Kavinay
Jack Warner, Chuck Blazer, Michel Platini, Sepp Blatter. All giants of global football administration and now all banned from the sport.
What Conn takes his time to lay out–but what ultimately makes the book quite profound–is the idea that “European standards of governance” are every bit as troubling as the corruption accepted as a cultural flaw of the non-European members of FIFA.
In many ways, this book is a dirge for FIFA's posturing as a humanitarian institution. Yet, Conn still keeps it engaging for lovers of the game by highlighting how little of the decision making within FIFA had any relevance to the interests of sport relative to the enrichment of powerbrokers.
So much of sports journalism is hagiography of utter bastards and Conn doesn't get sucked in. The one truly redeeming moment of the whole telling is the revelation that a crowd of French fans resoundingly booed Platini's image as the national team was poised to win the Euros on home soil.
While Priestley is an able writer and this is an entertaining read, there's not really that much “secret” in this book for F1 fans.
Pit crew antics and all aren't all that fascinating. The nuts and bolts insight of testing, improvement and strategy of the mechanical side of F1 are not really touched on at all. If you're interested in the analytical and technical side of the sport, this is probably not the book you're looking for.
In the grim dark future of Warhammer 30-40k, everyone is a dick, except Nathaniel Garro.
Loose ends get tied up regarding Vulkan, Shattered Legions and the Cabal. But really, you might just be better off at this point reading wiki summaries of the HH's plodding final books.
I've never actually seen the tv show but this is an entertaining hodgepodge of stories. It's a bit like a John Hodgman book, but true.
I only wish the book was a bit better organized. It would have made for an easier read to go through the stories by theme for example.
“Void habitats of Uranus...“
Honestly, I'm far to immature to not enjoy Primarchs talking about Uranus, let alone an entire book with that planet as the naval perimeter of action.
It's a good book though, much more driven than the meandering end of the Horus Heresy novels. Hopefully the rest of the series follows this book's pace.
On the other hand, bolter porn is pretty boring. I don't know if any of it matters besides trying to carve some scenes for Sigismund. Boring action for a boring character.
Something happens with the navy, but it's terribly dull. The High Lord and Imperial Fist storylines are fine but given the back burner treatment.
This series is a good idea, but the execution is belaboured. I honestly wonder if all this could be squished into just a few poignant volumes.
Ross Brawn's thoughts on F1 are golden. It's profoundly entertaining to get his take on the development cycle and the politics of modern racing.
Adam Parr's attempts to make this “Sun Tzu with wheels” unfortunately often falls flat. It's just a bit of reach to constantly compare the team principal to Napoleon, etc.
Fairly tedious even when meta-plot moves along. Also, I don't know if it's bad or intentional that the traitor marines are far more sympathetic than the moronic loyalists.
Unbelievable. As exciting and dramatic as the movie “Rush” was based on this story, the actual season itself was even more crazy than could be believed. Excellent insight into both Hunt and Lauda, especially their inner demons.
A series of pastoral walks through Cybertron.
It was always going to be tough following Barber and Roberts run at IDW, but the pacing on this book is exceptionally slow. There's promise, Ruckley seems to have a plan and the art and colours remain superb. But hopefully the book starts to move faster as it develops further.
It's pretty neat to see Jurgens move the ball by merging current and futuristic continuities.
Better than the HH average fare. The principal characters and threads being brought to a head helps make up for the usual bolter porn.
I do worry though that some the central conflicts are given short shrift with no hint of further clarity:
[Primarchs] “Why didn't daddy tell us about Chaos.”
[Malcador] “Chaos is awful, daddy knows best.”
[Primarchs] “That's true.”
This is a great summary of how much football has changed in the last thirty years. If you love tactics and the actual stories behind major cultural and strategic shifts in the game, this is it.
All that is great and all, bu more notably, if you been playing Football Manager for the last thirty years too, this book is orgasmic.
Bruce Campbell talking about how wool socks are most comfortable in Florida heat is delightful.
The Smelting Pool and The Bridge to Nowhere, a 2-issue story (#17,#18) are outstanding. They make up significantly for what is otherwise a jumbled mess due to the need for Budiansky to constantly introduce new toys with progressively more whacky plots.
There are a few time Jackson's style get's a bit carried away, but for the most part, it works. The NFL as a surreal experience of pain and violence is just devastating. The injury reports in particular are chilling.
Oh boy. The Underbase is the highlight and that's because Starscream gets the spotlight.
“Fullstrength Motleypuss!” is about as good as it gets.
