100% Match Review: Why It’s Better Than a 3/5
Patrick C. Harrison III’s 100% Match review has a problem: its 3/5 rating on Goodreads doesn’t reflect what the book actually delivers.
At first glance, it just looks like another extreme horror novella: violent, provocative, and easy to dismiss. But once you break it down, 100% Match reveals something far more deliberate—a disturbing character study built on satire, psychological horror, and uncomfortable realism.
In this review, I’ll explore what makes 100% Match so effective, why it lingers long after reading, and why its reputation as a “mid-tier” horror story doesn’t hold up.
First, I will set the scene for you. I lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. The air felt heavy, claustrophobic. The wind howled, buffeting against the outside walls of the house, throttling the eucalyptus tree in the garden with a violent grip. It was a cold and miserable night… and yes, I’m aware I sound like I’m listing every horror movie trope in the book! My perception may have been coloured somewhat because this was the first night in years that I had slept (or at least tried to sleep) alone. My (then) fiancée—my 100% Match—was in hospital, awaiting an operation the next day.
I needed sleep, so I could be there for her properly. I’d seen the titular book on various modern Splatterpunk recommendation lists and figured it would either send me to sleep (ideal), or keep me just engaged enough to stop worrying about my fiancée (also ideal). So I bought both the audiobook and Kindle edition.
About two months later, with my (now) Wife recovering well from the surgery, I found myself having read the book three times.
You can probably guess—it didn’t send me to sleep. When you return to a book or film again and again, it means you’ve found something special. I think such discoveries are important for readers—especially horror readers. So, here I am to convince you that Patrick C. Harrison III’s 100% Match (2022) is far better than, dare I say, the lacklustre reviews on Goodreads would suggest. I want to convince you that the book deserves at least a four-star review—more fairly, a 4.5.
As always, I’ll begin with a spoiler-free summary of the book, then jump into the actual review.
Plot
The novella follows burger-flipper Bart Bartley on his deranged quest for love—or, as he calls it, his “100% Match.” A neurotic obsessive, Bart views every interaction with a woman as a calculated step toward securing a life partner. His worldview is shaped by a toxic cocktail of online dating advice, insecure-alpha podcasts (think Whatever and Fresh&Fit), and an endless barrage of statistics.
Equal parts quirky and psychotic, Bart fills his days with documentaries, good ol’ fashioned exercise, and the occasional murder.
On the surface, it’s easy to write 100% Match off as just another extreme horror story. But once you look closer, there’s a clear structure behind why it works.
100% Match Review: What Makes It Top-Tier Splatterpunk Horror
This book is Splatterpunk through and through, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In true Splatterpunk fashion, the world is already f**ked—but the real horror begins when the evil can no longer be contained. It boils over, leaving behind a stinking, rotten mess.
But what actually makes 100% Match stand out isn’t just its extremity—it’s how deliberately that extremity is used.
1. A Disturbingly Real Psychological Core
Bart is clearly deep in the red pill/manosphere pipeline. While the book doesn’t use specific jargon from those communities, his inner voice is steeped in that ideology—brainwashed into seeing every interaction with women as transactional, a means to satisfy his own desires, rather than viewing them as people in their own right.
That’s what makes him unsettling. He doesn’t feel exaggerated—he feels plausible. The horror doesn’t come from what he does alone, but from how convincingly the book builds the mindset behind it.
2. Violence With Purpose (Not Just Shock Value)
100% Match isn’t just another shock-horror story designed to gross you out. Yes, it pushes boundaries—sometimes for comedic effect—but it works. The book isn’t trying to be edgy for edginess’s sake; it’s probing something much darker and more unsettling. It’s not mindless violence, as some prudes might claim. It is an example of what true Splatterpunk should be.
3. Perspective That Amplifies the Horror
The first time I read it, the ending completely blindsided me. By the third read, it still made me queasy.
A lot of that comes down to perspective. You’re not watching Bart from a safe distance—you’re inside his head, following the logic, step by step. That’s what makes it stick. The horror builds not just through events, but through the slow realisation of how inevitable those events feel.
Final Verdict: Is 100% Match Worth Reading?
If you’re looking for a book that will genuinely make you feel something—revulsion, discomfort, fascination—this is it. That said, it was probably the worst thing I could have read while my (then) fiancée was in the hospital! 100% Match is a brutal, intelligent entry into the Splatterpunk genre—grotesque, darkly funny, and uncomfortably real. It’s not just gore for gore’s sake; it’s a disturbing character study wrapped in blood-soaked satire.
Despite its average rating, 100% Match is far more than a typical Splatterpunk novella. It’s a brutal, intelligent character study that uses extreme horror to explore something disturbingly real.
If you’re wondering whether 100% Match is worth reading, the answer is yes. Just don’t expect an easy read.
If you enjoyed this review, make sure to check out our breakdown of classic Splatterpunk books from the ’90s!
