June 22, 2005
Reviewer: Kristi Swadley
Independence, Missouri

In Matchbook, John writes as though his very life depends on it, and sometimes I'm willing to bet that it does. The opening title short sets the tone for the rest of the book. And in true Dempsey form, you are with him in every instance of life, feeling as though you are eating, breathing and shitting the events that occur.

Dempsey earns points for including selections from his first e-book, Steps to the Madhouse, and from his online serial novel, The Progress of Ants. The end short, Ah, Spring, doesn't make for a good ending only because it doesn't feel like one. Rather, it reads like the beginning of a whole other slew of shorts, leaving the reader anticipating more. And that's all one can hope for from a writer like John . . . More!

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March 14, 2005
Reviewer: Renee Angers
Writer/Publisher Brainpan
Canada

Not a half dozen lines into John Dempsey’s Matchbook and already the foulness of this man’s herniated soul was bulging out at me like a ripe blister. As with John's first book, Bailing Water, I knew I was in for a treat. John's style of seductive sickness has not only matured but qualifies him as one of the brilliant writers of our time.

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January 30, 2005
Reviewer: Lisa Shields
East Windsor, NJ

When you read a book written by a man named for one of the world class boxers of all time, you sort of expect punch . . . Happily, Mr. Dempsey delivers.

Urban poetry - but not the grand "spoken word" pap that seems to have become popular on the Slam Circuit. No. Dempsey seems to have created his own genre here - with diamond-edged poetry that swirls you through the urban scene.

Dempsey's voice is undeniable and real. Not the lullaby of Broadway, but rather the wind that comes through a subway before or after a train, scented with all sorts of things to capture the imagination. You could move to New York, and after a few years, maybe have some idea of the grit of the City. Or you could read Matchbook. I rate it a TKO.

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