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The Misadventures of a Reluctant Traveller
Tagden Fitts has a problem, besides his name. His sleepwalking self is a traveller; a past-time he would rather avoid and his travels are beginning to take over his life. Destroying any chance of a relationship or career, he spends his life chasing after his own body, dreading the night he will finally wake up in a situation too deep to handle.
310 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2012
18 people want to read
About the author
Dean MacAllister
5 books8 followersDean is a mad traveller. He travels the world looking for new experiences, stories and tries, occasionally successfully, to keep out of trouble. He has done extensive travel through every continent, from Laos to Antarctica, Brazil to Madagascar. He writes travel-fiction and is currently writing his second novel for publishing. He enjoys getting lost, diving, wine, photography and trying something new.
He lives with his wife in Melbourne.
He lives with his wife in Melbourne.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 30, 2013
This will be a short review; I couldn't finish the book.
The Misadventures of a Reluctant Traveller follows Tagden, an Australian who's prone to travelling while sleepwalking. He wakes up on a plane to China, not knowing why or how it happened, and shenanigans ensue.
It's not that Dean MacAllister didn't have a good plot in mind, because there's a lot of potential in this story. But personally, I couldn't get into it.
The story needs professional editing, first of all. There are various misspellings and errors throughout that seriously disrupted the flow of the text. The paragraph structure is a mess. Dialogue is confusing because it's not clear which character is speaking. The passage of time is difficult to track as well. In one sentence Tagden sat on a plane making its landing approach. Then without skipping a beat, the passengers are disembarking.
Furthermore, there's a problem of voice. The first-person narration switches from present to past tense with confusing frequency. The narrator often breaks fourth wall as well. An example: "It gets frustrating buying toiletries every time you sleep-travel." It's like Tag is trying to get the reader to nod in sympathetic agreement.
I'll give this book 3 stars because I think it does have potential to be good. But first it needs work. A lot of work. I felt like I was reading a first draft.
The Misadventures of a Reluctant Traveller follows Tagden, an Australian who's prone to travelling while sleepwalking. He wakes up on a plane to China, not knowing why or how it happened, and shenanigans ensue.
It's not that Dean MacAllister didn't have a good plot in mind, because there's a lot of potential in this story. But personally, I couldn't get into it.
The story needs professional editing, first of all. There are various misspellings and errors throughout that seriously disrupted the flow of the text. The paragraph structure is a mess. Dialogue is confusing because it's not clear which character is speaking. The passage of time is difficult to track as well. In one sentence Tagden sat on a plane making its landing approach. Then without skipping a beat, the passengers are disembarking.
Furthermore, there's a problem of voice. The first-person narration switches from present to past tense with confusing frequency. The narrator often breaks fourth wall as well. An example: "It gets frustrating buying toiletries every time you sleep-travel." It's like Tag is trying to get the reader to nod in sympathetic agreement.
I'll give this book 3 stars because I think it does have potential to be good. But first it needs work. A lot of work. I felt like I was reading a first draft.
dnf
August 3, 2013Sigh, I couldn't finish this book. I couldn't get past the 40%.
Why?
Well, because
The conversations are lame
the idea is really good, but the plot sucks
His writing style is funny and good, but very cheesy
Dean is stereotyped
Oh, Dean, Turkish people are not Arabs. Half of them are not even Muslims. I know you didn't say that directly, but you implied.
Oh, I think you can let go of your stereotypes towards American people too.
There's nothing I hate more than stereotype and prejudice.
Yeah, so this is about it.
Why?
Well, because
The conversations are lame
the idea is really good, but the plot sucks
His writing style is funny and good, but very cheesy
Dean is stereotyped
Oh, Dean, Turkish people are not Arabs. Half of them are not even Muslims. I know you didn't say that directly, but you implied.
Oh, I think you can let go of your stereotypes towards American people too.
There's nothing I hate more than stereotype and prejudice.
Yeah, so this is about it.
May 5, 2013
The story has potential, but this version I was given to review read like a rough as opposed to a final draft. I wouldn't have finished it had I not agreed to review it through the Shut Up and Read group on Goodreads. Mr. MacAllister needs to get somebody to do a decent edit on his endless spelling, syntax, grammar, punctuation, consistency and logic errors. These many issues got in the way of trying to enjoy what was good about the story. There are areas that were too sparse while others had too much filler. There are areas where I question if they were plausible. I wonder if he did any actual research on embassies, travel issues and government agencies because none of that seemed believable. I don't want to discourage him from continuing to write, but he needs to develop contacts via writing groups and editors that will help him polish his skills. Based on other stories of dual personalities, why not lock up his night version so that version can't easily cause trouble? Was this a personality disorder or something else? Basics weren't even clear and explained. I can't recommend this book in its current form to anybody when instead of waists the people had wastes in their body middles. The most basic spelling grammar/checker word processor would have caught that. That's inexcusably lazy. Please edit this properly before you try to sell this. The imagination is there. The mechanics aren't.
April 29, 2013
I received this book as a giveaway.
The book started out with a very intriguing plot where a man sleeps and a character he calls "himself" or "he" takes over his body. the story started with the main character waking up and finding himself on a plane. He doesnt know where he is going or why and has to figure out what "himself" has gotten him into this time. I thoroughly enjoyed the book until, however, somewhere around the middle.
The whole trek to Iceland where the main action for several chapters was the main character getting drunk and wasted on hallucinating drugs still has me perplexed. I feel this section was put in as filler and felt slighted because it really took away from the story. People are looking for him and he's spending weeks getting drunk. And where was "himself" during this time?
I think the book started well and had lots of potential but somehow failed to live up to it. The comic inserts throughout the book were good but I felt it went downhill somewhere in the middle and tried to get over that hump which makes it a good book but I feel that intention was never quite met. It was starting to get midway over the hump when it was abruptly over.
The book started out with a very intriguing plot where a man sleeps and a character he calls "himself" or "he" takes over his body. the story started with the main character waking up and finding himself on a plane. He doesnt know where he is going or why and has to figure out what "himself" has gotten him into this time. I thoroughly enjoyed the book until, however, somewhere around the middle.
The whole trek to Iceland where the main action for several chapters was the main character getting drunk and wasted on hallucinating drugs still has me perplexed. I feel this section was put in as filler and felt slighted because it really took away from the story. People are looking for him and he's spending weeks getting drunk. And where was "himself" during this time?
I think the book started well and had lots of potential but somehow failed to live up to it. The comic inserts throughout the book were good but I felt it went downhill somewhere in the middle and tried to get over that hump which makes it a good book but I feel that intention was never quite met. It was starting to get midway over the hump when it was abruptly over.
October 5, 2018
The title and cover drew me into requesting this book for review. The premise sounded interesting and very promising.
The reality was someting completely different. The minute I started reading it felt as if I was stuck in one of those awful 80's movies that made abselutely no sense. I kept hoping that things will get better, but what followed was a dizzying cast of characters that had no depth or meaning and a story line that was flapping all over the place.
To make matters worse this book ended on a cliffhanger, sigh, so there is probably going to be another one. Sigh even harder.
Some people will absolutely love this book, it has no rhyme or reason, it's so improbable it will make your hair stand on end. But maybe, just maybe, if you want some mindless entertainment, then maybe this would possibly be the book for you?
Thank you to Booksprout for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
The reality was someting completely different. The minute I started reading it felt as if I was stuck in one of those awful 80's movies that made abselutely no sense. I kept hoping that things will get better, but what followed was a dizzying cast of characters that had no depth or meaning and a story line that was flapping all over the place.
To make matters worse this book ended on a cliffhanger, sigh, so there is probably going to be another one. Sigh even harder.
Some people will absolutely love this book, it has no rhyme or reason, it's so improbable it will make your hair stand on end. But maybe, just maybe, if you want some mindless entertainment, then maybe this would possibly be the book for you?
Thank you to Booksprout for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
March 12, 2013
Ah, the secret lives we dream of. The entire premise of this story fascinated me. The Misadventures of a Reluctant Traveller is a delightfully twisted, ironically amusing, mysterious tale surrounded by the adventures of one of the luckiest, unlucky men on the face of the earth. A man in possession of himself, or should I say, Himself in possession of him?
The title alone caught my immediate attention. I was completely sucked in by the end of chapter two, and had to pry myself away from the book near the middle only because my bad eyes were in dire need of a break. The banter between MacAllister's kaleidoscope of quirky characters moves you effortlessly through the pages and around the globe, all the way to the "things that make you go...hmmm" finale.
I gave four stars on its entertainment value alone. It could benefit from a little more proofreading and some editing, but since the story drew actual laughter out of me more than once, I could easily overlook the minor flaws. I certainly hope we can expect more from Dean MacAllister in the future.
The title alone caught my immediate attention. I was completely sucked in by the end of chapter two, and had to pry myself away from the book near the middle only because my bad eyes were in dire need of a break. The banter between MacAllister's kaleidoscope of quirky characters moves you effortlessly through the pages and around the globe, all the way to the "things that make you go...hmmm" finale.
I gave four stars on its entertainment value alone. It could benefit from a little more proofreading and some editing, but since the story drew actual laughter out of me more than once, I could easily overlook the minor flaws. I certainly hope we can expect more from Dean MacAllister in the future.
