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Mangel #3
King of the Road
Three years have passed since Royston Blake left Mangel for Parpham Mental Hospital, his unstable mind finally entrusted to professionals. He served his stretch, and now he’s out, pronounced “cured” by the Doc. But a lot can change in three years, even in Mangel. Blake’s gal, Sal, has gone off and had a kid for one. His kid…whom Blake’s never even met. Not to mention that most of his old haunts, including Hoppers, are gone, replaced by a gleaming new shopping mall. But like the Doc says, change isn’t always for the better. A mysterious opposition group calling itself the “Old Guard” has expressed its displeasure with the development in the local newspaper. Now words are no longer enough, and they want Blake to enforce their message the old-fashioned way. But Blake just wants to do right by his son, a simple dream made all the more complicated once he realizes Mangel won’t let him go without a fight. Charlie Williams has upped the stakes with King of the Road , a new twist on his violent, darkly comedic chronicles of Mangel.
316 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 2011
3 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Williams
11 books52 followersAuthor of the Mangel series of DEADFOLK, FAGS AND LAGER (US edition BOOZE AND BURN), KING OF THE ROAD, ONE DEAD HEN and MADE OF STONE, all featuring nightclub doorman antihero Royston Blake. Plus standalone STAIRWAY TO HELL and novella GRAVEN IMAGE. English, scatalogical and dark.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 5, 2021
Royston Blake is a character like no other that I’m aware of. I enjoy reading about him and the other inhabitants of Mangal, although I’m sure I would find him repugnant in real life.
December 8, 2022
Royston Blake... I just cannot get enough of him.
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December 10, 2022After not finishing the first book (Deadfolk) - hated it - I haven't read any of the others.
October 17, 2013
This is Deadfolk #3 (Or Mangel #3) WARNING: there are swear words in this book. If that bothers you, don't read it :D
I've been trying to figure out, for TWO books now, just why I like, but abhor, ol' Royston Blake. And then it came to me: he's the Town Fool, the Scapegoat, the Everyman, the Unredeemable One -- yet still he's saved from death once more, he's forgiven (at least tolerated) and set free...
To fuck up yet one more time (or as many as he can in one 300 or so page book... His kill list is getting a bit long. (see below. I didn't do this for the first two books.)
In King of the Road, Blake has been in Crazy Person Lockup, Parpham, for 3 yrs (depending on who is talking, it might be 4 yrs), and released, having been declared "cured". He's sent out, to go to the halfway house, but not our favorite homicidal halfwit! No, he goes to his own house, where Sal is supposed to be, raising their child she was pregnant for when he was sent up. [Apparently, there's been no contact for the 3 yrs he's been gone; he has no idea whether the baby was male or female. Doesn't keep him from daydreaming about it though.]
Blake has been surprisingly calm to this point, not taking offense, even when given. The driver of the bus where it happened thought, he took care of it. Expelled the passenger. Wouldn't take Blake's fare and winked at him in support, when Blake got off. Now what was THAT about???
Our fella Blake, he's different from before! The stay in Parpham got him a lot of time with a psychologist and he's now polite, not reactive, though still simple-minded in many ways. But he accepts tea from Doug the Shopkeeper without thinking it poison. Even is a little worried about the floor he spills on! He's pretty calm, considering... Drugs, maybe??
Doug the Shopkeeper says "your mission" and "Save this town!" Strange things for him to say about Blake...
Someone has discovered a "prophecy" that has to do with our man Blake!? Of course, we have no idea where this prophecy has come from... And can he live up to it? Does he even want to?
I feel a bit sorry for old Blakey; he's had it rough. Mom killed by his old man when he was young, who he had to kill in self-defense... and though he'd gotten to adulthood, every friend and lover he'd ever had has turned him into the coppers or died. He's spent a lot of his time in the loony bin since coming of age...
Kill list = 3
injury list= 14
These numbers are Blake Alone!
I've been trying to figure out, for TWO books now, just why I like, but abhor, ol' Royston Blake. And then it came to me: he's the Town Fool, the Scapegoat, the Everyman, the Unredeemable One -- yet still he's saved from death once more, he's forgiven (at least tolerated) and set free...
