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Spar Battersea Comic Thrillers #1
Death Match: A Spar Battersea Wrestling thriller
A friend’s death at a pro wrestling show sends gutter journalist and punk rock hasbeen Spar Battersea back to the underground of the city to find the killer. Along the way he rams into a washed up grappler deadlier than a snake bite, a dominatrix who dresses like June Cleaver, and the freak of nature who may be the killer, the mime known as Johnny Silent. To get to the truth, Spar will have to contend with each and then survive his very own . . . Death Match!
Advance Praise for DEATH MATCH!
"A brash, fresh, and entertaining talent steps into the ring."-- Scott Nicholson, Liquid Fear
"Death Match is a rock ‘em sock ‘em addition to the noir canon. Gritty, relentless, and wry as hell, Ridler brings the pain." Laird Barron, award winning author of The Light is the Darkness
"Death Match is a literary beatdown that takes you to the top rope and piledrives you face-first onto a box of flaming thumbtacks -- in a good way." --Ben Thompson, Bad Birth of a Legend, and the website, Bad Ass of the Week.
"Fast, breezy and barbarous, Death Match is a fine, innovative noir from an exciting new writer. Reading the book is like eating a corn dog while watching a lard fire run through a greasy-spoon, it's both tasty and nasty." --Lucius Shepard, multiple-award-winning author of A Handbook of American Prayer
"A swift blow to the head. Ridler’s Death Match is a fast-paced battle royal of such character and action that even once you’re bleeding profusely, you don’t want him to ring the final bell.” Trent Zelazny, author of To Sleep Gently
ABOUT THE
Jason S. Ridler is the author of Death Match, the first Spar Battersea thriller, and has published over forty short stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Not One of Us, Chilling Tales, Tesseracts Thirteen, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada.
Advance Praise for DEATH MATCH!
"A brash, fresh, and entertaining talent steps into the ring."-- Scott Nicholson, Liquid Fear
"Death Match is a rock ‘em sock ‘em addition to the noir canon. Gritty, relentless, and wry as hell, Ridler brings the pain." Laird Barron, award winning author of The Light is the Darkness
"Death Match is a literary beatdown that takes you to the top rope and piledrives you face-first onto a box of flaming thumbtacks -- in a good way." --Ben Thompson, Bad Birth of a Legend, and the website, Bad Ass of the Week.
"Fast, breezy and barbarous, Death Match is a fine, innovative noir from an exciting new writer. Reading the book is like eating a corn dog while watching a lard fire run through a greasy-spoon, it's both tasty and nasty." --Lucius Shepard, multiple-award-winning author of A Handbook of American Prayer
"A swift blow to the head. Ridler’s Death Match is a fast-paced battle royal of such character and action that even once you’re bleeding profusely, you don’t want him to ring the final bell.” Trent Zelazny, author of To Sleep Gently
ABOUT THE
Jason S. Ridler is the author of Death Match, the first Spar Battersea thriller, and has published over forty short stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Not One of Us, Chilling Tales, Tesseracts Thirteen, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Jason S. Ridler
75 books58 followersJason S. Ridler is a professional writer and historian. His novel DEATH MATCH, the first Spar Battersea thriller, set in the madcap world of pro wrestling, is available at Amazon! Sex, drugs and headlocks, oh my!
Doc Ridler has also published over forty short stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Not One of Us, Chilling Tales, Tesseracts Thirteen, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada and lives in Northern California with his wife, two dogs, and two parrots.
Doc Ridler has also published over forty short stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Not One of Us, Chilling Tales, Tesseracts Thirteen, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada and lives in Northern California with his wife, two dogs, and two parrots.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 19, 2012
Murder, professional wrestling, an underground punk rock scene, a nasty biker gang, a psychopathic mime, and a dominatrix with an affinity for 50’s style. If you read that and thought, “Hell, yeah!” just go ahead and buy Death Match. (And it’s clear why you’re my kind of people.)
If you read that and thought, “That’s… interesting.” please allow me to explain how those pieces fit together to form the entertaining puzzle that is author Jason S. Ridler’s debut novel.
Having barely survived his wild, drug and alcohol fueled youth as frontman for a punk band, Spar Battersea was finally able to get his life on track with the help of his friend, Ray. Now working at a book store and as a stringer for the local paper, the excitement in Spar’s life is confined to cheering for Ray’s alter-ego “Clown Royale” at his professional wrestling matches.
When Ray dies in the ring on the eve of the biggest match of his young career, Spar doesn’t buy the official conclusion: heart attack/natural causes. For one thing Ray was only 25 and healthy as a horse, and that also wouldn’t explain the disturbing and extensive scarring found on Ray’s back, some of it quite recent. Determined to do right by his friend, Spar wades into the underground world of shady wrestling promoters and discovers there was a lot about his friend he didn’t know. Now Spar has to decide just how far he’s willing to go to discover the truth, and if he really wants to know.
Along the way Spar crosses paths with former wrestling royalty Keith “The Bullet” Winnick (legendarily known to have killed a man in the ring back in his heyday), his former band the Knuckledusters (who kicked him out and still hold a serious grudge over Spar ruining their shot at a record contract), ends up in the crosshairs of Johnny Silent (a wrestler who takes his “gimmick” as a mime to a disturbing extreme), meets a six-foot tall June Cleaver lookalike with a sadistic streak, and runs afoul of the Pit Bull Army (a biker gang that controls the part of town where most of the wrestling events and punk shows take place).
To say there’s a lot going on in Death Match is putting it lightly, but author Jason S. Ridler first scatters then brings together all those pieces to form a very entertaining puzzle. You don’t have to be an aficionado of wrestling to “get” that aspect of the book, as Ridler does a wonderful job of smoothly working wrestling setups and lingo (gimmicks, shoots, jobs, sells, potatoes, and bumps abound) into the mix, but does so without overdoing it. Similarly, the underground punk scene is presented in enough detail to bring it believably to life, but without ever overpowering or derailing the ultimate driving force of the story: Spar’s investigation into Ray’s death.
And, ultimately, that’s what makes Death Match such an enjoyable read; it’s a genuinely interesting, well-written thriller/mystery about a guy trying to do right by his friend, and Ridler has skillfully balanced believable character development and motivation with some truly hair-raising action. I am definitely looking forward to the next puzzle the Ridler has to offer.
If you read that and thought, “That’s… interesting.” please allow me to explain how those pieces fit together to form the entertaining puzzle that is author Jason S. Ridler’s debut novel.
Having barely survived his wild, drug and alcohol fueled youth as frontman for a punk band, Spar Battersea was finally able to get his life on track with the help of his friend, Ray. Now working at a book store and as a stringer for the local paper, the excitement in Spar’s life is confined to cheering for Ray’s alter-ego “Clown Royale” at his professional wrestling matches.
When Ray dies in the ring on the eve of the biggest match of his young career, Spar doesn’t buy the official conclusion: heart attack/natural causes. For one thing Ray was only 25 and healthy as a horse, and that also wouldn’t explain the disturbing and extensive scarring found on Ray’s back, some of it quite recent. Determined to do right by his friend, Spar wades into the underground world of shady wrestling promoters and discovers there was a lot about his friend he didn’t know. Now Spar has to decide just how far he’s willing to go to discover the truth, and if he really wants to know.
Along the way Spar crosses paths with former wrestling royalty Keith “The Bullet” Winnick (legendarily known to have killed a man in the ring back in his heyday), his former band the Knuckledusters (who kicked him out and still hold a serious grudge over Spar ruining their shot at a record contract), ends up in the crosshairs of Johnny Silent (a wrestler who takes his “gimmick” as a mime to a disturbing extreme), meets a six-foot tall June Cleaver lookalike with a sadistic streak, and runs afoul of the Pit Bull Army (a biker gang that controls the part of town where most of the wrestling events and punk shows take place).
