June - August 2005
 Playing With Destiny
by Phillip Thomas Duck
Phillip Thomas Duck has written a novel that moves with the skill of a seasoned basketball player on the court; powerful, paced, captivating, and prized. The title, Playing with Destiny, truly is a play on words. It directs the reader to “Destiny” and other pivotal secrets in the lives of brothers Colin and Courtney Sheffield. In the first few pages, it appeared that in his debut novel, Phillip Thomas Duck would tell us everything, thus making unfolding the plot too predictable.
Fortunately however, he gave voice to the one-time bestselling writer Colin and his younger brother Courtney, the college basketball superstar. Through their points-of-view, the author shows us how the fire set more than a decade earlier in 15 year old Kim Parker’s family’s Brooklyn brownstone robbed her not only of her unborn baby, but the brothers of their friendship.Colin couldn’t banish comparisons between his style of writing and that of arrogant, yet mega-bookselling author Langston Campbell, from the lips of his own family and publisher. The memories of Kim Parker also refused to be banished from his dreams and thoughts. Courtney on-the-other-hand was haunted by comparisons to their father, nicknamed Prime. Above family and responsibilities, Prime had cherished the high of drugs and accolades, the feel of a basketball in his hands on the court and the touch of women other than his wife, in bed. His womanizing ended his dreams and his life.
The author adeptly showcases a continuum of secondary characters that help move the story forward. Each is uniquely important to the relationship between Colin and Courtney. Liza, Colin’s formerly bulimic wife and mother of their daughter Lyric “…thought about her part in their [the two brothers] problems and reprimanded herself for wondering.” As Courtney knocked on the door to realizing his dream to play in the NBA, Chante, disputably his baby girl’s mama warned him, “I’ll be damned if some other bitch is coming in and taking what I’m entitled to.” Lena Sheffield loved her sons, yet regrettably thought she had her pulse on the problem when she confronted Courtney in his hospital room; “You’re jealous.” In Playing with Destiny we were given enough information to anticipate future actions and events, while the author managed to keep details in suspense. His grammar, word usage and syntax were impeccable. Dialect was used effectively to show readers the wisdom and humor of Uncle Carl; the vulnerability of Chante and the wantonness of Black.
Phillip Thomas Duck successfully linked love lost, betrayal, ambition, hope, ambivalence, fear, sibling rivalry and restoration into a refreshing storyline. Only Liza’s fate seemed somewhat contrived near the end, although other bizarre events had been foreshadowed. Nevertheless, Playing with Destiny is definitely a must read.
Reviewed by Robin R. Pendleton for The Romer Revie
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