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Galactic Football League #1
The Rookie
Set in a lethal pro football league 700 years in the future, THE ROOKIE is a story that combines the intense gridiron action of "Any Given Sunday" with the space opera style of "Star Wars" and the criminal underworld of "The Godfather." Aliens and humans alike play positions based on physiology, creating receivers that jump 25 feet into the air, linemen that bench-press 1,200 pounds, and linebackers that literally want to eat you. Organized crime runs every franchise, games are fixed and rival players are assassinated. Follow the story of Quentin Barnes, a 19-year-old quarterback prodigy that has been raised all his life to hate, and kill, those aliens. Quentin must deal with his racism and learn to lead, or he'll wind up just another stat in the column marked "killed on the field."
456 pages, Podcast Novel
First published January 1, 2007
293 people are currently reading
2406 people want to read
About the author
Scott Sigler
132 books4,334 followersTHE CRYPT: SHAKEDOWN is Book I of a new five-book series. It’s out October 3, 2023 in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook narrated by Ray Porter.
iTunes by subscribing to his podcast.
#1 New York Times best-selling author Scott Sigler is the creator of fifteen novels, six novellas and dozens of short stories. He gives away his stories as weekly, serialized, audiobooks, with over 40 million episodes downloaded.
Scott launched his career by releasing his novels as author-read podcasts. His rabid fans were so hungry for each week’s episode that they dubbed themselves the “Junkies.” The first hit is always free …
He is also is a co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his Galactic Football League series. He lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and wee little Dogs of Døøm.
iTunes by subscribing to his podcast. #1 New York Times best-selling author Scott Sigler is the creator of fifteen novels, six novellas and dozens of short stories. He gives away his stories as weekly, serialized, audiobooks, with over 40 million episodes downloaded.
Scott launched his career by releasing his novels as author-read podcasts. His rabid fans were so hungry for each week’s episode that they dubbed themselves the “Junkies.” The first hit is always free …
He is also is a co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his Galactic Football League series. He lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and wee little Dogs of Døøm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews
June 3, 2023
To enjoy this you must know and understand American football. Some excellent quips that are not PC. 7 of 10 stars
April 24, 2020
May 30, 2018
"THE ROOKIE" NOW FREE FOR KINDLE, NOOK & iBOOKS!
We're so sure you'll dig the scifi GFL series that we're now giving Book I away for free on most eBook platforms. We call this series STAR WARS meets THE GODFATHER meets THE BLINDSIDE. It's a crazy, coming-of-age, hero's quest mashup of scifi, gangsters and sport.
• Kindle http://bit.ly/RookieKindle
• Nook http://bit.ly/RookieNook
• iBooks http://bit.ly/RookieIBooks
IF YOU DIG IT, THERE ARE SEVEN MORE NOVELS IN THE SERIES
• Book II: The Starter
• Book III: The All-Pro
• Book IV: The MVP
• Book V: The Champion
• Book VI: Due out in 2019
• Book VII: Due out in 2019
• Book VIII: Due out in 2020
"THE ROOKIE" NOW FREE FOR KINDLE, NOOK & iBOOKS!
We're so sure you'll dig the scifi GFL series that we're now giving Book I away for free on most eBook platforms. We call this series STAR WARS meets THE GODFATHER meets THE BLINDSIDE. It's a crazy, coming-of-age, hero's quest mashup of scifi, gangsters and sport.
• Kindle http://bit.ly/RookieKindle
• Nook http://bit.ly/RookieNook
• iBooks http://bit.ly/RookieIBooks
IF YOU DIG IT, THERE ARE SEVEN MORE NOVELS IN THE SERIES
• Book II: The Starter
• Book III: The All-Pro
• Book IV: The MVP
• Book V: The Champion
• Book VI: Due out in 2019
• Book VII: Due out in 2019
• Book VIII: Due out in 2020
June 3, 2016
This was great! It could easily make its way to the big screen.
If you're anything like me and think there's a lack of American football fiction, then look no further.
Great character development, great world, interesting racial abuse flying back and forwards. Nicely written.
You do have to have an understanding of American football to understand this, so don't just jump in if you don't know the rules, you will get lost.
I will be reading the rest of the series very soon!
If you're anything like me and think there's a lack of American football fiction, then look no further.
Great character development, great world, interesting racial abuse flying back and forwards. Nicely written.
You do have to have an understanding of American football to understand this, so don't just jump in if you don't know the rules, you will get lost.
I will be reading the rest of the series very soon!
July 17, 2015
Football pulls the galaxy together.
Fast paced, light and mostly fun. Although the xenophobic/racist storylines were repetitive, and a little ham-fisted and tiring, but overall the book was fine.
I'm usually not a fan of non-humanoid aliens. It just seems so cheesy, boring, and uninteresting to me. What makes this different is that each aliens physiology exactly matches the needs of a position in American football.
I'm also a little unsure how someone not familiar with the in's and out's of American football will enjoy this book, as even for me, I sometimes skimmed some of the game scenes, and stats. (too many unimportant names to keep track of)
Fast paced, light and mostly fun. Although the xenophobic/racist storylines were repetitive, and a little ham-fisted and tiring, but overall the book was fine.
I'm usually not a fan of non-humanoid aliens. It just seems so cheesy, boring, and uninteresting to me. What makes this different is that each aliens physiology exactly matches the needs of a position in American football.
I'm also a little unsure how someone not familiar with the in's and out's of American football will enjoy this book, as even for me, I sometimes skimmed some of the game scenes, and stats. (too many unimportant names to keep track of)
January 25, 2012
The story of 19-year-old prodigy quarterback Quentin Barnes and his struggles to make it in the Galactic Football League. Raised in a religion that believes every non-human species is the spawn of Satan (literally), our plucky 7-foot, 360-pound hero (football players have gotten REALLY big by 2682) has to adjust to playing with and against aliens with 25-foot vertical leaps, 2.8 times in the 40 and 700 pounds of bulk. Luckily, not all at once. Oh, and the teams are used as smuggling vehicles for organized crime.
