This book is a pretty substantial win on several levels. To better grasp where my view of The Reporter comes from, its probably good to mention how I came to it. If you are unfamiliar with Sigler or Lafferty's careers, they are, at least, the godparents of Fiction by Podcast. Both embraced electronic delivery in its earliest stages. Largely entrusting their careers to the idea that building a tight dedicated following online would not only feed their creativity, but lead to more mainstream recognition and success.Sigler has earned his Dark Overlord status by becoming the first writer to release his work, self produced and performed, to leverage their success into traditional print contracts and success. Along the way he has publicly, and I'm sure privately, championed several other writers and projects into publication. The Reporter is a side novella of Sigler's GFL series. I have experienced this series entirely through his podcast performances. Like all his audio work, it is a thoroughly engaging and enthusiastic presentation. From the first episode of the GFL story, I found the concept to be amazing from a world creating point of view. Seasons neatly divide up the story. Games provide infinite opportunities to visit new societies, introduce new characters, and cross over story arcs. And there are a virtually endless stream of intersecting angles that provide their own opportunities.Within the GFL stories, Sigler demonstrates a pretty involved knowledge of the workings of football. The game is at the center of every episode and following along could actually serve as a decent primer to the sport. I have no clue if Lafferty has ever even watched an entire football game, but it doesn't matter to The Reporter. You see players, you see owners, you see stadiums and fans. The Reporter is a straight murder mystery. That's part of what makes this so intriguing. Lafferty maintains the pacing and personality of the main series even without the centerpiece of the action to rest on.Would this stand alone without the back story? I don't know. The twists and turns are all there. The intrigue is there. But, there would be a LOT of background to lay out. I know this, having the back story to work from, I found The Reporter very easy to sink into and very compelling to read. I think the bigger idea here is the concept. After years of leveraging the internet and social media, once again, Sigler and Lafferty have found a way to link techniques they helped make standards to present an interesting new technique.Sigler has leveraged his GFL world and the success of his podcasts. He has created an avenue to cross audio fans over to print and print to audio. He has exposed Lafferty's considerable, if not yet properly appreciated, talents to a wider audience(I strongly recommend her Heaven books).I realize the majority of this review isn't about the words on the page. Its a good story. Its well told. It is a short piece, so there isn't a lot of the deep character development or background story of other Sigler or Lafferty work. Its also not a stand alone piece. That stuff is in the main GFL books.And that's really the point. The Reporter represents a roadmap for authors to use the new tools available to collaborate, flesh out story lines, and not spend the time and effort and commitment required to produce full length pieces. And, it gives readers a chance to revisit favorite worlds more often than would be possible before.All in all, its a win-win! Oh man what good fun! Might Mur and The FDO spun a great yarn, here. The characters, as always, were great. It always burned me to not know the truth behind Grace McDermott's murder in The All-Pro, as that was a major plot thread throughout the book. Not only did this story resolve that in a great way, but it stood apart from TAP very well while still tying up that mystery. The insights into the team owners' rivalry, and especially their manipulations, make this a must-read for any fan of the GFL series.
What do You think about The Reporter (2012)?
as a fan of the GFL it was great to see a different side of one of the characters.
—angelsrosas
Well worth a read for GFL fans -- a sidestory to GFL Season 4.
—Geneva
very enjoyable a great companion to The All Pro
—misguidedxghost