To say there’s a lot going on in Death Match is putting it lightly, but author Jason S. Ridler first scatters then brings together all those pieces to form a very entertaining puzzle. You don’t have to be an aficionado of wrestling to “get” that aspect of the book, as Ridler does a wonderful job of smoothly working wrestling setups and lingo (gimmicks, shoots, jobs, sells, potatoes, and bumps abound) into the mix, but does so without overdoing it. Similarly, the underground punk scene is presented in enough detail to bring it believably to life, but without ever overpowering or derailing the ultimate driving force of the story: Spar’s investigation into Ray’s death.
And, ultimately, that’s what makes Death Match such an enjoyable read; it’s a genuinely interesting, well-written thriller/mystery about a guy trying to do right by his friend, and Ridler has skillfully balanced believable character development and motivation with some truly hair-raising action. I am definitely looking forward to the next puzzle the Ridler has to offer.
September 15, 2012
Being approached by an author to review a novel of theirs is both an honor and a horror. You want to write a kind word about their story,because they are kind enough to value your opinion, but at the same time, there is always the fear that the book they want you to read will be horrible. Thankfully this is not the case with Jason Ridler's "Death Match".
"Death Match" was, to put into simple words, a lot of fun to read. First is the out-of-the-ordinary plot and setting. Wrestling? Seriously? The last book based on this kind of story I had ever heard of was Ed Lee's "Goon", and anyone who is familiar with Lee's brand of shock-til-you-drop horror, knows how alienating that style can be to readers with a weak constitution. Ridler, however, makes this plot work. And work well.
This story starts up quick and never really lets up, and a huge part of that is due to Ridler's uncanny ability to write in a sarcastic and cynically humorous style, yet still keep the reader entertained and flipping along on their kindle until the very end. Like J.A. Konrath, Ridler finds a way to mix violence, sex, action, and humor all into one, often times within the same scene. Don't believe me, just read the whole section where Spar and the Bullet take on the Mime. Honestly, that is some of the most clever and hilarious dialogue/action I have ever read.
Finally, I must give a nod to the way the author works his characters into the readers minds throughout this novel. Spar Battersea is a despicable human being, a real punk and lowlife throughout the entire story and yet, I couldn't help rooting for him from the very beginning or hating the Mime either.
I think "Death Match" has, so far, been the biggest surprise book of 2012 for me. I'm always afraid that authors who ask others to review are pushing self-promotion for a lousy attempt to get kind words about a crappy novel. However, in a digital world where nearly everyone can publish a digital e-book, Ridler has managed to succeed.
"Death Match" was, to put into simple words, a lot of fun to read. First is the out-of-the-ordinary plot and setting. Wrestling? Seriously? The last book based on this kind of story I had ever heard of was Ed Lee's "Goon", and anyone who is familiar with Lee's brand of shock-til-you-drop horror, knows how alienating that style can be to readers with a weak constitution. Ridler, however, makes this plot work. And work well.
This story starts up quick and never really lets up, and a huge part of that is due to Ridler's uncanny ability to write in a sarcastic and cynically humorous style, yet still keep the reader entertained and flipping along on their kindle until the very end. Like J.A. Konrath, Ridler finds a way to mix violence, sex, action, and humor all into one, often times within the same scene. Don't believe me, just read the whole section where Spar and the Bullet take on the Mime. Honestly, that is some of the most clever and hilarious dialogue/action I have ever read.
Finally, I must give a nod to the way the author works his characters into the readers minds throughout this novel. Spar Battersea is a despicable human being, a real punk and lowlife throughout the entire story and yet, I couldn't help rooting for him from the very beginning or hating the Mime either.
I think "Death Match" has, so far, been the biggest surprise book of 2012 for me. I'm always afraid that authors who ask others to review are pushing self-promotion for a lousy attempt to get kind words about a crappy novel. However, in a digital world where nearly everyone can publish a digital e-book, Ridler has managed to succeed.
September 1, 2012
"A friend’s death at a pro wrestling show sends gutter journalist and punk rock hasbeen Spar Battersea back to the underground of the city to find the killer. Along the way he rams into a washed up grappler deadlier than a snake bite, a dominatrix who dresses like June Cleaver, and the freak of nature who may be the killer, the mime known as Johnny Silent. To get to the truth, Spar will have to contend with each and then survive his very own . . . Death Match!"
What a smashingly fun read this book is!! I loved every page! Mr. Ridler has a gift for making the absurd not only witty- but part of a cohesive plot. Death Match is chock full of characters that are unlike any you are likely to encounter (probably a very good thing!) but a treasure for readers who like their books fast and funny.
While we travel with Spar...we are gifted with a truly fun and at times thrilling ride! I must say- after reading this- I might not be able to watch Leave It To Beaver and not think of the ..uh...June Cleaver-like character here! I love books like Death Match because - while character and plot can seem outlandish by simply reading the synopsis above..EVERYTHING fits into place perfectly to make this a very satisfying read on many levels. The skillful writing of a man who KNOWS how to write, Jason Ridler, has gained a new and most definately, faithful reader! Looking forward to Spar's next adventure!
A JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
RICK FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
What a smashingly fun read this book is!! I loved every page! Mr. Ridler has a gift for making the absurd not only witty- but part of a cohesive plot. Death Match is chock full of characters that are unlike any you are likely to encounter (probably a very good thing!) but a treasure for readers who like their books fast and funny.
While we travel with Spar...we are gifted with a truly fun and at times thrilling ride! I must say- after reading this- I might not be able to watch Leave It To Beaver and not think of the ..uh...June Cleaver-like character here! I love books like Death Match because - while character and plot can seem outlandish by simply reading the synopsis above..EVERYTHING fits into place perfectly to make this a very satisfying read on many levels. The skillful writing of a man who KNOWS how to write, Jason Ridler, has gained a new and most definately, faithful reader! Looking forward to Spar's next adventure!
A JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ
RICK FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
October 16, 2012
If given the choice, I probably would not have picked this book up to read. It's about wrestling, not one of my favourite subjects. However, I'm glad I did read it, since author, Jason Ridler, did a superb job in creating a story about this sport and weaving a murder mystery into it. With a backbeat of the punk rock scene thrown in, it's clear Ridler knows his stuff, and at times, with the music influence and the protagonists struggles with his internal demons as he delves deeper and deeper into the world of wrestling, it reminded me of another book (The Devil and Preston Black by Jason Jack Miller). There were times I wanted to knock Spar, the lead character, over the head -- right on top of all his other lumps and bumps -- and tell him to get a grip. The book is fast-paced with snappy phrases (some had me giggling) that just adds to the style/theme of the story. A wrestling fan I am not, an underground punk rocker either, but the story grabbed me with Spar's dogged and sometimes twisted reasoning and determination to solve the murder of his friend and bring the truth to light. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
September 20, 2011
This book is aces. You don't have to love wrestling to love this book. All you really need is an appreciation for language, character and story. A great read from beginning to end.
This book grabbed me by the balls. I highly recommend it.
This book grabbed me by the balls. I highly recommend it.
October 2, 2012
I stumbled across a message in my Goodreads.com inbox from author Jason Ridler offering me an e-copy of his novel Death Match: A Spar Battersea Wrestling Thriller. He had stumbled upon my Goodreads review of Ben Thompson’s book,
Badass: A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live, and thought I might enjoy his novel as well. Though not much up on the wrestling thriller genre, I can’t pass up a free e-book so I replied back and had a copy from him within an hour. By the way, Mr. Ridler seemed like a super swell guy. Anyway, after converting the file to a Kindle friendly format, I uploaded it to my device and dug in.
Death Match is best described as a noir style tribute to all things indie wrestling and cowboy punk.
What?
I know.
But it was actually a pretty grabbing tale. Spartek Battersea is a dried out punk guitarist formerly of the cowboy punk group the Knuckledusters who has sobered up and gotten on the wagon through the help of his best bud, Ray – A.K.A. Clown Royale in the local indie wrestling circuit. Battersea is now a freelance writer hoping to sell his hit or miss local interest pieces on chili eating contests and indie wrestling matches in an effort to keep the lights on in the hellhole apartment he and Ray share.
The opening pages detail Spar’s coverage of one of Clown Royale’s biggest matches yet only to close with Ray’s sudden and mysterious death as Clown Royale collapses in the ring and doesn’t get back up again. This begins Spar’s arduous – and often dangerous – investigation into the underbelly of the indie wrestling business as he attempts to uncover what really happened to his best friend and write the story which will be the honorable epitaph his best friend deserves.
Along the way, Spar encounters a macabre cast of bizarre characters including an oily-slick wrestling promoter, a seemingly mute, pain worshiping adrenaline junkie, a washed up wrestling has-been with maybe a punch or two still up his sleeve and a 50’s themed dominatrix bombshell with a taste for tough guys. It was the cast which ended up fueling this adrenaline soaked romp through the gutters of Dismas, California. The story, while dark and often depressing, was twisted and fast and the plot was paced adequately enough to keep my interest up through to the final chapter.
I have to admit that there were a lot of errors in the text and style of the e-book version I read. A lot of minor missing words (such as and’s, the’s and that’s), misplaced words, jarring tense shifts and confusing typos replacing the correct word with a similarly spelled word. I got the sense that Mr. Ridler’s editor was Microsoft’s Spellcheck. While that works great for misspelled words, it won’t catch missing words, misplaced words or tense shifts. Death Match could have used a thorough once-over by a competent editor but, in the end, the story pulled me through those segments and carried me all the way to the end.
Death Match is also host to a few obscure punk rock references and a lot of arcane wrestling jargon like “selling”, “shooting” and “mugging” which I was unfamiliar with but which, if not defined outright by the author, were defined enough within their context that I could follow along easily enough. Don’t worry. A lack of wrestling or punk rock trivia knowledge will not keep you from enjoying this tale. In fact, its immersion into these unique subcultures was one of Death Match’s surprising virtues.
Bottom line: Death Match wasn’t a great read – but it was a fresh, fun, pulpy read and had just enough of a noir detective vibe to keep me interested as well as enough suspense and mystery in the plot to keep me turning the pages all the way through. I ended up giving Death Match three stars because I enjoyed reading it despite its technical flaws. And that just goes to show that if you have a story worth telling and an engaging narrative, people will enjoy reading it.
Badass: A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live, and thought I might enjoy his novel as well. Though not much up on the wrestling thriller genre, I can’t pass up a free e-book so I replied back and had a copy from him within an hour. By the way, Mr. Ridler seemed like a super swell guy. Anyway, after converting the file to a Kindle friendly format, I uploaded it to my device and dug in.
Death Match is best described as a noir style tribute to all things indie wrestling and cowboy punk.
What?
I know.
But it was actually a pretty grabbing tale. Spartek Battersea is a dried out punk guitarist formerly of the cowboy punk group the Knuckledusters who has sobered up and gotten on the wagon through the help of his best bud, Ray – A.K.A. Clown Royale in the local indie wrestling circuit. Battersea is now a freelance writer hoping to sell his hit or miss local interest pieces on chili eating contests and indie wrestling matches in an effort to keep the lights on in the hellhole apartment he and Ray share.
The opening pages detail Spar’s coverage of one of Clown Royale’s biggest matches yet only to close with Ray’s sudden and mysterious death as Clown Royale collapses in the ring and doesn’t get back up again. This begins Spar’s arduous – and often dangerous – investigation into the underbelly of the indie wrestling business as he attempts to uncover what really happened to his best friend and write the story which will be the honorable epitaph his best friend deserves.
Along the way, Spar encounters a macabre cast of bizarre characters including an oily-slick wrestling promoter, a seemingly mute, pain worshiping adrenaline junkie, a washed up wrestling has-been with maybe a punch or two still up his sleeve and a 50’s themed dominatrix bombshell with a taste for tough guys. It was the cast which ended up fueling this adrenaline soaked romp through the gutters of Dismas, California. The story, while dark and often depressing, was twisted and fast and the plot was paced adequately enough to keep my interest up through to the final chapter.
I have to admit that there were a lot of errors in the text and style of the e-book version I read. A lot of minor missing words (such as and’s, the’s and that’s), misplaced words, jarring tense shifts and confusing typos replacing the correct word with a similarly spelled word. I got the sense that Mr. Ridler’s editor was Microsoft’s Spellcheck. While that works great for misspelled words, it won’t catch missing words, misplaced words or tense shifts. Death Match could have used a thorough once-over by a competent editor but, in the end, the story pulled me through those segments and carried me all the way to the end.
Death Match is also host to a few obscure punk rock references and a lot of arcane wrestling jargon like “selling”, “shooting” and “mugging” which I was unfamiliar with but which, if not defined outright by the author, were defined enough within their context that I could follow along easily enough. Don’t worry. A lack of wrestling or punk rock trivia knowledge will not keep you from enjoying this tale. In fact, its immersion into these unique subcultures was one of Death Match’s surprising virtues.
Bottom line: Death Match wasn’t a great read – but it was a fresh, fun, pulpy read and had just enough of a noir detective vibe to keep me interested as well as enough suspense and mystery in the plot to keep me turning the pages all the way through. I ended up giving Death Match three stars because I enjoyed reading it despite its technical flaws. And that just goes to show that if you have a story worth telling and an engaging narrative, people will enjoy reading it.
January 29, 2012
An action-packed thriller, a captivating story with realistic wrestling and fight scenes
DEATH MATCH: A SPAR BATTERSEA WRESTLING THRILLER is not my usual read, but once I put away my granny reservations, I began to enjoy the writing of Jason S. Ridler and his tall tale of Spar Battersea.
I was captivated by the story, in awe of the realistic fight scenes, entertained by the book's mock serious tone, and Ridler's rough and tumble syntax. Matter of fact, I felt a little breathless each time I put down the book; I figure that reading DEATH MATCH could make an hour's bus or train commute seem like a minute.
The main character, like the story itself, is firmly rooted in American and French Canadian folklore. Paul Bunyan and Davy Crockett spring to mind, but think, also, of Superman, Indiana Jones, Spider Man. The tradition is long. In DEATH MATCH my favorite characters are Spar, Mercy, and Ray (as remembered by Spar), and I smiled at the mock dystopian description of Chisel and Lonesome Crow Tavern.
The hero, a journalist at The Dispatch, is assigned to cover the wrestling match between Hobo the Destroyer and Spar's friend, Clown Royale. The match ends when Clown Royale, aka Ray Kinston, dies suddenly. Spar, believing that Ray's death is, at best, suspicious, searches out the real cause of his death and the perpetrators. On his journey, he encounters a number of grueling tests and must pass each one in order to arrive at the truth. Hurdles and suspects abound, their names, like the places in this novel, are straight from the author's prolific imagination: Karate Jesus, Magnum, Wizard, Mercy, Johnny Silent (Mime Boy), the Bullet. The list goes on.
I also enjoyed the irony. DEATH MATCH is told in the first person by Spar who prides himself on his toughness. But for all his hard-boiled comic book veneer, Spar has real humanity. He portrays Sharon, Ray's wife, and her loss with true sensitivity: "She was still holding Ray's face in her eyes."
It is because of loyalty to his friend that Spar Battersea quests, despite the nightmarish danger to himself:
"And Ray, my hero, the one friend who hadn't ditched me despite my exponentially growing jackassery, pulled my noggin out of the thundermug and carried me to his place. This place. My place."
Although the narration was at times brilliant, at other times the description was, well, florid. And for me, there was a little too much action and a little too much rawness. Face it, at times Spar Battersea questing in Chisel made Jack Daniels detecting in Chicago look like St. Therese praying in Lisieux.
That said, I recommend DEATH MATCH to the reader looking for a well-written, action-packed thriller. If you are such a reader, you won't want to miss the first of the Spar Battersea Wrestling Thrillers, DEATH MATCH.
About the ebook's presentation (cover design, editing, ebook formatting): Professionally edited and proofread. An interesting photo on the cover. The ebook formatting was unusual: in the edition I read, typesetter marks were used for open quotes but not for close quotes. Chapter headings, all caps, were chunky and difficult to read.
About the author: Jason S. Ridler is a professional writer and historian, who has sold over forty short stories, as well as dozens of academic articles, pop culture essays, and assorted odd tales to odd places. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, he holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada. Visit him online at Ridlerville. He currently resides in the East Bay of San Francisco with his wife, two dogs, two parrots, and the world’s most dangerous library.
Death Match: A Spar Battersea Wrestling Thriller
Copyright ©2011 Jason S. Ridler
ASIN: B005IGX7OW
Available at Amazon
DEATH MATCH: A SPAR BATTERSEA WRESTLING THRILLER is not my usual read, but once I put away my granny reservations, I began to enjoy the writing of Jason S. Ridler and his tall tale of Spar Battersea.
I was captivated by the story, in awe of the realistic fight scenes, entertained by the book's mock serious tone, and Ridler's rough and tumble syntax. Matter of fact, I felt a little breathless each time I put down the book; I figure that reading DEATH MATCH could make an hour's bus or train commute seem like a minute.
The main character, like the story itself, is firmly rooted in American and French Canadian folklore. Paul Bunyan and Davy Crockett spring to mind, but think, also, of Superman, Indiana Jones, Spider Man. The tradition is long. In DEATH MATCH my favorite characters are Spar, Mercy, and Ray (as remembered by Spar), and I smiled at the mock dystopian description of Chisel and Lonesome Crow Tavern.
The hero, a journalist at The Dispatch, is assigned to cover the wrestling match between Hobo the Destroyer and Spar's friend, Clown Royale. The match ends when Clown Royale, aka Ray Kinston, dies suddenly. Spar, believing that Ray's death is, at best, suspicious, searches out the real cause of his death and the perpetrators. On his journey, he encounters a number of grueling tests and must pass each one in order to arrive at the truth. Hurdles and suspects abound, their names, like the places in this novel, are straight from the author's prolific imagination: Karate Jesus, Magnum, Wizard, Mercy, Johnny Silent (Mime Boy), the Bullet. The list goes on.
I also enjoyed the irony. DEATH MATCH is told in the first person by Spar who prides himself on his toughness. But for all his hard-boiled comic book veneer, Spar has real humanity. He portrays Sharon, Ray's wife, and her loss with true sensitivity: "She was still holding Ray's face in her eyes."
It is because of loyalty to his friend that Spar Battersea quests, despite the nightmarish danger to himself:
"And Ray, my hero, the one friend who hadn't ditched me despite my exponentially growing jackassery, pulled my noggin out of the thundermug and carried me to his place. This place. My place."
Although the narration was at times brilliant, at other times the description was, well, florid. And for me, there was a little too much action and a little too much rawness. Face it, at times Spar Battersea questing in Chisel made Jack Daniels detecting in Chicago look like St. Therese praying in Lisieux.
That said, I recommend DEATH MATCH to the reader looking for a well-written, action-packed thriller. If you are such a reader, you won't want to miss the first of the Spar Battersea Wrestling Thrillers, DEATH MATCH.
About the ebook's presentation (cover design, editing, ebook formatting): Professionally edited and proofread. An interesting photo on the cover. The ebook formatting was unusual: in the edition I read, typesetter marks were used for open quotes but not for close quotes. Chapter headings, all caps, were chunky and difficult to read.
About the author: Jason S. Ridler is a professional writer and historian, who has sold over forty short stories, as well as dozens of academic articles, pop culture essays, and assorted odd tales to odd places. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, he holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada. Visit him online at Ridlerville. He currently resides in the East Bay of San Francisco with his wife, two dogs, two parrots, and the world’s most dangerous library.
Death Match: A Spar Battersea Wrestling Thriller
Copyright ©2011 Jason S. Ridler
ASIN: B005IGX7OW
Available at Amazon
August 28, 2012
Back in the 1950s when I was growing up on a small farm in southwestern Ohio, my dad finally caved in and bought a TV set. It was black-and-white, of course, and it had rabbit ears that sometimes had to be adjusted by somebody on the roof - but to my barely-a-teenager eyes, it came from heaven. One of the few channels we could get with reasonable clarity (most of the time) was WLWD from nearby Dayton, Ohio (now it's WDTN, or so I've read), which on weekends broadcast live "professional" wrestling matches. Every week, my dad and I were glued to the set watching such then big names as Lou Thesz, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, "Argentina" Tony Rocca and Bobo Brazil. Although something in the back of my not fully developed brain told me this wasn't quite on the up and up, I cheered loudly for the "good guy" to win and yelled when the referee looked the other way while the bad one delivered illegal sucker punches.
Once I left home for college never to return on a permanent basis, wrestling faded from memory. It's been only recently, thanks to an almost 12-year-old grandson who's a WWE fanatic, that I've paid any attention whatsoever to the "sport." Then, I learned that one of my husband's cousins is trying to make a name for himself on the Mid-Ohio Wrestling circuit, and I've even been to a couple of live matches (which, for the record, are quite enough, thank you).
So when I had a chance to read Death Match by Jason Ridler, I figured what the heck? It combines my favorite book genre with wrestling, so how bad could it be?
Happily, not bad at all - especially for a first novel. According to his biography, Ridler is an accomplished writer as the author of more than 40 short stories. He's been a punk rock musician - as was Spar Battersea, the main character in this book - and while I don't know where the interest in wrestling came from, the fact that Ridler holds a Ph.D. in war studies might be a clue.
Battersea, who now is doing a passable job as a journalist, is shocked when a friend, a pro wrestler, dies at a match. At first, it looks fairly straightforward - even though it's mostly fake, it's certainly possible to get seriously hurt. But doubts soon creep in, and Battersea finds himself on the trail of a killer - a trail that puts him back in parts of the city and a previous life he'd much rather forget.
Ridler is an excellent writer, although it took me a while to adjust to the style and language (hey, I'm used to speed-reading through James Patterson or John Grisham or Jonathan Kellerman in a day or two, so having to actually read all the words took a little adjustment). And early on, I had a few fits over what I'd call excessive analogies ("His chest heaved like a pitchfork in a hay mow" - my example, not one from the book). For the first handful of chapters, they came at me fast and furious.
And then they tapered off -- and all was right with the rest of the book. The plot is well thought out, the characters interesting (though probably not folks I'd want to hang out with very often), the action held my attention throughout and the ending is a perfect fit. Does Battersea find the killer? Does he get the girl (assuming, of course, that he even wants her)? For those answers, you'll have to read it for yourself.
Once I left home for college never to return on a permanent basis, wrestling faded from memory. It's been only recently, thanks to an almost 12-year-old grandson who's a WWE fanatic, that I've paid any attention whatsoever to the "sport." Then, I learned that one of my husband's cousins is trying to make a name for himself on the Mid-Ohio Wrestling circuit, and I've even been to a couple of live matches (which, for the record, are quite enough, thank you).
So when I had a chance to read Death Match by Jason Ridler, I figured what the heck? It combines my favorite book genre with wrestling, so how bad could it be?
Happily, not bad at all - especially for a first novel. According to his biography, Ridler is an accomplished writer as the author of more than 40 short stories. He's been a punk rock musician - as was Spar Battersea, the main character in this book - and while I don't know where the interest in wrestling came from, the fact that Ridler holds a Ph.D. in war studies might be a clue.
Battersea, who now is doing a passable job as a journalist, is shocked when a friend, a pro wrestler, dies at a match. At first, it looks fairly straightforward - even though it's mostly fake, it's certainly possible to get seriously hurt. But doubts soon creep in, and Battersea finds himself on the trail of a killer - a trail that puts him back in parts of the city and a previous life he'd much rather forget.
Ridler is an excellent writer, although it took me a while to adjust to the style and language (hey, I'm used to speed-reading through James Patterson or John Grisham or Jonathan Kellerman in a day or two, so having to actually read all the words took a little adjustment). And early on, I had a few fits over what I'd call excessive analogies ("His chest heaved like a pitchfork in a hay mow" - my example, not one from the book). For the first handful of chapters, they came at me fast and furious.
And then they tapered off -- and all was right with the rest of the book. The plot is well thought out, the characters interesting (though probably not folks I'd want to hang out with very often), the action held my attention throughout and the ending is a perfect fit. Does Battersea find the killer? Does he get the girl (assuming, of course, that he even wants her)? For those answers, you'll have to read it for yourself.
August 11, 2012
Before I write anything else, I'll mention that this book isn't exactly the kind of literature that I usually read (I prefer speculative fiction and quality mainstream fiction), but I have to admit that the author has managed to write quite an entertaining book. (I think it’s also good to mention that the last time that I read a thriller was when I read R. Scott Bakker's latest thriller, Disciple of the Dog.)
As you have probably guessed, I'm not very experienced when it comes to reading thrillers, so I'm not an expert of this genre. That's why this review is based mostly on how I felt about Death Match and not how I thought it fits in to the thriller genre and how it can be compared to other thrillers.
Death Match is an interesting and visceral thriller/mystery novel about wrestling and things related to it. It's almost like a puzzle and the reader gets to pick the pieces and put them together by reading what happens.
Here's a bit of information about the plot: The protagonist of this novel, Spar Battersea, is doing a story about a wrestling match between Hobo the Destroyer and his friend, Clown Royale (a.k.a. Ray Kingston). The wrestling match ends when Spar's friend dies and begins to investigate what really happened.
In my opinion Jason S. Ridler writes well and he clearly seems to love writing entertaining stories. He managed to bring freshness to the book by writing carefully how the characters talked and acted. I normally tend to avoid thrillers, because I've often been put off by the writing style, but in this case the writing style was surprisingly good and it worked well with the plot.
I was great that the author described certain happenings in vivid details. It was interesting to read about the protagonist, his suspicions and his feelings - Spar Battersea was an interesting character.
The author delivered all the blows, shouts, mayhem and raw excitement of the fight events quite nicely and in a believable way. The fight scenes felt surprisingly realistic, which was nice, because it was easy to believe what was going.
By the way, one of the most interesting things about this book was that the author managed to add a bit of dark humour to the story.
Although I don't usually read thrillers, I have to admit that I enjoyed reading Death Match, because it was a fast read which offered an interesting and a bit different kind of a glimpse into the world of wrestling. It was nice to read something different for a change.
I'm sure that other readers, who usually avoid thrillers, will find this book interesting, because it's an entertaining book. If you're worried that you know nothing about wrestling, don't be worried, because you don't have to know much about wrestling to enjoy this book.
(PS. It'll be interesting to see what Jason S. Ridler writes next.)
As you have probably guessed, I'm not very experienced when it comes to reading thrillers, so I'm not an expert of this genre. That's why this review is based mostly on how I felt about Death Match and not how I thought it fits in to the thriller genre and how it can be compared to other thrillers.
Death Match is an interesting and visceral thriller/mystery novel about wrestling and things related to it. It's almost like a puzzle and the reader gets to pick the pieces and put them together by reading what happens.
Here's a bit of information about the plot: The protagonist of this novel, Spar Battersea, is doing a story about a wrestling match between Hobo the Destroyer and his friend, Clown Royale (a.k.a. Ray Kingston). The wrestling match ends when Spar's friend dies and begins to investigate what really happened.
In my opinion Jason S. Ridler writes well and he clearly seems to love writing entertaining stories. He managed to bring freshness to the book by writing carefully how the characters talked and acted. I normally tend to avoid thrillers, because I've often been put off by the writing style, but in this case the writing style was surprisingly good and it worked well with the plot.
I was great that the author described certain happenings in vivid details. It was interesting to read about the protagonist, his suspicions and his feelings - Spar Battersea was an interesting character.
The author delivered all the blows, shouts, mayhem and raw excitement of the fight events quite nicely and in a believable way. The fight scenes felt surprisingly realistic, which was nice, because it was easy to believe what was going.
By the way, one of the most interesting things about this book was that the author managed to add a bit of dark humour to the story.
Although I don't usually read thrillers, I have to admit that I enjoyed reading Death Match, because it was a fast read which offered an interesting and a bit different kind of a glimpse into the world of wrestling. It was nice to read something different for a change.
I'm sure that other readers, who usually avoid thrillers, will find this book interesting, because it's an entertaining book. If you're worried that you know nothing about wrestling, don't be worried, because you don't have to know much about wrestling to enjoy this book.
(PS. It'll be interesting to see what Jason S. Ridler writes next.)
Read
December 14, 2011Having barely survived his wild, drug and alcohol fueled youth as frontman for a punk band, Spar Battersea was finally able to get his life on track with the help of his friend, Ray. Now working at a book store and as a stringer for the local paper, the excitement in Spar’s life is confined to cheering for Ray’s alter-ego “Clown Royale” at his professional wrestling matches.
When Ray dies in the ring on the eve of the biggest match of his young career, Spar doesn’t buy the official conclusion: heart attack/natural causes. For one thing Ray was only 25 and healthy as a horse, and that also wouldn’t explain the disturbing and extensive scarring found on Ray’s back, some of it quite recent. Determined to do right by his friend, Spar wades into the underground world of shady wrestling promoters and discovers there was a lot about his friend he didn’t know. Now Spar has to decide just how far he’s willing to go to discover the truth, and if he really wants to know.
Along the way Spar crosses paths with former wrestling royalty Keith “The Bullet” Winnick (legendarily known to have killed a man in the ring back in his heyday), his former band the Knuckledusters (who kicked him out and still hold a serious grudge over Spar ruining their shot at a record contract), ends up in the crosshairs of Johnny Silent (a wrestler who takes his “gimmick” as a mime to a disturbing extreme), meets a six-foot tall June Cleaver lookalike with a sadistic streak, and runs afoul of the Pit Bull Army (a biker gang that controls the part of town where most of the wrestling events and punk shows take place).
To say there’s a lot going on in Death Match is putting it lightly, but author Jason S. Ridler first scatters then brings together all those pieces to form a very entertaining puzzle. You don’t have to be an aficionado of wrestling to “get” that aspect of the book, as Ridler does a wonderful job of smoothly working wrestling setups and lingo (gimmicks, shoots, jobs, sells, potatoes, and bumps abound) into the mix, but does so without overdoing it. Similarly, the underground punk scene is presented in enough detail to bring it believably to life, but without ever overpowering or derailing the ultimate driving force of the story: Spar’s investigation into Ray’s death.
And, ultimately, that’s what makes Death Match such an enjoyable read; it’s a genuinely interesting, well-written thriller/mystery about a guy trying to do right by his friend, and Ridler has skillfully balanced believable character development and motivation with some truly hair-raising action. I am definitely looking forward to the next puzzle the Ridler has to offer.
