171985157SLEDGE. “THE ULTIMATE ANTI-HERO.” – Horror Reads

When his former lover, Kiira, finds herself the target of a mysterious dark web assassin network, modern-day gladiator, Einarr “Sledge” Laukkanen, embarks on a blood-spattered mission to uncover who lurks at its heart. But as he bludgeons his way down to its lowest depths, one thing becomes terrifyingly clear:
NO ONE ESCAPES THE LABYRINTH . . .

“THINK REACHER. BUT MEANER AND LEANER.” – EC Greaves, author of Daughter of the Beast

“HORVATH WRITES WITH THE STACCATO PRECISION OF ‘50S NOIR.” – Coy Hall, author of The Hangman Feeds the Jackal

“SLEDGE IS A THROWBACK IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. AN ADVENTURE WITH ALL THE POWER OF A HAMMER TO THE SKULL.” – Josh Hanson, author of King’s Hill

“LIKE A PULPY ACTION FLICK FROM THE LATE ‘80S OR EARLY ‘90S. A TOUR DE FORCE OF SKULL-CRACKING, KNEE-CRUSHING ESCAPISM.” – Luís Magalhães, author of Legends of Elessia

Source Format Pages Publisher Genre Publication Date
Amazon paperback 319 indie Thriller, Crime October 30th, 2023

This book has been called many things very accurately. The character of Sledge is a phenomenon that comes along, breaks down the genre walls and plants itself atop a foundation of thriller, action, crime and controversy. Horvath doesn’t waste time nor words to get the action going full-speed. And from the very start, you know that voice in your head, when you’re thinking or reading? Well, for Sledge, I had the gravelly voice of Marv from Sin City in my head. That is to say, Mickey Rourke’s voice. I sure did have a good time with this book. Horvath’s style of writing and sharp undercurrent of wit makes no apologies and won me over with its confidence. I kid you not, I was grinning through most of the book. Wild and definitely 2 steps ahead of any action thriller I have read, the secondary adrenaline, astonishment and incredulity made me consider my sanity. That ending cracked me up… the last few paragraphs were just very…revealing, and what the motherload of twist was that?!

Since everyone uses well-known fictional characters to convey what this book and Sledge is like, and I would plus 1 all of those comments, I would like to add that the stylized violence and out of this world action scenes popping off the pages are Tarantinoesque. Sharp, to the point and totally bonkers. Horvath also does not pussyfoot around when delivering dialogue that befits the characters.

Sledge? Has to be one of the ultimate anti-heroes ever to be created in fiction. When we think of action dudes, they fall into 2 types. One type are the lean, tech-savvy, use all of the arsenal and run like lightning kind of guy. Think Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible or Jack Reacher, Matt Damon in Jason Bourne franchise, James Bond, or the lot in Fast and Furious. You get the gist. Sledge is not like that. The other type is made up of dudes larger than life (sometimes physically, sometimes mentally), all grunt and brute force, no flinch, no fucking around, and they have an unlimited supply of stamina. Like a gods damned steam train. Think John Wick, Mad Max, good tried and tested boys of Expendables. Sledge is that kind of hardened bastard – he’s nice enough, just about. But show him death and threat, and he’s like: “Fuck it, it is what it is, let’s get on with it.”

I think that’s the most enjoyable in Sledge’s characteristics, making the action scenes so much better – the no wait, no halt, no fret kind of approach. There’s a fight? Let’s fight. No hesitation, just step right into it and let’s see what happens. There’s a certain confidence, and in Sledge’s case it’s a well earned confidence (as you will learn from his background) that if he doesn’t have a plan or the tools, he will go with the flow and use his fists or whatever he can get his hands on around him to make bloody good use of. He doesn’t stop think about the age old “everyone has a choice, you do not have to kill” mantra. The fight was brought to him, so the mantra is long expired and useless. He’s the bear and we all knows what happens when the bear is poked.

There is no shortage of villains, plot twists and surprising solutions to the most impossible of challenges. There is plenty of high tech (and low tech!) weaponry geek for the wank bank, the friends in high places to fund it all, the friend to cover the six, and a dame or two because, well, there’s always a woman involved! If you’re a fan of high octane, balls to the wall kind of wild ride, Sledge vs The Labyrinth is a safe bet.

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BearNickNick Horvath is a native of northern Minnesota who double-majored in Physics and English at Duke University before embarking on a 12-year professional basketball career. Over that time he transformed myself from a timid finesse player into a rugged rebounding monster, much like his savage anti-hero, Sledge Laukkanen. Since retirement from sport he’s become a physics teacher and writer. Though he has yet to bludgeon anyone to death with his hardened bones, anyone wishing to date his daughter should consider themselves forewarned!
Nick draws inspiration from 80’s action and horror movies, fighting games, the Dark Souls universe, Robert. E Howard’s Conan, Frank Miller’s Sin City, and hard-boiled mystery novels in wintery settings.
He currently resides in Palmerston North, New Zealand with his family.

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