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Strangeville (The Complete Trilogy) (2013)

by Kenneth Tingle(Favorite Author)

3.22 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Kenneth Tingle

review 1: This book fit its name and was so strange that I still don't really know what to make of it. It starts out very strangely: a guy is on his way to commit suicide but he decides not to do it because he has to poop and he would be embarrassed to be found that way. Then he gets lost and ends up in a town called Strangeville that is stuck in the past.The Good: It is a rather entertaining read in that is usually a cute little tale that reads easily. The genre is hard to classify because it's supposed to be humorous (but I didn't find most of it very funny) but it's also rather dark and foreboding, almost like a horror or sci-fi book. At some points it gets really interesting and I kept waiting to find out the deep dark secrets of Strangeville. I guess you could say it mainly kep... moret my attention and it was good for a mindless-type read (while pumping or feeding my son in the middle of the night or when a show I'm watching with my hubby gets boring etc.) Even though it was strange and full of what was meant to be dark humor, it was a light read with a pleasant feel and in fact reminded me of the movie "Pleasantville" (and also "Blast from the Past.") I got this book for free from BookBub and it was an okay free read. I give it 2.5 stars for entertainment value and price.The Bad: There isn't much to the plot and it never really gets anywhere. What is supposed to be a big secret is quite obvious early on. I felt that there was quite a bit of potential but it's almost like the author was laughing at his characters and his readers. He would tease us with something serious but then hold back and act like his book was supposed to be about nothing... which I guess it was.The Ugly: The whole town speaks in an awful southern dialect and all the characters are stereotypes of stupid Southern hicks. That made it very difficult to keep reading and contributed to my feeling that the author was making fun of everyone and everything, including his own characters and readers. The characters had really horrible stereotypical names like Bob McHicks (that isn't really a character's name, but close) and they did very strange things that aren't believable at all (like putting a chicken carcass in the blender), for no ascertainable reason. And the end is just horrid. I was left wondering why I wasted my time reading it and also why the author wasted his time writing it. I think it needs a lot of editing and plot help but the general idea is still good, and the concept stuck in my mind, so that's why I don't view reading it as a total waste of time.
review 2: Even with the luke warm reviews I've read about this book I thought I would give it a go anyway. An I'm mostly glad I did. It is very easy to read, nothing too complex and I managed to whizz through it while enjoying it.My main problem with the story was that I cant understand why the author didn't go into more detail about the town and the reasons for it's existence. I think in trying to keep it too light a read he didn't fully take advantage of the storylines that could have been developed.But on the whole it was a good enough read. less

Download links for: Strangeville (The Complete Trilogy)

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