The greatest cycling novel ever published.
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
British playwright Waddingtons manic, stylishly bizarre first novel glories in a Faustian pact between a Spanish professional cyclist and an evil sports doctor. Whos been murdering Europe's best professional cyclists? After the disappearance of the brain-dead body of a biker who seems then to have died accidently and the discovery of the bloodless, brainless pieces of a fellow cyclist in a remote mountain village, cynically philosophical police detective Gabriela Gomelez questions Akil S enz, a handsome Spaniard who ranks among the top riders in the world. Blessed with superlatively good looks, a sexually magnetic wife, Perlita de Zubia, and enough money to live in luxury for the rest of his life, S enz can offer no clues or even an explanation other than the grudging admission that any cyclist will do just about anything to become the best. Fellow biker Patrul Azafr n, who is having a passionate affair with Perlita (of which everyone but her husband is aware), suspects that S enz is not above temptation after seeing him in the company of the bearded, impeccably tailored sports doctor and team manager Mikkel Fleischman, whose suspiciously steaming briefcases just might contain an illicit substance that transforms a merely gifted cyclist into an unbeatable speed machine. The downside is that the substance also seems to drive its users insane. When another speed-machine cyclist is found hanging from a cliff, portions of his skull and body expertly flayed, Azafr n suspects that the cases may be linked because all the corpses have had their brains removed. When a suddenly paranoid S enz joins Fleischman's team and begins winning with diabolical ease, he also suspectsand fearsthat his best friend is lost. While participating in a series of vividly depicted races, Azafr n hopes to send Fleischman back to hell before he destroys S enz completely. Feverishly hyperbolic thrill ride that, despite tiresome histrionics and postmodern posturing, brilliantly exposes the darkness of soul lurking in the most gifted of champions. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"... it's one of the most original stories I've read in ages. The attention to detail is astonishing. This is the first great cycling novel and it tackles the big question of modern sport: at what point do you sacrifice your health and sanity for one brief, drug-fueled victory. A vivid thriler, parts of which stick in the mind for weeks" -- The Mirror
"I was not expecting to be very interested in a first novel about professional cycling. In fact I was entranced, educated and entertained by a rich comic stew containing love, sex, speed, power and drugs" -- Peter Buckman in The Sunday Telegraph
"I was not expecting to be very interested in a first novel about professional cycling. In fact I was entranced, educated and entertained by a rich comic stew containing love, sex, speed, power and drugs" -- Peter Buckman in The Sunday Telegraph
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
As Confusing as a Bunch Sprint Finish in the Dark,
This review is from: Bad to the Bone (Original Fiction in Paperback) (Paperback)
I liked the decriptions of the races, very exciting, especially the climactic Worlds race. But the stuff off the bike was just pure muddled confusion to me. I often wondered if this book weren't written by someone that doesn't speak English and the confusion was due to a bad translator. I'm still not exactly sure what was going on.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid as bone, fast as a time trial,
By
This review is from: Bad to the Bone (Original Fiction in Paperback) (Paperback)
A supremely intense book that is a fast read except for the convoluted, chemically induced prose that suggests that the pumped up state that drives people to sacrifice everything in pursuit of being the best --- ever. Be ready to re-read sections as you are caught off balance, without ever falling of the paceline of the mystery that unravels. The story has elements of cyberpunk in the pace and prose that the most hardcore Gibson or Stephenson fan will enjoy this, even in the absence of nothing more technical than a hyper-tricked out bicycle in a chapter about a stage that takes place in the velodome. An excellent introduction to the attraction of professional bicycling racing, the monotony and the glory or surviving. It also captures the team dynamics of professional cycling, that most are hard pressed to explain in an obviously individual sport. The author clearly knows his cycling history and peppers the story with vignettes that add color and tradition to the classic sport. The author has done his research and the extrapolation of advances in sports medicine seem plausible and frightening. A subplot involving a female detective is insufficiently developed but thankfully doesn't distract from the main story. If you have a cycling fan in your life, get this book for her or him right away.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Citations (learn more)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