April 24, 2013
I have to say that this was a throughly enjoyable read. The storyline was so brilliant and intriguing. The style of writing was great and how the author referred to the sleep-walking Tag as He or Himself. I particularly like the humour that was present throughout the book, particurlary page 106, aswell as Tags ramblings in the desert. Tag was such a great character, as were his side-kicks that would drop everything to help him out. I'm sure so many people can relate to these insomniacs.
I have to admit though, I knew what was going to happen at the end when on the plane, but it still didn't spoil it for me.
All in all, an excellent book that I would definetly recommend worth a read.
I have to admit though, I knew what was going to happen at the end when on the plane, but it still didn't spoil it for me.
All in all, an excellent book that I would definetly recommend worth a read.
September 25, 2018
What a unique story! Pour Tag just cant catch a break. What would you do if you not only sleepwalked but sleep travelled? Woke up in a plane with no clue where you are headed, where you will stay and without your shampoo! Tag is a wonderful character and the tone of the book is great. It combined my favorite things: a unique plot, fabulous characters and unusual adventure. A surprisingly good read!
Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
October 4, 2018
Tagden Fitts sleep travels and he never knows where he will end up who he will meet, and what will happen. For me some of the book was good and some lagged. There were also many spelling errors which was annoying.
** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
October 1, 2018
He sleepwalks and ends up in different places. Places he did not want to go to. He is worried he will get into a situation which he will not be able to get out of. See how he gets on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 6, 2021
Book is full of stereotypes & apparently wasn't even proofread.
February 6, 2021
Tried to read this but couldn't finish it. It's full of errors in formatting, punctuation, grammar... Next time you write a book please spell-check and grammar-check before it gets printed!
April 7, 2024
1-star reviews are accounts which have repeated the rating.
March 21, 2013
Cover Page : The physical appearance is one of those books which would be kept across a shelve of Fiction and you end up skimming through the pages of this book because of the unusual cover page. When I saw the cover page , I was like, 'Oh ! Its a memoir of a traveler !'. But it was a entirely different concept.
Writing Style : The style was, right, quite twisted with just the right kind of words used everywhere. Though, I wouldn't say, the writing was an engrossing one.
Book : The plot was quite a unique one which no reader would have imagined. It'a all about a personality disorder and sleep disorder which is one of the main concepts. The author takes us through all the basics of the main characters life, a brief glimpse of his friends would also play a crucial role and had fulfilled all the details required, kept it as long and as short as it was required, that most authors of today's modern English industry, fail.
Then there were actually several characters which could have given more details about, a para or two, more exaggeration done for the thrilling occasions so that, it really holds the reader up to what just had happened. The book was fast paced at only some of the events but had been very slow too at insignificant places.
Writing Style : The style was, right, quite twisted with just the right kind of words used everywhere. Though, I wouldn't say, the writing was an engrossing one.
Book : The plot was quite a unique one which no reader would have imagined. It'a all about a personality disorder and sleep disorder which is one of the main concepts. The author takes us through all the basics of the main characters life, a brief glimpse of his friends would also play a crucial role and had fulfilled all the details required, kept it as long and as short as it was required, that most authors of today's modern English industry, fail.
Then there were actually several characters which could have given more details about, a para or two, more exaggeration done for the thrilling occasions so that, it really holds the reader up to what just had happened. The book was fast paced at only some of the events but had been very slow too at insignificant places.
June 5, 2013
I am going to start with what I found negative with this book only because that list is much shorter than the positive list. This book would have been flawless in my opinion if more time was spent on the layout and editing of simple grammar. Other than that, this was a unique story unlike anything else that I have ever read in the past. I never knew what was coming next in the life story of Tag. Tag lives two life’s; his own and Himself when he is sleep-traveling. The Misadventures of a Reluctant Traveller follows the harsh life that Tag must live in due to his sleep-traveling self. The book leaves you wondering what in the world is going to happen next in the life of Tagden Fitts and if there is a second book in the works. While reading this book was slightly difficult task for the English major within me, it was a fantastic story line and could defiantly be taken further if Dean so wishes. My rating 3 ½ stars!
May 4, 2013
*****Spoiler Alert ****
This was a Read It and Reap from Shut Up and Read. I got sucked into this story. It's different and interesting. Until I got to the end, then I was yelling. I am hoping its because there will be a second book. Can you say Cliff Hanger?
This was a Read It and Reap from Shut Up and Read. I got sucked into this story. It's different and interesting. Until I got to the end, then I was yelling. I am hoping its because there will be a second book. Can you say Cliff Hanger?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews