Kicked – Jim McMurtray AltAzimuth Media

A classic tale of love, lust, murder, betrayal, revenge, war, monsters, fate and destiny …with football, geese, astronomy, and mathematics…

…Calvin was one out of a staggering number of genetically unique children that his parents might have produced. Even with all that is known about the human genome, parents must still wait for nine months to see who actually shows up. There were four million normal births in the United States the year Calvin was born. He was one of them, a normal baby. But “normal” covers a vast range of physical characteristics. Calvin fell into the normal range, but only by a hair.

In general the population at large does not recognize physical unattractiveness as a legitimate handicap, but it can have a profound effect on our interactions with other people. It can impact our self-concept and personality development in childhood. Truly unattractive people face obstacles that few us can appreciate. Since infancy and for most of his life Calvin had been considered stunningly ugly. There are nicer ways to put it, but none of them quite so accurate. In public, he got uncomfortable stares from children and occasional sniggering from adults.

From Kicked, Chapter Nine

It is rare to find a work of modern fiction that is not
to some degree derivative of Homer, Aeschylus,
Euripides or another of the great Greek tragedians. It is
so rare in fact that it has not happened yet. Absent the
influence of these giants of the ancient world, the TV
soap opera would have no plot, and the modern romance
novel would not exist. Today’s action movies are
Homer’s Iliad with guns. Werewolves, zombies and
vampires are the restyled monsters of Greek drama.

Heroes, villains, monsters, war, murder, revenge,
betrayal, love and lust; we change the language, the
names, the costumes, technology, and setting, but the
storylines are reliably familiar. The essential ingredients
have changed very little over the millennia. Without the
great classics from which to draw, William Shakespeare
might well have gone into his father’s glove making
business.

Someday of course there will be completely new
and original stories devoid of any influence or inspiration
by the great writers of antiquity. This will not be one of
them.

***

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From An Amazon Customer: “Love the way this author presents the story. I am not an avid sports fan, so this book slipped that in without annoying me. His unique way of educating the reader of the scientific facts (cocoons) reminded me of that uncle I had that always had some random info to dazzle my cousins and me.
Very enjoyable read!”

From Mark R. Largent:If you’ve got a brain, a sense of humor and a heart, you’ll love this book.

“In a way, “Kicked” reminded me of Phillip Wylie’s book, “Gladiator.” Both are about an extraordinary individual who finds both the good and bad side of being different. Wylie’s book is more fantastic with it’s prototype Superman character, but the idea of an introverted outcast becoming a professional football player is pretty far out, too. And while Wylie takes the easy way out in explaining his character’s abilities, McMurtray revels in every opportunity to analyze the quirks of fate and science that can shape our lives. In “Kicked,” we get a story that is both fantastical and surprisingly down to Earth. It builds a nest in the analytical part of your brain and without you noticing buys a summer cottage in the warm and fuzzy part. Also like Wylie’s book, “Kicked” isn’t about one really important event or one bad day, it’s a look at the whole of life and how the tiny things can be more magical than the superficial things our society seems to place so much value in.”

Elizabeth – Submitted via email

“Although I am not a book critic nor have I ever written a book review on a new release, I thoroughly enjoyed the story line, a little bizarre, but believable and entertaining. The characters were well developed, I felt as if I knew them and could feel their range of emotions. What more could I ask for, a good story, romance, real life and science. Perhaps too much science for me, but it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book.”

Carolyn – via website 5 stars

“This is the best book I’ve read this year. The blend of hard science, educational theory, football dynamics, political comment and mutual attraction is fascinating. The love story is reminiscent of ‘Wonder’.”

Kicked is now the #1 best selling humorous Greek Tragedy involving an ugly American football player and a comet… It’s a short list.

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