The Rookie: Galactic Football League Volume 1

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The Rookie
TheRookie.jpg
Title The Rookie
Publisher Dark_Øverlord_Media
Published August 2009
Pages 464
ISBN 978-0615287447
Podcasted 2007
ScottSigler.com Page

The Rookie is a thriller / science fiction podcast novel by American author Scott Sigler. It follows the career of Quentin Barnes, quarterbacking prodigy from the Purist Nation, in the Galactic Football League. The first book in the Galactic Football League series, The Rookie is followed by The Starter, The All-Pro and The MVP.

The GFL series is described as "Star Wars" meets "The Blind Side" meets "The Godfather." Join the Krakens as they fight to take the title and achieve immortality.

Synopsis

The Rookie takes place in a galaxy of the future; a galaxy with a history of planetary colonization and conquest, and of interspecies warfare and cooperation. The events of this history have ultimately lead to the current 'pseudo-marshal law' state of society that is imposed by the current ruling species, the Creterakians. In this universe, the Creterakians, using their sheer overpowering numbers, have conquered several species and now control and oversee all 'official' aspects of the galaxy.

As a means to maintain order without violence, the Creterakians devised a distraction for the masses: the Galactic Football League. The GFL is a sports league modeled after the game of American football, with teams of varying skill separated into three tiers: the most skilled playing in Tier 1, the least skilled playing in Tier 3, with Tier 2 in the middle. The multi-species nature of society is reflected in the make-up of the GFL team lineups; the strengths of certain species make them natural fits for certain football positions. The quarterback, running back and tight-end positions are generally played by Humans. The female Sklorno, known for their speed and jumping ability, play the wide receiver and defensive back positions. The offensive and defensive lines are manned by Ki, a race of huge, agile creatures with enormous mass. And finally, the linebacker positions are played by Quyth Warriors and High-G Humans.

The Rookie is the story of Quentin Barnes, a human Tier 3 quarterback raised in the Purist Nation. As a Tier 3 quarterback, Quentin is a superstar and a hero among the Purists, and he has used his talents to easily lead his third rate team to the championship of a Tier 3 division. His natural talent, coupled with his ingrained Purist Nation self righteousness and bigotry have made him extremely arrogant.

The story begins with Quentin Barnes playing Tier 3 football on a backwater planet. His contract is purchased by underworld mogul Gredok the Splithead, who is a Quyth Leader , or Shamakath, and suddenly Quentin is on his way to The Combine to get cleared before he starts playing with the Ionath Krakens, a Tier 2 football team. Apparently there are a great deal many people who try to get through the Combine, a former Creterakian prison station, with biological and cybernetic enhancements in place. The Creterakians require all football players in Tier 2 or above to go through the extensive testing for enhancements in The Combine. Quentin passes the tests and is admitted to the team. He then goes to practice with the Ionath Krakens where, for the first time, he has to confront the reality of his new team-mates' alien origins.

Quentin's planetary religion is that of the Purist Nation, which is very species-ist. Even other evolutionary strains of human beings are clearly looked down upon - only "pure strain" humans are regarded as proper beings. As a result, Quentin has a very hard time trusting and working with his team-mates.

Characters

Name Information
Quentin Barnes Rookie GFL player
Donald Pine Current Ionath Krakens Quarterback
Yitzhak Goldman Backup Quarterback of the Ionath Krakens
Gredok the Splithead Owner of the Ionath Krakens
Hokor the Hook-Chest Head Coach of the Ionath Krakens
Virak the Mean Linebacker for the Ionath Krakens
John Tweedy Linebacker for the Ionath Krakens
Choto the Bright Linebacker for the Ionath Krakens
Ju Tweedy Running Back for the Orbiting Death
Mitchell Fayed Running Back for the Ionath Krakens
Yassoud Murphy Running Back for the Ionath Krakens
Rick Warburg Tight end for the Ionath Krakens
Denver R. Wide Receiver for the Ionath Krakens
Shayat the Thick Linebacker for the Ionath Krakens
Alonzo Castro Linebacker for the Texas Earthlings
Yallah the Biter Linebacker for the Sky Demolition
Doc Team Doctor for the Ionath Krakens
Masall the Efficient Team Manager for the Ionath Krakens
Mopook the Sneaky Underworld Lieutenant
Stedmar Osborne Owner of the Micovi Raiders
Pookie Chang (Circa 2682) Running Back for the Texas Earthlings

Promotional Efforts

Characters Named for Fans

As with recent previous works, this novel contains the names of fans appearing as some of the characters. The luckiest of the fans will also have their character die a horrific and untimely and death. The following link references a table dedicated to tracking these fan-named characters with indicators of which characters become victims.

Release Schedule

Print

Cover Art Edition Country Release Date ISBN
TheRookie.jpg
1st Ed. Hardcover (Dark Øverlord Media) United States August 2009 978-0615287447
TheRookie PB.jpg
1st Ed. Paperback (Dark Øverlord Media) United States August 2012 978-1938120091

Audio

Cover Art Edition Country Release Date Site
TheRookie.jpg
2007 Podcast Audio Release Worldwide (Internet) December 2007 Podiobooks.com

Awards

Sm. Best Triple Parsec.jpg

The Rookie was awarded a Parsec Award at Dragon*Con 2007. The Parsec Award is given to SciFi and Fantasy original podiobooks. The Rookie won in the Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novel Form) category. The sections were nominated by junkies and the audio submission was compiled by Arioch Morningstar.

Theme Music

The Rookie podcast featured the song Heaven's a Lie by Lacuna Coil. This track can be found as the second track on the band's 2002 album Comalies, as well as Radio Edit, Acoustic and Live Acoustic versions from the 2007 Ozzfest Edition of the same album. It can also be found on the following albums:

  • MTV2's Headbanger's Ball (Track 26)
  • Revolver Presents: The Dark Side (Track 9)
  • Gothic Spirits, Vol. 3 (Track 2)
  • Lacuna Coil's Closer EP (Live, Track 5)

For a comprehensive list of music used in the podcast versions of Scott's works, refer to the Theme Music page.

Related Stories

There are three other installments that share the realm of Galactic Football League universe:

Episode Downloads & Tailgate Book Tour

Following the success of the Sigler Stank Tour to promote the release of the novel Infected and the subsequent Sigler Stank Tour II author to promote the release of the sequel Contagious, Scott Sigler is taking to the road again to promote the release of his self-published novel entitled The Rookie. The following schedule is lists the current tailgate tour dates and locations. A remastered version of the The Rookie podcast was released during the Tailgate Book Tour, corresponding with the different cities that were visited.

Date City, State Episode Number Download Link
September 5, 2009 Atlanta, GA Episode 1 Download
September 7, 2009 Birmingham, AL Episode 2 Download
September 8, 2009 Nashville, TN Episode 3 Download
September 9, 2009 Indianapolis, IN Episode 4 Download
September 10, 2009 Chicago, IL Episode 5 Download
September 11, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI Episode 6 Download
September 12, 2009 Episode 7 Download
September 13, 2009 Ann Arbor, MI Episode 8 Download
September 14, 2009 Cincinnati, OH Episode 9 Download
September 15, 2009 Canton, OH (Pro Football Hall of Fame!) Episode 10 Download
September 16, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA Episode 11 Download
September 17, 2009 Philadelphia, PA Episode 12 Download
September 18, 2009 Episode 13 Download
September 19, 2009 Episode 14 Download
September 20, 2009 New York City, NY Episode 15 Download
September 21, 2009 Episode 16 Download
September 22, 2009 Jacksonville, FL Episode 17 Download
September 23, 2009 Talahassee, FL Episode 18 Download
September 24, 2009 New Orleans, LA Episode 19 Download
September 25, 2009 Houston, TX Episode 20 Download
September 26, 2009 Dallas, TX Episode 21 Download
September 27, 2009 Norman, OK Episode 22 Download
September 28, 2009 Little Rock, AR Episode 23 Download
September 29, 2009 St. Louis, MO Episode 24 Download
September 30, 2009 San Francisco Episode 25 Download
October 1, 2009 Episode 26 Download
October 2, 2009 Episode 27 Download

See Also

Galactic Football League Core Novels by Scott Sigler

The Rookie (Book I) • The Starter (Book II) • The All-Pro (Book III) •  The MVP (Book IV) • The Champion (Book V) • The Gangster (Book VI)



Novels by Scott Sigler

Aliens: Phalanx • Alive • Alight • Alone • EarthCore • Mount Fitz Roy • Ancestor • Descendant • Infected • Contagious • Pandemic • The Rookie • The Starter • The All-Pro  • The MVP • The Champion • The Gangster • The Crypt • Nocturnal