Order BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN here
Order BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN Vol. 2 here
''But honey, you're the boss of this house.'' Lenny could tell that Bree wasn't happy with that one. ''The boos of my heart?''
''Are you trying to be an asshole, Lenny?''
Every young man falls in love with pro wrestling at a moment in his life. Some never get tired of it. For me, it was between 8 and 15 years old, before moving to boxing and martial arts. I've never looked down on it despite moving to ''real'' fighting because it has something in common with every major sport: pro wrestling understands the necessity of creating engrossing storylines. Author Paul O'Brien likes pro wrestling a little more than you do. His novels BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN Volume 1 and 2 are both crime stories and a celebration of an important era in wrestling, back when the territorial approach was giving place to national ambitions. They are fun, energetic, fast-paced and a tad chaotic. Fans of testosterone-fueled entertainment should have their hands full with these two novels at the beach, this summer.
BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN opens on the night of a historical pro wrestling card in Shea Stadium, New York. 65 000 are packed inside to see Gilbert King face the giant savage Babu. It is supposed to be THE MATCH that will prove once and for all that pro wrestling is not fake. Only problem is that Lenny Long, official driver of the promotion is walking away from his overturned van with a foot in his hands, concussed and incoherent, while Gilbert is missing and Baby is about to explode in a cop's face. There is twenty minutes left before the main event is supposed to start and promoter Danno Garland is about to lose his goddamn mind. There has been years of work building up to this matchup and a lot on the line. It's going to be the tipping point of a new, much more tormented era in pro wrestling.
Here's what you have to know before attacking the BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN novels: it's an ambitious idea that transcends the boundaries of traditional crime fiction. Both novels start from a tipping point and examine the events that lead there (and sometimes go beyond). There are a lot of jumps in time that will require unwavering focus. Since I read the special edition that contains both novels back to back and went through a lot of material in little time, I got confused more than once. I had to go back a couple times and threw the towel on it after a while and just went with the flow. It's obvious that Paul O'Brien tried to iron out that quirk and make it as clear as he could, but it goes so energetically in every direction that it's grueling on readers. The exercise in itself is interesting and creates an interesting visual dynamic, but it's too hyperactive to be efficient in the long run.
Wrestlers always had to pretend that they were hurt more than they were in the ring and less than they were in the locker room. They could never be just how they were. If you asked for time off, you'd never get your spot back again. Owners hated weakness in their talent. If you don't wrestle, you don't get paid. Simple.
So the question remains: Are there good reasons to invest time and money in reading the BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN series? Absolutely, there are several reasons to do so. The characters Paul O'Brien created an energetic cast of peculiar misfits that each have a strong, original personality. O'Brien understands the fine line between archetype and stereotype and created characters that have anchors in archetype we know, but developed instrinsic, fun strengths and flaws that give the cast of BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN a special, unique flavour. Paul O'Brien has a high-energy, idiosyncratic style that is characterized by short sentences, lots of dialogues and hyperactive scenes. There is a lot of Elmore Leonard to Paul O'Brien's style, but there is a lot of original thinking too, insulated from overbearing influences. That alone is worth your attention. I don't know about you, but my life has been a never-ending search for original writers and Paul O'Brien is one.
BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN was a good time, yet it didn't make me drop to one knee. It was too chaotic, like an cosmic explosion of pro wrestling-related conpiracies, to harness the full potential of its universe and create something truly transcendant. But the series is going on nonetheless and there is something precious to Paul O'Brien's writing. Something both he and his readers have to reflect upon and nurture. It's hard to put the finger on it, but it's something peculiar that very little other writers can brag to have. I would revisit this universe in a Vol. 3 without thinking twice about it. Not only because I'm a pro wrestling fan, but it was peculiar enough to keep me in for over 500 pages of material. The energy of BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLARS GREEN was so unique, it could've been about, let's say, Cattle Reproduction Technicians, that it would've been good. That, my friends, it worth a world of wonders in the long run.
