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The Unhappy Medium #3
Wretched Things
Newton Barlow and the Purgatorians are back!Nearly a year into his new Purgatorian life, Dr. Newton Barlow is still none the wiser about life, death, and the meaning of everything. Distracted in the present and haunted by the past, a mission goes horribly wrong, forcing Newton to lay low and wait for the dust to clear.
Sent to Crete on gardening leave with his girlfriend and daughter, Newton’s restlessness sends him off on a local mission that leads him into a baffling underworld packed with murderous academics, bloodthirsty living legends, and shocking, impossible truths.
Is Dr Barlow about to dig too deep into the bizarre Purgatorian universe?
Wretched Things is the long-awaited addition to The Unhappy Medium saga of Dr. Newton Barlow, a rational man adrift in an irrational universe. Thrilling, chilling, and utterly hilarious, Wretched Things delivers a roller coaster ride through history, mythology and the terrifying consequences of wishful thinking.
Advance reader reviews.
"Love this book! Funny and intelligent, with enough clues to make you think you know what is happening, then makes you think again! The Great premise of these books (this is the third one) is that the paranormal is, well, normal but hidden most of the time. Newton Barlow’s job is to be the policeman and keep all the bad guys in Purgatory. Well written and paced, with great characters, both alive and dead, to either cheer, boo, or laugh at. My favourite in this book is Enrico Pescatore, the ex-pirate; look him up. He was real, along with most of the protagonists. I can’t recommend this highly enough. Buy it, but also read the first two to get the full enjoyment out of this one. I hope there will be many more; there is definitely scope for an expanding universe; it only needs the author to give up his day job to flesh it out!"
"How wonderful to finally have Newton Barlow back in my life! I’ve waited a long time for this book, and I wasn’t disappointed.
A rip-roaring tale from start to finish, with the usual cock ups from Barlow and Bennett to meeting a whole host of new, and frankly horrendous, baddies out to rule the world. I absolutely loved this book; it has everything you need, from Purgatorian priests with guns to a Neanderthal with a heart of gold, and it keeps the laughs going all the way. If you like supernatural shenanigans and tales of heroes long gone, then this is the book for you.
You’ll never look at the ancient world in the same way again!"
"The hapless Newton Barlow’s misadventures continue in the third book of the series. Assigned to rest and relaxation, trouble nevertheless manages to find him. With necromancers around, it’s hard to keep a dead man down, and a jailbreak, a kidnapping, and a chase make for a plot that’s a wild ride. The premise is fun, the characters are endearing, and the plot twists are not the kind of thing that I would have seen coming. It’s clever, funny, and original, and I recommend it."
Sent to Crete on gardening leave with his girlfriend and daughter, Newton’s restlessness sends him off on a local mission that leads him into a baffling underworld packed with murderous academics, bloodthirsty living legends, and shocking, impossible truths.
Is Dr Barlow about to dig too deep into the bizarre Purgatorian universe?
Wretched Things is the long-awaited addition to The Unhappy Medium saga of Dr. Newton Barlow, a rational man adrift in an irrational universe. Thrilling, chilling, and utterly hilarious, Wretched Things delivers a roller coaster ride through history, mythology and the terrifying consequences of wishful thinking.
Advance reader reviews.
"Love this book! Funny and intelligent, with enough clues to make you think you know what is happening, then makes you think again! The Great premise of these books (this is the third one) is that the paranormal is, well, normal but hidden most of the time. Newton Barlow’s job is to be the policeman and keep all the bad guys in Purgatory. Well written and paced, with great characters, both alive and dead, to either cheer, boo, or laugh at. My favourite in this book is Enrico Pescatore, the ex-pirate; look him up. He was real, along with most of the protagonists. I can’t recommend this highly enough. Buy it, but also read the first two to get the full enjoyment out of this one. I hope there will be many more; there is definitely scope for an expanding universe; it only needs the author to give up his day job to flesh it out!"
"How wonderful to finally have Newton Barlow back in my life! I’ve waited a long time for this book, and I wasn’t disappointed.
A rip-roaring tale from start to finish, with the usual cock ups from Barlow and Bennett to meeting a whole host of new, and frankly horrendous, baddies out to rule the world. I absolutely loved this book; it has everything you need, from Purgatorian priests with guns to a Neanderthal with a heart of gold, and it keeps the laughs going all the way. If you like supernatural shenanigans and tales of heroes long gone, then this is the book for you.
You’ll never look at the ancient world in the same way again!"
"The hapless Newton Barlow’s misadventures continue in the third book of the series. Assigned to rest and relaxation, trouble nevertheless manages to find him. With necromancers around, it’s hard to keep a dead man down, and a jailbreak, a kidnapping, and a chase make for a plot that’s a wild ride. The premise is fun, the characters are endearing, and the plot twists are not the kind of thing that I would have seen coming. It’s clever, funny, and original, and I recommend it."
468 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 24, 2024
136 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
T.J. Brown
5 books67 followersT J Brown was born in Dorset during the 1960s but was too young to realise how good the decade was meant to be. Instead, he had to make do with the 1970s, which only became interesting towards the end when many, Brown included, started wearing charity-shop clothes and swearing. Conscription into arts school was at this time mandatory and as a result Brown found himself reading German literature, creating miserable paintings and performing music that in retrospect, and at the time, was dreadful.
After three lost years at art school Brown moved to London to begin five lost years on the margins of the capital’s fashionable underbelly. After all that, a career in publishing almost came as a relief. And so, after many years producing illustrated books on astronomy and aviation, Brown returned to his love of comic writing.
He lives in Kent, dangerously close to two pubs.
After three lost years at art school Brown moved to London to begin five lost years on the margins of the capital’s fashionable underbelly. After all that, a career in publishing almost came as a relief. And so, after many years producing illustrated books on astronomy and aviation, Brown returned to his love of comic writing.
He lives in Kent, dangerously close to two pubs.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 28, 2024
I’m unhappy for a good reason. I take comfort in that.
Though it pains me to say … and here I am more than willing to give out a rousing shout of ‘Arggghhhhhhh! My plums!’ for good measure and shared suffering (though I'm not sure why the author chose to capitalize plums) … T.J.Brown's wildly anticipated "The Unhappy Medium 3: Wretched Things: A Supernatural Comedy" wound up not meeting my lofty expectations. I appreciate that the author took a lot of risks in this story and that includes taking we the readers as well as his cast of dozens out of their usual comfort zones. However, there were too many factors that I either felt dragged the story down or distracted from what should have been a great deal of time LOL'ing and whatever other joyous acronyms would apply. Let's see then how much more confusion I can add to the proceedings with my own rambling incantations over the next several paragraphs.
I nearly know the truth about life, death and the meaning of everything, or lack thereof.
Though to start off on a positive note or two: the best of this tale continued to be the wonderful motley crew Brown has assembled, as crews such as these are often referred to as, of the local branch of Purgatorians and even their management team. Long-suffering (really, it doesn't work to say "suffering-for-about-a-half-year-now-next-Thursday") Dr. Newton Barlow, former man of science, is naturally still the focus of all things great and small that occur which seem to be drawn to him like moths to whatever means of luminous suicide they choose at any given time. If you haven't guessed by now, Newton is indeed our "Unhappy Medium" as he continues to try to fit all he's learned from his recent exploits into a nicely wrapped box full of science, logic, and other relaxing algorithmical exploits that can absorbed by any means necessary into his cranial matter.
This was the second time that Newton had not been dead in two days.
Needless to say, though it needs saying, a lot of this story then deals with Newton finding out that once it's all said and done - and it may be done well before any of us were hoping it would be - it really doesn't matter. Life around Newton thus "often resembled a vet approaching the rear end of a honey badger with a thermometer" and that's just during the good times. Still, he along with his ever trusty partner (in work), the Reverend Bennet, as well as Viv (partner in nudge nudge), Gabby (daughter), Eric the protocol-loving anal-retentive Greek ("Ignorance is not just bliss; it’s company policy.") and even the Bonetaker are in for quite a ride, be it by land, air, or sea. Along the way then we add several Greeks, Russians, and even a Frenchman for good measure to the playing field. It gets definitely wacky!
The adventures. The mysteries. The action! Being a Purgatorian. Why, it’s enormous fun.
I have to say though, I never thought I'd admit this about anything that takes place south of Hadrian's Wall - which I feel is more than sporting to say in terms of choosing a fair split in the local landscape - but I found myself truly missing being in Britain which in the first two installments has proven to be such an intricate part of, well, everything and everyone! Still, our story does start out in the land of my own ancestors, namely, Wales (no H included smartasses!) and Brown does at least draw our attention to point(s) of interest. That is, before our action-focused dynamic duo manage to muck everything up royally and set us up for even more shenanigans in the coming chapters. From there though, I have to admit that I was less than enamored (does that have a 'u' in it in English English?) with the locales chosen for our merry band to ply their trade. And by "plying their trade", I mean finding ways to be captured, punched, kicked and nearly killed in many, MANY ways.
His dislike of philosophy was up there with yoga, line-dancing and colonic irrigation.
I mean, I don't think that the change in scenery did not not work. Um, change good is what I'm trying to convey. I just don't think the crew assembled really gelled quite as much as it could have. Yes, yes, yes, I get what we were trying to achieve with all the various historical cretins and cryptids throughout time and a lot of nasty human history. But it just didn't manage to achieve the charm or gravitas if you will of having a right good show-down with the bad guys then popping out for a pint and/or a curry afterwards. Still, you have to admire the author's intent to throw a metaphorical wrench into things and see how it all worked out. Considering that by his own admission, a lot of this was written down before the brutal invasion by Russia into Ukraine, but we still manage to get the point. Perhaps even moreso.
A proper hero is a killer, a savage who bludgeons his way into history, not some tofu-eating Nancy boy in a toga.
And speaking of history, Brown certainly took his bloody time in giving us a thorough oversight into quite a lot of it. Now, I may be biased in that I'm not what one might call a fan of, well, history lessons (must learn or doomed to repeat, yada yada). Still, I have to say the sections where we did the whole "and X begat Y who then conquered A upon the fall of B" came across as more than a little dry. Even aridly so, as in I don't know if even Wikipedia would have published it this way because it was so bloody dry. But we eventually learn that all these lessons were not for naught (or naught for not) as Brown needed to - how to put this delicately - show us just what utter d$ckheads a lot of these guys were. However, it really came across as being a totally different style. I mean, if he had given it a bit of a Philomena Cunk spin, maybe it would have fit in with the type of humour (now that one I know has a 'u' in it!) that this reader was desperately looking for. I say this in particular as I noticed all too well how much the parallels between these ancient despots seemed to match that of recent adventures in democracy that we've seen in both the UK and the USA in the past years!!! Yeah, I noticed the talk about building walls more bigly than ever, not to mention the general 'we hate poor people and snowflakes' talk.
Superstition is rampant. Truth is a dirty word. Politicians are skilled only at gaslighting. Autocracies are on the rise.
In addition to the history lessons, we also get what has to be a sanctioned overview from the Cretan tourist board - and a rather unsubtle suggestion to visit Istanbul at our own peril. In terms of the area of Crete being so lovely - including a day trip to Santorini - I would agree… BUT the one time I spent there I was too preoccupied wondering if the topless Swedish ladies weren't getting severe back pain lugging their enormous bits around for all to see. So no, I did not do too much touring although the married couples among us managed to provide some tips. Pointers. Oh gods, how to describe that without implying the udders. Um… I missed visiting the museums is what I'm trying to say. And I don't remember that many lemons either. Olives, yes, lemons, no. Or was that ouzo. Bit of a blur truth be told. Did I mention the Swedes?
You’re an arsehole. That’s what you are. A gold-plated, card-carrying arsehole.
Now all of this is well and good, or at very least mildly ill and below average; however, this book as a whole did not exactly thrill me. I found it difficult to get through because of what I considered to be entirely unnecessary distractions. The main reasons for this included what I would call a rather poor showing with the overall editing. Too many misspelled words (what the hell is "neverng?" that appeared 4 times!), punctuation thrown about like a Russian missile spreading ball bearings everywhere (or missing altogether), mixed pronouns, inconsistent capitalization, literally wrong placements (under this island? No…) as well as a host of other issues. This included the one time Helena Kraakenhausen was suddenly referred to as Helena von Kraakenhausen! And even worse? Misspelling Darth VADER! I mean, the nerve. It just seems that far too often we were flying totally bind (sic… and yep, that's another one) which made me want to empty the minbar (this is getting annoying, huh?) along with Comrade Oligarch. Well, my wife would definitely say NYET to that! Grrr…
What about the Chupacabra? Grey aliens? The Mothman? Trickle-down economics? No, as long as there are people, there will be nonsensical myths.
Honestly - and I say this because I participate in many teams that deal with same - what has been released is barely at what I'd call "beta reader" level. And if it did go through that process, well, you need some meaner people in your team! In addition - and here I'm ignoring what may strike many as a totally unnecessary use of accents - if you are going to quote a foreign language, make sure you're quoting it correctly. Otherwise you seem like a 'Dummkopf' and not like was written at least once a 'Dummkofp'! We could go on about how people in other countries speak to each other (no one calls their father 'mein Papa') but we'll leave that where it is. Furthermore - and this was painful to be honest - if one of the biggest surprises in the book is supposed to be the STUNNING reveal that a character that has been "tagging along" is in fact the incarnation of one of history's greatest poets and storytellers of all time, DO NOT USE HIS NAME IN PASSING SEVERAL PAGES BEFORE (that is, see page 313 vs. page 321). Talk about a let-down!
If I had my way, they’d be thrown out and sent home for a second, more successful lobotomy.
Overall then, these greatly diminished the overall impact of this tale and distracted me to the point of almost total frustration. I mean, I'm still a fan and I'm still going to be a fan, but I just felt like all of this was nearly too much to take. I will say - especially to end all this on a slightly more positive note - that I thought the last 10-15% of the book helped rescue a LOT of what went on before, but by then, I just wanted to be done. Better luck next time, rued this Unhappy Reader.
Though it pains me to say … and here I am more than willing to give out a rousing shout of ‘Arggghhhhhhh! My plums!’ for good measure and shared suffering (though I'm not sure why the author chose to capitalize plums) … T.J.Brown's wildly anticipated "The Unhappy Medium 3: Wretched Things: A Supernatural Comedy" wound up not meeting my lofty expectations. I appreciate that the author took a lot of risks in this story and that includes taking we the readers as well as his cast of dozens out of their usual comfort zones. However, there were too many factors that I either felt dragged the story down or distracted from what should have been a great deal of time LOL'ing and whatever other joyous acronyms would apply. Let's see then how much more confusion I can add to the proceedings with my own rambling incantations over the next several paragraphs.
I nearly know the truth about life, death and the meaning of everything, or lack thereof.
Though to start off on a positive note or two: the best of this tale continued to be the wonderful motley crew Brown has assembled, as crews such as these are often referred to as, of the local branch of Purgatorians and even their management team. Long-suffering (really, it doesn't work to say "suffering-for-about-a-half-year-now-next-Thursday") Dr. Newton Barlow, former man of science, is naturally still the focus of all things great and small that occur which seem to be drawn to him like moths to whatever means of luminous suicide they choose at any given time. If you haven't guessed by now, Newton is indeed our "Unhappy Medium" as he continues to try to fit all he's learned from his recent exploits into a nicely wrapped box full of science, logic, and other relaxing algorithmical exploits that can absorbed by any means necessary into his cranial matter.
This was the second time that Newton had not been dead in two days.
Needless to say, though it needs saying, a lot of this story then deals with Newton finding out that once it's all said and done - and it may be done well before any of us were hoping it would be - it really doesn't matter. Life around Newton thus "often resembled a vet approaching the rear end of a honey badger with a thermometer" and that's just during the good times. Still, he along with his ever trusty partner (in work), the Reverend Bennet, as well as Viv (partner in nudge nudge), Gabby (daughter), Eric the protocol-loving anal-retentive Greek ("Ignorance is not just bliss; it’s company policy.") and even the Bonetaker are in for quite a ride, be it by land, air, or sea. Along the way then we add several Greeks, Russians, and even a Frenchman for good measure to the playing field. It gets definitely wacky!
The adventures. The mysteries. The action! Being a Purgatorian. Why, it’s enormous fun.
I have to say though, I never thought I'd admit this about anything that takes place south of Hadrian's Wall - which I feel is more than sporting to say in terms of choosing a fair split in the local landscape - but I found myself truly missing being in Britain which in the first two installments has proven to be such an intricate part of, well, everything and everyone! Still, our story does start out in the land of my own ancestors, namely, Wales (no H included smartasses!) and Brown does at least draw our attention to point(s) of interest. That is, before our action-focused dynamic duo manage to muck everything up royally and set us up for even more shenanigans in the coming chapters. From there though, I have to admit that I was less than enamored (does that have a 'u' in it in English English?) with the locales chosen for our merry band to ply their trade. And by "plying their trade", I mean finding ways to be captured, punched, kicked and nearly killed in many, MANY ways.
His dislike of philosophy was up there with yoga, line-dancing and colonic irrigation.
I mean, I don't think that the change in scenery did not not work. Um, change good is what I'm trying to convey. I just don't think the crew assembled really gelled quite as much as it could have. Yes, yes, yes, I get what we were trying to achieve with all the various historical cretins and cryptids throughout time and a lot of nasty human history. But it just didn't manage to achieve the charm or gravitas if you will of having a right good show-down with the bad guys then popping out for a pint and/or a curry afterwards. Still, you have to admire the author's intent to throw a metaphorical wrench into things and see how it all worked out. Considering that by his own admission, a lot of this was written down before the brutal invasion by Russia into Ukraine, but we still manage to get the point. Perhaps even moreso.
A proper hero is a killer, a savage who bludgeons his way into history, not some tofu-eating Nancy boy in a toga.
And speaking of history, Brown certainly took his bloody time in giving us a thorough oversight into quite a lot of it. Now, I may be biased in that I'm not what one might call a fan of, well, history lessons (must learn or doomed to repeat, yada yada). Still, I have to say the sections where we did the whole "and X begat Y who then conquered A upon the fall of B" came across as more than a little dry. Even aridly so, as in I don't know if even Wikipedia would have published it this way because it was so bloody dry. But we eventually learn that all these lessons were not for naught (or naught for not) as Brown needed to - how to put this delicately - show us just what utter d$ckheads a lot of these guys were. However, it really came across as being a totally different style. I mean, if he had given it a bit of a Philomena Cunk spin, maybe it would have fit in with the type of humour (now that one I know has a 'u' in it!) that this reader was desperately looking for. I say this in particular as I noticed all too well how much the parallels between these ancient despots seemed to match that of recent adventures in democracy that we've seen in both the UK and the USA in the past years!!! Yeah, I noticed the talk about building walls more bigly than ever, not to mention the general 'we hate poor people and snowflakes' talk.
Superstition is rampant. Truth is a dirty word. Politicians are skilled only at gaslighting. Autocracies are on the rise.
In addition to the history lessons, we also get what has to be a sanctioned overview from the Cretan tourist board - and a rather unsubtle suggestion to visit Istanbul at our own peril. In terms of the area of Crete being so lovely - including a day trip to Santorini - I would agree… BUT the one time I spent there I was too preoccupied wondering if the topless Swedish ladies weren't getting severe back pain lugging their enormous bits around for all to see. So no, I did not do too much touring although the married couples among us managed to provide some tips. Pointers. Oh gods, how to describe that without implying the udders. Um… I missed visiting the museums is what I'm trying to say. And I don't remember that many lemons either. Olives, yes, lemons, no. Or was that ouzo. Bit of a blur truth be told. Did I mention the Swedes?
You’re an arsehole. That’s what you are. A gold-plated, card-carrying arsehole.
Now all of this is well and good, or at very least mildly ill and below average; however, this book as a whole did not exactly thrill me. I found it difficult to get through because of what I considered to be entirely unnecessary distractions. The main reasons for this included what I would call a rather poor showing with the overall editing. Too many misspelled words (what the hell is "neverng?" that appeared 4 times!), punctuation thrown about like a Russian missile spreading ball bearings everywhere (or missing altogether), mixed pronouns, inconsistent capitalization, literally wrong placements (under this island? No…) as well as a host of other issues. This included the one time Helena Kraakenhausen was suddenly referred to as Helena von Kraakenhausen! And even worse? Misspelling Darth VADER! I mean, the nerve. It just seems that far too often we were flying totally bind (sic… and yep, that's another one) which made me want to empty the minbar (this is getting annoying, huh?) along with Comrade Oligarch. Well, my wife would definitely say NYET to that! Grrr…
What about the Chupacabra? Grey aliens? The Mothman? Trickle-down economics? No, as long as there are people, there will be nonsensical myths.
