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Killing It
From the twisted and imaginative mind of Mike Bockoven, author of the cult classic FANTASTICLAND, comes a wholly original and witty new novel of terror, perfect for fans of FROM DUSK TIL DAWN and SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
Since the late 1980's, The Square had been one of the most important clubs in New York for the alt-comedy scene. But before that it was something much darker and is now a place where evil lingers, waiting for a chance to spill blood.
After a night of killing on stage, four comics find themselves in a desperate situation as the spirits of the past come out to play, and a fight for laughs becomes a fight for survival in the most unlikely of places.
Since the late 1980's, The Square had been one of the most important clubs in New York for the alt-comedy scene. But before that it was something much darker and is now a place where evil lingers, waiting for a chance to spill blood.
After a night of killing on stage, four comics find themselves in a desperate situation as the spirits of the past come out to play, and a fight for laughs becomes a fight for survival in the most unlikely of places.
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First published May 23, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
November 19, 2024
this is the worst book ever published . it was unbelievable and so terrible i couldn’t stop hate reading it
literally dozens and dozens of grammar and spelling errors i am not convinced mike bockoven can read
literally dozens and dozens of grammar and spelling errors i am not convinced mike bockoven can read
November 14, 2023
I think if Killing It was a novella instead of a novel it would have been great.
June 10, 2023
Eeek. What a let down.
I really hate to give this such a low rating after loving Fantasticland so much, written by the same author. But this was NOT IT. Now I'm questioning if my love of his prior novel was mostly due to the interview-style formatting and amazing audio. Bockoven's strong suit is his dialogue, but the plot was lacking BIG TIME in this one.
There was literally no motive.
I love the cover of this novel, and I liked the ode to comics like George Carlin, and comedy in general. I also appreciated the commentary in here about women in comedy. But that is where my praise ends.
The entire premise of this is that 4 comedians are trapped in a New York comedy club and fighting for their lives. The owner of the club wants to kill them all. But WHY, you ask? Because the owner, Jaff, who is a perfectly respectable man for the entirety of his life, heard the voice of a ghost tell him to kill. So he did. WHAT?
I kept thinking there was going to be an explanation for who this ghostly woman was and why she wanted people dead, but no. We just learn that it happened before and that's just the way things are in this particular building. Why does this ghost have so much power over Jaff? Don't know. She just does. WHAT?
So there is senseless killing, and these comics are fighting to stay alive and I don't even really care about them either. I really wanted to DNF this but I was just so hopeful that it would all come together and make sense.
Also, the chapters kept starting back at chapter 1 over and over. Why? What did I miss? Granted, I was so disconnected after about halfway, I could have missed the reasoning behind that but it made no sense to me.
This entire novel felt like a joke, pun intended.
I really hate to give this such a low rating after loving Fantasticland so much, written by the same author. But this was NOT IT. Now I'm questioning if my love of his prior novel was mostly due to the interview-style formatting and amazing audio. Bockoven's strong suit is his dialogue, but the plot was lacking BIG TIME in this one.
There was literally no motive.
I love the cover of this novel, and I liked the ode to comics like George Carlin, and comedy in general. I also appreciated the commentary in here about women in comedy. But that is where my praise ends.
The entire premise of this is that 4 comedians are trapped in a New York comedy club and fighting for their lives. The owner of the club wants to kill them all. But WHY, you ask? Because the owner, Jaff, who is a perfectly respectable man for the entirety of his life, heard the voice of a ghost tell him to kill. So he did. WHAT?
I kept thinking there was going to be an explanation for who this ghostly woman was and why she wanted people dead, but no. We just learn that it happened before and that's just the way things are in this particular building. Why does this ghost have so much power over Jaff? Don't know. She just does. WHAT?
So there is senseless killing, and these comics are fighting to stay alive and I don't even really care about them either. I really wanted to DNF this but I was just so hopeful that it would all come together and make sense.
Also, the chapters kept starting back at chapter 1 over and over. Why? What did I miss? Granted, I was so disconnected after about halfway, I could have missed the reasoning behind that but it made no sense to me.
This entire novel felt like a joke, pun intended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2023
Comedy Chaos: When Laughter Turns Deadly
In this thrilling story, an ordinary comedy night at a bar takes a terrifying turn when the owner goes on a rampage, armed with a gun and hunting down a group of terrified comedians who are desperately hiding throughout the club.