This sounds utterly ridiculous, but it isn't. Anyone that knows me knows that I can not stand fiction that does sports badly. The second-biggest flaw in the Harry Potter books, behind JKR desperately needing an editor that would point out the times she wrote 200 pages in which nothing happened, is Quidditch. The rules don't make any sense and the charity book that she wrote about the history of the sport is so embarrassingly bad that I would have returned it - I've never returned a book unless I got two copies - if the proceeds hadn't been going to charity.
I understand that not everyone loves sports, or knows as much about sports as I do. That's been my job for the last 22 years. But if you don't understand them, don't write about them. You wouldn't put chemistry scenes in a book if you didn't know anything about chemistry, and you wouldn't put graphic sex scenes in a novel if you were a virgin. Write what you know.
Scott Sigler knows football.
He had to advance the sport 700 years into the future, add alien races with superhuman abilities, and keep the whole thing balanced enough that the game can have the same rules and the same outcomes. That's not easy - the players with the 25-foot vertical leaps alone change the sport into a 3D game - but I'll be damned if he didn't pull it off without a single blunder. If there's a single notable football mistake in there, I didn't catch it, and I tend to catch these things. Ask my wife, who has had to suffer through hours of TV dramas with sports episodes.
(He's also a huge Lions fan, although I didn't learn that until I followed him on Twitter.)
I know I'm gushing - this is an entertaining YA novel, but it isn't the start of the next Foundation series - but it is so refreshing to see someone actually put some effort into sports fiction. I thought I was going to be doomed to wait for Justine Larbalestier's WNBA novel.
This sounds utterly ridiculous, but it isn't. Anyone that knows me knows that I can not stand fiction that does sports badly. The second-biggest flaw in the Harry Potter books, behind JKR desperately needing an editor that would point out the times she wrote 200 pages in which nothing happened, is Quidditch. The rules don't make any sense and the charity book that she wrote about the history of the sport is so embarrassingly bad that I would have returned it - I've never returned a book unless I got two copies - if the proceeds hadn't been going to charity.
I understand that not everyone loves sports, or knows as much about sports as I do. That's been my job for the last 22 years. But if you don't understand them, don't write about them. You wouldn't put chemistry scenes in a book if you didn't know anything about chemistry, and you wouldn't put graphic sex scenes in a novel if you were a virgin. Write what you know.
Scott Sigler knows football.
He had to advance the sport 700 years into the future, add alien races with superhuman abilities, and keep the whole thing balanced enough that the game can have the same rules and the same outcomes. That's not easy - the players with the 25-foot vertical leaps alone change the sport into a 3D game - but I'll be damned if he didn't pull it off without a single blunder. If there's a single notable football mistake in there, I didn't catch it, and I tend to catch these things. Ask my wife, who has had to suffer through hours of TV dramas with sports episodes.
(He's also a huge Lions fan, although I didn't learn that until I followed him on Twitter.)
I know I'm gushing - this is an entertaining YA novel, but it isn't the start of the next Foundation series - but it is so refreshing to see someone actually put some effort into sports fiction. I thought I was going to be doomed to wait for Justine Larbalestier's WNBA novel.
December 30, 2022
Everything you expect it to be. Though if you have no interest in sports I would struggle to make a case for reading this.
November 24, 2016
(Audiobook) This was something of a guilty pleasure. I love American football (Gridiron as we call it in Australia) and I love science fiction so a combination of the 2 sounded awesome.
I immediately identified this story as aimed at "young adults" because the main character Quentin is written as such an unlikeable dumb arse, a self centred a-hole all the way through the book.
It is a little concerning then that if this IS for young adults the language was quite strong and sexually violent. Quentin immediately resorts to violence whenever anything goes against him. He doesn't grow out of this or learn very much, since in the final stage of the book he is still resorting to threats and violence against everyone and anyone so I'm not sure what kind of message the author was trying to send to teens struggling with anger and too much testosterone.
I liked the way religion was a dividing factor in the galactic football league just like it is in NFL locker rooms but the racism storyline was a bit ham handed. The different alien species were interesting and well defined, the alien characters were fun and the football part was well written and performed.
My only quibble with the football part was the solution to the "running back problem" where no one had ever heard of the single back formation. There was some really funny stuff such as the colour commentator who can't help but say something inappropriate every time he opens his mouth.
Author Scott Sigler narrates and does the main voices very well lending character to Pine and Tweedy with his performance. When Quentin barks out plays in the huddle it sounds completely authentic. However I feel the production company that did the sound effects, editing and alien voices was TERRIBLE. The editor was too lazy to edit out gaps or even up the spacing when alien voices were used, which jarred me out of the story. It would have been much better for Sigler to give us an approximation of an alien voice then use digital effects but have the lines either jammed in or with lengthy pauses. Everyone who was not Scott Sigler sound like non actors on the level of a next door neighbour being brought in to read their parts with only one take. At one point someone stumbles over their line and it's not edited out. This was a shame because the galactic radio segments could have been really funny with more care taken in casting and producing the segments.
While there was plenty that annoyed me, overall there was enough to like to make me want to continue with the series and hope the audio problems are ironed out as it goes along. I have mentioned a lot of negatives in this review but it was also a lot of fun and Sigler did a good job of changing up the formula from the typical sports story.
I immediately identified this story as aimed at "young adults" because the main character Quentin is written as such an unlikeable dumb arse, a self centred a-hole all the way through the book.
It is a little concerning then that if this IS for young adults the language was quite strong and sexually violent. Quentin immediately resorts to violence whenever anything goes against him. He doesn't grow out of this or learn very much, since in the final stage of the book he is still resorting to threats and violence against everyone and anyone so I'm not sure what kind of message the author was trying to send to teens struggling with anger and too much testosterone.
I liked the way religion was a dividing factor in the galactic football league just like it is in NFL locker rooms but the racism storyline was a bit ham handed. The different alien species were interesting and well defined, the alien characters were fun and the football part was well written and performed.
My only quibble with the football part was the solution to the "running back problem" where no one had ever heard of the single back formation. There was some really funny stuff such as the colour commentator who can't help but say something inappropriate every time he opens his mouth.
