The Fix

De: Michael Balkind, Ryan Burr

Narrado por: Alex Perlman

Star college quarterback, Colt Walker, has it all: good looks, brains, one of the best arms in the game, not to mention potential for the Heisman and a first round NFL draft pick, until he puts it all on the line as he slides into the ugly world of sports gambling....

College football referee, Frank Gastner, is a man stewing in his own misery, consumed by a drinking problem, heavy gambling debt, and heading into a nasty divorce....

Two emotionally wrought characters; their lives spin completely out of control - alcohol, lies, bookies, and mobsters - pushing them deeper into despair....

Until they are brought together on the football field, each hoping to resolve his own dilemma. But will they succeed?

©2014 Michael Balkind / Ryan Burr (P)2018 Michael Balkind / Ryan Burr

Fun for us both to enjoy

Sometimes it's hard to find an audio book that will keep hubby interested on long car trip. This one was perfect as it had the sports element to keep him engaged. Since he is an athletics administrator at a college, he found himself so disappointed in, sometimes mad at, some of the characters choices, that it would leave him wanting to resume our trip/listening so the he could see how things would be resolved. Great fun story!

Main character a dichotomy

I was very excited to listen to this book. As an avid sports fan, any story set in the world of sports piques my interest. The story starts off well, with the QB main character living a charmed life as a Heisman hopeful and a collegiate national championship looming in the future season. When Colt decides to bet a little in the offseason, he finds himself going from a winning streak to a losing streak quickly, leading him to make decisions that could affect his college career and NFL prospects.
The story was pretty good, although predictable throughout. The one part of the story that wasn't predictable was the change in attitude and personality of the main character as the story progressed. Colt was bothered by inner turmoil due to his decisions but failed to do anything about it, which left me scratching my head. His mental weakness popping up whenever the circumstances weren't just perfect led me to wonder how a guy like this could have the mental skills to lead anyone, especially a high-ranking collegiate football team.
I would have enjoyed this story more if I liked the main character, which I did not. We are led to believe this guy has it all together, but a little adversity left Colt with the mental capacity of a child, not a grown man. The other character (Frank) that obviously had a weakness in gambling and drinking had a much more plausible emotional ride, and I sympathized with him more than the main character. I was rooting for Frank, not for Colt, which I believe is not the author's intention.
Once The Fix was set, the story blazed along wonderfully and ended well (although, again, predictable). The exposition was great, too. It was just the middle of the book that didn't match with the beginning and end, and while I understand why the author made those choices, it just didn't connect the story well.
The narration was good - just the right amount of character voicings that distinguished the dialogue and made the conversations believable.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Casual Read

Often times, I need a easy story with a simple plot to follow for a lazy afternoon. That is why I requested this book from one of the authors for a fair review. "The Fix" is a casual read. Nothing too deep to think about, but also interesting enough to keep my spark lit to finish the story. The story is basic. It's about a college athlete getting in trouble by betting on sports and meeting riff rafts along the way. His gambling debts leads him even deeper in the hole and the ending is not as predictable as you may think. It surprised me with a Hallmark moment with a twist.

Good mystery but bad Football story

I liked the main story part, some of the conversations were blah, and I honestly feel the author does not know a lot about football. Not faulting just that part was a disappointment to me as I’m a big football fan. The rest of the story was good so I averaged it out to a 3.

This review was given in trade for an honest and unbiased review.

Amazing Story

The story focuses on Newhouse University football player, Colt Walker, who finds himself caught up in relationship drama with his cheerleader girlfriend and a growing gambling issue. With every twist and turn, Colt finds himself facing obstacle after obstacle.

I refuse to spoil all of the amazing plot twists the reader faces when reading The Fix!!!

While the cover, and blurb, show that The Fix, leans towards a more athletic audience, anyone who loves a good story with many twists and turns, dynamic characters, and, of course, Syracuse, will find The Fix to be worthy of their time! The story, while fiction, sheds a valuable light on current issues and real potential, life-altering disasters college students (and anyone really) should look out for.

10/10
For the full review, visit: https://thetab.com/us/syracuse/2018/09/12/the-fix-a-novel-meant-to-be-read-by-orangemen-12387