What do you think?
Rate this book
Galactic Keegan
The near future. Earth has been invaded by the L'zuhl, an aggressive, imperialistic alien race who have laid waste to the galaxy for centuries. The few human survivors have been evacuated to the farthest reaches of space to rebuild and fight back against the L'zuhl onslaught.
There, on the distant planet of Palangonia, in a large, walled compound that houses the new human colony, lives the former Newcastle United and England boss Kevin Keegan, now manager of Palangonia FC.
As the war rages, Keegan would love it if he could focus on the most important thing – picking up three points on Saturday against the neighbouring nebula – but with whispers of a L'zuhl spy on the loose in the compound, it falls to Keegan himself to find the culprit before it's too late...
There, on the distant planet of Palangonia, in a large, walled compound that houses the new human colony, lives the former Newcastle United and England boss Kevin Keegan, now manager of Palangonia FC.
As the war rages, Keegan would love it if he could focus on the most important thing – picking up three points on Saturday against the neighbouring nebula – but with whispers of a L'zuhl spy on the loose in the compound, it falls to Keegan himself to find the culprit before it's too late...
- GenresScience Fiction
1 pages, Audio CD
First published May 28, 2020
4 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Scott Innes
2 books7 followersScott Innes was born in 1984 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire and is now based in East Sussex. He has worked for the NHS for over seventeen years. Scott has been the writer of the @GalacticKeegan Twitter account since early 2014, and his debut novel, Galactic Keegan, was published by Unbound in May 2020.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 10, 2020
Mildly amusing. A light SciFi comedy with a style vaguely similar to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, in that the humour often relies on contemporary characters finding themselves in an unexpected, exotic and quite unbelievable SciFi scenario.
There is a strict entry requirement before you read this - you must be familiar with football players and coaches from English football about 25+ years ago, especially the provincially minded and sometimes mediocre British players from before the period when the English league has been enriched by the best from around the world.
The story starts after we discover that Earth has been destroyed by an aggressive alien race. Other beings from around the Galaxy have evacuated whoever is left from Earth to distant, scattered planets. Kevin Keegan is our first person narrator, someone who in real life was an excellent football player, and more recently a coach/manager of teams with varying success, including England for a spell. On the planet where he’s an evacuee Keegan manages an indifferent football team, in a galactic league. Typical attendance of about 35 spectators.
The humour, and I found it a bit limited in scope, centres on Keegan and his fellow footballers often being shocked that their efforts with the football team take second place to the galactic war taking place around them, and impending annihilation. Why can’t anyone else see that 3 league points from a win next weekend is more important than life and death..?! Also the rather stilted, cliched, language employed by professional footballers.
The plot is mildly amusing, reaching a chuckle level, though incredibly unlikely and contrived, with alien spies, hostile natives on the planet, unexpected godlike powers from one of Keegan’s assistants, a rather sympathetic robot and, shock of shocks, financial pressures on Keegan’s team threatening closure....
I enjoyed it because of the frequent references to footballers I was familiar with, and the rather unsophisticated humour coming from the incomprehension of everyday characters, whose interests extend only to football, placed in a scenario where their sport is secondary to potential galactic scale apocalypse. You really will not like this book unless you understand the references to English footballers of a previous generation!
Probably only 3* humour but because I’m a Football fan of the right age then 4* from me and a recommendation to my fellow football loving friends. Also a heart warming message coming from the camaraderie of a team!
“And yes, okay, there are some people who believe that funding a football team during a time of galactic war is an appalling frivolity – I won’t name names, that’s not my style, but General Leigh is one of them.”
“This is General Lawrence Leigh, commander of the Palangonian Compound,’ he said, sounding so far up his own backside that his head was practically coming up through his throat.”
There is a strict entry requirement before you read this - you must be familiar with football players and coaches from English football about 25+ years ago, especially the provincially minded and sometimes mediocre British players from before the period when the English league has been enriched by the best from around the world.
