The Wide Game

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Lists with This Book. Oct 21, mark monday rated it it was ok Shelves: I lived in South Bend! West creates a wonderfully spooky and menacing atmosphere, indulges in some over-the-top gore, and even plays a couple narrative tricks on the reader to ratchet up the suspense and horror. I was absorbed and frightened. I don't hate a lot of things outside of, say, genocide or child molestation or rape , I try to keep an open mind about context and personal perspective.

I think it is an evil perspective. I hope this is not the author's actual viewpoint but the religious framing within the novel makes me suspect otherwise. I only want to do one thing. This book was absolutely awesome! I can definitely say after reading this book that I'm more afraid of corn fields than ever before. Which really sucks if you live in Indiana! I really feel that Mike West pulled out all the stops with this book, I truly had a hard time putting it down. If I HAD to put the book aside for a few minutes, I was always anxious to get back to see what was going on.

It is something I will read more than once and anytime I want to jump start my heart. Hats off to Mike W This book was absolutely awesome! Hats off to Mike West for a masterpiece. Jul 31, Sheila rated it it was amazing Shelves: Meanwhile the reader follows his memories of that Wide Game played before graduation, and wonders at the cost. The Wide Game is classic horror, with teenagers separating in the dark when you know they ought to stay together, with something scary in the cornfield, and with romantic leads just desperate to survive.

The Wide Game is told in separate parts which tie past and present together and lead inexorably, but secretly, to final scary conclusions where a church, once scorned, just might play its own part in healing 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. Harmony, Indiana is a small town overrun by endless fields of corn, young people languishing in the stereotypical boredom inescapable with small town living, and yes, legends of nightmare coupled with an underlying history of mystery, bloodshed, and horror.

Paul Rice grew up in this town, spent his high school years fraternizing with his circle of friends, aspiring to direct B-grade horror films, and falling in love with classmate Deidra. At a time when graduation is only days away, Paul and Dei Harmony, Indiana is a small town overrun by endless fields of corn, young people languishing in the stereotypical boredom inescapable with small town living, and yes, legends of nightmare coupled with an underlying history of mystery, bloodshed, and horror.

At a time when graduation is only days away, Paul and Deidra's relationship had blossomed into a bond the likes of which could almost be found in romantic fairy tales. And then came time for the class of to ditch class and undertake the coming-of-age ritual played out by the graduating classes of numerous years before them The Wide Game is virtually a race where the object of all participants is to journey from the edge of a vast cornfield to a large clearing where a small man-made lake and good partying await a race that could take hours, considering the ground they have to cover and how one could easily get lost, considering also a certain strategy involving keeping quiet and stealing a belonging of anyone else playing the game that they encounter in the corn.

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. This is a first-rate novel, well edited and no holds barred. My jaw dropped, quite literally, at more than a handful of turning points in the story that I just didn't see coming, and I oftentimes couldn't put the book down. This is a work of first-rate terror and suspense, and for the seasoned reader sports a refreshingly original story methodology as a means to scare the wits out of you.

This is his first novel, and I'll be watching the career of Michael West with sincere interest in his works to come.

84 Wide Games for Boy Scouts Outdoor Patrol Camp Field Game Cross-Country

And I'll never look at corn fields the same way again. Written mostly as an extended flashback, The Wide Game takes the reader through the terrible night that Paul Rice, his girlfriend Deidra, and numerous other friends played The Wide Game their senior year. 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. Scary, good plot, great characters. This is my favorite book from Michael West although all his work is amazing. I grew up in the 80's and he really brings it back to life.

It's so terrifically scary, there are parts I could barely stand to read!! West makes you feel so close to the characters that there's even a bit of sadness when the 'bad guys' go down. The plot never skips a beat, the love story is beautiful and realistic, and the manifestations of Awesome horror book! The plot never skips a beat, the love story is beautiful and realistic, and the manifestations of evil makes you wonder how West sleeps at night with this stuff in his head!