Author Scott Sigler narrates and does the main voices very well lending character to Pine and Tweedy with his performance. When Quentin barks out plays in the huddle it sounds completely authentic. However I feel the production company that did the sound effects, editing and alien voices was TERRIBLE. The editor was too lazy to edit out gaps or even up the spacing when alien voices were used, which jarred me out of the story. It would have been much better for Sigler to give us an approximation of an alien voice then use digital effects but have the lines either jammed in or with lengthy pauses. Everyone who was not Scott Sigler sound like non actors on the level of a next door neighbour being brought in to read their parts with only one take. At one point someone stumbles over their line and it's not edited out. This was a shame because the galactic radio segments could have been really funny with more care taken in casting and producing the segments.
While there was plenty that annoyed me, overall there was enough to like to make me want to continue with the series and hope the audio problems are ironed out as it goes along. I have mentioned a lot of negatives in this review but it was also a lot of fun and Sigler did a good job of changing up the formula from the typical sports story.
Read
October 18, 2021Blood Bowl and NFL Blitz, the book.
If you’re like me, and enjoy American football, aliens, and science fiction, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. It furiously scratches all those itches. When Sigler describes the game action you’ll realize that he clearly understands the NFL, and adding box scores and ranking tables gives the story verisimilitude.
I love John Tweedy’s scrolling forehead tattoo, it’s good for a couple of laughs throughout the book; particularly when he faced off against his brother and his forehead flashed, “YOU WERE ALWAYS MOM’S FAVORITE.” Haha, great.
Character motivations at times don’t make sense. You don’t go from a selfish, naive, arrogant dumbass to the best teammate ever in one season. But can I really pick this nit when we’re dealing with Shaq-sized-humans running 3 second 40s versus giant terrifying aliens in a game of space football?
Fun read, nothing heavy, sometimes you just need to read some snack food.
Story-7, Language-7, Ideas-8, Characters-6, Enjoyment-7, Overall-7
If you’re like me, and enjoy American football, aliens, and science fiction, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. It furiously scratches all those itches. When Sigler describes the game action you’ll realize that he clearly understands the NFL, and adding box scores and ranking tables gives the story verisimilitude.
I love John Tweedy’s scrolling forehead tattoo, it’s good for a couple of laughs throughout the book; particularly when he faced off against his brother and his forehead flashed, “YOU WERE ALWAYS MOM’S FAVORITE.” Haha, great.
Character motivations at times don’t make sense. You don’t go from a selfish, naive, arrogant dumbass to the best teammate ever in one season. But can I really pick this nit when we’re dealing with Shaq-sized-humans running 3 second 40s versus giant terrifying aliens in a game of space football?
Fun read, nothing heavy, sometimes you just need to read some snack food.
Story-7, Language-7, Ideas-8, Characters-6, Enjoyment-7, Overall-7
January 14, 2017
Can't get enough of this series!
September 9, 2021
Notes:
- Scott Sigler has a good narration voice. However, I wasn't a fan of the background sound staying on during segments of the story.
- There are a lot of reviews saying that you don't have to like football to enjoy the story. That's not entirely true. If the game plays were more descriptive, anyone could listen and create their own vision of the story. That's not easy to do when it's a point A to point B toss, etc.
- Intro was great. It had a mix of setting & character foundation to pull the reader into the story. Middle chunk was a mass of wannabe team trying to claw to the top. Which sounds much more exciting than the even story progression.
*If the other audiobooks come up for sale, I'll get them.
- Scott Sigler has a good narration voice. However, I wasn't a fan of the background sound staying on during segments of the story.
- There are a lot of reviews saying that you don't have to like football to enjoy the story. That's not entirely true. If the game plays were more descriptive, anyone could listen and create their own vision of the story. That's not easy to do when it's a point A to point B toss, etc.
- Intro was great. It had a mix of setting & character foundation to pull the reader into the story. Middle chunk was a mass of wannabe team trying to claw to the top. Which sounds much more exciting than the even story progression.
*If the other audiobooks come up for sale, I'll get them.
June 2, 2024
4.5 stars rounded up. Highly entertaining! Interspecies football plus the mob plus politics!? In space!? What could go wrong?
February 2, 2010
The Rookie
Scott Sigler
Dark Overlord Press, 2009
First Line: Micovi’s three tiny moons hung in the evening sky like pitted purple grapes. (Technically, that’s the second line).
Having listened to both Infected and Contagious on audio you’d think I’d have noticed Sigler’s football fandom in the person of Perry Dawsey. Obviously that wasn’t the case and the appearance of The Rookie, if you’ll pardon the mixed sports reference, came out of left field. A Blood Bowl type D&D Encounter designed by ChattyDM and the appearance of new Blood Bowl video game this last year certainly had my attention primed for sci-fi/football mashups. Indeed, despite having never played a game it was Blood Bowl I first thought of when reading the synopsis of The Rookie with some vague memories of Mutant League Football worked in for good measure.
The Rookie takes place in a universe where the dominant alien species has “pacified” the various other races of the galaxy by letting them take out their aggressive tendencies through playing football. The Galactic Football League is divided into 3 “tiers” Tier 3 being the small time bush league, Tier 2 being the minors, and Tier 1 being the big show. The book follows the rising star of the titular rookie, quarterback Quentin Barnes. Barnes, in the opening act is recruited by the Ionith Krakens a tier 2 team. There are some serious hitches to this seeming turn of good fortune as Barnes suffers from a vicious brew of arrogance and racism ingrained by his hardscrabble upbringing in the mines of a close-minded human supremest world.
Fantastic alien creatures. Personal human drama. Football heroics. If any of these sound interesting to you then you should head out and pick up a copy of The Rookie. Everyone else? Read on…
I should have prefaced this review by stating that I’m not a football fan. In truth I’m not really a fan of any organized sport. Sports is never something that really clicked for me and the investment in time and energy it takes to be a fan I’d rather direct elsewhere. That doesn’t mean I can’t get drawn into the sports drama. I think the Major League films (well the first two anyway) are hilarious. I love The Mighty Ducks. I’ve seen Remember the Times countless times. I kind of liked Tin Cup. I even enjoyed the early football rom-com Leatherheads. Yet, I still can’t find the patience to sit down and watch an entire game/match/whatever of any sport.
