wsking's review
5.0
Moving, funny, and frightening by turns. Very relevant for these times we find ourselves in now.
trout_lily's review against another edition
3.0
A 'happy as it can be' dystopian future through baseball? I guess so. Set at some point in fully automated authoritarian and racially segregated future, a young girl with the gift of a golden arm and her radical parents struggle to live as fully as possible under extreme surveillance of the AI state.. The antidote? Baseball!
Interesting choice of narrator. I wanted more world building to get a real sense of the atmosphere they were living in and the author's sentence structure was a little odd and distinct so it stuck out as repetitive and annoying. And, If you don't baseball at all or are not interested in it then this might be a bit of a slog. I wasn't wowed.
Interesting choice of narrator. I wanted more world building to get a real sense of the atmosphere they were living in and the author's sentence structure was a little odd and distinct so it stuck out as repetitive and annoying. And, If you don't baseball at all or are not interested in it then this might be a bit of a slog. I wasn't wowed.
guinness74's review against another edition
4.0
This is probably more 4.5 stars as there were only really minor things that I took issue with. Firstly, it’s a great dystopian novel with a baseball backdrop that really makes it engaging. Also, the main protagonist, or protagonists (avoiding spoilers), is female which is something you don’t often see in a baseball setting. It definitely has a measure of Orwell’s 1984 to it, which is great, but I think it’s taken a bit too far in terms of sheer volume of NewSpeak. The baseball aspect is really well done and not just used as a passing fancy; there is legitimate knowledge of the game. The only other issue I have is the preponderance of names. There are so many minor character names, some of which have great literary nods, Warren Peese, Joe March, and others that are distinctly baseball related, Pietro Martinez...but there’s a sort of fatigue from the names at a certain point.
The story is a great one that covers political resistance, civil rights, anti-surveillance, and really only has these minor issues. All in all, a joyful read.
The story is a great one that covers political resistance, civil rights, anti-surveillance, and really only has these minor issues. All in all, a joyful read.
oldmansimms's review against another edition
2.0
Is this a baseball novel? Is this a dystopian novel? It never seems to be able to decide. For as much time as it spends on baseball, the ostensible baseball-centered climax of the book is a) pretty tension-free (Gwen, the girl with the golden arm, effortlessly retires everyone she faces) and b) undercut by switching away into the dystopia plot when . But it's not like we really get a good plot arc for the (peculiarly court-case-focused) fight-the-dystopia side of the plot, either. That comes across as kind of a sideshow that's periodically mentioned during the mostly baseball-centric middle of the book, then takes center stage near the end, before switching back to baseball for the Olympics part of the book, and then reasserting itself after the aforementioned spoiler and kind of fizzling out. Which, yeah, fighting against a powerful and entrenched automation-enabled social order isn't the kind of thing you just "win," but it does make for an unsatisfying conclusion (for both the sports and political plot arcs).
I did like certain things, though. I thought the POV -- the Baseball Prodigy's dad, rather than the Prodigy herself -- was unusual and refreshing, although when the book reveals that it doesn't really want to be a true sports novel after all that perspective makes more sense and is less subversive. And this was the first dystopian-ish novel I've read where automation and AI, and the resulting societal convulsions, form the backdrop of future society (I'm sure others have been written and I just haven't encountered them yet), which seems more plausible every day, although the buzzwordiness and relentless CamelCase app names did grate on me after a while. We're due for some good automation/AI-centric speculative fiction. This just isn't quite it.
Spoiler
Gwen's mother is abducted by the authorities, with pretty nonsensical timing -- if the whole reason that Gwen is pitching for the Olympic team is to free her mother, why not wait until AFTER she wins the game for them?I did like certain things, though. I thought the POV -- the Baseball Prodigy's dad, rather than the Prodigy herself -- was unusual and refreshing, although when the book reveals that it doesn't really want to be a true sports novel after all that perspective makes more sense and is less subversive. And this was the first dystopian-ish novel I've read where automation and AI, and the resulting societal convulsions, form the backdrop of future society (I'm sure others have been written and I just haven't encountered them yet), which seems more plausible every day, although the buzzwordiness and relentless CamelCase app names did grate on me after a while. We're due for some good automation/AI-centric speculative fiction. This just isn't quite it.
stiricide's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes, even when you love dystopias, you just need to read a baseball book. And sometimes, if you're lucky, it can be two things.
kayfett's review against another edition
5.0
*listened to the audiobook* Wow. This book was a lot, in a good way. Equal parts chilling, thrilling, sad, & triumphant. A modern day dystopia that I think could be a nice companion to the classics like 1984, Brave New World, & Fahrenheit 451.
Very character driven & the characters are excellent. Was sad to leave them at the end of the story.
I was a little surprised & put off at first by the male narrator, considering the write up and cover made it seem like it would be a female narrator, but it didn’t detract in the end in my opinion. And I DO think you have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book to its fullest, but baseball is my favorite sport so I loved that this was a story told in its context.
Very character driven & the characters are excellent. Was sad to leave them at the end of the story.
I was a little surprised & put off at first by the male narrator, considering the write up and cover made it seem like it would be a female narrator, but it didn’t detract in the end in my opinion. And I DO think you have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book to its fullest, but baseball is my favorite sport so I loved that this was a story told in its context.
andrewb1213's review against another edition
5.0
Just Brilliant
Nearly impossible to describe. Genius structure and incredible character work. I couldn't put it down. This will be on every Best Of 2020 list at the end of the year.
Nearly impossible to describe. Genius structure and incredible character work. I couldn't put it down. This will be on every Best Of 2020 list at the end of the year.
han_uh's review against another edition
5.0
I thought I would enjoy this—but I LOVED it
This story was creative and insightful. Made me think, made me cry, made up for the huge baseball void COVID has caused.
This story was creative and insightful. Made me think, made me cry, made up for the huge baseball void COVID has caused.