With a wide cast of characters and a relentless pursuit underway, it unfolds with gripping intensity. However, amidst the chaos and panic, the comedians find themselves overanalyzing every move they make to outsmart their pursuer, Jeff. The level of detail in the writing is overly descriptive at times.
Overall, it's an engaging read, but it did not quite reach the same level of brilliance as "FantasticLand."
In this thrilling story, an ordinary comedy night at a bar takes a terrifying turn when the owner goes on a rampage, armed with a gun and hunting down a group of terrified comedians who are desperately hiding throughout the club.
With a wide cast of characters and a relentless pursuit underway, it unfolds with gripping intensity. However, amidst the chaos and panic, the comedians find themselves overanalyzing every move they make to outsmart their pursuer, Jeff. The level of detail in the writing is overly descriptive at times.
Overall, it's an engaging read, but it did not quite reach the same level of brilliance as "FantasticLand."
August 4, 2023
The owner of a 1980s comedy club slips into psychosis and murders the comedians, his girlfriend and anyone else who crosses his path. What a premise! There's a complicated back story and everything is explained at the end of the book, but in the interim it's a nonstop murder-fest. This book was not received well, but I listened to the audio in one afternoon and loved it. I also loved Fantasticland his most well-known book.
4+ rating from me for originality and pure entertainment.
4+ rating from me for originality and pure entertainment.
did-not-finish
March 1, 2024DNF at 51%
What even was this? After loving Fantasticland, I was excited about this. But this was just boring? We're in the head of the most miserable man alive and there is zero tension or or weight to anything that was happening.
What even was this? After loving Fantasticland, I was excited about this. But this was just boring? We're in the head of the most miserable man alive and there is zero tension or or weight to anything that was happening.
March 24, 2024
3.5 stars.
July 9, 2023
Rounded up to three, but reluctantly.
The writing was repetitive, even without the narrative device he used (starting the same scene over and over from different perspectives). There were word/phrase frequency issues that really stuck out.
For a novel about stand-up comics, the comedy was weak. And for a novel about a vengeful ghost convincing people to kiiiiiilll... the world-building/plotting was thin to the point of being lazy. We never learn the why, and only get the barest information on the who at the very end of the book.
The third star is for the characters, though, who are actually pretty well developed, especially compared to how underdeveloped the plot and motives were.
SPOILERS:
The only survivors are the emcee (went into a coma), the older female comic (lost an eye) and the younger female comic (lost an arm). The ghost is still there. Someone bought the building to turn into a restaurant, the older female comic went to let him know what happened there and is ignored (in a callback to the opening scene where a survivor comes to warn the new owner who is opening his comedy club what happened there and is ignored). The new owner is already displaying signs of being influenced by the ghost.
And yeah, all we know is that the ghost once ran a pub in that spot and there was a long history of murders in the building. That's literally it. Ugh.
The writing was repetitive, even without the narrative device he used (starting the same scene over and over from different perspectives). There were word/phrase frequency issues that really stuck out.
For a novel about stand-up comics, the comedy was weak. And for a novel about a vengeful ghost convincing people to kiiiiiilll... the world-building/plotting was thin to the point of being lazy. We never learn the why, and only get the barest information on the who at the very end of the book.
The third star is for the characters, though, who are actually pretty well developed, especially compared to how underdeveloped the plot and motives were.
SPOILERS:
The only survivors are the emcee (went into a coma), the older female comic (lost an eye) and the younger female comic (lost an arm). The ghost is still there. Someone bought the building to turn into a restaurant, the older female comic went to let him know what happened there and is ignored (in a callback to the opening scene where a survivor comes to warn the new owner who is opening his comedy club what happened there and is ignored). The new owner is already displaying signs of being influenced by the ghost.
And yeah, all we know is that the ghost once ran a pub in that spot and there was a long history of murders in the building. That's literally it. Ugh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2023
Audiobook - 4 stars
I didn’t read Fantasticland so maybe that’s why my rating seems to be higher than others, but I really enjoyed this book! I’m new to the genre but I thought it was well formulated especially around the me too scene. I felt like the story was a bit metaphorical for the movement and the way women are treated in the entertainment industry, which I appreciated. Overall the concept was strong and well executed.
Only thing I didn’t like was the stand up special at the end. I thought the jokes were unusually low effort and if the purpose was just to relay the the info shared then there’s an easier and less cringey way to do it. But beyond that great story and the epilogue brought it together for me!
I didn’t read Fantasticland so maybe that’s why my rating seems to be higher than others, but I really enjoyed this book! I’m new to the genre but I thought it was well formulated especially around the me too scene. I felt like the story was a bit metaphorical for the movement and the way women are treated in the entertainment industry, which I appreciated. Overall the concept was strong and well executed.
Only thing I didn’t like was the stand up special at the end. I thought the jokes were unusually low effort and if the purpose was just to relay the the info shared then there’s an easier and less cringey way to do it. But beyond that great story and the epilogue brought it together for me!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2025
Wow, this came out of no where. This book was weirdly violent. I feel like the motive for the killings came from no where, and it made me want to cringe.
August 9, 2025
The amount of typos actually has me think this can not be real
August 30, 2025
This book felt self published.
July 28, 2025
Review originally on JamReads
Killing It is a thriller novel, written by Mike Bockoven and published by Datura Books. A comedy club owner going psycho becomes the cherry on top after a not so good night, starting a killing spree that would put the characters into a really difficult situation, having to survive until they manage to escape the place; a tense novel that equally features comedy and horror.
The story is set on The Square, a legendary comedy club that has been part of the alt-scene since the 1980s; before it, the place had a much darker story that refuses to stay buried. After a particularly difficult night, the owner goes rogue, almost possessed, turning it into a bloodbath and trapping the four comics that were meant to act that night, having to fight to survive until they can escape from The Square.
Bockoven decides to play a bit with his writing, mixing together such different staples as comedy and horror (despite one could argue that many slashers already successfully make this blend); we can even read some of the monologues of that fictional night. The tension is a constant element from the start to the end, reaching a high point near the ending.
The prose is tight, concise; however, I think it could have benefited from a bit more of clarity. Some moments end being confusing, which could be interpreted because of the madness possessing our characters.
Said that, if you are looking for a darker thriller that might remember From Dusk till Dawn, a fast-paced novel that ends being enjoyable despite some flaws. Solid novel from Mike Bockoven.
Killing It is a thriller novel, written by Mike Bockoven and published by Datura Books. A comedy club owner going psycho becomes the cherry on top after a not so good night, starting a killing spree that would put the characters into a really difficult situation, having to survive until they manage to escape the place; a tense novel that equally features comedy and horror.
The story is set on The Square, a legendary comedy club that has been part of the alt-scene since the 1980s; before it, the place had a much darker story that refuses to stay buried. After a particularly difficult night, the owner goes rogue, almost possessed, turning it into a bloodbath and trapping the four comics that were meant to act that night, having to fight to survive until they can escape from The Square.
Bockoven decides to play a bit with his writing, mixing together such different staples as comedy and horror (despite one could argue that many slashers already successfully make this blend); we can even read some of the monologues of that fictional night. The tension is a constant element from the start to the end, reaching a high point near the ending.
The prose is tight, concise; however, I think it could have benefited from a bit more of clarity. Some moments end being confusing, which could be interpreted because of the madness possessing our characters.
Said that, if you are looking for a darker thriller that might remember From Dusk till Dawn, a fast-paced novel that ends being enjoyable despite some flaws. Solid novel from Mike Bockoven.
August 11, 2023
I liked this one more than I was going to. It was a rough beginning for me, but I really enjoyed it by the end. I liked it a lot more than Fantasticland.
June 21, 2024
Genuinely upset that I wasted my time on this..
November 5, 2025
IM AN OUTLIER IN THE BEST WAY!! LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK!!!
DO
NOT
READ
THE
PAPER
VERSION
Ok. Ok HEAR ME OUT:
1. YES- there are editing errors THROUGHOUT the book, and some you can even hear in the audio version
2. YES- there is no extended backstory OR thorough explanation of the WHY
3. Yes- the stand-up is pretty “meh”
4. Yes- some of the stuff is farfetched…
BUT…
———————SPOILERS AHEAD——————
That’s the fun of it!! It’s a ghost story!! The book tells you that from the jump! Ghosts dont care about your lil’ physics rules!
Other reviews mention that there’s no reason why Jaff kills, BUT IT’S LITERALLY OUTLINED IN DETAIL: life-altering headaches, lack of sleep, inability to self-regulate… all tools the ghost-voice uses. These are literal torture techniques! If you dont listen to her, she makes your life unlivable.
Also the CHARACTER WORK. They were all well-formed, 360 characters. They were unlikeable AND root-for-able. Some of the stuff towards the middle-end was a little sappy, but ITS NOT PERFECT; ITS JUST FUN.
My favorite part though: THE STAKES WERE SO SO HIGH AND THE KILLS WERE SO SO GRUESOME. If you happen to love a character HOLD THEM CLOSE because Brock… Brick… - I forgot the author’s lastname- WILL LIKELY HORRIFICALLY MURDER OR MAIM THEM. This is a “kill your darlings” kind of book and THATS WHAT MAKES IT SO FUN. Brick/Brockerton spends so much effort on character development that it lulls you into thinking, “well I know this human from tip-to-toe. There’s no WAY they die no— OH GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?” It’s delicious.
Yall, I thought it was so so fun I was almost late to work listening to it.
DO
NOT
READ
THE
PAPER
VERSION
Ok. Ok HEAR ME OUT:
1. YES- there are editing errors THROUGHOUT the book, and some you can even hear in the audio version
2. YES- there is no extended backstory OR thorough explanation of the WHY
3. Yes- the stand-up is pretty “meh”
4. Yes- some of the stuff is farfetched…
BUT…
———————SPOILERS AHEAD——————
That’s the fun of it!! It’s a ghost story!! The book tells you that from the jump! Ghosts dont care about your lil’ physics rules!
Other reviews mention that there’s no reason why Jaff kills, BUT IT’S LITERALLY OUTLINED IN DETAIL: life-altering headaches, lack of sleep, inability to self-regulate… all tools the ghost-voice uses. These are literal torture techniques! If you dont listen to her, she makes your life unlivable.
Also the CHARACTER WORK. They were all well-formed, 360 characters. They were unlikeable AND root-for-able. Some of the stuff towards the middle-end was a little sappy, but ITS NOT PERFECT; ITS JUST FUN.
My favorite part though: THE STAKES WERE SO SO HIGH AND THE KILLS WERE SO SO GRUESOME. If you happen to love a character HOLD THEM CLOSE because Brock… Brick… - I forgot the author’s lastname- WILL LIKELY HORRIFICALLY MURDER OR MAIM THEM. This is a “kill your darlings” kind of book and THATS WHAT MAKES IT SO FUN. Brick/Brockerton spends so much effort on character development that it lulls you into thinking, “well I know this human from tip-to-toe. There’s no WAY they die no— OH GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?” It’s delicious.
Yall, I thought it was so so fun I was almost late to work listening to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 8, 20233.5
June 18, 2023
This book was just so weird and bla. I know there are tons of reviews saying that it's not fair to compare this book to FantasticLand but it's inevitable to do so since the sole reason I read this was because it was by the same author. To say this was a complete let down compared to FantasticLand is an understatement. I also read Pack by the same author and it too was disappointing but nothing like this book. The minimal plot just makes it seem like the author wanted to write extreme graphic gory details for the sake of doing so, and the plot came as an afterthought. There were so many questions left to answer at the end of the book. Questions that almost needed answering to make the reason for the chaos in this book to work and make sense. Also, the random comedy acts throughout the book were so awkward. I assume they were there as an attempt to give the characters more depth, but it all just fell flat.
June 11, 2023
The blurb compared this story to Shawn of the Dead and From Dusk Till Dawn but I don't know if that's apt. Those movies got their laughs from absurd situations while Killing It has clever dialogue in a grounded narrative. I'd say it's more "Green Room in a comedy club".
I don't know if Bockoven ever was a comic (the short bios I've seen don't mention it) but this book certainly feels authentic. Granted, I'm just a guy who has heard untold hours comedians talking about their craft on podcasts, but it feels right to me.
I don't know if Bockoven ever was a comic (the short bios I've seen don't mention it) but this book certainly feels authentic. Granted, I'm just a guy who has heard untold hours comedians talking about their craft on podcasts, but it feels right to me.
April 16, 2025
I was so excited to come to Goodreads and leave a review about this amazing horror book I just finished, only to be surprised by the overall lower rating. Those who read this as an arc may not have been the right demographic!
Do NOT read this if you need a perfect story with the ending tying everything together with a pink bow and legit explanation.
Do not read this story if you can’t handle senseless violence.
Do not read this story if you are opposed to potential possession, ghosts, or ideas of the like.
Do not read this story if you cannot suspend belief between the covers of this book.
DO read if you like horror, suspense, thrillers, supernatural possession.
DO read this story if you want to escape realities of real life.
Do read this story if you want something that’ll blow your socks off!
I’m not typically a horror fan and I ate this shit up! I like my suspense and thrillers, some occasional darker books, but holy shit, this one was off the charts.
Please be advised: this review will be a little different and a little more crass than my usual reviews, as this book was a little different than my usual reads!
Holy shit you guys! This book had me in fill fight or flight mode! It sucked me in immediately, the bread crumbs of what’s to come lingering in the background as the author introduces the first main character. You can’t help but love Jaff as he represents the working class living the American dream, right? Until he seemingly loses his mind one night and takes multiple comedians and a few others hostage in his comedy club after hours. It’s not that simple- but you get the gist.
The writing? Fucking amazing. The fluidity and pacing? Perfect! The way the author changes perspective/characters while minimally overlapping was such a refreshing idea. The guts and the gore explained in such detail that you can see it popping off the pages? Phenomenal! Where do these ideas come from? This is the story I will recommend when people ask for a book that will keep them up at night afraid to turn the lights off. Like Mike, you alright? Do you need a therapist?
This will be a hard one to beat and will probably spend eternity in my top 5 favorites. For the love of all that is holy, please make this a movie- I know the book will be better, but I can literally visualize the scenes from this and would have horror fans on the edge of their seats. This one gets all the fucking stars.
Thank you NetGalley and Datura Books for this ARC- I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to experience this book. I literally want to have amnesia so I can read this again for the first time.
Do NOT read this if you need a perfect story with the ending tying everything together with a pink bow and legit explanation.
Do not read this story if you can’t handle senseless violence.
Do not read this story if you are opposed to potential possession, ghosts, or ideas of the like.
Do not read this story if you cannot suspend belief between the covers of this book.
DO read if you like horror, suspense, thrillers, supernatural possession.
DO read this story if you want to escape realities of real life.
Do read this story if you want something that’ll blow your socks off!
I’m not typically a horror fan and I ate this shit up! I like my suspense and thrillers, some occasional darker books, but holy shit, this one was off the charts.
Please be advised: this review will be a little different and a little more crass than my usual reviews, as this book was a little different than my usual reads!
Holy shit you guys! This book had me in fill fight or flight mode! It sucked me in immediately, the bread crumbs of what’s to come lingering in the background as the author introduces the first main character. You can’t help but love Jaff as he represents the working class living the American dream, right? Until he seemingly loses his mind one night and takes multiple comedians and a few others hostage in his comedy club after hours. It’s not that simple- but you get the gist.
The writing? Fucking amazing. The fluidity and pacing? Perfect! The way the author changes perspective/characters while minimally overlapping was such a refreshing idea. The guts and the gore explained in such detail that you can see it popping off the pages? Phenomenal! Where do these ideas come from? This is the story I will recommend when people ask for a book that will keep them up at night afraid to turn the lights off. Like Mike, you alright? Do you need a therapist?
This will be a hard one to beat and will probably spend eternity in my top 5 favorites. For the love of all that is holy, please make this a movie- I know the book will be better, but I can literally visualize the scenes from this and would have horror fans on the edge of their seats. This one gets all the fucking stars.
Thank you NetGalley and Datura Books for this ARC- I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to experience this book. I literally want to have amnesia so I can read this again for the first time.
March 26, 2024
This book was a WILD ride. I have a lot to say about it. Buckle up.
I love comedy and stand up, which is why I was drawn to this book. And putting a slasher novel on top of it? I was intrigued.
After reading the first 200 - 230 pages, I was at about a 2 to 2.5/5 rating. The story was interesting, but the writing was not very compelling. Some of the writing and parts of the early plot are pretty awkward. I’d be enjoying the story and then an awkward sentence would arrive that would pull me out of the moment; and in sections, this awkward writing seemed prevalent. It was very distracting. An example- not the best one- is “he seemed to take glee in doing it”. This may not sound awkward to you, but that’s how it felt for me - jarring.
The plot was keeping me entertained, despite the writing that felt choppy. I definitely enjoyed the humor sprinkled into the plot. Once the slasher scene really started though, I felt gripped, and I didn’t feel or notice any awkward writing pulling me out of the novel- perhaps there was none! The last 70 pages - mama LIKE. That section was like a 4/5 rating for me. Thus my rating of a 3/5 - averaging my initial and final impressions.
Alas- what happened to the editor in the last chapter before the epilogue? I found at minimum 4 (probably 5) typos in that chapter - 2 within 3 paragraphs and later on, another 2 in the same paragraph. The editor seemed to have just given up- which is both funny and embarrassing. It was an odd experience to encounter so many typos in one chapter, especially the last. Talk about throwing you off the flow of the plot. Makes you wonder if it was for some reason, above my comprehension, that it was intentional?!
