Turn

by Patrick Barb, Alien Buddha (Contributor)

A Blood-Draining, Piledriving Spandex Gothic Horror Tag Team

In the world of indie wrestling deathmatches, perpetual jobber Bug discovers the champ David Draxel is a real vampire using the ultraviolent hardcore matches to hide his feedings. Drawn to Draxel's power, Bug will sacrifice everything in a maddening quest for immortality inside and outside the ring.

Genres: Horror

Hardcover

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Patrick Barb is an author of weird, dark, and spooky tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His published works include the dark fiction collections The Children’s Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting, the novellas Gargantuana's Ghost, Turn, and JK-LOL, as well as the novelette Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare. He is the editor and publisher of the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel. His forthcoming works include the Killer VHS novella Night of the Witch-Hunter from Shortwave Publishing and his debut sci-fi/horror novel Abducted from Dark Matter Ink. His 2023 short story "The Scare Groom" was selected for Best Horror of the Year Volume 16. Visit him at patrickbarb.com.

Reviews

[Carson Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novella from the exquisitely talented Patrick Barb—who once again effortlessly combines thoughtful genre playfulness with human heart.

Bloody, fun, and filled with liveliness. Highly recommended.

[J.V. Gachs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vampire story like anything I've read before. Every page is soaked in blood and sweat. A wild ride this one.

[J.W. Donley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun twist on the classic vampire story.

[Allison Simms · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had an interesting concept. It only took a few hours to read so its not too much of a sunk cost to give it a try if you are interested. That being said, there were some things that held me back from particularly enjoying the book. Those were the characterization, or lack thereof, of our two main characters Bug and Draxel.

Bug is a character with low self esteem who never takes responsibility for his part in his own failures. Much of his internal dialogue is about how others are underestimating and overlooking him, but he never puts in practice or work to improve his station. He resents the successes of the up and coming favorite, Murray, despite him being a nice person who worked hard for his career. When he discovers that Draxel's wrestling prowess comes at least in part from his vampirism, of course Bug wants to take that shortcut and become one too. I wish that the story had called out and punished Bug for his delusions and lack of responsibility rather than giving him the ending that he desired.

My issues with Draxel also come from the vagueness of what it means to be a vampire in this world. Draxel was a wrestler before he became a vampire. He became one after injecting himself with vampire blood, mistaking it for steroids. Who left this out for him? Was it an investor who wanted to assure that he would be successful? I don't think this was explained.

While the blurb states that Draxel uses the violent wrestling matches as an opportunity to get blood under the guise of it being part of the show, yet somehow Bug was the first to figure out what he was? And if he obtains blood without killing people while wrestling, why did he randomly kill Mia? Was it an accident? Was it to show how evil he is? If he wanted to kill people, wouldn't it make more sense to find people who are less connected to his work?

And, does becoming a vampire just naturally make you become evil? Bug was never that great of a person, but he definitely took a turn for the worse after changing. I think Draxel actually would have been more interesting if he wasn't evil but was just doing what he did to meet his biological needs.

I also don't understand what his motives were in bringing Bug into his wrestling "plot." Since we know how much Bug craved the spotlight, it would have been more interesting if Bug found out that Draxel was a vampire and was blackmailing him by saying that if he didn't push for Bug to get more prominent placement that he would expose him.

Lastly, like I said before, it was unsatisfying for Bug to end the book getting what he wanted. But considering that he had just killed many people in front of many witnesses, I imagine that he won't last long before being overpowered either by the government or by others who took up vampire slaying after seeing his atrocities. I like to think that the real good-guy of the story, Murray, maybe working with the new wrestler Vanna Helsing will be the ones who will take him down.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Turn is not a story that would be possible without a love of pro-wrestling. Bug is a wash up, a wrestler who longs to be the “Face,” the hero who the crowds cheer. Draxel is the ultimate heel, the villain that people love to hate. But Draxel also has a secret: He’s a vampire. His managers know it. Draxel delights in beating and humiliating his opponents before taking their blood, leaving them alive but utterly emasculated before the crowd.

You can read Zach's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Austin Shirey · Rating 5 out of 5]

TURN is the smart, fun, bloodthirsty Draclua-meets-Darren Arronofsky's The Wrestler super smackdown I didn't know I needed. I grew up watching pro wrestling back when WWE was WWF, and this excellent novella took me back to those halcyon days of Brett Michaels and his sweet chin music. This book is yet another reason why Patrick Barb reminds me so much of Ray Bradbury: He writes stories with a perfect mix of big ideas and big heart.

[Ryan Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Turn! The concept, a wrestler turning from face to heel as he's turned from human to vampire, is incredible. And even better, Barb executes it well. Unlike a lot of books about professional wrestling, Barb straddles kayfabe perfectly.