Killing It

This book was about nothing. The writer was trying far too hard to shock, but it did nothing more than dismay. My opinion is that it was caught somewhere between wannabe horror, and Jerry Seinfeld.

Always love his books they are thrilling and fun! Came here after listening to to fantastic land and I think I need more!

I needed to ponder a bit before I could render a review on this audio book. There are mixed feelings and I wanted to orgastrate them in my head first.
The characters were well developed and the premise was really good. The narrator cultivated the characters but not to the highest level. He was good but not great. Some of the dialogs were not believeable, I am not sure a real comedian would hang on to making jokes with death knocking at the door, as it was in some spots throughout the story. The author did generate great visuals, and I will say they were very clear and vivid. The voice/ghost was a let down, not spooky or scary in the least. That is where I think both author and narrator dropped the ball. He did tie it all together at the end so no real holes. It was good but it could have been great.

Audiobook. Narrator did a great job. I lost track of a few voices here and there, but I blame myself for that. Great inflection. This was a hard one because there was a lot of jokes. A LOT. It's cast is almost entirely comedians, and the narrator nailed the comic timing and rhythm exceptionally well. Bravo.
This is my second book by this author, and I'll happily read another, despite the fact that I don't really enjoy those "final girl" battle royale types but I've enjoyed two so far, and that's saying something.
The basic premise is that a group of comedians get trapped in a building with a guy who seems to be possessed by a murderous spirit. The plot is decent, better that I expected, really, but what makes it is the amazing characters. They are a perfect mix of well known clichés, vaguely referenced celebrities, and regular degular folks acting exactly how you'd expect people to act. Bockoven manages to create distinct voices for each character ranging across the board of age and gender and style, even writing jokes for them, which manages to be funny without just making a bunch of wisecracks, which is a direction this could have easily gone. There's action, danger, a little of the ol' spooky supernatural, an appropriate about of gore, and suspense. I admit to being a little on the defense when an author writes characters of color or women, but Bockoven manages to do it respectfully and realistically and I never found myself bristling at sexism or racism, even when one of the characters is-the novels are not. This was a fun one to visualize. Though I've heard talks that one of his other books was on the table for a movie treatment, I'd love to see this one on film. In an era of "cozy" books or ones that are so damn gritty, it's nice to read something that's got some edge without leaving me hating the world. Much like his last book, there are bad actors and good ones and horrific outcomes, but there is something, I don't know...hopeful? in this one too. I was listening to this audiobook and my housemates would stumble in from time to time and they always stayed for a bit of a listen or asked how a character was faring, even rooting for some of them, and they weren't even really following the book.
A bit more than a beach read, but still fun, and great characters.

A premise that started off interesting, but got pretty thin and repetitive by the end. However, I think it'd make a great movie.

Exciting and engaging, nailing the world of stand-up comedy in a way that shows deep appreciation. Brutal and funny, with a climactic third act that is thrilling and action packed.

Mike gets horror and the human condition. Owning up and doing something is important and a recurring theme between this and Fantasticland!

2.4 really. The idea is good, the gore was good, and the author's knowledge of stand-up comedy doesn't appear superficial. The author seems to really have a respect for the art. However, that's as far as he believed he needed to go to write a book about stand-up comedians. It doesn't end there either, because his voice for women and POC are even more superficial. What editor read this and was like, "a black comedian, who mostly covers politics, would definitely do a whole set on how much they love weed"? That's how he writes this portrayal of this black character? Just wish the author would've actually talked to real comedians, women, and black people before trying to write about them. The characters just weren't realistic enough and took me out of the story. If you want us to care about the characters, try making them believable.

Not for me. Maybe good book for some it seems well enough written but I should’ve never tried it since I did not in fact like fantastic land. I like my monsters purely inhuman. I admit that’s not always the case I adore The shining but there’s a lot of ghost stuff and a slow spiral downhill with the killer there.

Not as good as Fantasticland. Personally I'd prefer to have included more flashbacks to reveal the history slowly instead of an infodump at the end, but a good read.

Really tried to be into it and like it. Was a fan of fantastic land.. This is just plain
Guy goes kills people in the building