Honestly - and I say this because I participate in many teams that deal with same - what has been released is barely at what I'd call "beta reader" level. And if it did go through that process, well, you need some meaner people in your team! In addition - and here I'm ignoring what may strike many as a totally unnecessary use of accents - if you are going to quote a foreign language, make sure you're quoting it correctly. Otherwise you seem like a 'Dummkopf' and not like was written at least once a 'Dummkofp'! We could go on about how people in other countries speak to each other (no one calls their father 'mein Papa') but we'll leave that where it is. Furthermore - and this was painful to be honest - if one of the biggest surprises in the book is supposed to be the STUNNING reveal that a character that has been "tagging along" is in fact the incarnation of one of history's greatest poets and storytellers of all time, DO NOT USE HIS NAME IN PASSING SEVERAL PAGES BEFORE (that is, see page 313 vs. page 321). Talk about a let-down!
If I had my way, they’d be thrown out and sent home for a second, more successful lobotomy.
Overall then, these greatly diminished the overall impact of this tale and distracted me to the point of almost total frustration. I mean, I'm still a fan and I'm still going to be a fan, but I just felt like all of this was nearly too much to take. I will say - especially to end all this on a slightly more positive note - that I thought the last 10-15% of the book helped rescue a LOT of what went on before, but by then, I just wanted to be done. Better luck next time, rued this Unhappy Reader.
May 8, 2025
The logic within is a bit gappy & inconsistent, and it feels at times more like a vehicle for the writer’s beliefs than a narrative. But then, don’t all writers inject themselves into their work? Some interesting historical tidbits which were a bit at odds with the flow. I thought he was feeling out a TV script in the action scenes, bordering at times on the 1950’s Batman (with added violence). Still, I can forgive a lot of blemishes for gems like these quotes:
“Politics is like dust. It just keeps appearing no matter how much people try to perfect a way of preventing it”
“Politics is like sewage; when it’s being done properly, you can’t smell it”
“Politics is like dust. It just keeps appearing no matter how much people try to perfect a way of preventing it”
“Politics is like sewage; when it’s being done properly, you can’t smell it”
October 7, 2025
A good read, quite entertaining but too flimsy for my liking. More of an entertaining young adult read and not as appealing as the first two in the series. Having said that i read it to the end and enjoyed following Newton and Co but would not read a 4th in the series if one appears. Maybe the first two were a good break from reality but slightly believable, not however the case here and with so many inconsistencies in the format I was happy to reach the end.
July 12, 2024
I Loved It
I loved the characters and the chaos that complicated their every effort. I took off a star for the frequent and sometimes recurring typographical errors. I think that neverng was supposed to be neverending and that's what the error seemed to be. It was probably a 'find and replace' error. There were missing words and phrases that all distracted from the hilarity of the plot somewhat, but not enough to curb my enjoyment.
I loved the characters and the chaos that complicated their every effort. I took off a star for the frequent and sometimes recurring typographical errors. I think that neverng was supposed to be neverending and that's what the error seemed to be. It was probably a 'find and replace' error. There were missing words and phrases that all distracted from the hilarity of the plot somewhat, but not enough to curb my enjoyment.
July 13, 2024
That was so much fun. It was like visiting old friends and having a few chuckles and a few belly laughs all while your jaw hangs open in shock and awe. I am again pondering how T.J. Brown's mind works. I hope to never figure that out so that I can continue to have this reaction every time I read one of his books.
December 5, 2024
Excellent next series installment
This is a great read, but you are going to want to read the other two first. It is a bit of a 'cast of thousands', but you've built a comprehensive picture by the time you get to book 3 so it doesn't detract.
As ever, a properly unconventional tale that wends itself all over the place, with no shortage of great humour.
Very much recommended!
This is a great read, but you are going to want to read the other two first. It is a bit of a 'cast of thousands', but you've built a comprehensive picture by the time you get to book 3 so it doesn't detract.
As ever, a properly unconventional tale that wends itself all over the place, with no shortage of great humour.
Very much recommended!
January 23, 2025
Cute but
Some jokes went beyond dad jokes to sad. It felt rushed and poorly plotted. Fun series concept, but can it last? This book makes me wonder. The dialect writing was damn near xenophobic. And have someone read it for spelling and typing mistakes.
And can the women NOT have to be rescued every time?
Not your best effort
Some jokes went beyond dad jokes to sad. It felt rushed and poorly plotted. Fun series concept, but can it last? This book makes me wonder. The dialect writing was damn near xenophobic. And have someone read it for spelling and typing mistakes.
And can the women NOT have to be rescued every time?
Not your best effort
January 3, 2026
I’m not sure if the time it took me to read this was a reflection on how I felt about it. It felt messy, baring in mind I loved 1&2, I was hoping for a big finish but… alas, I was disappointed, it was 4 books in 1, maybe in an effort to keep it a trilogy, somethings had to fall off.
Either way, not the worst book I’ve read, just… a book. Middle of the road, an unhappy medium if you will.
Either way, not the worst book I’ve read, just… a book. Middle of the road, an unhappy medium if you will.
July 28, 2024
Classic
Great plot and some nice twists, not sure we will cope with a happy medium....future will tell.
A wonderful set of characters and great locations setup a crazy escapade of nazi's, Russian gangsters and ancient Greeks....what more could you want?
Great plot and some nice twists, not sure we will cope with a happy medium....future will tell.
A wonderful set of characters and great locations setup a crazy escapade of nazi's, Russian gangsters and ancient Greeks....what more could you want?
August 14, 2024
hilariously nonsensical.
I just wish brown wrote straight history in addition to these romps. I could read his writing about an obscure village chieftain in the dark ages for hours.
What a storyteller!
I just wish brown wrote straight history in addition to these romps. I could read his writing about an obscure village chieftain in the dark ages for hours.
What a storyteller!
October 27, 2024
Still amazed
The information included in the story is full of the most interesting facts and history. If you decide to check it all out on Google, you'll miss the beauty of the ride. Hold on. And stop asking so many questions! We're on a mission, and you're slowing us down!
The information included in the story is full of the most interesting facts and history. If you decide to check it all out on Google, you'll miss the beauty of the ride. Hold on. And stop asking so many questions! We're on a mission, and you're slowing us down!
July 28, 2024
Enjoyed unhappy medium 3 😁
I enjoyed the adventures of the main character Newton and hope there will be another book soon. I loved the book!!!
I enjoyed the adventures of the main character Newton and hope there will be another book soon. I loved the book!!!
Read
December 17, 2024A good read as per norm
Once again number 3 carries on, ho qwever I must say the ending was Newton been happy, but no mention of any future volume
I truly hope their are
Once again number 3 carries on, ho qwever I must say the ending was Newton been happy, but no mention of any future volume
I truly hope their are
February 2, 2025
They Might Be Giants. 😉 Just read it.
February 24, 2025
Another round of Purgatorial lunacy with our favorite scientific medium. World domination is pending and Newton must deal with his conflicting ideologies in time to stop it.
May 4, 2025
A seriously funny brilliant read. Start at the first book and enjoy a great trip.
September 7, 2024
Wonderfully despicable characters.
I really enjoyed this 3rd book in the series. The baddies are just as despicable as the first book, which I loved. My favorite character was Enrico but as always they are all great in their own way, apart from Eric who is a knob . As with the first book the fight scenes are hilarious. Obviously there is a vast amount of research that goes into T.J. Brown's books so that is why we have to wait soooo long between novels. Can't wait until then next now.
I really enjoyed this 3rd book in the series. The baddies are just as despicable as the first book, which I loved. My favorite character was Enrico but as always they are all great in their own way, apart from Eric who is a knob . As with the first book the fight scenes are hilarious. Obviously there is a vast amount of research that goes into T.J. Brown's books so that is why we have to wait soooo long between novels. Can't wait until then next now.
July 19, 2024
This series is so good. Laugh out loud in places and very cleverly written. Love the struggle of the main character to come to terms with his new life and the implications it has on his understanding of the world. To be honest I was loving this book from the Turkish quote at the beginning.
September 1, 2025
Newton Barlow is frustrated, confused, and without a clue as to how to proceed as a scientist in a world that defies all of the science he has learned. However, he is fortunate to have the love and support of his beloved Liv and Goth Girl daughter. They do their utmost to cheer him up as he stumbles ever deeper into the mysteries of the Purgatorians. I found this book just as amusing and entertaining as the first two. Like those two books, one must sympathize with Newton's refusal to just set aside the reality he has built his world around. I like that he never loses his sharp sense of humor and sarcastic wit.
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