I’m interested to read Bockoven’s ‘Fantasticland’ after reading this one, as it seems like that got better reviews, but I’m not sure I’m ready for it and am not sure I ever will be. What an odd journey reading this book was…!!
I love comedy and stand up, which is why I was drawn to this book. And putting a slasher novel on top of it? I was intrigued.
After reading the first 200 - 230 pages, I was at about a 2 to 2.5/5 rating. The story was interesting, but the writing was not very compelling. Some of the writing and parts of the early plot are pretty awkward. I’d be enjoying the story and then an awkward sentence would arrive that would pull me out of the moment; and in sections, this awkward writing seemed prevalent. It was very distracting. An example- not the best one- is “he seemed to take glee in doing it”. This may not sound awkward to you, but that’s how it felt for me - jarring.
The plot was keeping me entertained, despite the writing that felt choppy. I definitely enjoyed the humor sprinkled into the plot. Once the slasher scene really started though, I felt gripped, and I didn’t feel or notice any awkward writing pulling me out of the novel- perhaps there was none! The last 70 pages - mama LIKE. That section was like a 4/5 rating for me. Thus my rating of a 3/5 - averaging my initial and final impressions.
Alas- what happened to the editor in the last chapter before the epilogue? I found at minimum 4 (probably 5) typos in that chapter - 2 within 3 paragraphs and later on, another 2 in the same paragraph. The editor seemed to have just given up- which is both funny and embarrassing. It was an odd experience to encounter so many typos in one chapter, especially the last. Talk about throwing you off the flow of the plot. Makes you wonder if it was for some reason, above my comprehension, that it was intentional?!
I’m interested to read Bockoven’s ‘Fantasticland’ after reading this one, as it seems like that got better reviews, but I’m not sure I’m ready for it and am not sure I ever will be. What an odd journey reading this book was…!!
August 29, 2025
I did genuinely enjoy this book and it should have received 4 stars, a solid 3.5 at minimum. I had to round it down to 3 due to poor editing of basic punctuation and grammar. There is even a moment where a character is called another character's name during narration. It got worse as the book went on, as though the editor just checked out.
dnf
May 27, 2025DNF 10% into the audiobook.
So... either this guy is psychotic or a vengeful evil spirit is possessing him and either way, I have zero interest in it. I legit just finished watching Smile last night and this kinda feels like the same thing but without a good plot.
Loved Fantasticland, but this is a huge no thank you.
So... either this guy is psychotic or a vengeful evil spirit is possessing him and either way, I have zero interest in it. I legit just finished watching Smile last night and this kinda feels like the same thing but without a good plot.
Loved Fantasticland, but this is a huge no thank you.
June 28, 2025
Another great book by Mike Bockoven!! Great plot full of action And horror with a deft touch at character development.
The audio book is well narrated! Can’t wait for his new one!!
This one tips more into the thriller than horror
4 1/2 stars!
The audio book is well narrated! Can’t wait for his new one!!
This one tips more into the thriller than horror
4 1/2 stars!
September 8, 2025
Horrible book, and I wonder if all of the name drops in this book gave permission. From comedians to musicians, I am guessing they wouldn't want to be associated with this work of fiction. It was pretty gruesome with violence, and the plot was not very good. 2 stars might be a bit high of a rating.
March 12, 2025
The ending was well worth it. At times the book was slow but I thought the premise was solid. I loved the back stories and stand up interspersed within the story.
August 28, 2024
An ode to comedy (I don’t know anything about comedians or comedy clubs). I just don’t think I’m really into these kind of thriller/slasher books that are scary for no reason my bad
June 25, 2025
Meh, was okay. I like this authors other 2 books very much. This one just didn’t hit as much for me. If I had to recommend any books from this author I’d definitely start with fantasticland first.
May 19, 2024
Much more gore than actual storyline.
June 22, 2023
I became a fan of Mike Bockoven through FantasticLand and was very excited when I saw he had a new book coming out, particularly on standup comedy (a past hobby of mine). This book, Killing It, is extremely dark, but also highly entertaining and fast-paced. While there are multiple POVs and jumps in time (usually annoyances for me) this book made it work and kept the work easy to follow. Moreover, the audible narration was very good and kept me focused throughout the book. I’m surprised and some of the lackluster reviews (although some of those straight up dislike standup, so maybe that’s part of it). For me, I appreciated this book fort what it was and very much enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews