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Phantom Trucker
C. J. Bulloch cannot wait to ride in his father's big truck, hauling ice cream along the interstate, but the ghost of Warren Cleary, a phantom trucker with a thirst for vengeance, is stalking the highway. Original.
98 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1996
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January 26, 2023
Time for a random read/review. I didn't feel like reading a bunch this week as I'm saving some for later in the year. I needed something this week and I went for something quick. I found this on archive a while back and from title alone I was curious. It's part of the Bullseye Chillers that had a bunch of random kid horror stuff such as Camp Horror and some adaptations of classic stuff. This is from Jason K Friedman who has other credits but it's a generic enough name so I don't know which is the one who did this book.
Goodreads has him doing one other horror book as well being part of an anthology called The Queer South. Hope he's that one. Anyway, our plot centers around CJ Bulloch. His dad is a trucker and usually reports on stuff he does. One day he hears this legend about a truck named Warren Cleary who died while avoiding a kid on the road. Legend states his ghost is still around to find the kid that killed him cuz he didn't wanna kill the kid the first time.
Naturally, CJ starts seeing this guy who he thinks may be Warren, who didn't see what the kid looks like and may be going after any kid he can get. So this is short at only 98 pages so it goes by quick and doesn't waste too much time. That does mean it's not super substianal but it at least keeps up the action, mostly in the latter half.
It's just...fine, though. The writing is kinda clunky, clearly being a bit more for younger kids. It gets better but i likely just got used to it. Characters are a bit odd. CJ is a dick at first to his sister Lulu but he gets better, and is eventually just okay. Lulu is mostly just there, she isn't present for the latter half so there's not much sibling stuff aside from maybe the ending.
Dad is decent but mom is one of the worst I've seen in a while. She just gets a running gag of always watching TV and eating, not paying much attention to anything else. Mom of the year. Warren is a fun villain who gets some amusing moments and is a passable thread. Despite the writing, it can get dark with there being a bloody gash on his face.
There's some people at a truck stop diner that are on. Jason seems to want most to be quirky but doesn't go far enough so they're kinda fun but not quite there. Cowboy Carl is an icon though.
There's a mild psychological element that just leads to a couple dreams that seem to just be that but also tend to be right? It's odd, it just leads to a couple possible fake outs. This was 1996 so maybe there's coat-tail riding there.
Pacing is kinda rushed but it's not slow at least. Things get started quickly and arne't too boring. 3rd act kinda drags, they could have shook it up a bit but there is solid tension and fun there. Also, the truck hauls ice cream but is more like a normal mack track. It's kind of an ice cream truck but not quite, it's weird but it gives us an amazing back tagline: 'Rocky road...".
Overall, it's fine. Nothing great but nothing terrible either. It has some fun but is standard in almost everything. Nothing you need to go out of your way to read but it is passable horror for kids. I'll see how other Bullseye Chillers stack up but this one was ok.
Not my strongest read but it was something. Next we're starting out next Ripoff Round a bit early, hopefully around Sunday. Spinetinglers will be skipped since I did Snow Day already. I hit up the randomizer and with it, we already get to Shivers with one I read a review for that made super interested in it. (My plan is 3 ripoff rounds a year, the others being in the summer and fall but we'll see)
See ya then.
Goodreads has him doing one other horror book as well being part of an anthology called The Queer South. Hope he's that one. Anyway, our plot centers around CJ Bulloch. His dad is a trucker and usually reports on stuff he does. One day he hears this legend about a truck named Warren Cleary who died while avoiding a kid on the road. Legend states his ghost is still around to find the kid that killed him cuz he didn't wanna kill the kid the first time.
Naturally, CJ starts seeing this guy who he thinks may be Warren, who didn't see what the kid looks like and may be going after any kid he can get. So this is short at only 98 pages so it goes by quick and doesn't waste too much time. That does mean it's not super substianal but it at least keeps up the action, mostly in the latter half.
It's just...fine, though. The writing is kinda clunky, clearly being a bit more for younger kids. It gets better but i likely just got used to it. Characters are a bit odd. CJ is a dick at first to his sister Lulu but he gets better, and is eventually just okay. Lulu is mostly just there, she isn't present for the latter half so there's not much sibling stuff aside from maybe the ending.
Dad is decent but mom is one of the worst I've seen in a while. She just gets a running gag of always watching TV and eating, not paying much attention to anything else. Mom of the year. Warren is a fun villain who gets some amusing moments and is a passable thread. Despite the writing, it can get dark with there being a bloody gash on his face.
There's some people at a truck stop diner that are on. Jason seems to want most to be quirky but doesn't go far enough so they're kinda fun but not quite there. Cowboy Carl is an icon though.
There's a mild psychological element that just leads to a couple dreams that seem to just be that but also tend to be right? It's odd, it just leads to a couple possible fake outs. This was 1996 so maybe there's coat-tail riding there.
Pacing is kinda rushed but it's not slow at least. Things get started quickly and arne't too boring. 3rd act kinda drags, they could have shook it up a bit but there is solid tension and fun there. Also, the truck hauls ice cream but is more like a normal mack track. It's kind of an ice cream truck but not quite, it's weird but it gives us an amazing back tagline: 'Rocky road...".
Overall, it's fine. Nothing great but nothing terrible either. It has some fun but is standard in almost everything. Nothing you need to go out of your way to read but it is passable horror for kids. I'll see how other Bullseye Chillers stack up but this one was ok.
Not my strongest read but it was something. Next we're starting out next Ripoff Round a bit early, hopefully around Sunday. Spinetinglers will be skipped since I did Snow Day already. I hit up the randomizer and with it, we already get to Shivers with one I read a review for that made super interested in it. (My plan is 3 ripoff rounds a year, the others being in the summer and fall but we'll see)
See ya then.
Displaying 1 of 1 review