When Ray dies in the ring on the eve of the biggest match of his young career, Spar doesn’t buy the official conclusion: heart attack/natural causes. For one thing Ray was only 25 and healthy as a horse, and that also wouldn’t explain the disturbing and extensive scarring found on Ray’s back, some of it quite recent. Determined to do right by his friend, Spar wades into the underground world of shady wrestling promoters and discovers there was a lot about his friend he didn’t know. Now Spar has to decide just how far he’s willing to go to discover the truth, and if he really wants to know.
Along the way Spar crosses paths with former wrestling royalty Keith “The Bullet” Winnick (legendarily known to have killed a man in the ring back in his heyday), his former band the Knuckledusters (who kicked him out and still hold a serious grudge over Spar ruining their shot at a record contract), ends up in the crosshairs of Johnny Silent (a wrestler who takes his “gimmick” as a mime to a disturbing extreme), meets a six-foot tall June Cleaver lookalike with a sadistic streak, and runs afoul of the Pit Bull Army (a biker gang that controls the part of town where most of the wrestling events and punk shows take place).
To say there’s a lot going on in Death Match is putting it lightly, but author Jason S. Ridler first scatters then brings together all those pieces to form a very entertaining puzzle. You don’t have to be an aficionado of wrestling to “get” that aspect of the book, as Ridler does a wonderful job of smoothly working wrestling setups and lingo (gimmicks, shoots, jobs, sells, potatoes, and bumps abound) into the mix, but does so without overdoing it. Similarly, the underground punk scene is presented in enough detail to bring it believably to life, but without ever overpowering or derailing the ultimate driving force of the story: Spar’s investigation into Ray’s death.
And, ultimately, that’s what makes Death Match such an enjoyable read; it’s a genuinely interesting, well-written thriller/mystery about a guy trying to do right by his friend, and Ridler has skillfully balanced believable character development and motivation with some truly hair-raising action. I am definitely looking forward to the next puzzle the Ridler has to offer.
August 21, 2015
Death Match, by Jason Ridler is a novel made for those who don’t like the mainstream fluff you get from most authors.
This is a novel that revolves around the main character, Spar Battersea, an ex-substance abuser with the vocabulary that goes with the punk scene that he used to be a part of – raw, straight up, and a bit harsh – and his quest to find his best friend’s killer and possibly gain revenge.
Ridler’s characters are all very real if you are familiar with the world they come from. They’re the people who never get a break in life, and take it as it comes. Spar should seem bitter, but he’s not. Rather, he wants justice.
I enjoyed this novel, not just for the scene, but for the narration as well. It’s nice to see a narration riddled with swear words and sarcasm. It seems more like a real inner monologue than most authors can portray. You don’t see that in the mainstream, and it is a nice break away into something completely unique.
The setting of the novel was a unique choice, and this author knows his terms and his wrestling matches. The wrestling quoting parrot was a hilarious touch that made the novel that more entertaining for me. The author is straight up about the business of wrestling, and frequently mentions certain things that used to be unknown, while still making the sport out to be a work of art.
Without trying to ad spoilers to this review, the ending is a bit rough, and if you don’t like violence, then this novel certainly isn’t for you (but it’s about wrestling, so I think that should be hint enough there will be violence), however, I found it fitting and a perfect way to end this novel.
Ridler has a great way with words, being able to write in a way that you can see yourself thinking the same things Spar does. His plot kept me wondering just as long as the main character, and the ending was full of action that left me clinging to the edge of my seat, wanting to find out the outcome – just like the perfect wrestling match.
I highly recommend this novel to fans of wrestling and those looking to read alternative thrillers. I’ll be sure to suggest it to a few friends of mine who enjoy the world of both backyard and pro wrestling.
This is a novel that revolves around the main character, Spar Battersea, an ex-substance abuser with the vocabulary that goes with the punk scene that he used to be a part of – raw, straight up, and a bit harsh – and his quest to find his best friend’s killer and possibly gain revenge.
Ridler’s characters are all very real if you are familiar with the world they come from. They’re the people who never get a break in life, and take it as it comes. Spar should seem bitter, but he’s not. Rather, he wants justice.
I enjoyed this novel, not just for the scene, but for the narration as well. It’s nice to see a narration riddled with swear words and sarcasm. It seems more like a real inner monologue than most authors can portray. You don’t see that in the mainstream, and it is a nice break away into something completely unique.
The setting of the novel was a unique choice, and this author knows his terms and his wrestling matches. The wrestling quoting parrot was a hilarious touch that made the novel that more entertaining for me. The author is straight up about the business of wrestling, and frequently mentions certain things that used to be unknown, while still making the sport out to be a work of art.
Without trying to ad spoilers to this review, the ending is a bit rough, and if you don’t like violence, then this novel certainly isn’t for you (but it’s about wrestling, so I think that should be hint enough there will be violence), however, I found it fitting and a perfect way to end this novel.
Ridler has a great way with words, being able to write in a way that you can see yourself thinking the same things Spar does. His plot kept me wondering just as long as the main character, and the ending was full of action that left me clinging to the edge of my seat, wanting to find out the outcome – just like the perfect wrestling match.
I highly recommend this novel to fans of wrestling and those looking to read alternative thrillers. I’ll be sure to suggest it to a few friends of mine who enjoy the world of both backyard and pro wrestling.
September 4, 2012
Death Match is perverse, grotesque, and intense. In all the right ways. It combines a variety of esoteric flavors--amateur wrestling, country/punk rock, freelance journalism, bookstore employment--that, while not exactly chocolate and peanut butter, melt together surprisingly well. The plot takes main character Spar through a succession of twisted events, each one stranger than the last. Steroid use, S&M with a 1950s flair, snuff porn, and the aforementioned retail hell of bookstore employment.
Spar has a wicked sense of humor that fits in perfectly with his coarse personality. He's the classic asshole with a heart of gold, trying to do good. It feels genuine, and not a ploy to make an otherwise unlikeable character sympathetic. All the characters have glaring flaws that make them interesting, round, and far from stereotypical stock characters. The villain, a masochistic mime, is not only depraved but believable, despite the ridiculous description I just gave of "masochistic mime" that might make you think otherwise. His believability is what makes him pretty frightening. Strangely, Spar spends a lot of time concerned with the genitalia of other males, but maybe that's just the latent homosexuality of the wrestling scene seeping through.
Even though amateur wrestling isn't high on my list of interests, Death Match provided an intriguing, inside look at its seamy underbelly. I love a good seamy underbelly of anything, but I actually found myself interested in the, I don't know, un-seamy overbelly? of the sport, learning all the wrestling terminology that was sprinkled throughout.
I'm looking forward to Con Job, a Spar Battersea Comic Book Thriller, which looks like it takes Spar in a totally different direction: a sci-fi and comic convention. Can't wait to find out what the seamy underbelly of THAT looks like.
Spar has a wicked sense of humor that fits in perfectly with his coarse personality. He's the classic asshole with a heart of gold, trying to do good. It feels genuine, and not a ploy to make an otherwise unlikeable character sympathetic. All the characters have glaring flaws that make them interesting, round, and far from stereotypical stock characters. The villain, a masochistic mime, is not only depraved but believable, despite the ridiculous description I just gave of "masochistic mime" that might make you think otherwise. His believability is what makes him pretty frightening. Strangely, Spar spends a lot of time concerned with the genitalia of other males, but maybe that's just the latent homosexuality of the wrestling scene seeping through.
Even though amateur wrestling isn't high on my list of interests, Death Match provided an intriguing, inside look at its seamy underbelly. I love a good seamy underbelly of anything, but I actually found myself interested in the, I don't know, un-seamy overbelly? of the sport, learning all the wrestling terminology that was sprinkled throughout.
I'm looking forward to Con Job, a Spar Battersea Comic Book Thriller, which looks like it takes Spar in a totally different direction: a sci-fi and comic convention. Can't wait to find out what the seamy underbelly of THAT looks like.
