How To Successfully Kidnap Strangers

How To Successfully Kidnap Strangers  - Max Booth III  5/5

                                                               



      Max was gracious enough to give me an advanced reading copy of his latest book in exchange for an honest review, but after reading it I'm not even sure I can be honest. What if I end up kidnapped and shoved in a trunk with a bag full of severed heads? I don't want to be kidnapped because I wrote a bad review. Actually that's the premise of the book and the kidnapping and everything else that happens in Booth's book is a direct result of a sheer panic and indecision. If you're actually using this as a a guide to kidnap people you have serious issues and the book isn't even a guide that you can use,

    This is my fourth Booth book and I haven't read a bad novel yet. Max is a solid story teller that refuses to follow any genre and write whatever the hell he wants. That unpredictability is what fuels his novels. You never know what the hell you're in for and his characters are always interesting. You have elements of bizarro here and light touches of horror, but mixed in there are a variety of other genres. Strangers is an interesting and bizarre read that elevate Max's talents as a writer that can't be boxed in by genres or rules. These are characters who are just sort of thrust into this situation and only make things worse for themselves as the novel progresses. One bad decision just snowballs and you almost feel sorry this rag tag group of indie publishers.

     Also there are great tips for writers which I refuse to disclose, but it's very solid advice and you can also see a bit of Booth's personality shine through as he talks about not only publishing, but the various genres that have seemingly popped up over night. As a writer I can relate to a lot of what he's saying and what it boils down to is just write. That is what makes Strangers so good. Booth isn't allowing himself to be boxed into one genre. When you try and categorize any of his books you just can't and that may piss off fans of any one genre. When he attacks these genres you may laugh and agree or get pissed off.

     If there is a message here it's this. Don't be a dick or you may find yourself kidnapped. It's a glimpse at how some writers react to negative reviews and how we feel so self important that we seem to believe that we're bigger than Christ himself. We're supposed to write and after reading this I swear not to whore myself on Facebook or at the very least vow not to do it so much. Here's the deal. I'm a fan of Booth's and have been since They Might Be Demons, and with each book he continues to buck trends and write solid books. That's what a good writer does, and Strangers may be his best book yet,

http://www.talesfromthebooth.com/


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