To fuck up yet one more time (or as many as he can in one 300 or so page book... His kill list is getting a bit long. (see below. I didn't do this for the first two books.)
In King of the Road, Blake has been in Crazy Person Lockup, Parpham, for 3 yrs (depending on who is talking, it might be 4 yrs), and released, having been declared "cured". He's sent out, to go to the halfway house, but not our favorite homicidal halfwit! No, he goes to his own house, where Sal is supposed to be, raising their child she was pregnant for when he was sent up. [Apparently, there's been no contact for the 3 yrs he's been gone; he has no idea whether the baby was male or female. Doesn't keep him from daydreaming about it though.]
Blake has been surprisingly calm to this point, not taking offense, even when given. The driver of the bus where it happened thought, he took care of it. Expelled the passenger. Wouldn't take Blake's fare and winked at him in support, when Blake got off. Now what was THAT about???
Our fella Blake, he's different from before! The stay in Parpham got him a lot of time with a psychologist and he's now polite, not reactive, though still simple-minded in many ways. But he accepts tea from Doug the Shopkeeper without thinking it poison. Even is a little worried about the floor he spills on! He's pretty calm, considering... Drugs, maybe??
Doug the Shopkeeper says "your mission" and "Save this town!" Strange things for him to say about Blake...
Someone has discovered a "prophecy" that has to do with our man Blake!? Of course, we have no idea where this prophecy has come from... And can he live up to it? Does he even want to?
I feel a bit sorry for old Blakey; he's had it rough. Mom killed by his old man when he was young, who he had to kill in self-defense... and though he'd gotten to adulthood, every friend and lover he'd ever had has turned him into the coppers or died. He's spent a lot of his time in the loony bin since coming of age...
Kill list = 3
injury list= 14
These numbers are Blake Alone!
October 9, 2013
The is the third in the series set in Mangel, England, where everyone speaks in a very distinctive local dialect and no one ever leaves.
Narrator Royston Blake is just out of the psychiatric hospital, having spent three or four years recovering from an accidental OD on mind-altering drugs. He's been dragooned into taking a job as front-of-house customer-flow manager for a strange new creation--a shopping mall. It's a step down from head doorman (bouncer) at Hoppers wine bar, but since Hoppers as we knew it no longer exists, Blakey doesn't have much choice, especially as he wants to settle down and raise the son he's never seen. The father-son theme is very important in this book, as Blakey strives to fufil his role as a good father and struggles with painful memories of his own father.
Amazingly, the Mangel "old guard" have elected Blakey their saviour. It is he who will rid Mangel of the outsiders who have come in and started introducing unwanted change to the town. The shopping mall isn't the only thing; fast food restaurants serving fries--not chips--are also moving in and taking over. Another bunch also want Blakey to help them with their plans for the mall. He's being pulled in three directions and something's got to give.
Blakey starts out strangely pacifistic. Where once he would have beaten anyone who looked sideways at him, he now initially lets it go. Brain damage or maturity? Only time will tell. Although if you've read Deadfolk or Fags and Lager, you'll probably suspect that once he's back on the streets, it won't be long before Royston is his old self again.
This is a fast-moving story told in a very convincing, one-of-a-kind voice. A lot of people are killed, some very casually, but the skilful use of humour keeps the violence on surreal plane.
The one part I didn't really like was a kind of supernatural, dreamlike scene near the end. I'm not big on supernatural stuff and I found it jarred with the rest, which although surreal, is more down to earth.
Narrator Royston Blake is just out of the psychiatric hospital, having spent three or four years recovering from an accidental OD on mind-altering drugs. He's been dragooned into taking a job as front-of-house customer-flow manager for a strange new creation--a shopping mall. It's a step down from head doorman (bouncer) at Hoppers wine bar, but since Hoppers as we knew it no longer exists, Blakey doesn't have much choice, especially as he wants to settle down and raise the son he's never seen. The father-son theme is very important in this book, as Blakey strives to fufil his role as a good father and struggles with painful memories of his own father.
Amazingly, the Mangel "old guard" have elected Blakey their saviour. It is he who will rid Mangel of the outsiders who have come in and started introducing unwanted change to the town. The shopping mall isn't the only thing; fast food restaurants serving fries--not chips--are also moving in and taking over. Another bunch also want Blakey to help them with their plans for the mall. He's being pulled in three directions and something's got to give.
Blakey starts out strangely pacifistic. Where once he would have beaten anyone who looked sideways at him, he now initially lets it go. Brain damage or maturity? Only time will tell. Although if you've read Deadfolk or Fags and Lager, you'll probably suspect that once he's back on the streets, it won't be long before Royston is his old self again.
This is a fast-moving story told in a very convincing, one-of-a-kind voice. A lot of people are killed, some very casually, but the skilful use of humour keeps the violence on surreal plane.
The one part I didn't really like was a kind of supernatural, dreamlike scene near the end. I'm not big on supernatural stuff and I found it jarred with the rest, which although surreal, is more down to earth.
December 21, 2012
Royston Blake came a little unglued once and had to spend some time in a mental institution, but the doc proclaims him all better now, so he’s on his way back to his home town of Mangel to get his life back together. His plans immediately go awry when his old place of employment, a bar where he worked as the doorman, is gone, and in its place is a gleaming, modern shopping mall. He’s been given another job as doorman, but finds the work is just not the same. To make matters worse, the son he had planned to meet isn’t there, and his ex, Sal, has taken up with someone new and they’re living in Royston’s house. Royston seems to have the town behind him for some reason, though, and he realizes too late that he’s caught in the middle of someone else’s plans that don’t necessarily fit in with his own.
This book is certainly different from most. The story is told in the first person from Royston’s point of view, with the occasional record of a conversation with his psychiatrist to add some clues as to what’s really going on outside his head. It wasn’t hard to follow, but the book was rather abstract, lost in the maze of Royston’s mind, and his take on what’s going on around him is quite often very different from that of anyone else. Sometimes it’s quite amusing, and at others it left me feeling disconnected. The ending is also not what I expected.
Though not a bad read, and I’m certain that some readers will appreciate the unique perspective from its unreliable narrator, I did not find myself overeager to get back to it when I put it down. At the same time, it was not tedious, though it did take a little getting used to the terminology used by a low-level English thug, which was also one of the book’s most charming aspects.
This book is certainly different from most. The story is told in the first person from Royston’s point of view, with the occasional record of a conversation with his psychiatrist to add some clues as to what’s really going on outside his head. It wasn’t hard to follow, but the book was rather abstract, lost in the maze of Royston’s mind, and his take on what’s going on around him is quite often very different from that of anyone else. Sometimes it’s quite amusing, and at others it left me feeling disconnected. The ending is also not what I expected.
Though not a bad read, and I’m certain that some readers will appreciate the unique perspective from its unreliable narrator, I did not find myself overeager to get back to it when I put it down. At the same time, it was not tedious, though it did take a little getting used to the terminology used by a low-level English thug, which was also one of the book’s most charming aspects.
March 28, 2012
Charlie Williams's "King of the Road" takes up where his last novel left off, a few years later when Royston Blake gets out of the Parpham mental institute. Williams, an expert at 1st POV, puts the reader so far inside Royston Blake's head, you clearly follow his thought process and get a clear picture of what's going on, even when he's ignoring comments or people look at him like he's off his blooming rocker. Dark humor had me laughing off and on throughout, and counterbalanced the bleaker points and a certain sad issue (I don't want to give anything away, so I'm mum on what that issue is).
When Royston Blake returns to Mangel after his release, he discovers his town much changed, which he doesn't like and the other residents are pretty pissed off about as well. Even Hoppers, the club where Blake has been head bouncer for most of his adult life, has been torn down and replaced. His doctor and two groups of townspeople all have ideas about what Blake should do, and what he should do for them, but his first concern is meeting the little boy Sal, his old girlfriend, gave birth to while he was locked up in the 'nuthouse'.
I am a Charlie Williams fan, love his quirky characters and off-the-wall plots, and highly recommend this book.
