Review: Tryouts by Peter J. Stavros

Genre: Sports/Coming-of-age

Description:

“A first-person account of one young man’s quest to make his high school basketball team, navigating the challenges of punch drills, and a belligerent coach, and countless ‘suicides’ to earn his spot among the finalists – but will his training, his perseverance, and his faith be enough to help him prevail?”

The author explains it this way, “I wrote this piece some forty years after my own encounter with high school basketball tryouts, during an equally difficult period for me in which, even as an adult, I found myself relying on those same lessons learned way back then – and, in so doing, everything about that earlier time came back to me as vividly as if I were living through it all again.”

Author:

“Peter J. Stavros is a writer and playwright in Louisville, Kentucky, and the author of Three in the Morning and You Don’t Smoke Anymore, winner of the Etchings Press 2020 Book Prize for a Chapbook of Prose. Other works by him include the short story collection, (Mostly) True Tales From Birchmont Village.

A former reporter for the Associated Press, Peter has published his writing in literary journals, magazines, newspapers and anthologies …”

Appraisal:

The hero of our story, is trying to make the varsity basketball team in high school. He’s motivated for all the normal reasons, plus one that most don’t have. Years ago his dad was on a team that won the state championships which was a big deal for their small town. Now the son (if we ever learned his name I forgot and couldn’t find it skimming through the book, but sometimes called “Varsity Guy” by his smart-mouthed friends) wants to follow in dad’s footsteps.

Does he make his goal? Maybe, maybe not. But as his friends get cut and “Varsity Guy” perseveres, he learns plenty of life lessons and teaches us (or maybe reminds some of us) those same lessons. A quick, fun, intense, and even a bit inspiring read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 14-15,000 words

Reprise Review: I Coulda Caught That Pass! by John Pearson

Genre: Sports/Games/Humor

Description:

“An inside look at one fantasy football league. A fly-on-the-wall perspective of ten scrappy managers/everyday Joes – more obsessive than some, less obsessive than most. A touching story of one triumphant champion and nine complete losers.

Prepare to step into history.

And by ‘history,’ I mean ‘completely unspectacular events that have happened in the recent past.’”

Author:

An engineer turned elementary school teacher, John Pearson writes humor. His teaching experiences provided fodder for his first two books, Learn Me Good and Learn Me Gooder. For more, visit Pearson’s blog

Appraisal:

I joke that I’m not a sports guy and, although it hasn’t always been that way, it is mostly true. However, I am a game player. I wasn’t sure whether this book would do the trick for me or not. It is the story of a single season of play from the author’s fantasy football league. Would a non-football fan still like it?

As with Pearson’s prior books, the entertainment and pleasure in the reading is in the humor: for example, when he applauds two of the fantasy teams near the end of the season for “maintaining the fake integrity of this fake sport,” he finds humor everywhere and it comes through in his writing. Some jokes may fly over the head of non-football fans, but for someone who hasn’t paid much attention to the personalities and happenings in the game for several years, I was surprised at how much I still understood. Having never played fantasy football and with only a vague idea of how it worked, I was still able to understand the rules of the competition and the rationale behind most of the strategy, which appealed to the game player in me. But most of all, there was a conflict (no matter how fantasized it was) to be resolved, and a constant stream of laughs as Pearson and his friends made their way through the season. I’m convinced that John Pearson could take anything and make it funny.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: I Coulda Caught That Pass! by John Pearson was a nominee in the Humor and Satire category for B&P 2013 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran October 11, 2012

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Reprise Review: I Coulda Caught That Pass! / John Pearson

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Sports/Games

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

An engineer turned elementary school teacher, John Pearson writes humor. His teaching experiences provided fodder for his first two books, Learn Me Good and Learn Me Gooder. For more, visit Pearson’s blog. 

Description:

“An inside look at one fantasy football league. A fly-on-the-wall perspective of ten scrappy managers/everyday Joes – more obsessive than some, less obsessive than most. A touching story of one triumphant champion and nine complete losers.

Prepare to step into history.

And by ‘history,’ I mean ‘completely unspectacular events that have happened in the recent past.’”

Appraisal:

I joke that I’m not a sports guy and, although it hasn’t always been that way, it is mostly true. However, I am a game player. I wasn’t sure whether this book would do the trick for me or not. It is the story of a single season of play from the author’s fantasy football league. Would a non-football fan still like it?

As with Pearson’s prior books, the entertainment and pleasure in the reading is in the humor: for example, when he applauds two of the fantasy teams near the end of the season for “maintaining the fake integrity of this fake sport,” he finds humor everywhere and it comes through in his writing. Some jokes may fly over the head of non-football fans, but for someone who hasn’t paid much attention to the personalities and happenings in the game for several years, I was surprised at how much I still understood. Having never played fantasy football and with only a vague idea of how it worked, I was still able to understand the rules of the competition and the rationale behind most of the strategy, which appealed to the game player in me. But most of all, there was a conflict (no matter how fantasized it was) to be resolved, and a constant stream of laughs as Pearson and his friends made their way through the season. I’m convinced that John Pearson could take anything and make it funny.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

Welcome to the Octagon / Gerard Brennan

Part 2 of a Double Shot. Don't miss Ryan Bracha's review of the same book from this morning.

Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Crime/Sport

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Gerard Brennan lives in Northern Ireland with his family and is currently studying for an MA in creative writing at Belfast University. Gerard has previously published several other works including the novel, Wee Rockets, a novella, The Point and contributed to a number of anthologies.

You can learn more about Gerard on his website.

Description:

Mickey ‘The Rage’ Rafferty is a bare knuckle fighter taking on unlicensed, underground fights to feed his family. However his trainer, Eddie Smith, thinks he’s better than that. Enter Swifty, a man with fantastic training facilities and money to spend on getting Mickey to the top – but at a price.

Appraisal:

The novella opens with Mickey going toe to toe in an unlicensed bare knuckle fight in a closed down primary school in West Belfast. His opponent - Psycho Sid. Written in the first person the description of the brawl is in-your-face raw, tough and uncompromising – just what I’ve come to expect of the author’s high quality writing.

However, Welcome to the Octagon is significantly more than a book about fisticuffs. Mickey is a single father. He takes on unlicensed fights to feed his eight year old daughter, Lily. His sister-in-law, Bernadette, hates Mickey with a passion and blames him for his wife Angela’s death. To deal with his anger management issues Mickey writes poetry.

To be fair Mickey isn’t equipped to do much more than fight, but he wants a legitimate career, specifically as a cage fighter, but he’s stuck, unable to go higher, forced to go lower, not really believing in himself. When dodgy Swifty turns up Mickey knows there’s something dubious about the arrangement, that the offer is too good to true, but what choice does he have?

Brennan keeps the character list small, key in writing a strong novella. Managing the word count to tell the story in a tight fashion with a very few pages is tough, but achieved with verve. The characters are very strong, the dialogue is sharp and to the point. The first person narrative really helps.

However, the underlying aspect of this novella is, for me, the strong connections the characters have. The love interest is generated by a fiery beauty, Mona. There’s Eddie the trainer, surrogate father to Mickey, Barry Boom Boom Boyd, a surprising friend in need with a hidden side and the touching father / daughter bond where the eight year old girl looks out for Mickey as much as he does for her. The spiky hate-hate relationship with Bernadette makes sense and adds value. I also like the fact that the author doesn’t turn Mickey into some undefeatable hulk, quite the opposite as he’s riddled with doubt in his own abilities, how he’s living his life and treating his friends. His only certainty is he has to look out for his girl.

The writing is, again, very high quality. The descriptive prose is excellent, little descriptive nuggets like:

“Sid wheezed like a stabbed accordion.”

“Swifty laughed. It sounded like a chainsaw chugging to life.”

Great stuff from Gerard Brennan. Again.

FYI:

Welcome to the Octagon is published as part of the Fight Card series, all of which are issued under the pen name of Jack Tunney.

Contains fight scenes.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Welcome to the Octagon / Gerard Brennan

Part 1 of a Double Shot. See Keith Nixon's review of the same book this afternoon.

Reviewed by: Ryan Bracha

Genre: Crime/Sport

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Gerard Brennan lives in Northern Ireland with his family and is currently studying for an MA in creative writing at Belfast University. Gerard has previously published several other works including the novel, Wee Rockets, a novella, The Point and contributed to a number of anthologies.

You can learn more about Gerard on his website.

Description:

Mickey ‘The Rage’ Rafferty is a bare knuckle fighter taking on unlicensed, underground fights to feed his family. However his trainer, Eddie Smith, thinks he’s better than that. Enter Swifty, a man with fantastic training facilities and money to spend on getting Mickey to the top – but at a price.

Appraisal:

Welcome to the Octagon is a story that I entered with a mixture of anticipation and doubt. Anticipation because of the author, Gerard Brennan, whose previous works stand amongst my favourite discoveries this year, and is fast becoming an author whose work I'll look forward to for a long time to come. His big challenge then, comes in the form of my doubt, which was the subject matter. Good sports stories, be they cinematic or printed, are few and far between as far as I'm concerned, and will often fall into clichés as worn as a hobo's socks, regurgitated across tales of victory over adversity. As a man who reads for pleasure, then, the tale of an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter who's not so much a has been, and more of a never been, would usually be the last thing I would pick up for a bit of light reading. This isn't my autobiography though, I just wanted to give you an idea of how difficult it would be for an author to get a thumbs up from me for a sports tome.

The story of Mickey 'The Rage' Rafferty, the recovering alcoholic widower struggling to cater for the needs of his smarter-than-her-years young daughter by taking part in illegal bare knuckle fights is one which took me by surprise. Mickey's defeatist attitude consumes him, despite the fact that he's winning in the ring, and that the people around him have no end of belief in his talent. His refusal to accept that he's worth anything more is what holds him back, and it's only when the slimy and mysterious ‘Swifty’ appears with seemingly golden promises backed up by hard cash do his aims begin to get higher, as the morals of those he associates with go lower.

The story does, aside from graphic and extremely well painted fight scenes, focus more on a man whose self-perception is so tainted by pessimism, but will do anything it takes to provide for his daughter, and the internal dialogue of Rafferty does a very good job of drawing sympathy from this reader. The dialogue between his characters has the trademark Brennan believability to it, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter shines like a light right the way through it, so much so that it's difficult not to get carried away in the emotion when the people that Mickey has alienated on more than one occasion return to save him from himself.

So it's one-nil to Gerard Brennan. I actually tried to not enjoy this, but once again with charm and wit, he's won. An excellent short read, recommended.

FYI:

Welcome to the Octagon is published as part of the Fight Card series, all of which are issued under the pen name of Jack Tunney.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.

Rating: **** Four Stars

A Bittersweet Science / Mark Jacobs

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Sports Fiction/Literary Fiction

Approximate word count: 305-310,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Mark Jacobs is an author, magazine columnist, and martial arts instructor whose written work has appeared in numerous publications including Sports Illustrated and The Ring Magazine. The author of the acclaimed instructional text, The Principles of Unarmed Combat, he currently serves as a contributing editor for Black Belt Magazine. He has one other book, a poker-player detective novel, Pascal's Wager.

For more visit his website.

Description:

“A Bittersweet Science provides an epic look into the world of big-time boxing from the perspectives of the many individuals who make up this frequently brutal yet entrancing sport. From the exploited fighters who bleed for pay, to the scurrilous promoters and slick young television executives who make the backroom deals, to the sardonic journalists who are there to record it all with a jaded eye, it's an insight into a world most will never know. More than just a boxing story, A Bittersweet Science examines the profound question of whether the ends really do justify the means in a world without objective morality.

It's the story of "Action" Jackson Hayes, the unbeatable but volatile heavyweight champion who's suspended from the sport because he's just too violent and then decides to make his vacation permanent when he discovers Jesus. Enter promoter extraordinaire Abraham "Abby" Lincoln. A former 1960s student protest leader turned used car entrepreneur turned boxing mega promoter known for his tie-dye tuxedos and love of Machiavelli, Lincoln needs to appease his money men by bringing some excitement back to a moribund heavyweight division. With the aid of charismatic televangelist Antonio Harper, he lures Hayes out of retirement for a multi-million dollar showdown with young Tommy O'Callahan. That O'Callahan can't fight very well is negated by the fact he just happens to be a white heavyweight... and his family has a bitter personal history with Hayes.

Caught in the intersection of it all is brilliant but discontent sports columnist David Goldman, whose disillusion with the amorality of the people he's tasked to write about is mirrored by his own marital woes. But when events take an unexpected turn, Goldman finds himself thrust into the middle of a legal firestorm as both Lincoln and Hayes wind up in court facing off against ambitious prosecutor Michael Bratkowski. Bratkowski is determined to make a name for himself with this year's version of the trial of the century. The real fight has just begun but Abby Lincoln is determined to score a knockout over all his foes, even if it means sacrificing his favorite son, Jackson Hayes.”

Appraisal:

You’ll notice the word epic in the first line of the blurb for A Bittersweet Science. What does that mean? Long (just over 300,000 words), for one thing. That fits the dictionary definition that says, “Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly in scope or size.” Another definition that at first glance might fit, “Any work of literature, film, etc., having heroic deeds for its subject matter,” probably doesn’t. Heroic deeds are few, if any, unless you consider allowing yourself to get beat up (or being the one doing the beating) as heroic.

At first glance, the target reader would seem to be a boxing fan. Yet, I wonder with Jacob’s portrayal of the seamy underbelly of the business of boxing. With sleazy promoters using (often abusing and taking advantage of) fighters and the most competition occurring during divvying up the spoils, a true boxing aficionado might not take to the story, although I suspect many of them won’t be shocked at how the boxing world is depicted. However, the non-boxing fan should enjoy the story for the underlying questions it raises. As it turns out, the actual boxing takes up very little of the story, with the negotiations and behind-the-scenes machinations taking much more time than an occasional twelve-round bout.