So, I can’t comment on the technical aspects of Sigler’s football writing. Obviously some realism has to be abandoned to account for the sci-fi aspects of the players and worlds on which the games occur but how Sigler’s writing compares to actual gameplay. From the perspective of a neophyte, who knows next to nothing about the technical aspects of football, I never really felt lost during the novel and there is typically enough going on outside of pure football action that I never felt like I was left in the dark. Leaving the football “crunch” aside I had a hell of a good time following Quentin’s growth from backwater bumpkin the galactic football player. Sigler injected a strong element of organized crime into his world that provides additional tension over and above the on and off field action.
Sigler also manages to craft a marvelous well-realized world. The first printing of The Rookie includes some color pages in the center of the book that replicate a Galactic League magazine. It provides a basic primer on the races of the league, some of the teams, and some of the players. It also has an interview with several of the characters. Throughout the course of the book we get an introduction to the history of the galaxy and some of the races. I was particularly fond of the Sklorno who have turned football into a form of religion. The novel is also rife with scores and statistics that appear at the end of each game. The appendix even includes a timeline which, if you’re a Sigler fan, might provide a small surprise and a nice tip of the hat.
Big action set in wondrous locations with a galactic backrop disguises a rather down-to-earth tale of overcoming one’s weakness’ in order to achieve greatness. The Rookie isn’t necessarily a new story but an old one told with a fresh voice and an invigorating energy that is one hundred percent infectious. If you’ve yet to join the “Cult of Siglerism” then I can think of few better places to start then The Rookie. I’ll definitely be back on board for The Starter later next year in the mean time keep an eye for a Ancestor coming in June 2010.
Scott Sigler
Dark Overlord Press, 2009
First Line: Micovi’s three tiny moons hung in the evening sky like pitted purple grapes. (Technically, that’s the second line).
Having listened to both Infected and Contagious on audio you’d think I’d have noticed Sigler’s football fandom in the person of Perry Dawsey. Obviously that wasn’t the case and the appearance of The Rookie, if you’ll pardon the mixed sports reference, came out of left field. A Blood Bowl type D&D Encounter designed by ChattyDM and the appearance of new Blood Bowl video game this last year certainly had my attention primed for sci-fi/football mashups. Indeed, despite having never played a game it was Blood Bowl I first thought of when reading the synopsis of The Rookie with some vague memories of Mutant League Football worked in for good measure.
The Rookie takes place in a universe where the dominant alien species has “pacified” the various other races of the galaxy by letting them take out their aggressive tendencies through playing football. The Galactic Football League is divided into 3 “tiers” Tier 3 being the small time bush league, Tier 2 being the minors, and Tier 1 being the big show. The book follows the rising star of the titular rookie, quarterback Quentin Barnes. Barnes, in the opening act is recruited by the Ionith Krakens a tier 2 team. There are some serious hitches to this seeming turn of good fortune as Barnes suffers from a vicious brew of arrogance and racism ingrained by his hardscrabble upbringing in the mines of a close-minded human supremest world.
Fantastic alien creatures. Personal human drama. Football heroics. If any of these sound interesting to you then you should head out and pick up a copy of The Rookie. Everyone else? Read on…
I should have prefaced this review by stating that I’m not a football fan. In truth I’m not really a fan of any organized sport. Sports is never something that really clicked for me and the investment in time and energy it takes to be a fan I’d rather direct elsewhere. That doesn’t mean I can’t get drawn into the sports drama. I think the Major League films (well the first two anyway) are hilarious. I love The Mighty Ducks. I’ve seen Remember the Times countless times. I kind of liked Tin Cup. I even enjoyed the early football rom-com Leatherheads. Yet, I still can’t find the patience to sit down and watch an entire game/match/whatever of any sport.
So, I can’t comment on the technical aspects of Sigler’s football writing. Obviously some realism has to be abandoned to account for the sci-fi aspects of the players and worlds on which the games occur but how Sigler’s writing compares to actual gameplay. From the perspective of a neophyte, who knows next to nothing about the technical aspects of football, I never really felt lost during the novel and there is typically enough going on outside of pure football action that I never felt like I was left in the dark. Leaving the football “crunch” aside I had a hell of a good time following Quentin’s growth from backwater bumpkin the galactic football player. Sigler injected a strong element of organized crime into his world that provides additional tension over and above the on and off field action.
Sigler also manages to craft a marvelous well-realized world. The first printing of The Rookie includes some color pages in the center of the book that replicate a Galactic League magazine. It provides a basic primer on the races of the league, some of the teams, and some of the players. It also has an interview with several of the characters. Throughout the course of the book we get an introduction to the history of the galaxy and some of the races. I was particularly fond of the Sklorno who have turned football into a form of religion. The novel is also rife with scores and statistics that appear at the end of each game. The appendix even includes a timeline which, if you’re a Sigler fan, might provide a small surprise and a nice tip of the hat.
Big action set in wondrous locations with a galactic backrop disguises a rather down-to-earth tale of overcoming one’s weakness’ in order to achieve greatness. The Rookie isn’t necessarily a new story but an old one told with a fresh voice and an invigorating energy that is one hundred percent infectious. If you’ve yet to join the “Cult of Siglerism” then I can think of few better places to start then The Rookie. I’ll definitely be back on board for The Starter later next year in the mean time keep an eye for a Ancestor coming in June 2010.
April 28, 2022
This is likely not a book I would have generally picked to read though it's also not my first Scott Sigler book.
The premise of this book was very interesting, if a bit odd at times. The details of the actual football in the GFL are quite in depth for you football lovers and the sub plots could be quite applicable to today's world, in and out of football. Entertaining for the most part, it was interesting to see Quentin, the main character, develop and change over the course of the story.
I wouldn't say I am madly seeking out the next book but I may find myself reading it to see what happens at some point.
The premise of this book was very interesting, if a bit odd at times. The details of the actual football in the GFL are quite in depth for you football lovers and the sub plots could be quite applicable to today's world, in and out of football. Entertaining for the most part, it was interesting to see Quentin, the main character, develop and change over the course of the story.
