The Champion (Galactic Football League, #5) in Scott Sigler Junkies

Sep 15, 2014 BigJohn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: e-books

The Champion, the long-awaited Book 5 in Scott Sigler's GFL series is - to be brief - well worth the wait. After the cliffhanger of Book 4 (The MVP), the action of Book 5 picks right up with another grand adventure for our upjumped hero. Over the course of the series, we've seen the orphaned miner Quentin Barnes overcome his own racial prejudices in order to gain success on the Galactic Football field, where he becomes a celebrity and a star player only through the efforts of accepting races he The Champion, the long-awaited Book 5 in Scott Sigler's GFL series is - to be brief - well worth the wait. After the cliffhanger of Book 4 (The MVP), the action of Book 5 picks right up with another grand adventure for our upjumped hero. Over the course of the series, we've seen the orphaned miner Quentin Barnes overcome his own racial prejudices in order to gain success on the Galactic Football field, where he becomes a celebrity and a star player only through the efforts of accepting races he grew up despising. The series starts when he is 19 years old - seflish and immature. Now he's about 23 years old, and while still young, each season in his career presents him with opportunities for personal growth and education.

As a 23-year old, Quentin may be one of the older Young Adult protagonists out there, but make no mistake - this is a Young Adult book at its core, but the shackles of YA don't hold the story back.

In his latest adventure, QB is once again thrust onto the main stage, put in an impossible situation that he must deal with. As with his other impossible situations, there is peril and danger. Thankfully, not everyone makes it out unscathed or even alive. This is a wonderful part of the GFL series - like George R.R. Marin, Scott Sigler does not shrink away from killing his characters or putting them into situations that change them fundamentally.

At this point in his life, Quentin has grown quite a bit intellectually, though he still remains unconvinced about his own supposed role in the universe. The groundwork has been laid in the previous books, and in The Champion, more pieces start to fall into place. We can start to see how this grand epic is being played out.

As with the other stories, the drama unfolds around football. The seasons march inevitably on, and the upcoming seasons are constantly in the mind of our heroes, as they struggle with finding their place in the universe while still trying to make a living and do the thing they love best. Personal relationships are built up and torn down; constant adjustments are required to deal with the consequences of decisions that are made during the off-season.

Step back from the story and you can see how the entire series plays itself out as a football game. As the
quarterback on the field, Quentin Barnes has to constantly observe all of the things going on around him, and make adjustments that will help him win. His ability to focus on ever-shifting variables and make decisions during a football game is well-suited for him to apply to his galactic adventures, making decisions that affect his life and those lives around him while constantly being inundated with inputs from all directions. As he bobs, weaves and calculates on the field, so does he off the field as well.

Those who are around him are his family, both genetic and adopted. He is a beloved friend and teammate, and he uses that ardor to enlist assistance from anyone he can, whether consciously or not. As with any family, there are ups and downs - some of which play out within a book, and some of which play out between books. Either way, the realism of his relationships help lend credibility to his internal struggles.

With only two more books planned in the series, it's interesting to try to figure out how the rest of the story is going to play out. I'll be anxiously awaiting the next book. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2017 BigJohn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was pleased that the source material length for the Champion did not suffer in the retelling in the 10-disc package of the Graphic Audio production. In the previous book, THE MVP, I felt the 2nd half was really rushed, but even though THE CHAMPION was quite a big longer than THE MVP, it did not feel rushed at all.

The same quality sound production, with full effects, music and background foley work still accompanies the fine, full-cast production. I don’t really notice the music for most of the ...more

Like · see review

Aug 15, 2017 BigJohn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was pleased that the source material length for the Champion did not suffer in the retelling in the 10-disc package of the Graphic Audio production. In the previous book, THE MVP, I felt the 2nd half was really rushed, but even though THE CHAMPION was quite a big longer than THE MVP, it did not feel rushed at all.

The same quality sound production, with full effects, music and background foley work still accompanies the fine, full-cast production. I don’t really notice the music for most of the ...more

Like · see review