The Wide Game (2011) :By Michael West

The Wide Game (2011)

On the advice of his wife, Paul Rice is making plans to attend his 10th year High School reunion. Returning to his boyhood home of Harmony, Indiana, he finds that he is still haunted by memories of that time–memories of Deidra, his first love, and memories of the Wide Game. It was ten years ago that Paul and his friends watched their day of fun become a race for their lives, a fight for their very souls.

Now, as he meets the survivors of that day once more, Paul makes a chilling discovery: the incomprehensible forces that toyed with them have yet to finish playing their own game.

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REVIEWS:

“This thing is scary as hell! Creepy, creepy book.”
~Cody Stark, “Read This!” FOX-TV

“Thrilling, exhilarating, fast-paced and ferocious, The Wide Game delivers the goods. It’s The Breakfast Club meets The Blair Witch Project. It still haunts me!”
~Marc Morriston, WTTV Indianapolis

“Michael West proves himself to be a masterful storyteller, flawless in building momentum, and his skills in characterization match or even often surpass some of the most successful writers in the business.”
~Nicholas Grabowsky, author of Halloween 4: the Return of Michael Myers, and The Everborn

“Just when you think it will be predictable, BAM, it’s not. Lots of twists and turns made this story stick and kept me turning the pages. If you like Koontz, then you will like this story too.”
~Skullring.org

“The Wide Game…is a book written for horror movie fans. Michael West draws the reader in with a director’s touch. With a deft hand, West creates wonderful characters who live and breathe on the page. It was easy for me to allow Michael to lure me into those terror filled rows and make me cringe at what might lurk there in the dark. Michael West has…undeniable potential to be an important voice in the realm of horror fiction.”
~Bob Freeman, author of Descendant: A Wolfe & Crowe Investigation

“I breezed through this book in no time. And I can’t say enough about how real the relationship at the core of the story was. (Michael West is) definitely one to keep an eye on.” ~Maurice Broaddus, author of King Maker

“Don’t open the cover unless you want to be sucked into a tornado of horror. Once you start in on this novel you won’t be able to pull away…A believable, dark, nasty, piece. Just remember the name Michael West because he has a future in the horror genre.”
~Brian Yount, Wicked Karnival Magazine

“The Wide Game is… far better than anything I could have hoped for…enjoy being scared out of your skull, and falling in love with the characters…It’s an excellent debut novel, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes its way onto my Best of 2011 list.”~The Sci-Fi Guys Book Review

“Michael West has written a wonderful tale of suspense, horror and dread…filled with twists, turns and surprises, right up until the end. One of the twists took me by complete surprise, and sent a chill down my back. I highly recommend The Wide Game, and peg Michael West as a writer to watch.”~ Xomba Horror

“4 out of 5 Stars…West has created a creepy tale with enough twists and turns to keep any reader sucked into the story, and still questioning what happened when arriving at the end…I would recommend The Wide Game to all fans of horror as it is the kind of story you’d want to pull out on a dark, rainy night… especially if reading by flashlight out in the middle of a cornfield.”~Monster Librarian

“4.5 out of 5 Stars…The Wide Game got me right in the fear center of my lizard brain. Michael West’s story telling style takes me back to the glory days when horror spoke in the voice of the boy next door and had me looking over my shoulder when I went out in the dark. His low-key, unobtrusive style lulls you into a comfort zone and then he zaps you with big-time scary.” ~Horror-Web

“10 out of 10! West can deliver on the scary. But what impressed me more about The Wide Game is West’s ability to create fully developed characters, even the ones that won’t make it to the end…and any reader whose heart is not made of gargoyle stone will get vested in their story. West opens a creative vein of truth to bring the perfect touch of honesty to his fiction. Bottom line: If you’re just looking for a great scary book, you can’t go wrong with The Wide Game.” ~ RJ Sullivan, author of Haunting Blue

“4 Stars! The strength for The Wide Game is the characters. Paul may very well be the main character of the book, but West doesn’t skimp on character development for the supporting characters…part of the appeal for me was the love story between Paul and Deidra, Paul’s high school sweetheart and first love. It was a strong part of the story and felt very real. I would love to see this as a movie!” ~ Mermaid Heather

“There is not a doubt in my mind that Michael West will become as popular and as renown as Stephen King…He definitely has that same ‘cinematic’ touch that King has perfected over the years and Michael is the only other writer who can startle me so much. He is that good…Michael West has once again taken us to Harmony, Indiana and scared the bejeezus out of his faithful readers. The action moves with all the deadly purpose of a runaway steam train. A train that is full of menace, death, demons, and fear. Like his other books, I could not stop reading this tale and at times I gripped the edges of the book with white knuckles while my eyes raced down the page. I can also attest to the fact that this book actually instigated a nightmare while I was reading about Paul and his classmates. If you have not encountered Mr West’s superior horror fiction, I implore you to do so. Right now. This is a full 5 star stunner of a book.” ~MikesFilmTalk

“This book pulled me in right away. Tense, scary, bloody and horrifying…There are twists and turns, bunches of crows and some Indian mythology at play. The tension disappears then ratchets up to twist you into knots before the guillotine falls. No, there isn’t a guillotine, but you get the idea…4 black stars sitting amongst a murder of crows, staring at you quietly as you walk by.” ~Lost Inside The Covers

“I am a huge Stephen King fan. This story reminded me of him. It is one of the best horror stories that I have read in a long time…and I can really see this becoming a movie. It was the perfect October read. I am giving this a 5/5.” ~ Deal Sharing Aunt

“The Wide Game is a tense, well-structured page-turner that draws on regional flavor–the fictional town of Harmony in an atmospherically real Indiana–that earns it a place in American horror alongside other regionalists like Stephen King and Bentley Little, not to mention Poe and Lovecraft…West is courteous enough to deliver twisted plotting with tickle-torturing efficacy, something too often lacking in today’s straightforward subgenre ruts, and his attention to detail is careful enough to merit serious rethinking and rereading in order to admire the narrative elaboration as a product of true craftsmanship rather than cheap trickery…The bottom line is that The Wide Game is a fun read even if you don’t care to think about issues of generational identity, history, memory, and the influence of art over the structure of thought. But if you care to think, the book has all that, too.” ~ L. Andrew Cooper’s Horrific Scribblings

“Once again the small town of Harmony, Indiana turns out to be less than harmonious. More demented souls seem to reside in this small, corn fed town than any major metropolis. What is up with all the corn fed fear? Michael West surely has a strange turn of mind. I’m guessing that he, like Stephen King, has the heart of a small boy and he too, keeps it in his top desk drawer. After plowing through the mayhem you discover that you aren’t done yet. Mr. West likes to flip things around just when you think you have everything figured out. He has carved a niche into the face of evil, leaving his readers looking over their shoulders and listening to the wind in the corn. I’ve stated before I don’t read a lot of horror stories but I really the way Michael West renders them.” ~Pick of the Literate

“Michael West is one of the best storytellers I have ever read. The Wide Game from start to finish had me on the edge of my seat. It never lagged, it was never slowed, it was just one twist and turn barreling to the end. I absolutely loved The Wide Game. I loved the details when the story flashes back to the 80s. This book was not just written it was crafted. It was smart, witty, funny and scary. Perfection all rolled in to one horror novel. I highly recommend this to everyone… a 5 out of 5 for me. Excellent!!!!!” ~ Bee’s Knees Reviews

“5 Stars! There’s something seriously scary about The Wide Game…I enjoyed the whole story, but I truly loved the ending; that touch of thought-provoking mystery that raises a tale above its genre and makes it something special.” ~Sheila Deeth, author of Divide by Zero and Tails of Mystery

“(Reading The Wide Game is) like being blindfolded on a roller coaster with ups and downs, twists, turns, and loops, you never know what will happen next but you’re excited to find out.” ~ Legends of Horror

SEE THE WIDE GAME COVER GALLERY HERE.

READ SAMPLE CHAPTER HERE.

ISBN Number 978-1-948374-26-2 (Trade Paperback)
ISBN Number 978-1-941706-10-7 (Limited Hardcover) OUT OF PRINT
ASIN # B083QS8P7T (Audiobook)
Also available as an e-Book.

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