I wouldn't say I am madly seeking out the next book but I may find myself reading it to see what happens at some point.
June 19, 2019
I first read Infected by Mr. Sigler, and then hunted down his podcasts, and well -- I am now one of his junkies. Each episode of The Rookie is introduced by Mr. Sigler on a road trip to various football homes -- he does a little tailgate trivia at most every stop.
About the book -- It is a football story, with a twist -- we are in the extreme future, and football is a Galactic enterprise. The best teams have multiple different races playing on the teams. It started out as eh...and I really hated Quentin Barnes (the rookie himself), but that changed as he grew. I am looking forward to the sequel and plan on trying to meet up with with Sigler at one of his tour stops.
Fun fun story, and I find myself thinking as I watch My Denver Broncos, that the back-up quarterback is really Itsock, and that Mamu Kiloway (spelling I am sure is wrong, as I didn't read it, I just listened) is on the line. It has become part of me.
2019-04-24 husband and I are re-listening to the series, in preparation for the release of The Gangster (coming soon) -- we will see how far we make it before the new one comes out :-)
About the book -- It is a football story, with a twist -- we are in the extreme future, and football is a Galactic enterprise. The best teams have multiple different races playing on the teams. It started out as eh...and I really hated Quentin Barnes (the rookie himself), but that changed as he grew. I am looking forward to the sequel and plan on trying to meet up with with Sigler at one of his tour stops.
Fun fun story, and I find myself thinking as I watch My Denver Broncos, that the back-up quarterback is really Itsock, and that Mamu Kiloway (spelling I am sure is wrong, as I didn't read it, I just listened) is on the line. It has become part of me.
2019-04-24 husband and I are re-listening to the series, in preparation for the release of The Gangster (coming soon) -- we will see how far we make it before the new one comes out :-)
September 22, 2020
Interesting take on a future universe that is American Football crazy... Worth a look if you like sports stories and science fiction. I found the history in the back of the book interesting, the author definitely took time to develop timelines and history to support his universe.
April 7, 2022
Fantastic alien football!
I didn't expect to love this book like I did. It was nearly perfect. Barnes grew as a character. The football action was exceptional. The social commentary was poignant. I plan on reading the rest of the series.
I didn't expect to love this book like I did. It was nearly perfect. Barnes grew as a character. The football action was exceptional. The social commentary was poignant. I plan on reading the rest of the series.
April 16, 2014
While browsing on Amazon I came across this book. The cover picture looked a little hokie and I almost passed it up until I looked and saw this thing had huge review after review.
I read a couple and decided to take a chance with my $4 bucks and let me tell you...it was cool!
Welcome to the Galactic Football League!
A place were races from all over the galaxy come together and beat the snot out of each other to become league champions.
That is the basics of it and I didn't expect more than a little entertainment but I was very surprised with this great gem of a find.
This isn't Shakespeare and it's not supposed to be.
What author Scott Sigler offers up is a fast paced story about human rookie quarterback Quentin Barnes coming up from the minor Tier 3 league and his journey to becoming a star in the tier 2 division.
It took me a bit to get behind Quentin and his story because the character gets pretty whiny for a bit and is very stuck on himself until he figures out what it takes to be a tier 2 player.
He's not a tortured character but he brings some baggage and a chip on his shoulder that after a while I found myself yelling, just SUCK IT UP! and figure it out fool!
All the characters in the story are fleshed out just enough to give you a connection but there isn't a lot of meat in characterization save Quentin but the action is where this book truly shines.
Sigler writes pretty good football.
The action flows very well and he really brings you in it. You can feel the violence of the gridiron and he does brilliant job of putting you on the field with players.
Even if you are not a big football fan this book is easy to get into because Sigler explains some of what is going on for those not so schooled on the rules and formations and throws in links to his website that expands on that information if you want to know more.
I've found a lot of spacey sports stories to be very convoluted in how they present their league structure and how it all works but again Sigler breaks it down to easily understand.
The GFL works on a 3 tier system with 3 being the low ranks and tier 1 being the big show.
The story talks a little about the history that built up to the league beginnings and how all of the races came together to compete but the author lays out a huge timeline of all those events at the end of the book if you really want to know how it all happened.
All in all The Rookie is a great "guy" read. Not to say the ladies wouldn't like it but it definitely has the feel of classic dude sports flick.
If you are looking for a fun and fast action punch get this start to what I hope is a great series of hard, galactic, football competition!
I am now a die hard Ionath Krakens fan and will be getting my team jersey from Scott Sigler's website very soon.
I read a couple and decided to take a chance with my $4 bucks and let me tell you...it was cool!
Welcome to the Galactic Football League!
A place were races from all over the galaxy come together and beat the snot out of each other to become league champions.
That is the basics of it and I didn't expect more than a little entertainment but I was very surprised with this great gem of a find.
This isn't Shakespeare and it's not supposed to be.
What author Scott Sigler offers up is a fast paced story about human rookie quarterback Quentin Barnes coming up from the minor Tier 3 league and his journey to becoming a star in the tier 2 division.
It took me a bit to get behind Quentin and his story because the character gets pretty whiny for a bit and is very stuck on himself until he figures out what it takes to be a tier 2 player.
He's not a tortured character but he brings some baggage and a chip on his shoulder that after a while I found myself yelling, just SUCK IT UP! and figure it out fool!
All the characters in the story are fleshed out just enough to give you a connection but there isn't a lot of meat in characterization save Quentin but the action is where this book truly shines.
Sigler writes pretty good football.
The action flows very well and he really brings you in it. You can feel the violence of the gridiron and he does brilliant job of putting you on the field with players.
Even if you are not a big football fan this book is easy to get into because Sigler explains some of what is going on for those not so schooled on the rules and formations and throws in links to his website that expands on that information if you want to know more.
I've found a lot of spacey sports stories to be very convoluted in how they present their league structure and how it all works but again Sigler breaks it down to easily understand.
The GFL works on a 3 tier system with 3 being the low ranks and tier 1 being the big show.
The story talks a little about the history that built up to the league beginnings and how all of the races came together to compete but the author lays out a huge timeline of all those events at the end of the book if you really want to know how it all happened.
All in all The Rookie is a great "guy" read. Not to say the ladies wouldn't like it but it definitely has the feel of classic dude sports flick.
If you are looking for a fun and fast action punch get this start to what I hope is a great series of hard, galactic, football competition!
I am now a die hard Ionath Krakens fan and will be getting my team jersey from Scott Sigler's website very soon.
July 1, 2021
I’ve had a copy of The Rookie on my bookshelf for several years but just wasn’t quite sure if it was in my wheelhouse or not. Science fiction - check, space opera - check, other worlds - check, aliens - check, great character arc - check. Football…? - not so much. I’ve been wavering on whether or not to read it.
So a bookstagram friend convinced me that I should give it a try. Yes, there’s football, but the storyline is all of the other stuff I love.
So I gave it a go. And she was right. Loved Quentin and Pine, and a few of the alien players. The story itself was good. The world building was incredible.
The football? Meh. There were times where I did really get into some of those scenes. But, honestly, I glazed over during those bits.
Overall, I did enjoy The Rookie. The sci-fi elements were really fun and entertaining. If you enjoy football and/or sci-fi, I think you’d enjoy this book.
So a bookstagram friend convinced me that I should give it a try. Yes, there’s football, but the storyline is all of the other stuff I love.
So I gave it a go. And she was right. Loved Quentin and Pine, and a few of the alien players. The story itself was good. The world building was incredible.
The football? Meh. There were times where I did really get into some of those scenes. But, honestly, I glazed over during those bits.
Overall, I did enjoy The Rookie. The sci-fi elements were really fun and entertaining. If you enjoy football and/or sci-fi, I think you’d enjoy this book.
May 3, 2010
A fun sf sport novel. The football (American style) story meshed really well with a multi-alien universe. I knew next to nothing about football going into the book, but by the end felt I had had an enjoyable education on the sport. Though it doesn't try anything new, putting a sports narrative in an sf context made for a refreshing change. Set up for a lot of sequel (where oh where did the whole "I'm a orphan of uncertain origins and where are my parents" subplot go to? Probably book number 2 which I will probably download when I'm in the mood for another fun, quite enjoyably violent book, which delights in poking fun at religious extremists. Mr. Sigler does a great job reading his own stuff, and the little inserts of fake sports-shows is a clever technique to keep the reader up to speed.
March 2, 2011
-=Gridiron Demolition =-
IF you’re a fan of hard hitting football... You better hold on to your jockstrap!! From the mind of Scott Sigler comes a futuristic football story of epic proportions. The Rookie grabs you from the start as you willingly come along for a ride that takes you through the struggles of working up the minor ranks to reach the ultimate goal of Tier One Football in the Galactic Football League. It’s a Tier that many dream of, but where only a few can obtain; a place where the players fight to stay alive on and off the field. By the time you reach the end… you’ll find yourself standing in the tunnel ready to take the field with the Krakens!
IF you’re a fan of hard hitting football... You better hold on to your jockstrap!! From the mind of Scott Sigler comes a futuristic football story of epic proportions. The Rookie grabs you from the start as you willingly come along for a ride that takes you through the struggles of working up the minor ranks to reach the ultimate goal of Tier One Football in the Galactic Football League. It’s a Tier that many dream of, but where only a few can obtain; a place where the players fight to stay alive on and off the field. By the time you reach the end… you’ll find yourself standing in the tunnel ready to take the field with the Krakens!
February 18, 2011
OK. I loved this book. At the beginning, I wanted to kick the main character in the teeth a few times but I understood the reasons why Sigler started Barnes out in a backwater planet full of racism and heavily sheltered ideology. I understood it, but I still wanted to shove Barnes' head into a toilet and swirly him until he got with the program. And then the kid grew up and I warmed up to him and was rooting/wincing for him all the way through the final game. Well done. Now I'm off to snag the sequel The Starter.
March 24, 2015
Listened to this from Audible, narrated by the author. Great production. They had the crowd noises, sports show broadcasts, the works.
Fun book, and I kept wanting to go back to it.
Fun book, and I kept wanting to go back to it.
November 24, 2022
A friend who is a fan of Scott Sigler suggested I read this so I checked it out and have now listened to all the books currently available in the series. This is not the best writing in the world and I am not a football fan, but this is so entertaining, that I was really sorry to get to the end.
I grew up in West Texas (Friday Night Lights) and was in high school marching band. I then went off to Texas A&M (home of the Fighting Texas Aggies - Gig Em'!) so of course I was a complete football fanatic in my younger years. However, as age and a little wisdom crept into my life I was more and more disturbed by the level of violence in football on and off the field (Michael Vick) and the serious injuries that resulted and have lost my taste for the game. However, I have to admit, that if I had a chance to see a Galactic Football game (can you imagine seeing a player leap 20 feet in the air to catch a pass?), I would be there with bells on!
The basic premise is simple if a bit silly - far in the future an alien race has conquered most of colonized space which includes 5 different sentient beings (including humans). They want to find a way to unite these varied groups of sentients, many of whom hate each other, and they do it through a Galactic Football League. The story is about the League, these many types of "people", a coming threat to all the sentients, and most especially it is a great coming of age story of one boy, Quentin Barnes.
If you only like "hard" science fiction, if your religious/political views tend to be fundamentalist, or you can't handle any violence in your books, you won't like this series. If you like soft sci-fi with some great aliens, lots of action, and some great characters, you're probably going to really enjoy The Rookie. Kind of goes without saying that if you love football, you will probably get a kick out of this book, but you really don't have to be a fan to enjoy the story. (It does help a little if you know the basics of football, but that probably isn't really necessary to enjoy the story.)
I had only two problems with the series:
1. Quentin Barnes is presented with many opportunities to expand his mind and make choices. He doesn't always make the right choices, but he eventually grows in ways that make him easy to like and understand. However, I draw the line at having to accept that other people's cultures are always OK. One group of aliens in the book eats live animals - not because their biology requires that just because that's what they like. I'm NEVER going to say that it is OK to inflict pain and agony on another living being just because that's what you like to do. I think the book takes accepting other cultures maybe a step too far - some cultures include child slavery, no education for girls, caste systems and that's just not OK in my book. Our own culture encourages eating and drinking to excess along with a lot of other ugly things and that's not OK either. I just don't think open-mindedness means you have to turn a blind eye to cruelty or stupidity or discrimination.
2. The books start out saying that they are "suitable for readers 10 and up" and I TOTALLY disagree. While the value systems portrayed are mostly quite positive and most parents would be happy with "moral messages" woven into the narrative, there is a LOT of violence both on and off the field in these books. Players are maimed (a guy has his leg bit off!) and killed during the games and there are murders, torture, and executions that take place off the field. I would never recommend the books for someone as young as 10 - I think older teens would be OK.
With those two issues said, the series is extremely entertaining, really funny (some great satire on sports journalism), and the audio presentation is wonderful - totally pulls you into the story. I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Rookie and all of its sequels.
I grew up in West Texas (Friday Night Lights) and was in high school marching band. I then went off to Texas A&M (home of the Fighting Texas Aggies - Gig Em'!) so of course I was a complete football fanatic in my younger years. However, as age and a little wisdom crept into my life I was more and more disturbed by the level of violence in football on and off the field (Michael Vick) and the serious injuries that resulted and have lost my taste for the game. However, I have to admit, that if I had a chance to see a Galactic Football game (can you imagine seeing a player leap 20 feet in the air to catch a pass?), I would be there with bells on!
The basic premise is simple if a bit silly - far in the future an alien race has conquered most of colonized space which includes 5 different sentient beings (including humans). They want to find a way to unite these varied groups of sentients, many of whom hate each other, and they do it through a Galactic Football League. The story is about the League, these many types of "people", a coming threat to all the sentients, and most especially it is a great coming of age story of one boy, Quentin Barnes.
If you only like "hard" science fiction, if your religious/political views tend to be fundamentalist, or you can't handle any violence in your books, you won't like this series. If you like soft sci-fi with some great aliens, lots of action, and some great characters, you're probably going to really enjoy The Rookie. Kind of goes without saying that if you love football, you will probably get a kick out of this book, but you really don't have to be a fan to enjoy the story. (It does help a little if you know the basics of football, but that probably isn't really necessary to enjoy the story.)
I had only two problems with the series:
1. Quentin Barnes is presented with many opportunities to expand his mind and make choices. He doesn't always make the right choices, but he eventually grows in ways that make him easy to like and understand. However, I draw the line at having to accept that other people's cultures are always OK. One group of aliens in the book eats live animals - not because their biology requires that just because that's what they like. I'm NEVER going to say that it is OK to inflict pain and agony on another living being just because that's what you like to do. I think the book takes accepting other cultures maybe a step too far - some cultures include child slavery, no education for girls, caste systems and that's just not OK in my book. Our own culture encourages eating and drinking to excess along with a lot of other ugly things and that's not OK either. I just don't think open-mindedness means you have to turn a blind eye to cruelty or stupidity or discrimination.
2. The books start out saying that they are "suitable for readers 10 and up" and I TOTALLY disagree. While the value systems portrayed are mostly quite positive and most parents would be happy with "moral messages" woven into the narrative, there is a LOT of violence both on and off the field in these books. Players are maimed (a guy has his leg bit off!) and killed during the games and there are murders, torture, and executions that take place off the field. I would never recommend the books for someone as young as 10 - I think older teens would be OK.
With those two issues said, the series is extremely entertaining, really funny (some great satire on sports journalism), and the audio presentation is wonderful - totally pulls you into the story. I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Rookie and all of its sequels.
February 12, 2021
To be honest when I started to read this I was worried it would be a bit much. A whole no universe to learn can be a lot lol. However the way this book is written it reminds you as you go. The differant aliens are often discribed so over time it becomes much easier to picture them. The history is something I was worried about too, but never comes up like you think it would, just what you need to keep the story going. Very well written and easy to follow (even if you do not like football, but then again who doesnt lol). Lots of fun and twists along the way. Very discriptive which makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. Very well done. Have to get the rest of the set now.
June 29, 2020
I didn't know what I would think of a sci-fi book that was so solidly sports themed. It was a clever genre mashup. Great care and effort were put into the audiobook, too. I'm interested to see what happens with the next book.
May 10, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
February 26, 2021
OK now THAT was fun! If you enjoy Sci-Fi and football this would be a good one for you. I love the alien worlds and cultures shown. Watching the Rookie become a leader was equally enjoyable. I especially loved that he got over his ego and racism and learned to appreciate the different alien races.
It was a little too much on the technical side for me with all the player and team stats but I'm sure the hardcore football lovers would enjoy that.
I don't know that I will continue this series anytime soon but it's certainly not off the table! I am still not sure how I ended up with this on my shelf 🤔🤔🤔 Good thing I have Book Bingo to help find these hidden gems 🤣🤣🤣
It was a little too much on the technical side for me with all the player and team stats but I'm sure the hardcore football lovers would enjoy that.
I don't know that I will continue this series anytime soon but it's certainly not off the table! I am still not sure how I ended up with this on my shelf 🤔🤔🤔 Good thing I have Book Bingo to help find these hidden gems 🤣🤣🤣
May 28, 2014
I picked this up because it had such strong reviews. I had some reservations, but I was hopeful that the volume of positive sentiment would prove me wrong. I should have trusted my gut.
I expected there would have to be something mind-blowing either plot-wise or with regard to worldbuilding to account for the good reviews.
If there was, such a revelation, it remained hidden to me.
First off, my main fear was that this was going to read like Blood Bowl/40K fan fiction. That concern was at least partially assuaged. Sigler largely avoided the temptation to go for the easy jokes and puns that GW did opting instead to show respect for the source material. Unlike Blood Bowl, which is largely a parody of American Football viewed through the satirical lens of the British creators who don’t quite, “get-it,” Sigler clearly loves football and understands how the game works. The X’s and O’s are far more satisfying than they would be in a Blood Bowl in the 40,000th millennium novel would be.
