Game Face

by John Wayne Comunale

Blake believes his recently deceased, game show loving, Uncle Gene is asking for help from beyond the grave through the television and decides to investigate the death. Blake finds a videotape his uncle left behind and watches it hoping it contains information about his uncle's death.



Instead, Blake finds himself sucked into the videotape and inserted as a character into the game show content within. Now, he's being chased by an ancient evil entity through layers and layers of bizarrely modified game shows with one shot to save his uncle and get them both back home before the tape ends. To do so, Blake will have to navigate razor-sharp laser lights, disembowel-happy rat-people, and machete-wielding psychotic hosts, and that's just the first show.



Will Blake be able to find the real Uncle Gene before time runs out and all Hell breaks loose?

242 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2025

Reviews

[Corrina Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely entertaining and immersive read! You get drawn in immediately to its addictive, captivating and intriguing narrative. And it makes for one hell of a “one more chapter” ride!

Blake is struggling with grief, addiction, and the strange compulsion to watch game shows. Is this an act of remembering his Uncle, or is it a cry for help from the other side?

Game shows are Blake's life, they have been ever present, shielding him from his mother's addictions, and from life's crueller side, all his life. And now they have a much bigger role to play!

This book is chaos! Pure, unbridled, genius chaos. Full on insanity that will blow your mind, once it's succeeded in fucking with it!

It made me feel like I'd just dropped a ton of acid, like a fever dream, a lucid, vibrant trip, one that leaves you feeling like you're on the saddest comedown when it's all over, and craving more of the manic mayhem.

Highly, highly recommend this, it's like doing drugs, without the drugs! 🤘

[Josh Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a really fun bizarre tale. Blake's uncle has died, and while trying to process his grief, he finds an old video tape at his uncle's place. When he watches it, he is sucked into it. In the tape, he has to run a gauntlet of weird, depraved game shows based on the old classics he and his uncle enjoyed so much.

Highly recommended, just a wild ride and keeps you entertained throughout.

[Christina Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

**REVIEW**

GAME FACE
By: John Wayne Comunale
Release: 3/8/25
Page count: 242
KU: No Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Blake has just lost his Uncle to suspicious circumstances. All he wants to do now is watch old game shows and remember his Uncle but that’s not in the cards…

First line: “Blake pulled at his tie with one hand and turned the knob on the door to his apartment with the other.”

Favorite line: “Uh, uh, uh… You know you can’t get out that way. Your nephew is new here, but I would’ve expected you to know better.”

Thoughts: This was SO MUCH FUN! It’s a gory kill-happy game show version of STAY TUNED (the movie with John Ritter). You feel for all of the characters even with all of their flaws and the kills are so freakin’ brutal. But most important about this story is the connection we have with people, even when they are gone.

Rating: 5/5

Other recommendations: DEADLINE, SINKHOLE

[Lucille Bransfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wild ride through old tv gameshows! This book definitely kicked up some old memories of my childhood watching shows with my mom and dad. Other than those, thankfully nothing else was the same! Ha. John Wayne took us to places behind the tv screen into nightmares beyond our imagination. Hoping there will be a second book at some point.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Richard Dawson showing up and kicking ass 🤣 this was a fun book, but I was hopeful that there would be more of Blake having to play these twisted games and survive to find and save Gene.