debatable.

Summer Parker-Pearson

Summer is the 'baby' of the group, the one everyone looks after and worries about. She acts a little ditzy, but uses that as a shield to protect herself. Believed to be dead after facing her fear in the first book it was revealed that Julian saved her as he knew how much she meant to Jenny. Since no one believed the story of the Shadow World (Jenny had insisted on telling the truth of what happened), in the second book there is a large organization of volunteers searching for her, since they believe her to be kidnapped. In the last book, Summer was found again.

Allusions

Joyland Park, from the third book in the series is loosely based on Kennywood Park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. LJ Smith has Julian allude to Persephone
Persephone
In Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore , is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld....

 (from Greek mythology) who was kidnapped by the king of the underworld. Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

 also has a strong influence on this trilogy, both through the use of Runes and other references to the Norse and Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

culture.

Sequel

According to an August 2010 blog entry, Smith is considering a sequel to the Forbidden Game series for adults and has already written a few pages.
An undated FAQ page on the author's website states a sequel is in progress and a teaser will be available soon.
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