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Diary of the Displaced #1–3 omnibus

Diary of the Displaced - Omnibus

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The Omnibus Edition of Books 1-3

There is a place where nightmares are real. It is a dark and terrifying place, hidden from the world we know by borders that
only the most unfortunate of souls will ever cross.

James Halldon woke up in the dark, alone, without any food or water, without a clue where he was, and with no memory of where he came from.

It only got stranger.

James has somehow found his way to The Corridor, a midnight place that no human should ever see and the prison of a creature
that has destroyed entire worlds. Somehow James has to learn to survive.

But he is not alone. The lost souls of others who have drifted into The Corridor, and died, also haunt this world, and they

have been waiting a long time for someone to come along.

The Journal of James Halldon is a dark sci-fi novel that follows Halldon's struggle to survive whilst trying to understand

the strange, dark, and terrifying world in which he is trapped.

If it's dark when you wake up, and you can hear growling, then close your eyes and maybe it will go away.

But maybe it won't...

570 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2011

79 people are currently reading
360 people want to read

About the author

Glynn James

92 books477 followers
GLYNN JAMES is an author of science fiction, post-apocalyptic, dark fantasy, horror, and dystopian fiction. His love of science fiction began when he was eight years old after discovering HP Lovecraft and Richard Matheson, and then later on Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, James Herbert, Clive Barker, and Stephen King.

In addition to being author of the “ALTERLIGHT” supernatural mystery thriller series, he is author of the dark sci-fi series "DIARY OF THE DISPLACED", the post-apocalyptic "THROWN AWAY" series, and co-author of the "ARISEN" series and the “DUSTFALL” series.

More info on his writing and projects can be found at -
Website - www.glynnjames.co.uk
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/glynnjamesfi...
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/GlynnJames

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Community Reviews

5 stars
113 (39%)
4 stars
83 (29%)
3 stars
60 (21%)
2 stars
19 (6%)
1 star
9 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Debbie.
355 reviews10 followers
June 4, 2013
Great reading that I found tough to put down. All three books are written in first person POV, which is extremely well done. Poor James starts his story with no memory of much past his name. The reader learns as he does, through all three books. It's quite an adventure, full of strange places, unexpected humor, and endearing characters. Scary characters, too. The four-legged characters were especially amazing. While there are elements of more than one genre here, overall it fits best in fantasy. I loved the mix, though - James can open a portal to another world with a talisman and willpower, but needs charged batteries for his guns.

Fun to read, from first page to last.
Profile Image for Jason Cornelius.
73 reviews3 followers
March 31, 2018
Started strong but got bored

I really enjoyed the first half of this. Then something happened and I found it becoming a bit of a chore to read. I don't know why. The story was strong. I ended up listening to the last 30% via audiobook on double speed just to get it finished quickly.
Again, the story and concept was good, but just maybe not my cup of tea.
Profile Image for Daniel J. Weber.
Author 4 books8 followers
June 14, 2013
[Full Review at http://digerbop.ca/2013/06/diary-of-t...]

The Good:

Diary of the Displaced – Omnibus is a collection of the first three books in the DoD series, and it seems like Glynn James is off to a great start. The book opens with a guy who is lost in a dark world and must find a way to survive, battling starvation and the strange creatures of this land he finds himself in. The first half of The Journey of James Halldon (book one of the omnibus) does a great job at describing this struggle through the journal entry style. When reading it truly feels like I am James Halldon, recounting the events of the previous day as I write my journal entry. Often times the reader is brought out of the action as James says things like “and how I found time to write this journal entry, I’ll never know” or “and now I sit to write this journal entry.” This narrative style, though it seemingly breaks up the action, puts a fresh twist on the POV that maybe James feel like a real character who is actually writing about his experiences.

A big question I had by only a few “days” into the book was, “I wonder how Glynn James will tackle dialogue in this narrative style?” I couldn’t conceivable see a way to maintain the out-of-body-diary-writing format while dealing with dialogue. By about half way through The Journey of James Halldon, the reader is introduced to another character, thus dialogue ensues. Unfortunately, Glynn James dealt with the dialogue in the regular “put in in quotes” fashion, thus taking away from the diary narrative style a bit. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and does not take away from the book in any way, but I, personally, was hoping to see some innovation when it comes to dealing with dialogue and heavy action scenes to make the whole book carry on the definitive and distinct narrative style that the tale starts out in. One thing that I loved concerning this was when a character had to tell a story. Instead of the story being a series of paragraphs in dry dialogue, Glynn James starts a new chapter entiteled “Adler’s Tale” or something of the like. The POV then changes to the “diary” of this other character, and they retell their tale. This kept with the “diary” style nicely, and I applaud the author for this unique and intriguing narrative mechanic.

I found that Glynn James not only had a good handle on how to keep the action moving, but he did an excellent job at keeping the dialogue fresh and exciting. I enjoyed some of the subtle humour that was employed, and found James Halldon’s internal monologue about the scene added nicely to this. Such monologue also allowed for great character development of Halldon, who is telling a story of self-discovery (having lost his memory and all) just as much as survival.

I was a little concerned when reading the Omnibus that it would simply be a case of “this should just have been one book,” especially when I was almost half way through the Omnibus and hadn’t finished the first book, seeing no conceivable conclusion in the near future. I was, however, pleasantly rewarded with a definite ending to the first book leaving room for more questions to be answered as the series continued, but also giving be a sense of completion plot-wise. The style of the storytelling and even genre of the book changes a lot as the Omnibus progresses into the second and third books of the series. The first book (especially the first half) tells a nice survival/horror tale (if horror can be “nice”) with elements of fantasy thrown in. The second and third books hold to a more standard third person narrative style and move away from survival into a dark fantasy/sci-fi genre.

The Bad:

First things first. Why are there three books? The Broken Lands and The Ways should really have been one book. Though the first book has a nice conclusion, the second does not. Also, the first book is as long as the second and third put together. The Broken Lands ends on a cliff hanger, which isn’t bad in itself, but a cliff hanger is not synonymous with, “I didn’t conclude the plot at all guys! Stay tuned!” From hence forth I will consider The Broken Lands and The Way to be one entity, because they just make more sense that way.

Book 2-3 moves much quicker than book one, which is not bad in and of itself. It fits well with the narrative style and genre shifts, but it is implemented in a way that make the story feel rushed. Book one introduced concepts/people/places in a well paced manner, but book 2-3 does not. Everything moves so fast and new concepts/places/people are introduce so quickly that it can be difficult to keep track of everything at times. I say “at times” because it does not detract from the book a whole lot and I only felt that as a whole the pacing seemed a bit off, though nothing specific stood out while I was reading it. If Glynn James spent more time explaining or using these new concepts that were introduced, I feel like it would have flowed better (and added more words to read, which is never a bad thing… well, I shouldn’t say never. Words just for the sake of words is a bad thing). Even in the final chapters (days) of the book there were concepts set up/explained that felt rather shoved in just to tie up loose ends or aid the plot and/or questions the reader might still have.

One minor gripe I have is that there are two “ghost” characters that to me felt like the same “person.” When one or the other were talking/doing things (omitting their separate introductions) there was no reason to make any distinction. Glynn James could have said “one of the ghosts” and been set. In fact, once both characters are in the story, they mostly remain together leaving absolutely no reason to differentiate them.

However, this minor gripe leads into a bigger issue. Though the character of James Halldon was well done… no one else’s was. Every other character felt distinctly like a “side character” so much so that I had no reason to distinguish one from another or care about them, their story, or motivations individually. Basically James Halldon has a mission and the story revolves around that so exclusively that nothing else is really important. The exception to this is James family who the reader is only interested in because they have a connection to Halldon.

A few spelling/grammar errors take the polished feel away from this work, but nothing too major stands in the way of the reader, and the errors are few and far between. An interesting stylized “error” is dropping the person pronoun I/me from the beginning of sentences. At the beginning I thought this to be strange, resulting in many fragments, but as the story progressed I found out that this is Glynn James writing style, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is seeming on purpose and works well mostly, only rarely making paragraphs feel disjointed.

Conclusion:

Glynn James paints a beautiful dark fantasy world that any horror or fantasy fan will feel right at home in. There are still enough questions unanswered at the end leaving room for side books / sequels, but the story does have a definite and satisfying conclusion. I do feel that these books should be read together as an Omnibus and not individually as they play off of each other in a brilliant way that I feel would be lost if read on their own. The first book can easily be read as a separate entity, but book 2-3 demands that you read the first and does not work on its on. Overall a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed. As a side note, not only are all works of Glynn James DRM-free, but I have heard from him personally that he considers himself a “DRM hater.” Amen to that.
Profile Image for Amy.
32 reviews
June 21, 2018
Slug-things, lizard cats & zombies... Seriously?

Actually it works. It's hard to describe the mood of the book. It's not serious, but OTOH, not tongue-in-cheek, not a satire or comedy.

The story is imaginative and fun. The gore isn't too gory. At some point the dilemmas became repetitive. The characters & scenarios were still inventive, but to me, the action began to feel tiresome.

When I looked up the title, I was surprised to see that the series is now up to 6 books. I don't plan to go beyond the 3-book Omnibus. I got the $0.99 Kindle/$1.99 Audible deal & don't recommend spending more. Good listen for running.
2,641 reviews12 followers
October 4, 2021
Dystopian Armageddon!

In the universal battle of good versus evil, there exists a dark corridor; a tunnel world of evil where James must survive and rediscover his identity. It is full of odds and ends of trash and civilization as well as terrifying creatures. He must find a way to escape. There must be a door somewhere…

This is an excellent trilogy. It is hard to decide if it is sci-fi or paranormal but I liked it. There is plenty of action, intrigue, and plot twists. I definitely was not ready for the story to end when it did and I'm ready for the next book in the series so I can see what happens next.
Profile Image for Ami.
2,387 reviews13 followers
March 19, 2018
Glynn James' incredible imagination never let up throughout the wild ride that is Diary of the Displaced. It is the most unusual apocalyptic tale I have ever read. And I have read many. It is well written and the characters are amazing creations. I highly recommend it.
27 reviews3 followers
February 9, 2024
Bien escrito y entretenido, pero complicado de visualizar. Una pesadilla que me recordaba a Hell Raiser en algunos momentos con toques de Silent Hill. Muy negro y deprimente. Muy infierno del Bosco. No me apetece continuar con la serie.
Profile Image for Dara.
1 review
June 3, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of this book. I cannot wait to read the next one in the series.
Profile Image for Chris Williams.
3 reviews1 follower
March 24, 2019
Good series

I recommend this series to all. I am looking forward to reading the rest. Take a chance and find this new world.
Profile Image for Julie Powell.
Author 72 books323 followers
September 23, 2019
Loved it all! I've reviewed each part separately. A compelling and well-written series with great characters and atmosphere.

Highly recommended.
Profile Image for David Foster.
Author 2 books2 followers
August 21, 2014
I almost never give something five stars, but all three books in this series deserve it. The sheer imagination that the author brings to this series is humbling. He isn't just sticking random things in there to distract the reader, or to look original. Everything in this strange, fascinating world hangs together, makes sense, and works as part of a complex and involving world.

The fact that the series starts out with a main character thrust into this intensely complex, and confusing world without any memory of his past makes all three of the books contained within this omnibus edition fascinating. As a reader, you are treated to the experience of walking right alongside the main character as he, like you, begins his journey knowing nothing of what is going on and slowly begins to learn what is happening and to recover what is lost.

The fascinating journey continues right through the third book, as you continue to peel back the layers of the setting and characters that the author has designed for your entertainment. It's a ride you just can't get off of, as each time you start feeling sleepy and thinking it's time to put the book down for the night, you'll come across one of those "Oh my God, it's what?" moments, and feel compelled to continue.

It's been a long, long time since I got this much thought and entertainment out of $6. Congratulations, Mr. James.
Profile Image for James Groenestein.
101 reviews5 followers
June 19, 2016
Having had this book set in my kindle library for a couple of years now, I thought it was time to finally read it.

I'm glad I did!

What a story Glynn has created! A fantastic line up of characters, descriptive places and beings.

I assumed that this would be your typical zombie story....how wrong was I!
Meet James Halldon, a guy who has woken up not knowing who or where he is! Now throw in a "dog" that's more like a leopard, zombies and their leader, Cutterjack!
Now you have the basics, add in to friendly ghosts a series of flashbacks and the realisation of who he and what his purpose is and you have a complete story!

This series should be made in to a film/TV series it's that good.

I do hope the epilogue at the end is turned in to a future story too!
Profile Image for Gina.
19 reviews
May 20, 2013
Oh, wow. When I started this book I had no idea where it would lead, but it sure grabbed my attention from the beginning. I don't want to do one of those reviews that gives away the story, because I think part of my enjoyment of this terrific tale was being amazed at what was unfolding before me. I was lucky enough to get this one for free and just randomly picked it up to read after I finished The Hobbit. I'm so glad I did. In my opinion, this one is more than worth the asking price, and I will definitely be going for the other books in this series.
Profile Image for Mark Corcoran.
37 reviews
December 16, 2016
A man awakens in a strange place with no memories of who he is or how he got there. Forced to survive by entering into unlikely alliances and friendships, the man fights through bizarre and dangerous challenges in the alien world. The story takes a while to get going and once it does it continues to be somewhat confusing due to the shifting storyline and setting. While very unique and certainly interesting enough, I feel like I've experienced enough of the story after reading the omnibus edition (first three books).
Profile Image for Shawn Powell.
80 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2013
At first I thought, oh brother not another zombie book. But boy am I glad I kept reading! Yes, there are zombie-like creatures, but this story is not about them. I can honestly say that this book was unlike any I have read before. It was creepy and scary and exciting and endearing...and I couldn't put it down! I especially loved DogThing. I hope there are more books coming in this series because I am a big fan!
Profile Image for Jackie Bosley.
7 reviews1 follower
May 5, 2015
Different and entertaining

A different idea and wonderfully written. At first I was not sure what to think of this story. Zombies are a bit overdone these days, but this turned out to be a different take on it completely. The characters, creatures and places are truly enjoyable. The story did not drag out like some, while having plenty of descriptions it was not overdone just to make it longer. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Elaine Miller.
33 reviews
December 20, 2013
Portals to other worlds, zombies, ghosts, monsters and talking dogs, this book had a little bit of everything. Very entertaining read.

Part 1 is currently free on Amazon, definitely worth checking out.
30 reviews
May 3, 2015
Wonderful story...

This must be a classic work of fiction that I have never heard of. It would be difficult to think of a story told in richer and more interesting detail than this. I loved it.
152 reviews2 followers
May 15, 2015
Unbelievable

This was incredibly unique. I've read more than my share of science fiction with world hopping and mystical beings, but this one is spectacularly unique. I love it! Is the next book already in existence?
Profile Image for Rachel.
113 reviews1 follower
October 29, 2017
Amusing and well-written. Suspenseful, but not overly heavy. I am sure I will be looking up more books by this author.
Profile Image for Flosi.
191 reviews
November 28, 2013
At first I thought that I was reading something similar to "Dante's I fermi", but eventually the story-line bece. Leader. "Diary" is a wild and scary book

Profile Image for Michelle.
2 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2013
Very interesting, can't wait for the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Dawn.
126 reviews2 followers
August 19, 2015
This was such a great read! I can't wait to read more from Flynn James!
Profile Image for Reba A Walker Walker.
18 reviews2 followers
June 30, 2015
Good read!

It's been a long time since I found a really good book that has held my attention like this one. Try it for yourself. You won't be disappointed.
17 reviews
December 24, 2015
Hellva. Of a good read!!

I thoroughly enjoyed these books. They are diverse in that there are all kinds of monsters and scenario s to read about.
Profile Image for Larry.
428 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2016
3.5. Read the omnibus. there is no way I would have looked for book 2 if I had to wait for it. The 3 books make a satisfying novel.
Profile Image for Amber Guyton-Baran.
72 reviews5 followers
Want to read
April 25, 2017
I am not up to listening to this book right now so it will have to wait (though I have been assured the "zombies" are not what they appear to be - I hate zombies).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews

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