North Dallas After 40 - Hardcover

Gent, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394554264 ISBN 13: 9780394554266

Publisher: Villard, 1989

Synopsis

Twenty years after North Dallas's championship, the gridiron gang--quarterback Seth Maxwell, a movie star; Jo Bob Williams, sheriff of Purgatory County; B.A., ex-coach-turned governor; and one-time receiver Phil Elliot--returns to celebrate

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

This sequel to Gent's very funny look behind the scenes of professional football, North Dallas Forty , is not what you'd expect. Most of the major characters are back, and their lives after football are right on target (coach B. A. Quinlan is now governor of Texas; ace quarterback Seth Maxwell is a TV star), but the emphasis here is not on the game but on corruption, murder, savings-and-loan frauds and drugs. Phil Elliot, the alienated wide receiver, is still odd man out, in conflict with the new owners of the North Dallas NFL team, who badly want the small piece of land which is his only legacy to his young son. His ex-wife is pressuring him for everything he's got ( except custody of their son), his body is a painful relic of his playing days and even some of his ex-teammates, back together for the 20th anniversary of North Dallas's first championship season, seem to be in league with the forces of evil. Gent uses a series of flashbacks expertly, filling in the gaps for readers not familiar with the earlier book, but his farfetched story is too improbable to work and is helped not at all by an ending as jarring and disconcerting as an official's flag canceling out a spectacular touchdown play. Major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Twenty years after the events in North Dallas Forty (LJ 7/73) , most of the characters (and some new ones) are leading lives far different from the playing days. Phil Elliot, broken physically and besieged by his ex-wife and an unsavory lawyer, gets a much-needed writing assignment--on the reunion of the championship Dallas team, of which he had been a star. Former coach Quinlan is now governor of Texas, and other former members have positions of varying power and influence. Most of them are controlled by a corporation involved in drug smuggling, border patrol killings, money laundering, savings and loan manipulations, etc. The narrative alternates between past and present, weaving a tapestry of greed, murder, power, and more, tarnishing every aspect of government, business, and professional football. It's a very dark story, where the only humor is the blackest. Long, sometimes rambling, but in the end storytelling at its best. Fans of the previous book should not expect more of the same. This is far more complex and richer. For most public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/89.
- Robert H. Donahugh, Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Villard
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0394554264
• ISBN 13: 9780394554266
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 386