Dead Ball

by Matt Forbeck

Review by James R.Cain

Matt Forbeck's other novels include 'Secret of the Spiritkeeper' from WOTC and his previous Blood Bowl novel, 'Blood Bowl'.

For those unfamiliar with Blood Bowl, it's a game of ultra-violent football set in the Warhammer fantasy world.  Teams from all over the world compete, some of them colourful.  We have undead teams, chaos, goblin, elf and orc teams as well as the more mundane human teams.  In all, it's fun, tongue-in-cheek fantasy, and 'Dead Ball' does not disappoint delivering a tale well-fitted to the genre.

The novel starts when the Bad Bay Hackers get annihilated in a game by the Chaos All-Stars.  With only five members of the team alive, star quarterback, Dunk Hoffnung, and the remains of the Hackers set off on a quest to recover the long-lost Far Albion Cup.  A team with the Far Albion Cup in their possession is blessed or cursed to never lose a game, and the team's coach, a pirate by the name of Pegleg, is determined the Hackers will get the relic into their possession and once again be contenders in the Blood Bowl leagues.  But the relic is not all that it seems, and it's secret is one that might see Hoffnung abandoning the game forever.  

I found 'Dead Ball' to be a pleasant read.  Not being much of a fan of the game myself, I was a bit reluctant picking up the book, but I found the story to be a light-hearted, enjoyable fantasy.  The game itself does not dominate the novel, and I found the action of the arena formed a nice balance in the book.  The characters are interesting, and Forbeck soon gets you wrapped up in his story.  In all, it's a good example of YA fantasy that should have appeal to older fantasy readers as well.

Publisher: Black Flame

ISBN: 1-84416-201-X - Paperback (404 pages)