Name: Erik Wallace's review of The Stranger Times by Caimh McDonnell
Item: The Stranger Times
Rating: 5
Author: Erik Wallace

Caimh McDonnell

The Stranger Times

C.K.McDonnell

There are Dark Forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular) and so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them. A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but more often the weird) of modern life, it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable . . . At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and -mouthed husk of a man who thinks little (and believes less) of the publication he edits, while his staff are a ragtag group of wastrels and misfits, each with their own secrets to hide and axes to grind. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got her own set of problems. It's when tragedy strikes in Hannah's first week on the job that The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious, proper, actual investigative journalism. What they discover leads them to a shocking realisation- that some of the stories they'd previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly, gruesomely real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker foes than they could ever have imagined. It's one thing reporting on the unexplained and paranormal but it's quite another being dragged into the battle between the forces of Good and Evil . . .

Lilly 

»Das ist immer so. Dies ist, fürchte ich, erst der Anfang gewesen. Ein kalter Wind zieht auf.« Sie setzte sich wieder auf den Poller. Beide schwiegen eine Weile und beobachteten, wie die Stadt sich aus dem Schlaf erhob. Banecroft zog eine Zigarette hinter seinem Ohr hervor und zündete sie an. »Übrigens, können Sie eigentlich auch Kaninchen aus einem Hut zaubern? Den Trick fand ich immer besonders toll.« »Ach, halten Sie die Klappe, Vincent.«

Der Motor seines Wagens war laut, aber nicht auf jene aufgetunte, unerträgliche Weise, mit der sich manche Personen bemühen, massive persönliche Defizite auszugleichen. 

Rikke Lohse

Brilliant and funny! The narrator for the audiobook is excellent. 

Erik Wallace

Really fun read. Had to laugh out loud a lot! Absurd and strange situations combined with a neat mystery. Only four stars because I didn’t enjoy the overt swearing.

Elias Butting

Ahaana Bhargava

Disclaimer: This is not the complete review!! You can read the full review over on my blog: https://windowstoworlds.wordpress.com... 

What I liked
The characters and their relationships. Each of the characters were all so well-defined and had beautiful relationships with one another. Even Banecroft, who we all saw as a moody grouch, had an emotional past, and though he didn’t show it, we know he still cared about Simon, Hannah, and everyone around him. I love the bonds between each of the characters because the amount they care about each other is described so beautifully by the author. There were also so many diverse reps!! There were plus-sized mc’s, as well as queer mc’s, as well as people of colour!!

The plot + plot twists. This book had a really interesting plot, and it was filled with twists!! To be honest, the beginning was really slow, and it took a while for the main characters to realize the problem, but other than that, I loved the plot and the way it was written!

The ending. The ending is what saved this book for me!! I LOVED this ending!! It was so unexpected, and because of the slow pacing in the first half, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The ending exceeded my expectations, and well, pleasantly surprised me!! It was action-packed and super fast paced, filled with sarcastic and witty comments made by, well, each and every character.


What wasn’t my cup of tea
The pacing. The first chapter was okay. I kept thinking to myself “it will get better”, honestly for more than half the book, I found myself falling asleep because of how slow everything was moving. Things that took 3 chapters could have been done well and finished in 5 pages. The plot was interesting, but it was moving at such a slow pace, that it was a struggle to complete this book. As I mentioned earlier, the ending was the saving grace. It was so action-packed that it made up for the sloth-paced beginning.


Overall + Trigger Warnings
Overall, this was a pretty good book. Honestly, it wasn’t really what I expected, and I think if the pacing hadn’t been so slow, it could definitely have been a 5-star read! If you don’t mind droning through the slowness of the beginning, then I promise you, this book is worth it, and the ending is great!!

Trigger Warnings
Mentions of Suicide
Alcoholism
Divorce
Deaths

☆☆ Final Rating: 4.3 stars (out of 5)

Lewis John Fisher

just want a crossover with the Folly down in London

Joanna Rosenwink 

Throughly enjoyable, laugh out loud funny and gripping, this book reminded me of the the writing of Neil Gaiman.

Thank you to the publishers for ending me a copy of this book in exchange for and honest review.

Alex lee 

Amelie

Pascal Hokenholz

Rebecca Harwood

Jessie Winchester

Katja

Oliver Magnanimous

Nicholas Charriere

Sara Piteira 

There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them . . . A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own. When tragedy strikes in her first week on the job The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they'd previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined. The Stranger Times is the first novel from C.K. McDonnell, the pen name of Caimh McDonnell. It combines his distinctive dark wit with his love of the weird and wonderful to deliver a joyous celebration of how truth really can be stranger than fiction.

Rikke Lohse &
The Stranger Times by Caimh McDonnell

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Rikke Lohse &The Stranger Times by Caimh McDonnell

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Rikke Lohse &
The Stranger Times by Caimh McDonnell