The Rookie by Scott Sigler

Scott Sigler put together a cool, innovative novel in The Rookie that combines elements of science fiction as well as football—a great combination of two things that I thoroughly enjoy but haven’t seen mixed together. Set about seven centuries from now, Quentin Barnes is a young human quarterback, coming from the Purist Nation, a planet of religious zealots. He gets signed by the Krakens of the Galactic Football League. A tier 2 league, this is a big step up for Barnes, but still not the highest level. The Krakens are hell bent on winning their championship, so that they could advance to Tier 1. The Galactic Football League features humans and aliens alike. The players’ uniforms are a variation of armor. The players are far faster, stronger, and more agile than any player in the NFL could dream of being.



I thought this was a cool concept, but I wasn’t sure how well it would actually turn out. There shouldn’t be any doubt that it will be great in Scott Sigler’s capable hands. I’m not sure how well this would work for someone who wasn’t an American football fan, but I imagine they would still enjoy it. There is great character development with Quentin and some of his teammates. Sigler incorporates the backstory well of the history of the worlds involved without it ever crowding into the actual story. The football descriptions are very well done. There are some good plot twists and complications in the story line, including one of the players throwing games, corruption with criminal elements, and racism (of the alien variety). Scott blends these elements well, and the end result was a satisfying novel.