I've only read a few pages into the story but I love his writing style. There is one part in the book where the character is being asked about jumping over the hurdles in his football career to get where he is now, but instead of replying back like what would be your normal response, he replies back with using this girl who was in a wheel chair and had physical challenges. It reads, "The camera flashed her smiling, severely cross eyed face on the screen. Jenny, forgive me if I'm out of line, but, I'd imagine she knows a good bit about hurdles. About difficulty. I throw a few touchdown passes, and people talk about my greatness but it might take all the energy she has just to get out of bed, get dressed, and be in this studio. Where's the applause for that? I'm playing a game, She's playing for life." That one sentence packs a lot of truth. "She's playing for life." I'm excited to sit down and just read this story. I already know that it's going to be great! In novels, as in life, when things are going too well, you just know that life is about to take a tumble right down the toilet. Matthew Rising ought to have realized this, especially since he seems to be a fairly intelligent guy.Matthew is a Heisman trophy, national championship winning quarterback about to sign with a team in the NFL. He's married to his high school girlfriend and soulmate Audrey, and he's on the verge of making even more dreams come true.Of COURSE things go horribly awry, in the worst way. The morning he's due to sign, Matthew gets arrested and thrown in jail, and, faced with apparently irrefutable evidence, abandoned by his wife. Matthew fights, but he doesn't fight hard enough. Does he think that everything that's come to him has been too easily had? Does he think he deserves to suffer?Those questions are not quite answered in this otherwise well written novel.After a dozen years in jail, Matthew is set free, albeit with conditions. He heads home, which, really, is the last place he should go. No one wants him there, save an old friend and football buddy, as well as a former coach. Aside from those two, no one cares about Matthew Rising. Audrey, his not-quite-ex-wife, certainly doesn't.Audrey, though, holds the key to one aspect of Matthew's redemption. She's befriended a young high school boy whose talent rivals Matthew's when he was that age. She asks Matthew to help the boy achieve what he can achieve, and Matthew, despite a court order forbidding such a relationship, agrees.There is a lot of football talk in this book, so if you prefer your novels without such intrusions, then this isn't for you. Yes, football serves as a metaphor, but Charles Martin also clearly has a passion for the game. He knows that in order for you to fully grasp all there is to understand about his characters, you have to understand the game as well. The game is part of who they are, how they think, how they feel - it's as much of them as their skin.Matthew's last name is not an accident. He's a man who rises, whether it's to take his team to a national championship or to rebound from an injury that could cost a crucial victory. He rises in jail, surviving the onslaughts of those determined to make him miserable and continuing to work out and throw the ball. Football made Matthew Rising, to a great extent, and it helps him not only stay sane in prison but redeem himself when he gets out. He rises, despite and in spite of the odds against him.This isn't just the story of a man who overcomes obstacles. There is a mystery as well: what really happened the night before Matthew got arrested? It's something we want to know, and Martin does deliver. What will Audrey make of it? And the rest of Matthew's hometown?The one weak link in an otherwise fantastic book is Audrey. Given how attuned she and Matthew are, her reaction to his trial is surprising. Sure, the evidence was pretty solid, but ... but ... you are led to believe that these two know each other's souls. That she responds as she does is not in keeping with the character we've been presented.Still, it's a good book with an interesting hook and characters. And now, in the heart of football season, you've got the perfect time to read it.Published on VoxLibris.net@VoxLibris
Do You like book A Life Intercepted: A Novel (2014)?
Another great read. Now the wait for the next one. Hope I won't have a long wait.
—Yvonnr
If you like books about sports and doing the right thing this is for you
—karim
A lot about football. Started slow but had a terrific ending!
—Biz
Love football? Love Fiction? Here's the book for you.
—CaptainAhab
Pro football player accused and convicted of rape.
—saulyte