When Royston Blake returns to Mangel after his release, he discovers his town much changed, which he doesn't like and the other residents are pretty pissed off about as well. Even Hoppers, the club where Blake has been head bouncer for most of his adult life, has been torn down and replaced. His doctor and two groups of townspeople all have ideas about what Blake should do, and what he should do for them, but his first concern is meeting the little boy Sal, his old girlfriend, gave birth to while he was locked up in the 'nuthouse'.
I am a Charlie Williams fan, love his quirky characters and off-the-wall plots, and highly recommend this book.
June 2, 2013
I enjoyed this one as part of the larger series. It bogged down a little but was able to fill in a couple blanks and tie up some previous loose ends.
What else can you say about a protagonist who freely commits the most violent of crimes while justifying all his behavior? It says something when the only "redeeming" quality is an official diagnosis of mental instability. That's really the only thread that keeps you from despising him outright.
The books are all written in first person from the perspective of Royston Blake; someone who only knows half of what's going on (if that much). Charlie Williams has a good ability to fill the reader in on the rest of the story through secondary dialog along with the Blake's observations -- even when Blake misses their importance altogether.
In the end Blake finds a way to get out of another jam he didn't even know he was in and Mangel's still left with its greatest former doorman. Through it all readers manage to get another thoroughly enjoyable book in the series.
p.s. Again, don't let the language deter you. I was able to pick up on the slang quite easily. And that's coming from a yank. Cheers.
What else can you say about a protagonist who freely commits the most violent of crimes while justifying all his behavior? It says something when the only "redeeming" quality is an official diagnosis of mental instability. That's really the only thread that keeps you from despising him outright.
The books are all written in first person from the perspective of Royston Blake; someone who only knows half of what's going on (if that much). Charlie Williams has a good ability to fill the reader in on the rest of the story through secondary dialog along with the Blake's observations -- even when Blake misses their importance altogether.
In the end Blake finds a way to get out of another jam he didn't even know he was in and Mangel's still left with its greatest former doorman. Through it all readers manage to get another thoroughly enjoyable book in the series.
p.s. Again, don't let the language deter you. I was able to pick up on the slang quite easily. And that's coming from a yank. Cheers.
November 26, 2009
PROTAGONIST: Royston Blake
SETTING: Mangel, UK
SERIES: #3 in the trilogy
RATING: 3.25
WHY: I fell in love with this series and protagonist from the moment I picked up the first book, Deadfolk. Royston Blake is the former head doorman of Hoppers Bar and Grill. In the last book, he ate some "sweets" which were some kind of drug that landed him in the mental hospital for several years. Now he's out and back to a town that has been changing. For one thing, there's no Hoppers. And secondly, he's a father and anxious to connect with his unseen son. Blakey is so deluded, it's really very funny. But in this book there is too much time spent on his character and not enough in having him actually do anything. I began to tire of his schtick after a while. We do learn more about his influences, but I found my attention lagging for quite a spell in the middle of the book.
SETTING: Mangel, UK
SERIES: #3 in the trilogy
RATING: 3.25
WHY: I fell in love with this series and protagonist from the moment I picked up the first book, Deadfolk. Royston Blake is the former head doorman of Hoppers Bar and Grill. In the last book, he ate some "sweets" which were some kind of drug that landed him in the mental hospital for several years. Now he's out and back to a town that has been changing. For one thing, there's no Hoppers. And secondly, he's a father and anxious to connect with his unseen son. Blakey is so deluded, it's really very funny. But in this book there is too much time spent on his character and not enough in having him actually do anything. I began to tire of his schtick after a while. We do learn more about his influences, but I found my attention lagging for quite a spell in the middle of the book.
July 19, 2013
How does Blake get himself in these situations. Very interesting, and it was nice to see some of the loose ends wrapped up. Of course that leaves us with some new ones to untangle. Looking forward to the next one!
January 15, 2013
Brilliant book. Loved the characters and the stuff Royston gets up to!
July 8, 2012
Not quite up to the standards of the previous books but a good read nevertheless.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews