A fascinating deep dive into the gonzo world of darts. As a North American reader, this was an eye opener.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Anyone who’s ever seen or attended the PDC World Darts Championships knows that darts is no ordinary sport. Where else would you find world-class superstars, in the midst of a championship match, cultivating tomorrow’s banging hangover? Or two separate organisations, with a bitter historical rivalry, taking potshots at each other in a bid to secure players, fans and an all-important TV broadcast contract?
And then there’s the fans… Darts fans are unlike any other fans in world sport. They drink the most, they wear the silliest costumes, they sing the loudest and yet they can arguably see the least live action. They feel an immense pride and ownership for the game – its theirs, and they couldn’t care less about the sneers from the mainstream.
Join King ADZ as he dives headfirst into this tempestuous world, meeting former legends, future stars, dominant Internationals, the owners, the referees and of course the fans. Darts may be a simple game to many, but to most it’s absolute mayhem.

Oh dear, where did it all go wrong...?

What should have been a fascinating look back at the recent history of darts - and the two leading organisations that controlled the sport over the last 4 decades - turned into a rambling mess of random interviews with players and fans, an attempt by the author to learn the game (which, let me play spoiler here, is DEAD BORING - I didn't read the book to hear you couldn't hit the board...GET ON WITH IT!!!!), and what turned out to be a pretty lame attempt to tell the real story of the BDO and PDC, seemingly, so he didn't offend anyone...

Oh, and the author's belief he is a reincarnation of Hunter S. Thompson.

Which he is not.

Just a hipster-wannabe (check out the non-de-plume!) that thought he was doing a good thing. Which it should have been.

But it was not.


Paul
ARH

I am not a dart fan and know little about the sport but I really enjoyed this Gonzo exploration into the game which provided a breathless but warm and sympathetic account of the sport's rise and fall and eventual rebirth.

King ADZ ranges widely and speaks to players, administrators and fans alike and does a great job in explaining the sport's appeal to a certain demographic.

Funny, insightful and critical in turn this is highly recommended.