Pocket Kings
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Booklist Review
The writing career of New Yorker Frank Dixon is going downhill: the Amazon rankings of his first two books are slipping, and his third is so darkly disturbing that his agent can't sell it. Having failed as an athlete in his youth and as an artist in his early adulthood, and feeling desperate to do well at something, Frank finally finds success at online poker. Taking the moniker of Chip Zero at pokergalaxy.com, he's soon making so much money playing Texas Hold 'Em that he quits his day job. But easy money isn't his only online temptation, as he develops more than a friendship with fellow player Artsy Party Gal, and the two (both married) arrange to meet. Frank's first-person narrative varies from laugh-out-loud funny to depressing to scathing, as when he lashes out at persons in the book trade whom he views (sometimes rightly) as ill-treating him. There is a certain Everyman quality to Frank, whose hopes gradually fade away but whose self-deprecating humor helps carry him through his midlife angst and denial of addiction; you want to wish him well.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
Publisher's Weekly Review
Struggling writer Frank Dixon takes to online gambling as a means of supplementing his rather stagnant income, but forgets that in the gaming world he shouldn't cross the wrong people. Narrator William Roberts delivers a stellar turn as Dixon-a man so easily carried away by the prospect of free money that he loses himself and his life in the process. Roberts all but transforms himself into Dixon in this audio edition, sinking deeper and deeper until the point of no return. The highs are as genuine as the lowest of the lows for Dixon, and Roberts manages to paint a realistic portrayal of a man who stands to lose everything he has-including his life. As Dixon, Roberts's tone is stern yet frustrated. But as luck abounds, Roberts adjusts accordingly to capture a man on the rebound, who believes his dreams might not be that unattainable after all. Of course, luck has to run out at some point, and when it does, Roberts captures the moment perfectly. An Algonquin paperback. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
When a writer unfortunately named Franklin W. Dixon (think Hardy Boys) begins to play online poker, his life takes a strange turn. His two published books have received little attention, and he cannot find a publisher for the third; however, hiding behind the moniker Chip Zero, he finds both competitive and social success online. As he becomes addicted to easy money, virtual voyeurism, and online relationships, his real-world ambitions and marriage come tragically, but humorously, apart; his wife can't understand him, critics and other writers shun him, and his agent hides from him. The failure to connect in his real life sends Dixon on two raucous, raunchy road trips to connect with Internet friends and lovers and to revive his writing career. -VERDICT The pace is fast, the plot twisty, and the satire bites viciously as Heller (Slab Rat; Funnymen) takes gleeful chunks out of the publishing world, Internet culture, and the poker craze, all the while addressing serious questions about the nature of success and reality. Thoroughly unlikable yet somehow sympathetic, Dixon is a comic protagonist for the digital age, and this novel is good, angry fun.-Neil Hollands, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Struggling writer Frank Dixon takes to online gambling as a means of supplementing his rather stagnant income, but forgets that in the gaming world he shouldn't cross the wrong people. Narrator William Roberts delivers a stellar turn as Dixon—a man so easily carried away by the prospect of free money that he loses himself and his life in the process. Roberts all but transforms himself into Dixon in this audio edition, sinking deeper and deeper until the point of no return. The highs are as genuine as the lowest of the lows for Dixon, and Roberts manages to paint a realistic portrayal of a man who stands to lose everything he has—including his life. As Dixon, Roberts's tone is stern yet frustrated. But as luck abounds, Roberts adjusts accordingly to capture a man on the rebound, who believes his dreams might not be that unattainable after all. Of course, luck has to run out at some point, and when it does, Roberts captures the moment perfectly. An Algonquin paperback. (Mar.)
[Page ]. Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLCReviews from GoodReads
Citations
Heller, T., & Roberts, W. (2012). Pocket Kings (Unabridged). HighBridge.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Heller, Ted and William Roberts. 2012. Pocket Kings. HighBridge.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Heller, Ted and William Roberts. Pocket Kings HighBridge, 2012.
Harvard Citation (style guide)Heller, T. and Roberts, W. (2012). Pocket kings. Unabridged HighBridge.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Heller, Ted, and William Roberts. Pocket Kings Unabridged, HighBridge, 2012.
Copy Details
Collection | Owned | Available | Number of Holds |
---|---|---|---|
Libby | 1 | 1 | 0 |