The Starter by Scott Sigler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Starter is the second book in Sigler’s Galactic Football League series, and essentially picks up right where the first left off. The Ionath Krakens, led by quarterback Quentin Barnes, have been promoted to Tier One in the GFL. Whether they remain there is not certain. The season gets off to a not quite auspicious start, and the Krakens are in danger of being dropped back to Tier Two. When linebacker John Tweedy’s brother, Ju, a running back, becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Quentin, John, and a handful of Krakens set out on a rescue mission. They sign Ju to the Krakens, establishing his diplomatic immunity, and saving his life. But bringing Ju onto the team adds a host of other problems to the already shaky Kraken bid to stay in Tier One. Is Ju deliberately throwing games? Can Quentin keep the team together and keep them in Tier One?
The Rookie was a fast-paced, sports heavy introduction to the world of the GFL. The Starter, while perhaps a bit less heavy on the gridiron action, is still a swift-moving ride that rarely loses momentum. As a second book, it does delve a bit more into character, helping to develop not only the main characters, but gives insight into some of the secondary ones, as well. As far as Quentin came in the rookie in overcoming his Purist Nation prejudices and lack of broad education on things outside the Nation, we see early on that he still has a long way to go. His temper is still a problem, more often than not. The alien races are drawn a bit more clearly, and differences, both physical and cultural, brought to the front more clearly.
Even though character takes the center stage in this story, there is still plenty of football action. It is clear that Sigler is a fan, and understands the game well. He had managed to take the Amercian game and translate it to a galactic scale believalby. It’s a rough game out there in the galaxy, and not only are injuries often brutal, deaths are not uncommon. The game descriptions are accurate and will not disappoint any football fan.
Football fans, science fiction fans, gangster story fans- all will find things to enjoy in this series.
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Six of One: A Collection of Short Fantasy by M.A. Kropp is a set of short fantasy stories. Meet wizards, imps, gangster angels, and frogs in this group of varied tales of magic and mischief. Escape from the everyday into worlds of fantasy with Six of One: A Collection of Short Fantasy.
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And So On... 