BLURB
Some say titans are descended from giants. Others say they are risen from men. But there’s never any debate about where to find them. They will be in the center of a roaring crowd, beating the hell out of each other. From contenders like the Savage and Scott Flawless to pretenders like Richard the Living Portrait and Troll-Blooded Thom, a titan’s lot in life is the same: To wrestle for dominion and glory in the squared circle.Van, a quiet titan from the brewery town of Headwaters, wants no part in this. He’d prefer to be left alone with a beer. But destiny has him in a headlock, and it is prepared to drag him into battles that will shake the land and change his world forever.Step into the ring with this one-of-a-kind novel, brewed special for fans of epic fantasy, fans of professional wrestling from the Golden Era and beyond, or simply fans of a good tale.
REVIEW
The Headlock of Destiny by Samuel Gately was a completely blind read for me. All I saw was the cover, title and that it was inspired by wrestling.
There was some fear that this book would read like a bad spoof movie, with an absolutely absurd premise. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Headlock of Destiny is full of heart, humor and love for wrestling and fantasy.
As with any good book, what truly shines here are the characters. All the wrestlers start off as caricatures but the ones with more page time than one match get deeper development that really makes you feel for and understand them. Like you see their “persona” in the ring but in actuality, they’re people too and wrestling is only a part of who they are. Gately captures that wonderfully as he slowly peels back their layers, allowing us and Van to get to know them together.
Our protagonist, Van the Beer Man, starts as the classic farm boy, but with enough personality and muscles to separate him from the rest. Watching him struggle with who he was and who he’s becoming was very relatable and grounded this story of giants and demi-gods.
The Headlock of Destiny has the feel of a passion project and the author’s excitement is palpable. This is what happens when someone writes the book they want to read, naysayers be damned, and it pays off immensely. And the ending had me buying the sequel right away.
Leave a Reply