The story starts after we discover that Earth has been destroyed by an aggressive alien race. Other beings from around the Galaxy have evacuated whoever is left from Earth to distant, scattered planets. Kevin Keegan is our first person narrator, someone who in real life was an excellent football player, and more recently a coach/manager of teams with varying success, including England for a spell. On the planet where he’s an evacuee Keegan manages an indifferent football team, in a galactic league. Typical attendance of about 35 spectators.
The humour, and I found it a bit limited in scope, centres on Keegan and his fellow footballers often being shocked that their efforts with the football team take second place to the galactic war taking place around them, and impending annihilation. Why can’t anyone else see that 3 league points from a win next weekend is more important than life and death..?! Also the rather stilted, cliched, language employed by professional footballers.
The plot is mildly amusing, reaching a chuckle level, though incredibly unlikely and contrived, with alien spies, hostile natives on the planet, unexpected godlike powers from one of Keegan’s assistants, a rather sympathetic robot and, shock of shocks, financial pressures on Keegan’s team threatening closure....
I enjoyed it because of the frequent references to footballers I was familiar with, and the rather unsophisticated humour coming from the incomprehension of everyday characters, whose interests extend only to football, placed in a scenario where their sport is secondary to potential galactic scale apocalypse. You really will not like this book unless you understand the references to English footballers of a previous generation!
Probably only 3* humour but because I’m a Football fan of the right age then 4* from me and a recommendation to my fellow football loving friends. Also a heart warming message coming from the camaraderie of a team!
“And yes, okay, there are some people who believe that funding a football team during a time of galactic war is an appalling frivolity – I won’t name names, that’s not my style, but General Leigh is one of them.”
“This is General Lawrence Leigh, commander of the Palangonian Compound,’ he said, sounding so far up his own backside that his head was practically coming up through his throat.”
July 1, 2020
Galactic Keegan is a rollicking space adventure set on the planet Palagonia, humanity's last bastion after earth has been destroyed by the L'zuhl, a warring race of lizard aliens, and a damn nuisance! Kev Keenan is a pure footballing man, who's of course concerned about humanity's survival and all that, but who's real focus is on Palagonia FC picking up three points on Saturday.
Fans of comedy in their sci-fi will undoubtedly find Galactic Keegan fun, if not quite an equal to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If your interest is in robots struggling to understand what it means to be human, you'll probably appreciate the works of Isaac Asimov or Philip K Dick more. If humanity's survival after a planetary genocide is your thing there are various stories by the likes of Arthur C Clarke and Ray Bradbury that ought to tickle your fancy. If you like a cringy laugh about a clueless, bumbling idiot who accidentally solves problems he created himself, by leaning heavily upon more capable subordinates, you should watch The Office. But if you haven't time to wade through all these magnificent titles and prefer to catch all the above tropes in one quick go, Galactic Keegan is for you! It might seem a bit harsh mentioning all these other stories that do the same things better, but I'm an Arsenal fan, so I've always had a soft spot for fourth place.
I disagree with other reviews that say something to the effect of "you don't need to be a football fan to appreciate the humor in this book." It is chock full of football references that just won't land on someone who's never tried to explain the away goals rule to tennis enthusiast. Jokes about Sam Allerdyce pillaging an hors d'oeuvres tray or riding a tandem bicycle with Arsene Wenger are just funnier if you know who these people are. Still, there's plenty of good old Englishmen-insisting-on-common-courtesy-in-the-face-of-unspeakable-tragedy type humor to please even the most sports illiterate reader.
This book is not for serious sci-fi readers, or serious football fans, or serious people of any walk of life. But if you like these things, and like a laugh, Galactic Keegan is for you.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review Galactic Keegan. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Fans of comedy in their sci-fi will undoubtedly find Galactic Keegan fun, if not quite an equal to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If your interest is in robots struggling to understand what it means to be human, you'll probably appreciate the works of Isaac Asimov or Philip K Dick more. If humanity's survival after a planetary genocide is your thing there are various stories by the likes of Arthur C Clarke and Ray Bradbury that ought to tickle your fancy. If you like a cringy laugh about a clueless, bumbling idiot who accidentally solves problems he created himself, by leaning heavily upon more capable subordinates, you should watch The Office. But if you haven't time to wade through all these magnificent titles and prefer to catch all the above tropes in one quick go, Galactic Keegan is for you! It might seem a bit harsh mentioning all these other stories that do the same things better, but I'm an Arsenal fan, so I've always had a soft spot for fourth place.
I disagree with other reviews that say something to the effect of "you don't need to be a football fan to appreciate the humor in this book." It is chock full of football references that just won't land on someone who's never tried to explain the away goals rule to tennis enthusiast. Jokes about Sam Allerdyce pillaging an hors d'oeuvres tray or riding a tandem bicycle with Arsene Wenger are just funnier if you know who these people are. Still, there's plenty of good old Englishmen-insisting-on-common-courtesy-in-the-face-of-unspeakable-tragedy type humor to please even the most sports illiterate reader.
This book is not for serious sci-fi readers, or serious football fans, or serious people of any walk of life. But if you like these things, and like a laugh, Galactic Keegan is for you.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review Galactic Keegan. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
August 5, 2020
Endless references to obscure 90s footballers, a Hitchhiker's-style intergalactic plot (being very generous), whole chapters devoted solely to setting up a mildly amusing pun on the last line... And I loved every page of it.
I devoured this book in a couple of hours, and had a few genuine laugh out loud moments. I'm a huge fan of the comedic style of the Twitter account, and what can I say - Scott Innes, you've done it again! Surely a movie/ TV adaptation is next in line.
I devoured this book in a couple of hours, and had a few genuine laugh out loud moments. I'm a huge fan of the comedic style of the Twitter account, and what can I say - Scott Innes, you've done it again! Surely a movie/ TV adaptation is next in line.
May 29, 2020
A thoroughly enjoyable read with twists and turns to rival the 1995-96 premier league season. A good, fun story sprinkled with Galactic Keegan anecdotes and asides. Scott makes this writing lark look as easy as falling off a racing bike.
June 7, 2020
The first thing I have to say is, don't be put off by the title! This book is not about football and is not only for football fans. If you want a good laugh, then read it. Knowing who the references are about may help, but not knowing definitely does not detract from the story or the humour. I'm vaguely aware of many of the names dropped by Kev throughout the book - I'm really only half-aware of who Kevin Keegan is - but I loved every minute of the story. The action, and jokes, are sometimes corny, even cliched, but it doesn't matter. It's a heartwarming, funny adventure, which happens to be set in space, but is more about friendship than anything else. Just what we all need!
My thanks to Scott and the Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read the book.
My thanks to Scott and the Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read the book.
June 6, 2020
I absolutely loved reading this book. The combination of football, humour and friendship made it a really fun read.
Although it started off being mainly about football, it morphed into more than that. It became about the humans of Palangonia fighting for their lives.
It was really well written and I loved the humour in it, which had me laughing out loud throughout the book! Thanks for that, Scott!
If you love football, you should definitely should give it a go. Actually, even if you don't know anything about football, I think you should still give it a go!
Thank you to the Pigeonhole and Scott Innes for giving us the opportunity to read this book!
Although it started off being mainly about football, it morphed into more than that. It became about the humans of Palangonia fighting for their lives.
It was really well written and I loved the humour in it, which had me laughing out loud throughout the book! Thanks for that, Scott!
If you love football, you should definitely should give it a go. Actually, even if you don't know anything about football, I think you should still give it a go!
Thank you to the Pigeonhole and Scott Innes for giving us the opportunity to read this book!
June 15, 2020
‘Galactic Keegan’ is a fantasy novel that unites sci-fi and football. I enjoy both genres in small doses, but I'm not an expert on either. Nevertheless, I was delighted by the humour and wisdom in this book. Although the action takes place in a distant galaxy, the lifestyle of the earthlings evacuated there is similar to the one they enjoyed on Earth. As for the football-related content, most of the action takes place off the field, and no-one pays any attention to the offside rule, or any other rule for that matter. I recommend 'Galactic Keegan' to anyone who enjoys a good laugh at human nature, and likes to see the good guys win in the end.
November 21, 2020
As soon as I saw the title, I knew I would like this book, but my ultimate delight came from the footballer references, which are plentiful, and form a frame around the narrative, which is a sort of cross between Pigs in Space, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Match of the Day - there’s even a robot whose doleful tones recall Mark Lawrenson’s downbeat delivery.
If you loved football in - and footballers of - the 80s and 90s, and if you like adventures set in space with a healthy helping of Douglas-esque humour, then Galactic Keegan is for you. If you don’t like any of those things, it’s probably not.
If you loved football in - and footballers of - the 80s and 90s, and if you like adventures set in space with a healthy helping of Douglas-esque humour, then Galactic Keegan is for you. If you don’t like any of those things, it’s probably not.
June 23, 2020
Having followed the Galactic Keegan account for many years, I knew what I was getting when I purchased this book. I expected to laugh, but I didn't expect to cry. A story that delicately weaves its tale between such topics as science-fiction, buddy travelogue, comedy, war fiction, mullets, and organising a post-training all you can eat trip to pizza hut, this really has got it all...plus a robot! A wonderful read, particularly for challenging times as these...but if Kev and the lads can keep kicking on Palangonia, then maybe theres hope for all of us
January 18, 2021
This was a fairly underwhelming book. It's essentially a single joke repeated many times - comparing some part of a fairly generic sci-fi plot to premiership footballers from the 1990s/2000s. I did get pretty much all the references, which helped, and there were a couple of very funny jokes but overall it was very samey.
About halfway through the plot did pick-up pace and, although it was relatively standard, it was entertaining.
About halfway through the plot did pick-up pace and, although it was relatively standard, it was entertaining.
September 18, 2024
This is a book for people who are obsessed with English football. If you are not into football do not bother. DNF bc I am not into sports. The writing, plot, and characters are great, very entertaining. I tried to read it for longer than I should have bc I didn’t even realize the people being name dropped were real people. As someone else said this is Ready Player One for football. (But better written personally)
June 6, 2020
I am not a soccer fan and have not watched many British television series. I don't know anything about Kevin Keegan, the former Liverpool, Newcastle and England hero. Even so I found this book to be original, refreshingly humorous and utterly enjoyable. It is a sci-fi soccer version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Highly recommended for laugh out loud moments.
June 6, 2020
I really don’t like football (sorry!), but I love sci-fi so I thought I’d give this book a chance - and I’m so glad I did! It was funny, but also heart-warming with its theme of friendship, with “no man left behind” in a little slice of Britain on a faraway planet. Fingers crossed for a sequel!
Thanks to Pigeonhole for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Pigeonhole for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 7, 2020
I'm not usually a fan of Sci-fi but I absolutely loved this book which I read courtesy of the Pigeonhole. An original plot combining football and Sci-fi made for a very entertaining read and the humour made me laugh out loud. I do remember all the people mentioned in the book and I was a great fan of Kevin Keegan back in his footballing days.
June 8, 2020
I'm not really a fan of sci fi but I was attracted to this book by the title as I have always lived in a "football" household. This was a hilarious romp into the future and although football is the subject it is not necessary to like/understand the game to enjoy this book.
Thanks to Pigeonhole and the author for the chance to read this.
Thanks to Pigeonhole and the author for the chance to read this.
September 9, 2020
I really enjoyed this warm and funny book. Scott has captured the humanity and soul of Kevin Keegan within an exciting science fiction story. Frequent laugh out loud moments and points of real tenderness. It isn't Chekhov but then Chekov only managed to rise to weapons operator on the USS Enterprise. Loved it.
February 17, 2021
Light-hearted comedy sci-fi mashup involving Kevin Keegan. Probably helps if you're familiar with football figures from the 1990s, otherwise you may be a bit lost by some of the references - definitely the first time in a long while that I've thought of Gerry Francis.
June 8, 2020
Review to follow
June 10, 2020
Awful and lovable and good in flashes. Just like Kev.
June 15, 2020
You’ll enjoy this book if you enjoy @galactickeegan on Twitter and/or like Space-based comedies full of British football jokes. Good silly fun.
December 18, 2021
Think Intergalactic Ted Lasso: humor, football(soccer), good vibes and humor… on a planet threatened by aggressive aliens!
Really good!
Really good!
March 24, 2022
Did I find this book extremely funny and entertaining? In a word, yes I did.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews