My description so far might suggest labored prose, but West’s reads like the opposite. Despite my general efforts as a reader not to anticipate plotlines, I did see the major twists coming–that said, 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. While far from qualifying as extreme horror, The Wide Game delivers some startling (narratively justified) gore that engaged my love of extreme aesthetics, i.e., the side of horror that pushes the boundaries of where art can and should take the imagination. This paragraph is for the part of me who likes the frosted side. As a result, the casual reader who wants fast-paced scares as well as the horror fan who wants substance will find much of value in this reissue of the beginning of West’s Harmony cycle. In other words, West’s supernatural worlds, like the best we have, flow from the world he knows, not from some new twist on the latest trendy monsters. 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. An event will be held in London this evening (May 3) to celebrate their achievement.For background on The Wide Game and an interview with Michael West, see my author spotlight. READ MORE: 'I'm a record holder - I was sent off on my Prem debut and never played again'Īll three will now receive a medallion engraved with their name and the year of their induction, as well as a £10,000 donation made by the Premier League to a charity of their choice.

The trio, who combined won 12 titles and made 1,202 Prem appearances, saw off competition from Ashley Cole, Gary Neville, Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Michael Owen, Michael Carrick, Les Ferdinand, John Terry, Yaya Toure, Andy Cole, Robbie Fowler and Nemanja Vidic. Manchester United icon Ferdinand, Chelsea legend Cech and Arsenal's most successful captain Adams came out on top of a fan vote against 12 other nominees to join Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in the Class of '23.

Rio Ferdinand, Petr Cech and Tony Adams have been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Skull Full of Kisses by Michael West