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The Playmaker Project
When winning at all costs becomes too expensive.
Eddie Alonso, a former pro soccer star, whose career was ended by a violent and intentional assault, is now a reluctant high school science teacher and varsity coach in St. Cloud, MN. When two of his favorite student players are recruited by an upstart Finnish soccer club owned by an eccentric tech billionaire with a secretive cognitive training program run by Dr. Anna Lehtinen, Eddie is suspicious of the motives but resists the urge to get involved.
But when Benny Gilbert calls Eddie from Finland to let him know of some strange personality changes of Peter Borg, his best friend, Eddie’s fears are confirmed.
Eddie finally jumps into action, but not before an enigmatic, Russian investor has targeted Peter as a star recruit for his own St. Petersburg soccer club. But there are other plans beyond sports for the neuroscience experiment now embedded into Peter’s head.
Eddie and Anna must unite to save Peter before he is brainwashed into cooperating with a revengeful agenda. The action races from Minnesota to Finland to Russia and back home.
In the end, Eddie needs to know if his dream was lost for a reason, as he and Anna try to make sure this new technology is preserved for compassion, not corruption.
Eddie Alonso, a former pro soccer star, whose career was ended by a violent and intentional assault, is now a reluctant high school science teacher and varsity coach in St. Cloud, MN. When two of his favorite student players are recruited by an upstart Finnish soccer club owned by an eccentric tech billionaire with a secretive cognitive training program run by Dr. Anna Lehtinen, Eddie is suspicious of the motives but resists the urge to get involved.
But when Benny Gilbert calls Eddie from Finland to let him know of some strange personality changes of Peter Borg, his best friend, Eddie’s fears are confirmed.
Eddie finally jumps into action, but not before an enigmatic, Russian investor has targeted Peter as a star recruit for his own St. Petersburg soccer club. But there are other plans beyond sports for the neuroscience experiment now embedded into Peter’s head.
Eddie and Anna must unite to save Peter before he is brainwashed into cooperating with a revengeful agenda. The action races from Minnesota to Finland to Russia and back home.
In the end, Eddie needs to know if his dream was lost for a reason, as he and Anna try to make sure this new technology is preserved for compassion, not corruption.
350 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2020
12 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Peterson
3 books26 followersDaniel Peterson is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction books with a shared fascination of neuroscience, technology, sports and the people involved.
He is the co-author of The Playmaker's Advantage, a bestselling guide to developing athlete cognition for parents and coaches.
A Badger for life, Daniel earned a bachelor's degree in finance and international business with a master's degree in information technology from the University of Wisconsin.
He lives near Milwaukee with his wonderful wife and their two dogs.
Learn more at: DanielRPeterson.com
He is the co-author of The Playmaker's Advantage, a bestselling guide to developing athlete cognition for parents and coaches.
A Badger for life, Daniel earned a bachelor's degree in finance and international business with a master's degree in information technology from the University of Wisconsin.
He lives near Milwaukee with his wonderful wife and their two dogs.
Learn more at: DanielRPeterson.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
z-dnf
June 30, 2021DNF at 50%
I tried to give this book several chances but just could not get through it.
I expected an intrigueing mashup between the world of sports and science, but somehow it did not get there. The beginning of the book is overwhelmingly detailed when it comes to aspects of the sport, which at the same time seemed a little off.
I could have looked past that if it had strong and interesting characters, but it just did not. It seemed extremely clichee, extremely forced in terms of backstories and archetypes. There was nothing I was able to connect to. When the whole neuroscience aspect became more and more present, the whole book also read more and more forced and unbelievable. At this point I questioned if the writer is actually a writer or just had a cool idea and ran with it. It seems like this book could use some more rounds of harsh editing to bring the points together a bit more elegantly,
The idea is great but the writing is lackluster and does not tie the ideas together in an exciting way that I want to follow. Or maybe this was simply not for me.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I tried to give this book several chances but just could not get through it.
I expected an intrigueing mashup between the world of sports and science, but somehow it did not get there. The beginning of the book is overwhelmingly detailed when it comes to aspects of the sport, which at the same time seemed a little off.
I could have looked past that if it had strong and interesting characters, but it just did not. It seemed extremely clichee, extremely forced in terms of backstories and archetypes. There was nothing I was able to connect to. When the whole neuroscience aspect became more and more present, the whole book also read more and more forced and unbelievable. At this point I questioned if the writer is actually a writer or just had a cool idea and ran with it. It seems like this book could use some more rounds of harsh editing to bring the points together a bit more elegantly,
The idea is great but the writing is lackluster and does not tie the ideas together in an exciting way that I want to follow. Or maybe this was simply not for me.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 28, 2020
I figured neuroscience and football (soccer) would make a good read, but it wasn’t.
To me it was rather clear that the other lacks a certain understanding of football. I get how he is trying to include football/ athletes into this story but it could even be about chess. It’s that boring.
I think that is all this book is for me, it’s boring and doing everything just partially. If it were to focus on solely the neurological advancements that could be made in sport, with a bit of intrigue or just about sports it would have been better.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
To me it was rather clear that the other lacks a certain understanding of football. I get how he is trying to include football/ athletes into this story but it could even be about chess. It’s that boring.
I think that is all this book is for me, it’s boring and doing everything just partially. If it were to focus on solely the neurological advancements that could be made in sport, with a bit of intrigue or just about sports it would have been better.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
May 23, 2020
Who’d have thought that the worlds of sci-fi and soccer could collide?
Well, author Daniel Peterson has done a remarkable job in bringing these two seemingly disparate topics together with The Playmaker Project.
With likeable enough protagonists, a compelling story, and a precise writing style, Peterson’s novel contains the bread-and-butter of fiction writing.
It isn’t without fault. The final section is a bit too brief and the cold war politics, with the sinister Russian communist, was a bit silly.
However, these are very minor complaints.
Even if you aren’t interested in soccer, I’d thoroughly recommend picking up a copy of The Playmaker Project because it’s a very good sci-fi thriller.
I’m very much looking forward to his next book.
Well, author Daniel Peterson has done a remarkable job in bringing these two seemingly disparate topics together with The Playmaker Project.
With likeable enough protagonists, a compelling story, and a precise writing style, Peterson’s novel contains the bread-and-butter of fiction writing.
It isn’t without fault. The final section is a bit too brief and the cold war politics, with the sinister Russian communist, was a bit silly.
However, these are very minor complaints.
Even if you aren’t interested in soccer, I’d thoroughly recommend picking up a copy of The Playmaker Project because it’s a very good sci-fi thriller.
I’m very much looking forward to his next book.
couldnt-finish
July 9, 2023DNF @ 8%
There were entirely too many characters and not enough happening. I struggled to feel anything for any of the characters because of the way this is written.
It absolutely needs several rounds of edits to improve the story flow and character development. Probably won’t pick up anything by this author again unless the story idea is amazing!
There were entirely too many characters and not enough happening. I struggled to feel anything for any of the characters because of the way this is written.
It absolutely needs several rounds of edits to improve the story flow and character development. Probably won’t pick up anything by this author again unless the story idea is amazing!
May 20, 2020
The Playmaker Project is the first book in a new series. It's a faced paced novel with a strong and original plot that makes you want to read more in the series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews