Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "A tale of horror, comedy. and wrestling"
Format - e-book (review copy)
Rating (out of 5):
Filmmaker, artist, and author Terry M. West has to be the hardest working man in the game. It seems like almost monthly West is turning out piece after piece. For those of you that love to read, this is fucking fantastic. However, if you are a slow reader or don't have time for a good book. then this fucking sucks. Especially if you are a fan of West and want to stay on top of all his projects. Over the last two years I have read 4 novels and short stories from West and every one of them knocked me on my ass. Among those stories were two characters that I really hope he continues to explore. Those two are Bubba and Cecil and this is a plea to continue their misadventures! Anyway, a few months back West hit me up with a review copy of one of his newest stories titled Turning Face which was a horror comedy about wrestling. I am a huge fan of West and took the review copy. My love of all things West made me greedy and I took the review copy knowing I had no time what-so-ever to review the novel. That was until I started a new job where I have an hour for lunch with no internet access! Thanks Terry for letting me check this amazing read out!
The story follows Tojo Smith who is a demon who was conceived on Earth by two pit-born demons sent to Earth to corrupt as many innocents as possible. At a young age he becomes hooked on wrestling and decides that he will use wrestling as a way to corrupt. When he becomes old enough, he starts wrestling as a heel named The Crimson Demon. This giant wrestler becomes a fan favorite which prompts a meeting with a demon that answers directly to Satan. He meets with Tojo in order to create a game plan to help Tojo corrupt as many as possible and they conclude that Tojo will fake an injury and a pit born demon will take over. While "injured" Tojo will train the pit-born demon to become a world class wrestler. During the match, the demon changes it up and actually injures Tojo. Tojo is now too old to start over and is forced from wrestling where is now sits in his trailer watching the nightly matches on his small t.v. until he learns that the new demon in the ring wants to hurt another innocent wrestler. Tojo can not sit idly by and let this happens and steps in igniting a battle between heaven and hell.
West is a man that writes for the working man. Some may see this as a compliment while others may see this as an insult but I mean no disrespect. West is a wordsmith. He is able to write stories that are entertaining while refraining from using words that are too complicated for the reader. I don't know how many indie publications I have been sent over the years and each page is filled to the brim with words way too complicated for the simple story they are trying to tell. However, West's stories are easy to read and easy to follow. That is one of the many reasons I love his work. His stories are always easy to read regardless of your reading level. The story for this one is fun and takes me back to the days when wrestlers had gimmicks and their image was more important than their skill. This takes me to the days of WCW with wrestlers like K.I.S.S. Demon, Vampiro, and so many more. These horror inspired wrestlers were the reasons I watched wrestling at the time and this novel brings that fun back to life and tosses in in the fiery pits of hell. The story boasts that it is a horror comedy but I, sadly, did not pick up on the comedy. This could be because I'm a fucking idiot or it could be because the horror is tongue in cheek. Either way, the jokes went over my head. Finally, the story has some great characters that are easy to like and some that are easy to fucking hate. West does a great job painting the characters and we really can see what they look like on the page. That is something I have said about West before. He is able to fully describe without wasting the reader's time. Overall, Turning Face should be the main event in your horror library. The story is a no holds barred story that delivers on the fun. Grab yourself a copy of this one as soon as possible!
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