Sigler understands football.
What he doesn’t seem to understand, based on the novel, are interpersonal relationships or team dynamics.
SPOILERS BELOW
I understand the need to paint Quentin as the lone wolf who succeeds all on his own, but its simply not a reasonable assumption that he could have gotten to where he was even in Tier Three without a basic understanding of how teams work. I know that the trope depends on him learning a lesson and then undergoing the transformation into a leader with a capital L.
What I don’t get is how utterly befuddled he seems by the acts of kindness his new teammates offer. I don’t see how he could have survived that long without learning that lesson already. It’s one thing to be distrustful of new people, but it’s quite another to be outright hostile. It makes no sense. He was an orphan. Most anyone else in such a situation would be opportunistic and if there were hostile thoughts, they’d bury them in favor of survival. Yet Quentin decides to alienate the entire team, including the coach, before he even plays a down.
He worked in a mine. Have you ever seen a mining accident where one guy dies and gets trapped? There’s always dozens of them. They rely on one another for safety just like teammates do in other dynamics. They watch each others’ backs.
I don’t see why the guys at Tier Three would have put up with the “me-first” stuff anymore than the linemen in Tier Two did when they let him get pummeled in his first start.
Second, I think the idea of football as a substitute for war, (i.e. Bread and Circuses) is pretty well-trodden ground. Blood Bowl did that long ago.
What I would have liked to see is background as to why the races gravitated toward the sport.
I mean, if I were building a football team with infinite alien physiology to choose from, I’d pick linemen with no arms. Try calling a holding penalty when they have no arms. How does out-of-bounds work when you’re not a biped? What protective equipment does a being with no legs or shoulders wear? If their brain is in their chest, do they wear helmets? If so, where? How do you tackle something with no lower body?
I think going outside basic humanoid physiology makes the action difficult to visualize, especially given how committed to the rules of the game Sigler is.
I think it would have worked better had all the players been humanoid or if there were new rules created to account for these kinds of things.
Finally, I understand why death is an ever-present motif in Blood Bowl, where war is eternal and life is cheap.
But in the GFL, these players are expensive and hard to cultivate. I feel like the laissez faire attitude of the league and the owners who have to replace the players seems a bit incongruous with the world. Yes, the game is brutal and dangerous, but these players are expensive investments. I don’t think the owners would be so casual about losing a starting player to a fatality. Maybe if you could clone a star player or something, it would make more sense that they don’t seem to care.
All in all, it was an interesting read, but fell short of what I expected. It had just enough football in it for the sports nerd in me to ask difficult questions, and just enough sci-fi for the geek in me to get invested in the world-building. Unfortunately, it needed to go a lot more in-depth with one aspect or the other for me to really enjoy it.
I expected there would have to be something mind-blowing either plot-wise or with regard to worldbuilding to account for the good reviews.
If there was, such a revelation, it remained hidden to me.
First off, my main fear was that this was going to read like Blood Bowl/40K fan fiction. That concern was at least partially assuaged. Sigler largely avoided the temptation to go for the easy jokes and puns that GW did opting instead to show respect for the source material. Unlike Blood Bowl, which is largely a parody of American Football viewed through the satirical lens of the British creators who don’t quite, “get-it,” Sigler clearly loves football and understands how the game works. The X’s and O’s are far more satisfying than they would be in a Blood Bowl in the 40,000th millennium novel would be.
Sigler understands football.
What he doesn’t seem to understand, based on the novel, are interpersonal relationships or team dynamics.
SPOILERS BELOW
I understand the need to paint Quentin as the lone wolf who succeeds all on his own, but its simply not a reasonable assumption that he could have gotten to where he was even in Tier Three without a basic understanding of how teams work. I know that the trope depends on him learning a lesson and then undergoing the transformation into a leader with a capital L.
What I don’t get is how utterly befuddled he seems by the acts of kindness his new teammates offer. I don’t see how he could have survived that long without learning that lesson already. It’s one thing to be distrustful of new people, but it’s quite another to be outright hostile. It makes no sense. He was an orphan. Most anyone else in such a situation would be opportunistic and if there were hostile thoughts, they’d bury them in favor of survival. Yet Quentin decides to alienate the entire team, including the coach, before he even plays a down.
He worked in a mine. Have you ever seen a mining accident where one guy dies and gets trapped? There’s always dozens of them. They rely on one another for safety just like teammates do in other dynamics. They watch each others’ backs.
I don’t see why the guys at Tier Three would have put up with the “me-first” stuff anymore than the linemen in Tier Two did when they let him get pummeled in his first start.
Second, I think the idea of football as a substitute for war, (i.e. Bread and Circuses) is pretty well-trodden ground. Blood Bowl did that long ago.
What I would have liked to see is background as to why the races gravitated toward the sport.
I mean, if I were building a football team with infinite alien physiology to choose from, I’d pick linemen with no arms. Try calling a holding penalty when they have no arms. How does out-of-bounds work when you’re not a biped? What protective equipment does a being with no legs or shoulders wear? If their brain is in their chest, do they wear helmets? If so, where? How do you tackle something with no lower body?
I think going outside basic humanoid physiology makes the action difficult to visualize, especially given how committed to the rules of the game Sigler is.
I think it would have worked better had all the players been humanoid or if there were new rules created to account for these kinds of things.
Finally, I understand why death is an ever-present motif in Blood Bowl, where war is eternal and life is cheap.
But in the GFL, these players are expensive and hard to cultivate. I feel like the laissez faire attitude of the league and the owners who have to replace the players seems a bit incongruous with the world. Yes, the game is brutal and dangerous, but these players are expensive investments. I don’t think the owners would be so casual about losing a starting player to a fatality. Maybe if you could clone a star player or something, it would make more sense that they don’t seem to care.
All in all, it was an interesting read, but fell short of what I expected. It had just enough football in it for the sports nerd in me to ask difficult questions, and just enough sci-fi for the geek in me to get invested in the world-building. Unfortunately, it needed to go a lot more in-depth with one aspect or the other for me to really enjoy it.
September 18, 2021
What's not to love - space opera aliens and football!
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