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A Sporting Death
Dare and Chance, the Hunter brothers, are preparing to breakout as the new action stars of the American film market. Accomplished athletes and martial artists having honed their cinematic skills working in China, they have returned home to make their mark on the movie industry in the United States. One is a budding star, blessed with classic California ‘golden boy’ good looks. The other is quieter, shunning the spotlight, and content as a stuntman.
As their initial film begins production, the past comes back to haunt one of them. The Consortium, a global group of powerful people, enjoys a taboo form of human games of life and death. In the city of Nocturnity, there is one member, Bellamy Bellinger, a former semi-professional fighter and mob enforcer, who hosts such games. Now for one brother to save the life of the other, he is forced to be the prey for a team of highly trained killers through the city, as the hunt is broadcast live over the internet to an exclusive clientele wagering vast sums of money on the outcome.
Can he outwit his pursuers and survive to rescue his brother? Or will he become just another casualty in a set of violent international games, for those whose greatest desire is to witness that basest and darkest of a sporting death!
From the author of The Warrior-Son saga and The NightDragon series, enjoy another adventure of familial strife, humor, greed, betrayal, revenge, and heart-pounding martial arts action.
As their initial film begins production, the past comes back to haunt one of them. The Consortium, a global group of powerful people, enjoys a taboo form of human games of life and death. In the city of Nocturnity, there is one member, Bellamy Bellinger, a former semi-professional fighter and mob enforcer, who hosts such games. Now for one brother to save the life of the other, he is forced to be the prey for a team of highly trained killers through the city, as the hunt is broadcast live over the internet to an exclusive clientele wagering vast sums of money on the outcome.
Can he outwit his pursuers and survive to rescue his brother? Or will he become just another casualty in a set of violent international games, for those whose greatest desire is to witness that basest and darkest of a sporting death!
From the author of The Warrior-Son saga and The NightDragon series, enjoy another adventure of familial strife, humor, greed, betrayal, revenge, and heart-pounding martial arts action.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 7, 2020
Once more author Scott Blasingame brings his imcomparable knowledge of fight choreography in prose to the written page, giving us a story that pays homage to not only to Richard Connell's "The Hounds of Zaroff", but also to the cinematic adaptations that we saw during the 90s, like HARD TARGET; SURVIVING THE GAME; and others. Moreover, it also features nods to the underground martial arts tournament flicks that really hit their stride during the 90s, and still continue to this very day (see MAN OF TAI CHI for a particularly good example).
The premise is simple: The Hunter brothers are in Nocturnity (yes, the same city where Blasingame's NightDragon books are set) filming a martial arts action. Chance is the film's star, with his boyish good looks and powerful martial arts skills. Dare, his older brother, is an even better martial artist, although he contents himself to work as a stunt double and fight choreographer. One evening, a "chance" (ha!) meeting with an aptly-named femme fatale named Sindy puts Chance in the murderous hands of Bellamy Bellinger, a former boxer and mob enforcer who now stages human hunts and underground death matches for a very rich (yet shady) clientele. Chance and Dare had worked in Hong Kong action movies and Chance amassed a huge debt with the local triad. Now, to pay back his debt, he must fight in a death match or allow himself to be hunted. Instead, he "volunteers" his brother, who'll have to take on a team of experienced mercenary hunters who have never lost a hunt, if he wants to save his own skin, his brother, and his family, who might become collateral casualties if he doesn't play his cards right.
So this book was a lot of fun to read. The beginning chapters, are an interesting look at life on the set of a (presumably) low-budget action film and how life for a "gwailo" in the Hong Kong film scene might play out. Especially amusing for us HK cinephiles is the part where Blasingame starts naming off faux-Hong Kong film titles that sound like the sort of English titles that might be given to a foreign action film, but would never pass muster in Hollywood. The chemistry between the introverted Dare and the perky female blogger is especially good, making the story all the more compelling once the action begins.
Ah yes, the fighting. There's quite a lot of it, as to be expected in a Blasingame novel. At least two major set pieces--the playground fight and the huge warehouse showdown--feel like a Jackie Chan movie translated into prose, but with the level of bone-crunching violence you might expect in a Steven Seagal film. The later one-on-one battles are also expertly "choreographed" and I could only hope that Hong Kong will one day make the sort of film that is as fun to watch as these fights were fun to read. The mercenary killers have all sorts of fight tactics and weapons, including whips, throwing knives, axe handles, metal poles, and more. Fans of movie action will enjoy reading these sequences, no if's, and's, or but's about it.
And as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the closer Dare gets to finding his brother, the more he has at stake, and that winning the hunt may not be the great (if bloody) triumph that he was expecting. As we learn more about the villains, their motives and future plans, and steps they're taking to ensure that the hunters win, the more Blasingame is able to ratchet up the suspense. The last 70 pages or so of this story were real page turners. And with that in mind, I heartily recommend this book to all fans of action, suspense, martial arts, and the like. And if you don't find yourself belonging to any of those groups, shame on you. Buy this book and be converted!
The premise is simple: The Hunter brothers are in Nocturnity (yes, the same city where Blasingame's NightDragon books are set) filming a martial arts action. Chance is the film's star, with his boyish good looks and powerful martial arts skills. Dare, his older brother, is an even better martial artist, although he contents himself to work as a stunt double and fight choreographer. One evening, a "chance" (ha!) meeting with an aptly-named femme fatale named Sindy puts Chance in the murderous hands of Bellamy Bellinger, a former boxer and mob enforcer who now stages human hunts and underground death matches for a very rich (yet shady) clientele. Chance and Dare had worked in Hong Kong action movies and Chance amassed a huge debt with the local triad. Now, to pay back his debt, he must fight in a death match or allow himself to be hunted. Instead, he "volunteers" his brother, who'll have to take on a team of experienced mercenary hunters who have never lost a hunt, if he wants to save his own skin, his brother, and his family, who might become collateral casualties if he doesn't play his cards right.
So this book was a lot of fun to read. The beginning chapters, are an interesting look at life on the set of a (presumably) low-budget action film and how life for a "gwailo" in the Hong Kong film scene might play out. Especially amusing for us HK cinephiles is the part where Blasingame starts naming off faux-Hong Kong film titles that sound like the sort of English titles that might be given to a foreign action film, but would never pass muster in Hollywood. The chemistry between the introverted Dare and the perky female blogger is especially good, making the story all the more compelling once the action begins.
Ah yes, the fighting. There's quite a lot of it, as to be expected in a Blasingame novel. At least two major set pieces--the playground fight and the huge warehouse showdown--feel like a Jackie Chan movie translated into prose, but with the level of bone-crunching violence you might expect in a Steven Seagal film. The later one-on-one battles are also expertly "choreographed" and I could only hope that Hong Kong will one day make the sort of film that is as fun to watch as these fights were fun to read. The mercenary killers have all sorts of fight tactics and weapons, including whips, throwing knives, axe handles, metal poles, and more. Fans of movie action will enjoy reading these sequences, no if's, and's, or but's about it.
And as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the closer Dare gets to finding his brother, the more he has at stake, and that winning the hunt may not be the great (if bloody) triumph that he was expecting. As we learn more about the villains, their motives and future plans, and steps they're taking to ensure that the hunters win, the more Blasingame is able to ratchet up the suspense. The last 70 pages or so of this story were real page turners. And with that in mind, I heartily recommend this book to all fans of action, suspense, martial arts, and the like. And if you don't find yourself belonging to any of those groups, shame on you. Buy this book and be converted!
March 19, 2020
This book is apparently set in the same city as some of the author's other books, which I will admit I have never read. Luckily the other books (his NightDragon series) did not seem to have any bearing on this story making this a perfect introduction to Blasingame's books and the city of Nocturnity.
Basically A Sporting Death follows the action when two brothers, one a rising action star and the other his stunt stand in brother, get caught up in the corrupt world of illegal gambling. Thanks to one's sizable debts the other finds himself playing for the highest stakes of all: his life. The action is solid and well thought out, with a twist a little more towards movie choreography over brutal real life street fights.
In fact, it is pretty easy to visualize this as a movie you rented from Blockbuster on VHS in the early '90s... maybe something with actors like Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kamon, Michael Dudikoff, Billy Blanks, Jalal Merhi and Richard Norton. So if you recognize those names and know the difference between "Bloodfist" and "Bloodsport," this book is for you. And if you want an example of what movie this is closest to I would have to say "Lionheart" leaps to mind.
And even if you don't know the difference between Bruce Lee and Bruce Campbell, this is a fun read perfect for a rainy afternoon or lazy weekend.
Basically A Sporting Death follows the action when two brothers, one a rising action star and the other his stunt stand in brother, get caught up in the corrupt world of illegal gambling. Thanks to one's sizable debts the other finds himself playing for the highest stakes of all: his life. The action is solid and well thought out, with a twist a little more towards movie choreography over brutal real life street fights.
In fact, it is pretty easy to visualize this as a movie you rented from Blockbuster on VHS in the early '90s... maybe something with actors like Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kamon, Michael Dudikoff, Billy Blanks, Jalal Merhi and Richard Norton. So if you recognize those names and know the difference between "Bloodfist" and "Bloodsport," this book is for you. And if you want an example of what movie this is closest to I would have to say "Lionheart" leaps to mind.
And even if you don't know the difference between Bruce Lee and Bruce Campbell, this is a fun read perfect for a rainy afternoon or lazy weekend.
September 27, 2020
Another fun martial arts action story, with a very interesting crime story and setting.
Blasingame impresses me each time with his ability to write characters that feel lifelike, enough to where you love some, hate some, but can always relate to them in some way or another.
In his other books I sometimes get lost in the whirlwind of his extremely descriptive action and fights scenes, I felt he kept it a bit more simple and digestible, while still painting a kick-ass image of ass kicking in my mind. There was one particularly fun rumble that takes place on a playground, and it felt like I was watching a Jackie Chan movie in my head - without the comedy.
From the several books I have read from Blasingame, this has been my favorite, and I have enjoyed all of them. (The Nightdragon Series, and his horror effort - The Act.)
Highly recommended if you’re a fan of action and gangster/crime-drama.
Blasingame impresses me each time with his ability to write characters that feel lifelike, enough to where you love some, hate some, but can always relate to them in some way or another.
In his other books I sometimes get lost in the whirlwind of his extremely descriptive action and fights scenes, I felt he kept it a bit more simple and digestible, while still painting a kick-ass image of ass kicking in my mind. There was one particularly fun rumble that takes place on a playground, and it felt like I was watching a Jackie Chan movie in my head - without the comedy.
From the several books I have read from Blasingame, this has been my favorite, and I have enjoyed all of them. (The Nightdragon Series, and his horror effort - The Act.)
Highly recommended if you’re a fan of action and gangster/crime-drama.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews