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The Dead Man #13
The Death Match
While investigating a grisly and eerily familiar murder, Matt Cahill is drawn into the violent world of underground cage fighting. He agrees to help Stacy Barnett, hot-headed young grappler whose best friend and fellow female fighter has gone missing. Stacy’s friend turns out to be more than a friend and the kinky fetish wrestling matches she’s involved with turn out to be something far more sinister. As Matt uncovers layer after layer of twisted horror, he finds himself locked into a no holds barred fight to the death—and beyond—that will leave him questioning everything, including himself.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2012
6 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Christa Faust
79 books396 followersChrista Faust is an American author who writes original novels, as well as novelizations and media tie-ins.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 7, 2012
Okay. This is the fourth time I've tried to write a review of this book. I think my problem has been that I'm not particularly a fan of the Dead Man series, but I'm a huge fan of Christa Faust. And although, The Death Match is a tight, well-written pulp/horror/action tale, it's still a Dead Man book. Before The Death Match I'd only read the first volume in this series, and for whatever reason, I didn't finish it with any desire to rush out and read the next volume. Don't know why, because it certainly hits all my targets.
Each Dead Man volume is written by a different writer, and I'm sure there's some effort to maintain a certain degree of consistency from book-to-book. So it really shouldn't have surprised me that except for the setting and a few characters, Death Match doesn't at first glance read like a Christa Faust book.
The Death Match starts out well enough. Matt Cahill, still seeking the demonic "Mr. Dark", finds himself caught up in a world of underground cage fighting where female fighters engage in death matches, apparently controlled by Mr. Dark himself. The pace is frenzied and the action brutal. Allowing for the fact that I'm not a fan of the series, I was thinking this was a 3 star story. Well done, but not exceptional.
Then I got to Chapter 9. And dang if the author didn't suddenly go all Christa Faust on me and The Dead Man. Other books in the series may have similar surprises of their own, but from Chapter 9 until the end of the book, Christa Faust exerts her own writing persona over the Dead Man template and it's great stuff. Grisly zombie action with a noir flourish, Christa Faust style! And for that, I'm calling Death Match a four star story.
Fans of the series may grade this one higher, but I can't imagine they'd grade it lower.
Each Dead Man volume is written by a different writer, and I'm sure there's some effort to maintain a certain degree of consistency from book-to-book. So it really shouldn't have surprised me that except for the setting and a few characters, Death Match doesn't at first glance read like a Christa Faust book.
The Death Match starts out well enough. Matt Cahill, still seeking the demonic "Mr. Dark", finds himself caught up in a world of underground cage fighting where female fighters engage in death matches, apparently controlled by Mr. Dark himself. The pace is frenzied and the action brutal. Allowing for the fact that I'm not a fan of the series, I was thinking this was a 3 star story. Well done, but not exceptional.
Then I got to Chapter 9. And dang if the author didn't suddenly go all Christa Faust on me and The Dead Man. Other books in the series may have similar surprises of their own, but from Chapter 9 until the end of the book, Christa Faust exerts her own writing persona over the Dead Man template and it's great stuff. Grisly zombie action with a noir flourish, Christa Faust style! And for that, I'm calling Death Match a four star story.
Fans of the series may grade this one higher, but I can't imagine they'd grade it lower.
September 17, 2012
Matt Cahill comes to L.A. because of a photo in a newspaper. A man that had been found eviscerated. But the photo of him showed tattoos on his arms and one was of Mr. Dark.
At the place where the man worked, he finds vicious fighting matches between women. Most of the people watching have those things only he can see, the evil in folks. These aren't as gone as most, just pustules leaking around their necks. But it tells Matt that something very bad is coming. Then he breaks up a fight between a young woman, Stacy Barnett, and three of the head man's stooges.
Stacy is looking for her friend, and more, that took the invite to fight and had gone missing.
Matt is drawn into a world of underground fighting, seemingly orchestrated by Mr. Dark, just another in the evil entity's taunting of Matt and his efforts to stop the evil.
Another fine chapter in the Dead Man saga, this one written by Christa Faust, a fine writer.
Liked this one a lot
At the place where the man worked, he finds vicious fighting matches between women. Most of the people watching have those things only he can see, the evil in folks. These aren't as gone as most, just pustules leaking around their necks. But it tells Matt that something very bad is coming. Then he breaks up a fight between a young woman, Stacy Barnett, and three of the head man's stooges.
Stacy is looking for her friend, and more, that took the invite to fight and had gone missing.
Matt is drawn into a world of underground fighting, seemingly orchestrated by Mr. Dark, just another in the evil entity's taunting of Matt and his efforts to stop the evil.
Another fine chapter in the Dead Man saga, this one written by Christa Faust, a fine writer.
Liked this one a lot
October 13, 2012
I don't know what it was about this book but I never really got into it and I think it is probably a better book than I am giving it credit for (so I added a star). I just never really could get into it and I was really excited about it.
The cool parts of this book is all the call backs to previous books. It is a reward to all of us who have read since the beginning.
The bad part of the book is all the call backs to previous books. The Dead Man has for the last few episodes been hinting at new directions that it may be going but it never goes anywhere. That was the same with this book. I would like to see it actually take a risk and go in a new direction if they are going to keep mentioning it. For example Matt met some other characters that were like him and could see the evil but nothing came from it. There are examples in this book but I don't want to spoil anything.
Overall if you are a fan, you will enjoy.
Looking forward to #14.
The cool parts of this book is all the call backs to previous books. It is a reward to all of us who have read since the beginning.
The bad part of the book is all the call backs to previous books. The Dead Man has for the last few episodes been hinting at new directions that it may be going but it never goes anywhere. That was the same with this book. I would like to see it actually take a risk and go in a new direction if they are going to keep mentioning it. For example Matt met some other characters that were like him and could see the evil but nothing came from it. There are examples in this book but I don't want to spoil anything.
Overall if you are a fan, you will enjoy.
Looking forward to #14.
August 31, 2016
I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the original novels of Faust's that I've read, but it's still a solid entry in the Dead Man series, bringing some of her recurrent themes to the series. Matt Cahill and his ax are present and correct, joined this time by lesbian MMA fighters, doomed romance and lots of blood, sweat and tears.
September 28, 2012
Interesting read. I picked this up because Faust wrote it. Her story was very enjoyable, though I am not sure I care enough about the character to continue the series, unless Christa writes more installments.
October 26, 2012
The best DEAD MAN story I've read so far (I missed a few in the middle), in large part because it starts to deal with elements left over from previous adventures. Matt Cahill is --finally! -- wondering how it all fits together. Better late than never!
December 3, 2012
They could not have chosen a better writer to write this issue of The Dead Man. No sentiment, but plenty of emotion. This story is so disturbing, but so well done that you ride through and don't get to be unsettled until it is all over. I'm going to read more of this writer.
August 1, 2013
I enjoyed the new threads that are starting to form between the stories. The structure of this instalment also came as a surprise, because the usual ones are very much more straightforward. This actually manages to fit in a third act twist.
June 16, 2013
Like a punch in the teeth.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews