My good friend Jon Del Arroz released a new novella a couple of days ago. I was most fortunate in being one of the early readers, due to a conversation at a convention. He didn't really think it would work, but both Russel Newquist and I encouraged him. We thought it sounded cool, putting baseball on the moon. Quick point: neither Russell nor I care for sports.
Thankfully, an appreciation of baseball is not needed for this story. In many ways, it evokes a lot of the feel of some of the better movies involving baseball. That is, the love of the game and what it means to the people that care about it is tangible.
Jon has don some posts online about how the book has no action, sex, or swearing. This is true. It is not an action filled conflict with a space princess to save. This story is instead, tender and compassionate. There is a measure of political conflict, and well portrayed as a struggle between groups of owners, overall management, and players.
Oh, yeah, if somehow you haven't seen it, it has this beautiful cover:
And as clear as that image is, the characters are just as vivid. Not just Chairman Ichiro, who we follow, but his friends, a few of the owners, and other players in the drama.
This book provides a clear picture of why Jon Del Arroz is going to be a big part of the future of sff.
Ah, I better give it a rating, I suppose. 10 of 10 fell deeds.
When you play Social Justice, the wold loses.
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