While Sci-Fi is not the main genre I read, I have absolutely dabbled in it in the past.  Most sci-fi books that involve aliens always involves, to some degree, the aliens doing their best to take over the world, but that is honestly where the similarities between Gorpp the Grappler and other sci-fi books really end. I loved the idea of Gorpp the Grappler, where Gorpp is low man on the totem pole, and does his best to rise above his station, not necessarily because he wants to conquer earth, but because he is bored.

            D. R. Feiler really took the time to show his love of wrestling and it shines through so clearly in this book, and I love that the dedication was to his mother because she took him to his first wrestling match.  It adds such sweet tone to the entire book.  The ideas and stories behind wrestling, how it works, and what some of the wrestlers overall goals might be is obviously well thought out, and makes me wonder, just a bit, if the author has been a wrestler himself.  I adored that Gorpp came into earth, learned that his ultimate goal of conquering earth through wrestling was not going to work, and so he decided that was ok, he would just be a wrestler instead.  And following him through his journey, as he becomes more cunning, more thoughtful, and starts to plan out what he is going to be doing in the ring is such a fun journey.  The biggest problem with this book, is it consistently tells you what happens, instead of just showing you, which is such a shame because the idea behind this story is just incredible.   

            This is not the longest book in the world, coming in at approximately 40,000 words, but after reading a few chapters I did have to put the book down multiple times.  It almost seemed like I had to slog through it, and the easy page turning rhythm I typically like while reading a book just was not there. What should have taken me an evening to read ended up taking about a week.

            I also want to add that on the amazon page for this book, the author had indicated this novel is for 12-18 year olds, which means this is a YA book, and I personally find it hard to believe that many children are going to get involved in this book.  I almost wish the author had taken some more time with it, and turned it into an adult book so we could have seen the grittier world of the backstage life of wrestling through our newcomer, Gorpp’s, eyes. 

            And if we are looking at a wish list of items, I would have loved to seen Gorpp examine the world around him and really compare it to the world he had come from.  Was it vastly different?  Disgustingly the same?  Did he find the human women attractive compared to his own species?  How did he feel about the new clothing he was going to have to squish into? While I loved the plot and ideas in this book, it did leave me wanting in quite a few ways and honestly that was such a shame. 

Overall –  This was not a terrible book. I really loved the idea and the plot behind it, but found myself wishing it was paced a bit better so it was easier to read through.  I do sincerely wish we had gotten the more adult version of this book as well, because I feel like quite a bit was left out that would have made this story even more interesting and entertaining.  As sci-fi is not my main genre to read I don’t know that I personally would read another book by D. R. Feiler, but I can absolutely see why someone would, and I could see myself recommending this book to my younger cousin just to see if he liked it.

Plot – 5/10

Characters – 4/10

Originality –  10/10

General Joy of Reading – 4/10

Overall Score – 23/40

Gorpp the Grappler (The Grappler Chronicles Book 1) – D. R. Feiler

Cost* – eBook is $3.49 and Paperback is $15.99. 

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published