A side-effect of this book being “epic” is that it will appeal to a certain kind of reader and won’t to another. Those who like a fast-moving story that builds to a quick conclusion will find the multiple, intertwined story threads, some of which take the full book to come to fruition, too darn slow. If you prefer detailed descriptions and a more complex story that builds more slowly to completion, this should appeal.

FYI:

Adult language

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of typos and other proofing errors. The most prevalent was homonym errors.

Rating: **** Four stars

I Coulda Caught That Pass! / John Pearson

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Sports/Games

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

An engineer turned elementary school teacher, John Pearson writes humor. His teaching experiences provided fodder for his first two books, Learn Me Good and Learn Me Gooder. For more, visit Pearson’s blog. 

Description:

“An inside look at one fantasy football league. A fly-on-the-wall perspective of ten scrappy managers/everyday Joes – more obsessive than some, less obsessive than most. A touching story of one triumphant champion and nine complete losers.

Prepare to step into history.

And by ‘history,’ I mean ‘completely unspectacular events that have happened in the recent past.’”

Appraisal:

I joke that I’m not a sports guy and, although it hasn’t always been that way, it is mostly true. However, I am a game player. I wasn’t sure whether this book would do the trick for me or not. It is the story of a single season of play from the author’s fantasy football league. Would a non-football fan still like it?

As with Pearson’s prior books, the entertainment and pleasure in the reading is in the humor: for example, when he applauds two of the fantasy teams near the end of the season for “maintaining the fake integrity of this fake sport,” he finds humor everywhere and it comes through in his writing. Some jokes may fly over the head of non-football fans, but for someone who hasn’t paid much attention to the personalities and happenings in the game for several years, I was surprised at how much I still understood. Having never played fantasy football and with only a vague idea of how it worked, I was still able to understand the rules of the competition and the rationale behind most of the strategy, which appealed to the game player in me. But most of all, there was a conflict (no matter how fantasized it was) to be resolved, and a constant stream of laughs as Person and his friends made their way through the season. I’m convinced that John Pearson could take anything and make it funny.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

LeBron James In His Own Words / Phillip and Jesse Hines

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Sports

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

A recent college graduate, Phillip Hines works for an event management company. He self published this book as well as one on event management. Simon & Schuster recently released another books by Hines, Mitt Romney in His Own Words.

Description:

“LeBron James is the world’s most talked-about active basketball player, stirring adoration—and intense criticism. Sports fans and journalists see the polarizing player as either the most exciting basketball player of his generation—or a selfish underachiever, and sometimes both. This book sets aside the controversy to let James speak for himself in his own words. Culling over 200 quotes on over 100 subjects drawn from print and electronic media—press conferences, magazines, newspapers, websites, television appearances, and Twitter posts—starting with his early years as a promising basketball star in high school—this timely compilation shows the world LeBron James’ unique perspective on life on, and off, court.”

Appraisal:

With the exception of one minor issue (two sections that discuss the same subject, James' starting his own sports marketing company, with different headings), the setup of this book is done well, with an active table of contents and quotes grouped in several different subject areas. If you want to know what LeBron James has said about his hometown of Akron, Ohio, or how he feels about Barack Obama, you’ll be able to quickly find the answer. If you feel a sudden need for James’ thoughts on voting, success, or Nike, you’re covered.

But after reading this book I was left wondering, “why?” I could see two ways to approach this book. The first, to get a sense for LeBron James as a person. How he views life, both on and off the court. This book could do that, to a small degree, but if that is your goal, you’d get a much better sense picking up one of the many biographies available.

The logical method to evaluate this book is as I would typically look at any book of quotations. If the book only includes quotes from one person, I would expect it to be someone considered an expert on the subject of the quotes, whose thoughts and ideas are insightful, or who is especially entertaining in their outlook. George Carlin or, if you want a sports star, Yogi Berra, I could understand. The author’s book with quotes from Mitt Romney might have appeal to some. But the quotes here didn’t seem especially enlightening. Many fell into what I’d call the “generic sports quote” category – they could, and probably have, been said in basically the same way by other sports stars. I didn’t read something and think, “that is a great way to put that” or “I wish I’d said that,” both reactions I’d like to see in a book of quotes. For rabid LeBron James fans who feel a need to have what their favorite star said at their fingertips, this might be worthwhile. For others, I think it’s a pass.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: *** Three stars