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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
PLAY DEAD by Michael Arnzen, November 28, 2005
PLAY DEAD by Michael Arnzen
A review by Steve Vernon
"Anyone with pockets knows how it feels to be empty." - Play Dead.
Johnny Frieze, professional gambler, has lost it all. He's holed up in a homeless shelter trying to put the pieces of a subsistence existence back together. He's lost, and he knows it. He holds on with nothing but the jitter of a cigarette and a beggar's hope for redemption. When he meets Winston, a mysterious purgatorial kingpin who wields the bums of the flophouse like a fistful of undarned sock puppets. Winston, (named after the cigarettes, not the politician), invites Johnny into a game that appears to be Johnny's last shot at making it big, but upon accepting the invitation into the game Johnny finds that he's anted up into a crash course in damnation.
Johnny Frieze is a wonderfully ambiguous anti-hero who keeps us guessing through most of the novel, wondering whether to cheer him on or spit chunks of predigested guacomole on his sordid little soul.
Arnzen's been writing horror since the early 90's, starting strong with the release of his GRAVE MARKINGS from Dell/Abyss and Delerium. PLAY DEAD is only his second novel, but its definitely worth the wait. Arnzen sadly suffers from the academic disease - he's too busy teaching at the collegiate level to have time for any longer works. He has found amazing success as a short story writer and a poet, releasing a half dozen poetry collections and three short story collections, including the very succesful 100 JOLTS, from Raw Dog Screaming Press. He is also the mastermind behind the wildly popular electronic newsletter THE GORELETTER.
Life happens fast in a Michael Arnzen universe. Decisions are made at the slap of a card. Arnzen's skill with the short-short format is demonstrated by the fifty-two tight chapters of PLAY DEAD. By the conclusion you will feel as if you've been backed into a corner by an expresso-chugging crack-snorting Mr. T fast-slamming 52 rib-jolting body shots in machine-gun rapid succession.
I'm hoping that Arnzen doesn't wait another ten years to release his next novel. I think he's just finding his stride with PLAY DEAD, and he's calling and raising another manuscript even while I'm typing out this review.
PLAY DEAD is a sure bet. I recommend it highly.
Yours in horror,
Steve Vernon
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rollercoaster ride of decadence, degeneration and death, October 6, 2005
Reading PLAY DEAD is like watching a great movie -- you become so engrossed, there are so many details and nuances, and the pace moves so fast that you can't possibly take it all in during the first viewing. It's a page turner, a must-read, and a re-read!
The story takes place among Mike Arnzen's version of the dregs of Las Vegas, heavy on the gambling theme--cards in particular. Not being much of a card player, I worried at first that I might not "get it," but I was happy to discover that a familiarity with poker wasn't a prerequisite for following or enjoying the story.
The characters are fascinating, and as a reader, it was simple keeping them sorted. As a writer, I admire Arnzen's skill at making that possible for us, as well as his ability to create so many distinct, disgusting and believable personalities, AND keep them and their activities organized.
The actions of certain characters are predictable, but necessarily so, and even at that, the reader's level of anticipation about how everything actually plays out is never diminished because of it.
Some characters are crazier than others, at least in visible, concrete ways, but I was impressed how, through the main character in particular, Arnzen was able to show the reader just how precariously we ALL teeter on or can be driven to the edge occasionally. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending (gotta read it again), and I wouldn't want to ruin it for you even if I did. Overall, PLAY DEAD was abundantly fun, gross, entertaining, and, oddly, even sexy -- a completely satisfying read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Play Dead Is Aces!, October 31, 2009
Johnny Frieze is a down on his luck gambler who doesn't even have enough money to get out of Vegas. While staying at a homeless shelter, he becomes aware of a game that could put him back on top. All he has to do is create a suit of cards featuring pictures of death. And he must be more creative than his competitors. When a man has nothing to lose, how far will he go to win?
With Play Dead, Michael A. Arnzen takes us from the ritzy glow of the Vegas Strip to the dark back alleys that the tourists never see. The journey of Johnny Frieze is one that anybody could take, if Lady Luck were to turn her back on them. We can take that journey vicariously, safely. The characters are well rounded, each has a fully fleshed back story. And as they make their playing cards, well, things get delightfully brutal. Play Dead is a thought provoking and gruesome story of people at the bottom, willing to do (almost) anything to get to the top. It is well worth reading, if only to get you to ask yourself: what would you do, to get back in the game.
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