| Game of Throw-ins | |
| Author: | Paul Howard |
| Illustrator: | Alan Clarke |
| Cover Artist: | Alan Clarke |
| Country: | Republic of Ireland |
| Pages: | 400 |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | Ross O'Carroll-Kelly |
| Published: | 8 September 2016 |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books |
| Preceded By: | Seedless in Seattle |
| Isbn: | 9781844883455 |
| Dewey: | 823.92 |
| Set In: | Dublin, 2014–15 |
| Followed By: | Operation Trumpsformation |
Game of Throw-ins is a 2016 book by Irish author Paul Howard and is the sixteenth novel in the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series.[1] [2] [3]
The title refers to the TV series Game of Thrones and the rugby throw-in.[4]
Ross joins a struggling Seapoint rugby team. Ronan is in a turf war with a rival Love/Hate tour operator. Honor is in love with a Justin Bieber lookalike. Fionnuala is marrying a 92-year-old billionaire.[5]
The Irish Times praised it, saying "This is sharp satire that manages the difficult trick of creating characters we care about. It is a very funny book, often hilarious, providing storylines that mostly keep the page-turning going. Yet it has a genuine heart of darkness hidden beneath the layers of craic, great gags, great storytelling and human warmth. In this way, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly is Ireland."[6]
Anne Gildea, also in The Irish Times, wrote that "I’m in love with the latest Ross O’Carroll-Kelly – Game of Throw-ins. The passage where Ross is confused, mid-match, about the line-out codes the captain has assigned is one of the funniest things I’ve come across in print."[7]
The Irish Independent's Tanya Sweeney wrote that "the entertaining fun of this SoCoDu satire has clearly yet to wane."
Trinity College Dublin's tn2 Magazine awarded it 3/5, saying that it was "not the best title in the series, but it’s a solid entry nonetheless. The overarching themes of time, change and broken families are balanced perfectly against the hilarious antics of Ross and his lunatic family."[8]
Game of Throw-ins was nominated for Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the 2016 Irish Book Awards.[9] [10] [11]
It was the third-bestselling book at WH Smith in Ireland for 2016.[12] [13] It sold 23,997 copies in 2016 overall.[14]