There are times when reading a book that you have to change the perspective of how you view the story. I had to do that when reading this entertaining fictional story by David A. Todd. Without the snark of saying that it had to be fiction since the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series, I will just note that some of the events don't seem that they could really happen...but it doesn't matter because they all work in this story. Here is my review of this book.
Title/Author:
“In Front
of Fifty Thousand Screaming People” by David A. Todd
Genre/topics:
Baseball,
fiction, Cubs, Yankees, family, crime
Published:
August 25,
2012
Length:
270 pages
Rating:
4 of 5
stars (very good)
Review:
First a
synopsis of the book: Ronny
Thompson just wants to play baseball. He's good at it, and can pitch the
Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in over a century. So why are
all these Mafia-type events swirling around his life? How does he extricate
himself from them? And how does he concentrate on winning games, rather than on
his estrangement from his parents, his girlfriend, and an aggressive reporter,
and on so much that his farm upbringing didn't prepare him for?
This is
the perfect description of this story of baseball, the mob, an unlikely romance
and the naivety of a young farm boy from Kansas. Ronny Thompson has wonderful
pitching skills and is a once-in-a-lifetime pitcher who has an incredible
rookie season for the Chicago Cubs. With
over thirty wins in the regular season, three no-hitters, pitching every game
in the final weekend of the regular season and on two days of rest for the duration
of the playoffs, the kid is just too good to be true. So, going back to the synopsis – why is all
this happening to him?
The reason is simply a high-stakes bet between crime organizations in Chicago and New York on the outcome of the World Series. If the Cubs can actually beat the New York Yankees in the World Series (so you KNOW this has to be a work of fiction) the Chicago mob is set to gain eighty million dollars. So both organizations get to work – one will do everything it can to distract Thompson to throw him off his pitching, the other will do everything to protect him. This includes using of their call girls to pose as his “girlfriend.”
The reason is simply a high-stakes bet between crime organizations in Chicago and New York on the outcome of the World Series. If the Cubs can actually beat the New York Yankees in the World Series (so you KNOW this has to be a work of fiction) the Chicago mob is set to gain eighty million dollars. So both organizations get to work – one will do everything it can to distract Thompson to throw him off his pitching, the other will do everything to protect him. This includes using of their call girls to pose as his “girlfriend.”
Just like
the baseball, the lengths these two otherwise street-smart organizations go to
in order to make sure the outcomes are to their liking are far-fetched. Staging auto accidents, planting a false
story of Ronny’s dad taking money from the school where Ronny pitched college
baseball and finally a planned shooting at Yankee Stadium during game 7 of the
World Series are all events that seem over the top. Also, there are events that just seem to
happen that put Ronny in the wrong place at the wrong time, such as a drug
bust, that are also captured by a reporter and photographer.
However,
put them all together and it makes for a fun and entertaining read. Sure, maybe the reader will have to suspend
reality while doing so, but all of these elements are blended together in a
manner that will have the reader cheering for Ronny throughout the story. I was pumping my fist when he pitched his
no-hitters just as if I was at Wrigley Field witnessing it. I was touched on following him fall for Sarah,
the girl planted by the Chicago mob to help him through the season, but
realizing that she was falling in love with him as well.
As I
worked through the book and enjoyed the story for what it was instead of
thinking that there is no way a kid will pitch with this kind of success while
enduring all these terrible occurrences, I found myself appreciating this
author’s work more and more. By the time
of the book’s conclusion, I realized I just read a very entertaining work of
fiction that was meant to do just that – entertain. It wasn't meant to be a lesson in baseball or
crime family history. It was just a good
yarn that was fun to read and left you cheering. I won’t give away the ending – but since this
is fiction, I will let you come to that conclusion. Or better yet, pick up a copy and you will
find out for yourself.
I wish to thank the author for his generosity of providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Did I skim?
No
Did I feel connected to the
characters?
Yes, at
least to Ronny, Sarah and Lind, the Chicago reporter who was following Ronny
and “exposed” some of his shortcomings. Of
course, it is hard to find a “connection” with crime figures, but what was
interesting about them is that Todd didn’t make them fall into the typical
stereotypes.
Pace of the story:
Excellent
– the baseball portions, the family issues and the final game all move along
without slowing down, but at the correct pace so that it doesn't seem rushed.
Positives:
While I am
certainly no prude, I found the lack of stereotypes, sex scenes, excessive
violence and foul language extremely refreshing. I don’t mind any of these in a story when
they are tastefully presented or integral to the story. However, when they are included just for
shock value or to add something “extra” then they are a major turn-off. By leaving them out, Mr. Todd concentrated
on the story at hand, and that made it a good read.
Negatives:
I did find
some of the baseball achievements unrealistic, even for fiction. The amount of pitching Ronny does, on two
days rest, the number of games he wins, and the number of no hitters he throws in
a season – three - is a big stretch of imagination, even for a fictional
book. While calling this a “negative”
might be too strong, I felt that if Ronny’s achievements were closer to
realistic, the story could still have held its own.
Do I recommend?
Yes – for
any baseball fan or crime fiction reader.
This book has excellent prose on both of those topics.
Book Format Read:
ebook
(ePUB file)
Author Media Links:
Buying Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Front-Fifty-Thousand-Screaming-People-ebook/dp/B0092HB16Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383093693&sr=8-1&keywords=in+front+of+fifty+thousand
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