October 21, 2012
So, Jason Ridler contacted me through Goodreads to recommend his book based on my review of Whiskey Sour. Based on the limited description I was given, this book didn't sound like something I would normally read, but I try to be open-minded about my book selections, so I said I would give it a whirl. I am not into the wrestling scene, the punk rock scene, or the S & M scene, and the constant language was certainly off-putting. Setting that aside, I did find that the characters were well drawn and likeable (those that were supposed to be), there were good plot twists, and the story underneath all of the F-bombs was enjoyable. I found the characters to be enjoyable and I found myself liking the book even against my natural instincts. Would I read another one in the same vein? Probably not, but I am glad that I read this one and I enjoyed the references to current literature (as the protagonist has a day job at an Indie book store). I found myself chuckling that I understood the references to Dan Brown, James Patterson and Terry Pratchett. So, if you would like a nice murder mystery with off-the-wall setting and can set some serious language and sexual content aside, this might be an enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing, Jason.
October 3, 2012
Death Match is a book that does not fit easily into any single category. It is part Carl Hiaasen mystery, part Mickey Spillane noir thriller, and part pro wrestling tutorial. That said, it works.
"Clown ducked the lariat but kept his momentum, hitting the ropes on the far side, but the Hobo was geared up for another decapitating clothesline. And the crowd was eating this .... up like free salted bar nuts."
This appeared on page 1, and in many ways is a pretty good indicator of the ride you'll be taking as the hero, Spar Battersea - a beaten-up, washed-up, drying-out former country punk musician turned pseudo journalist investigates the Clown's death in the ring. Hence, if that kind of writing isn't your to your liking, move on.
The tale has it's light moments, but it is by-and-large a dark story. Not that there's anything wrong with that, for sure. There were a few phrases used here and there that maybe didn't ring true for a California punk, and I'll admit to getting a bit stuck on them because I'm an editor and that's just what I do. I won't get into some of the twists and turns and conclusion incase you want to give it a whirl.
So if you have the time and are looking to dive into something different, give it a whirl. It's worth the time.
"Clown ducked the lariat but kept his momentum, hitting the ropes on the far side, but the Hobo was geared up for another decapitating clothesline. And the crowd was eating this .... up like free salted bar nuts."
This appeared on page 1, and in many ways is a pretty good indicator of the ride you'll be taking as the hero, Spar Battersea - a beaten-up, washed-up, drying-out former country punk musician turned pseudo journalist investigates the Clown's death in the ring. Hence, if that kind of writing isn't your to your liking, move on.
The tale has it's light moments, but it is by-and-large a dark story. Not that there's anything wrong with that, for sure. There were a few phrases used here and there that maybe didn't ring true for a California punk, and I'll admit to getting a bit stuck on them because I'm an editor and that's just what I do. I won't get into some of the twists and turns and conclusion incase you want to give it a whirl.
So if you have the time and are looking to dive into something different, give it a whirl. It's worth the time.
September 12, 2012
What a body slam of a book! This took me back to my youth of watching wrestling religiously and progressing on to roller derby (I don't miss the wrestling, but I still have a hankering for a good old fashioned brawl on roller skates)! Spar is a greatly flawed anti-hero, that you will root for, because despite his MANY issues, you can still recognize a glimmer of humanity in him. The supporting characters are well written and, like any good thriller, not what they first appear to be. A good thriller should make you want to read the book in one sitting-this is a great thriller; the end of each chapter provided the reader with that stomach dropping moment of "what happens next?!" I was especially struck by the opening of chapter 9; If there's no bottom, is it still a pit?". This line was a perfect description of the situations that Spar found himself in, and to be perfectly corny, reading Mr. Ridler's work is not the pit's because his talent is endless. (I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, that upon finishing it I immediately went to amazon and downloaded the next Spar Battersea thriller!)
September 17, 2012
This one was a lot of fun. In my earlier years, I attended the matches regularly, not out of any belief they were real, but to help a friend look after his father and brother who believed that stuff was real and might charge them in a given moment.
I never really liked the matches themselves, but the shows between. They amused me.
Spar Battersea's efforts to learn what happened to his best friend and roommate, Ray Kingston, aka Clown Royale, dying in the middle of a match.
Ray was a man headed for the big leagues and now was dead. Ruled a heart attack, Spar believed someone had killed him and was determined to find out who and why. The trail leads him into dangerous territory and some sick people.
I like the author's style and he introduced me to a few things I didn't know about the world of professional wrestling. The mix with the punk rock scene and a bit of journalism thrown in made for interesting characters.
Recommended
I never really liked the matches themselves, but the shows between. They amused me.
Spar Battersea's efforts to learn what happened to his best friend and roommate, Ray Kingston, aka Clown Royale, dying in the middle of a match.
Ray was a man headed for the big leagues and now was dead. Ruled a heart attack, Spar believed someone had killed him and was determined to find out who and why. The trail leads him into dangerous territory and some sick people.
I like the author's style and he introduced me to a few things I didn't know about the world of professional wrestling. The mix with the punk rock scene and a bit of journalism thrown in made for interesting characters.
Recommended
November 2, 2012
I've got a bit of a confession to make -- I'm a wrestling nerd. I started out with Sting and Rick Steiner in the UWF, went on to the The Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes in the NWA, and took a break until the late 90s, when the NWO came into vogue in WCW (and I found a little thing called the IWC).
Anyway, with that in mind I was interested in reading Jason Ridler's thriller "Death Match", largely to see how, and if, the world of pro wrestling could be intermingled into a thriller. I'm happy to say that it can, and Jason Ridler did a masterful job of it.
Taking a cast of very unlikeable people, Jason delves into a world of drugs, sex, and bodyslams and somehow makes it work. That's not to say it doesn't have issues -- the characters take a little long to move from wooden stereo-types to full-fledged people. But I chalk that up to new-author nerves. By the end of the novel, I definitely wanted to see what happened next to Spar.
Anyway, with that in mind I was interested in reading Jason Ridler's thriller "Death Match", largely to see how, and if, the world of pro wrestling could be intermingled into a thriller. I'm happy to say that it can, and Jason Ridler did a masterful job of it.
Taking a cast of very unlikeable people, Jason delves into a world of drugs, sex, and bodyslams and somehow makes it work. That's not to say it doesn't have issues -- the characters take a little long to move from wooden stereo-types to full-fledged people. But I chalk that up to new-author nerves. By the end of the novel, I definitely wanted to see what happened next to Spar.
September 10, 2012
This review is from: Death Match: A Spar Battersea Wrestling Thriller (The Spar Battersea Novels) (Kindle Edition)
My husband and son are big wrestling fans, so for me Death Match was a ridiculously fun read. A friends death at a pro wrestling show sends Journalist and Punk Rock has been Spar Battersea back to the underground life to find the killer.Along the way he runs into a washed up grappler who is deadly in his own way, a dominatrix who dresses like June Cleaver and a Freak of nature a Mime who is known as Johnny Silent. In order to get to the truth Spar will have to contend with each and survive his very own Death match. This book is packed with action. Fast paced and entertaining.I look forward to reading more from Author Jason Ridler
My husband and son are big wrestling fans, so for me Death Match was a ridiculously fun read. A friends death at a pro wrestling show sends Journalist and Punk Rock has been Spar Battersea back to the underground life to find the killer.Along the way he runs into a washed up grappler who is deadly in his own way, a dominatrix who dresses like June Cleaver and a Freak of nature a Mime who is known as Johnny Silent. In order to get to the truth Spar will have to contend with each and survive his very own Death match. This book is packed with action. Fast paced and entertaining.I look forward to reading more from Author Jason Ridler
October 11, 2012
This was a very interesting book to me. It has a lot of action and Spar is a very interesting character. The language is a little rough, but that is the way of this world, so I don't think it was out of line.
Wrestling is just not something that interests me too much, but you don't need to be a fan to enjoy the book. There is a very interesting plot and the action is pretty intense.
For a first book in this area, I think Mr. Ridler did a fine job and I hope he continues the series.
I believe he captured the wrestling world in a very real way and it was a very interesting version of what goes on in that world.
If you are looking for something new and different, I would give this book a try.
Wrestling is just not something that interests me too much, but you don't need to be a fan to enjoy the book. There is a very interesting plot and the action is pretty intense.
For a first book in this area, I think Mr. Ridler did a fine job and I hope he continues the series.
I believe he captured the wrestling world in a very real way and it was a very interesting version of what goes on in that world.
If you are looking for something new and different, I would give this book a try.
August 28, 2012
I give this a 4.5 but am rounding up because it was a delieciously fun read. Completely original and the characters have never been seen before. I am not a fan of wrestling, it's good for a laugh or two, but taking a subject I don't care for and turning into a damn good novel takes some damn good writing. The main character, Spar Battersea is the all American underdog whose only friend dies in a wrestling match. I wanted Spar to succeed and get the girl (who is a hooker) in the end. Since he's still on the bottom (for a lack of better words) I do see another Spar Battersea novel coming in the future.
August 23, 2012
Wrestling, punk rock, lunacy, a seriously creepy antagonist, all wrapped up in a lovely pulp fiction package; this is one of the most entertaining books I've read in quite some time.
Spar Battersea isn't your typical protagonist, and he certainly doesn't meet typical people in his quest to find out what happened to his best friend. The story weaves through twists and turns, through situations that made me laugh and made me wince, resulting in a climax that I absolutely did NOT see coming.
I don't want to say too much and spoil the story, but if you like punk attitudes, noir thrillers, pulp fiction, or any combination of the three ... this is definitely a book you'll want to check out.
Spar Battersea isn't your typical protagonist, and he certainly doesn't meet typical people in his quest to find out what happened to his best friend. The story weaves through twists and turns, through situations that made me laugh and made me wince, resulting in a climax that I absolutely did NOT see coming.
I don't want to say too much and spoil the story, but if you like punk attitudes, noir thrillers, pulp fiction, or any combination of the three ... this is definitely a book you'll want to check out.
September 3, 2012
Where to begin? A country-punk never-was, Spar,befriends a rising indie wrestler, Ray. When Ray dies mysteriously during his big break match, Spar sets out to find who is responsible. On his way we are introduced to a wide variety of under belly denizens including biker gangs, classy whores, less classy whores, drug-peddling gym rats, promoters and a mime.
There really is a lot to enjoy about this book. The attitude Spar exudes is what really drives the story. The anger, resentment, regret & vitriol that he oozes makes him the almost-loveable guy.
There really is a lot to enjoy about this book. The attitude Spar exudes is what really drives the story. The anger, resentment, regret & vitriol that he oozes makes him the almost-loveable guy.
July 19, 2012
I'm not a huge wrestling fan but the description of this book piqued my interest. I loved Ridler's use of the English language. His descriptions left vivid pictures in my mind. This book was packed with action. Spar's friend and roommate died in the middle of a wrestling match. Convinced he was killed, he follows one lead then another, attempting to find who killed his friend. He encounters a bunch of screwed up people along the way!
August 30, 2012
Not normally one who would have read a book with the background being wrestling, however I was a fun back in my early youth of the game I had my favorites and you could not tell me it was fake or I would argue with you....I digress this book was surprisingly, fast passed and entertaining. I was not bored and was surprised by the twist and the climax along with the ending.
Thank you Mr Ridler for your entertaining book that took me back to a time long ago :)
Thank you Mr Ridler for your entertaining book that took me back to a time long ago :)
September 10, 2012
I received this book from the author to review. I think that the book had memorable characters. As you read in the synopsis that the main character is a retired punk rock star who loves to watch wrestling. The main character Spar is rough around the edges but quick witted. His best friend is killed or so he believes and that sets him on a weird ride of finding out the answers. I can honestly say I've never read a book like this one before.
September 6, 2012
I enjoyed this book. I actually started to care about the main character, Spar. I'm not a huge fan of the wrestling scene but it made for an interesting story! I do believe I'd read another book by Jay Ridler.
September 27, 2012
Tons of action and a seriously twisted plot make this one really entertaining read. I really found myself feeling as though I was watching or feeling much of what was unfolding on the page. It really gripped me and took me for a wild ride.
September 30, 2012
Got a review coming up..this was a great book!
September 14, 2012
Really good book ! cant wait to read more.
October 21, 2012
What I thought:
The character of Spar;
Spar Battersea is a burnout reporter and a burnout punk rocker, in fact he is just a burnout. I have to tell you that I loved this character. He had a heart and tries desperately to find out what killed his friend. He was not the most likeable character, and I think that is what I appreciated about him the most. He was a hero with a past and a present that wasn't the most sterling...and it was all his fault. Yet, I found Spar to still be someone who I could appreciate and would want to know. Spar has your back! The other characters in this novel are great and twisted in their own way. You will really enjoy the interactions between Spar and Rachel, the dominatrix, and the interactions between Spar and The Bullet.
The world the Ridler has created:
It is just as seedy as it can be. It really represented the character of Spar well because he has spent a lot of time in small bars playing punk rock music with a band that now hates him and blames him for all of their woes and failures.
Keep in mind that I am not a wrestling fan at all, but Ridler completely sold me on this whole wrestling environment and trhe kind of people that promote and enjoy this sport. This novel made me want to continue reading Ridler's Spar Battersea novels, if there is another on the horizon. I hope so, because Ridler had me sold on the entire world of this novel.
All-in-all:
I would recommend Death Match for anyone that likes a good mystery with some very unexpected events. There were times when I thought I knew where this story was going, only to find out that I was completely wrong. The ending of this book was worth the time that I spent with these characters. Ridler has a good grasp of story structure which made this novel a particularly great read for me. Very pulp-fiction!
This novel wasn't perfect. There were times that felt that it was a little over the top, particularly when Spar meets The Bullet for the first time and is forced into a confrontation with his ex-band mates. But in the end it was all in good fun and I really enjoyed this book! Excellent job, Mr. Ridler! When is the next one coming out? :)
The character of Spar;
Spar Battersea is a burnout reporter and a burnout punk rocker, in fact he is just a burnout. I have to tell you that I loved this character. He had a heart and tries desperately to find out what killed his friend. He was not the most likeable character, and I think that is what I appreciated about him the most. He was a hero with a past and a present that wasn't the most sterling...and it was all his fault. Yet, I found Spar to still be someone who I could appreciate and would want to know. Spar has your back! The other characters in this novel are great and twisted in their own way. You will really enjoy the interactions between Spar and Rachel, the dominatrix, and the interactions between Spar and The Bullet.
The world the Ridler has created:
It is just as seedy as it can be. It really represented the character of Spar well because he has spent a lot of time in small bars playing punk rock music with a band that now hates him and blames him for all of their woes and failures.
Keep in mind that I am not a wrestling fan at all, but Ridler completely sold me on this whole wrestling environment and trhe kind of people that promote and enjoy this sport. This novel made me want to continue reading Ridler's Spar Battersea novels, if there is another on the horizon. I hope so, because Ridler had me sold on the entire world of this novel.
All-in-all:
I would recommend Death Match for anyone that likes a good mystery with some very unexpected events. There were times when I thought I knew where this story was going, only to find out that I was completely wrong. The ending of this book was worth the time that I spent with these characters. Ridler has a good grasp of story structure which made this novel a particularly great read for me. Very pulp-fiction!
This novel wasn't perfect. There were times that felt that it was a little over the top, particularly when Spar meets The Bullet for the first time and is forced into a confrontation with his ex-band mates. But in the end it was all in good fun and I really enjoyed this book! Excellent job, Mr. Ridler! When is the next one coming out? :)
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