Stephen King needs to read this book. This was technically the first book Michael West based in this town besieged by otherworldly influences.

I read the three novels out of order, but that did nothing to take away from the plot of any. Each novel is a stand alone, and each will have you eagerly searching out more stories from Harmony. The Wide Game takes place in the 80's, in a cornfield ruled by unseen energies. When these elements decide to play, there isn't anywhere that's safe Review to follow once posted at MonsterLibrarian. Will re-post blog at that time. Sep 24, Matt rated it liked it.

Picked this book up after seeing it on one of the Goodreads lists and seeing the high reviews. The first pages focus on character development and interactions between several pairings of characters with little plot development. The characters themselves appeared to be archetypes from the same 80's popular culture that serves as the stories main setting.

As in the popular 80's classic movie The Breakfast Club, you have the jock Danny, the Nerd Mick, the misunderstood bad boy Skip, and the popu Picked this book up after seeing it on one of the Goodreads lists and seeing the high reviews. As in the popular 80's classic movie The Breakfast Club, you have the jock Danny, the Nerd Mick, the misunderstood bad boy Skip, and the popular girl Nancy.

The main characters Paul and Deidra are generic interpretations of inseparable young love. The next portion of the book quickly runs these characters through a classic B horror movie gauntlet. Probably the most fun to be had in the novel is in this middle section which reads like a teen slasher flick. Finally the last section of the book seemed to show the most promise as a telling of the after effects and tying up loose ends, however this seemed to be hurried and served more as an epilogue offering a minor twist to the story.

The whole book seemed to be building to something that never came. The books use of flashback, dream sequences, and character fantasies make the book at times feel like you are getting a vague impression of what is actually going on and there will be a clarifying moment. By the end you realize what you've read was pretty straight forward with no tricks. The mythology is a little mixed, originating from spoilers an evil Native American figurehead who required fights to the death to benefit the land where cornfields now sit.

In the current time period of the novel this has somehow translated to a mix of mind control and demonic harassment of anyone coming on the land forcing them to kill. Other than the one minor twist noted above, there is no master plan being implemented through a crazed central character as may be inferred by the prologue. Generally what you see is what you get in the novel. The resolution of the book also includes the protagonist coming to grips with the events through his talk with a priest. This part felt a little "preachy" and is likely why I also saw this book on a Goodreads list labeled something to the effect of "stories with strong Faith based characters".

To me it felt a little heavy and out of place. In general though the book kept me reading and as others have said, there are some fun 80's references and throwbacks to the past.

Generally you should be reading this for some brief fun and not to expect a lot of twists and turns or overly complex plot. I would also like to add some commentary here that may be slightly unrelated to the review of The Wide Game.

This book, like horror movies, may appeal to the viewer through its visceral experiences. In this regard I believe the sex scenes are a continuation of this experience and are not excessive or "tacked on" as at least one other review has noted. These limited scenes are actually somewhat necessary to show the building of the main relationship in the story. These scenes do not come close to anything like a Harlequin romance. I find it a little disturbing that so many novels now are negatively critiqued for any sexual depictions, a fact I noticed as I read several other book reviews last night.

Wide Games and Night Wide Games

This book had some very graphic kill scenes. I would hope these would startle the average conscious more than a rather tame telling of an experience the majority of the human race goes through. Are the sex scenes strictly necessary? I would however argue that the majority of experiences in a fiction novel are not necessary but are there for the reader to enjoy, to add background to the characters, or show the reader someone else's interpretation of events. In this regard I believe the scenes are appropriate and well delivered. I read this book because it met the criteria for my monthly Book Club - something supernatural.

I looked at this one and got it. It started out great. People returning to the town of Harmony for a 10 year high school reunion. Then they talked about this high school annual Senior year tradition the Wide Game. Then Fla I read this book because it met the criteria for my monthly Book Club - something supernatural. Then Flashback to high school! The book remained in the flashback time for most of the rest of the book. The author did a good job of character development for most of the characters. The Wide Game was never well explained, nor was the name explained.

The Wide Game

There were other rules about stealing things from other players that entitled them to share the prize, but again, not well explained. The author tried to build suspense by talking about things that happened in previous years. Everything starts to happen once darkness falls, of course. There were student cliques that played a part. The head blonde cheerleader. The film geek and his girlfriend who were the main characters and a cast of others.

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There were deaths, murders, lots of running and getting separated. Horrible things that these kids would carry with them after they graduated. Then we are back at the Reunion. Smart, good looking, nice people. Then when they see one another the girl wants to get back together because they share a secret! The secret is completely out of character for either one. It has been forgotten totally but suddenly, there it is. Then there is a scene in a Catholic Church dealing with forgiveness and redemption.

I think this is one of the worst, most disjointed and stupid books I ever read. I looked up the author and found he wrote two sequels to this book! I understand this is the first book he wrote. I truly hope he got better. Parts of the book were okay but most was absolutely terrible. For a first novel, The Wide Game displays a notable amount of promise.

The writing is particularly strong, as if author Michael West spent a long time honing his craft before submitting his manuscript to publishers. It's also more complicated than it seems at first glance, with some surprisingly deep themes eventually being raised. And though the idea behind the book isn't anything particularly new - a bunch of high school graduates get stalked through a remote location by someone or something t For a first novel, The Wide Game displays a notable amount of promise.

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And though the idea behind the book isn't anything particularly new - a bunch of high school graduates get stalked through a remote location by someone or something that intends to do them significant harm - there are some effectively tense scenes, especially through the book's middle section. It wasn't all good though. The problems I had with The Wide Game lie with the way the story was told, and the manner in which the tale we get is quite different from that implied in the book's blurb.

To illustrate this latter point, here's a paragraph lifted straight from the blurb: Reading that I was anticipating the story to be about the survivors of the Wide Game from ten or so years before. Yet almost all of this novel takes place via an extended flashback. In essence, the present day "action" serves as little more than a coda to the main meat of the tale when the protagonists were in the midst of the game.

My use of quotation marks there serves to highlight how little actually happens in the present time.

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The reader is asked to care more about the main character and his relationship status than the threat that has been unveiled out amongst the corn rows. West does throw in a twist that adds an extra layer to the story, view spoiler [ but otherwise, said threat pretty much does nothing in the present day, making for a wholly unsatisfying end to the story. I don't know, but I'm interested in finding out, mainly because he wrote the sequels years later, so I'm hoping they'll be all the better for the extra writing experience he'd have gained in that time.

View all 3 comments. An example of each type is found by following the hyperlinks below. Suggestions are made for adapting it to numbers and ground; possible variations are also indicated. The bare bones of the game are revealed above. Detailed Descriptions below will illustrate how an atmosphere of romance and adventure can be added, and various Scout activities employed. The details are not as elaborate as the Wide Games above, but the high quality of these games makes them worthy of consideration for adaptation.

For additional general details for conducting them, see topics at the top of this page. When you place an order with Amazon. Com using the search box below, a small referral fee is returned to The Inquiry Net to help defer the expense of keeping us online. Thank you for your consideration! What to Do, and How to Do It! To Email me, replace " at " below with " " Rick at Kudu. If you have questions about one of my 2, pages here, you must send me the "URL" of the page!

This "URL" is sometimes called the "Address" and it is usually found in a little box near the top of your screen. Most URLs start with the letters "http: Types of English Wide Games It is convenient for purposes of reference and description to group Scouting Wide Games in a few broad classes, but it should be emphasized that such divisions are not watertight compartments; anyone who has attempted to classify games knows what a difficult task it is; the basis of classification depends entirely on what aspect of the matter we have in mind.

Four Types of English Wide Games: Cargo Boats and Cruisers.