– by Josh Schlossberg, Josh’s Worst Nightmare

I had trouble sleeping the night I read M.R. Tapia’s new novella, The Die-Fi Experiment.

Sure, it might’ve been the July heat. Or the woman on my mind. But I blame at least half of my sweaty tosses and turns squarely on Tapia’s locomotive-paced storytelling, the disturbing images he conjures, and the maelstrom of emotions he drags a reader through.

Let’s be clear from the get go: The Die-Fi Experiment is not for the faint of heart. Nor, just to be on the safe side, anyone with any kind of heart condition whatsoever. While the sometimes graphic depictions of physical violence aren’t gratuitous—they serve almost exclusively to hasten the plot—they are, let’s just say…intense.

The premise of The Die-Fi Experiment is that a newlywed couple honeymooning in Japan are kidnapped and forced to compete in a gory game show in front of a live audience and the eyes of thousands of social media junkies. Think American Gladiators meets Saw meets You’ve Got Mail (kidding about the last one).

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