Book Review 198 // The Racer by Rock Forsberg

I've sat on this title for way too long. And when you consider this one of my most popular reads of late, I am ashamed for having waited so long. Time to enter the Antigravity Racing League and discover the beginning of these fun stories. Side note: it is accessible on Forsberg's website for free (link below).

Title: The Racer: Antigravity Racing Story (Antigravity Racing League)

Author: Rock Forsberg

Format: Kindle Edition Read for Free here.

Blurb: The Racer: An Antigravity Racing Short Story.

A gifted sixteen-year-old antigravity racer gets an opportunity to rise to the global league, but when the competition gets dirty, he must learn that there's more to success than running fast on the track.

Review

Can't lie. This was a quick read. I should have started with this title before hitting the series, but hindsight is a fantastic gift. 

It is a classic coming-of-age teenage drama piece, as we follow a teenager as he attempts to progress through the antigravity leagues. We have mentors, rivals, challenges and important life lessons along the way. With it being a short story, it was sometimes easy to forget who was who, but you soon catch on. The title itself had an easygoing flow, which made reading it a pleasure and Forsberg is definitely moving into my top three to-read authors of 2022.

I plan to try out some of his other sci-fi and see where that can take us. But for now, all I can say is; to go download this, read it, and if you enjoy it purchase his opening title in the series, the Entrant.

As always, I appreciate you taking a moment to read this, and anything you do to support my channels is greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Book Review 189 // The Pro by Rock Forsberg

I'm excited today as we get the second entire novel for the Anti-gravity League Racing by Rock Forsberg. After working with Forsberg on reviewing his first book, The Entrant, I was very fortunate to be gifted this title.

Let's jump into this exciting title:

Title: The Pro 9 (Antigravity Raving League #2)

Author: Rock Forsberg

Fluff: He knew the life of a professional racer was hard, but he didn't expect to be dodging lasers and missiles.

Zane Silvering, the youngest professional racer in the Antigravity Racing League, competes with his powerful craft on vertigo-inducing rollercoaster circuits across the galaxy.

He signed up for the toughest racing in the universe, and this season he has a new coach, who is more like an army drill instructor, and new teammates, who seem more like enemies. Soon Zane finds himself out of the racing lineup and at odds with his girlfriend.

To get a chance at the championship, he must navigate intergenerational power games, use his flying skills in dogfights with killing lasers, deal with the shady women of his past and, of course, beat the best of the universe on the track.

When it all comes together, Zane must make a hard decision: how far is he willing to go?

If you like underdog stories, awe-inspiring galactic trekking, and high-adrenaline racing (think F1 in space), The Pro will keep you strapped to your seat until the finish line.

Want to buy? Go direct to Forsberg's website: Rock Forsberg Website

Review

Firstly this title is part of the Anti-gravity League series; so far, I have only read The Entrant (book 1) and The Street (book 1.5, a short story). If you haven't read those reviews, please do. I quickly fell for the setting, which reminds me a lot of the old computer game Wipeout. Set in a future with multiple worlds and humaniod alien races. 

The lead character is Zane Silvering, a young racer with dreams of winning the championship. After an intriguing first season (The Entrant), Zane has realized there is a much wider galaxy out there and that being a racer will be rough. With the second season drawing near, Zane finds himself in a newly merged team where he has to fight once more for a spot on the starting line. With this, he has a new coach that seems to favour his own racers. Will Zane get back onto the team in time to win the championship?

If his professional life was complicated, then his personal life is absolute chaos! Zane may lose it all with a failing relationship, new love interests, criminal activities, and family drama, taking up necessary practice time. Can this young man do what it takes to survive and win the ARL.

Overall I loved the title. As I started reading the first page, I was instantly absorbed into the racer lifestyle. The pacing was fast and exciting, and the ending was action-packed and heartbreaking at times. I really hope this isn't the last we hear of Zane. Compared to book one, I would say the racing took a bit of a back seat with the main story happening out the grid, but this in no way took away from the drama. It was nice to see returning characters and new ones appear within the tale and help keep the story fresh and exciting. Overall a stunning read, and now to read the opener, The Racer.

I highly recommend giving Rock Forsberg a chance, and I hope you will enjoy his titles as much as I have. If you have read any of the titles, drop me a comment. I want to know!

Cheers for reading.

**Rock Forsberg: If you are reading this. Thank you for including me in this amazing chance to read such a stunning series. I can't wait for the next one.

Book Review 181 // The Street (ARL) by Rock Forsberg

Following on from The Entrant comes The Street. I enjoyed The Entrant last year, and this short story is a free download after completing it. Unfortunately, I forgot I had this until recently, so I dived into wanting an excellent palette cleanser!

Title: The Street

Author: Rock Forsberg

Series: Antigravity Racing League - 1.5

Page Count: 95

Format: Ebook

Review

This title picks up on Zane's adventures straight after the ending of The Entrant and sees Zane headed back to Amera for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. He has the summer period of a few months to recoup before heading back into the league to secure a new spot on the newly merged team (which I hope will be the theme of the Pro).

Of course, we get to catch up with Zane's family and friends, but we also get to see the progression of his love for Elodie, who is actually an essential part of this story. But as a life off the track becomes dull, Zane finds himself being drawn into the world of the legal street racer.

It is great to watch this young man struggle with pride, honour, duty (issues we all faced in our younger years). Does he hurt his ego and do the right thing, or does he lie until he is cornered with no way out? Of course, Zane chooses the second option, and we join him as he attempts to fix everything. This is definitely a story about character growth and the realization that if Zane is to progress, he needs the help of those closest.

This story also made me really enjoy the character Elodie; she went from being a side NPC of little interest into being what I believe will be a critical character in Zane's life. I really hope the story has a continued role for her to play.

I am excited for The Pro now and can't wait for this to come out. But until then, I am currently downloading the Racer (a prequel) and will hopefully have that completed soon. As always, I thank you for stopping by and reading; until next time, cheers!

Book Review 151 // The Entrant - Antigravity Racing League - Book One by Rock Forsberg.

As I continue to explore more and more authors in a world outside of Black Library. I joined up with a company called Love Books Tour. Their goal is to pair bloggers with small-time authors and together promote exciting new books. What does mean? Well it means now and again, I get a free book to review and I get to widen my experiences whilst helping someone out. Win, win. Now to today's book:

Title: The Entrant - Antigravity Racing League - Book One

Author: Rock Forsberg.

To kick-off let us discuss the cover. I am getting a serious 1995, PS1 Wipeout vibes from this. How could I turn down this book based on the cover alone? It captured my imagination straight away and the plot teaser was great. It seems to suggest that there is more going on than straight-up racing and boy does it deliver.

I’m sure by now you all know I love a little sci-fi and this is pure sci-fi. It introduces a galaxy that seems to be at peace (rare for my reads) and that has allowed for a galactic sport known as the ARL, to grow. The ARL or Antigravity Racing League is the futuristic version of Car Racing. The machines are scary, fast and have so many moving parts that can break. A large part of the book is dedicated to this, with heart-pounding qualifiers and races, but the plot is much deeper than the racing. We get to chart the starting career of an ARL pilot named Zane. Zane was the child of a famous pilot who spectacularly died whilst racing, and as Zane attempts to start his career, he finds his father’s shadow is harder to step out of than planned. Then as things seem to be improving for the young driver, he discovers a seedy underbelly to his much-beloved sport and is stuck deciding whether this is the sport he wishes to be a part of.

Hugely enjoyable, a solid story arc. That opens up further avenues of exploration in future books and I hope Forsberg is not too far off the second novel? I want to see where Zane is headed. Available now on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2YuYOwX

I hope you enjoyed the review? Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details. Cheers to reading this.

A #gifted book from @lovebookstours in exchange for an honest review.