“Gather ‘round people and you shall hear about a bunch of bullshit that is clear. Of riders and horses and monsters too; your parents lied - they can still get you. Hardly anyone who was there is alive to dispel the rumor, uncover the lies, but there was more than one man who rode that day and more than just Redcoats who got in their way.” Along the way, Longfellow lost something in his translation it seems. Everyone has heard of the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. However, they have not heard about them this way! The American founding fathers had a lot more to deal with at the end of the 18th century than tariffs and tea; avoiding hurled trees from Wendigos and gargoyles falling from the sky took a lot of patience. How is Samuel Prescott supposed to hunt the leader of the Rippers when the British keep infringing upon the colonists’ rights?
The story of the founding fathers gets a bit of a make over in this book.With werewolves and vampires how did they get anything acomplished?Michael Gilboe voices Ben Franklin,Paul Revere,George Washington,Adams,etc to histerical heights!His characters are so over the top that you sometimes have to listen again to catch every detail.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
Midnight Riders by Pete Clark is an action-packed re-telling of the beginning of the American Revolution. It follows characters such as Paul Revere, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Prescott...you get the picture....as they traverse the thirteen colonies and fight werewolves, zombies, and many other mythical creatures. That's right the British isn't their number one concern! It's all the monsters that have come to join the fighting. This is the "true, unheard tale" of the American Revolution and what a fun one it is!
I'm gonna be honest with you. I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. There were times I was laughing so hard at the ridiculousness (is that a word?) of the situations the main characters found themselves in that I had tears streaming down my face. Then there were times that I was re-reading a section because it made no sense. But I guess that's the point really. As much as this is a historical fiction, it is also satire. And I have to say the dry humor won out!
The characters are funny, and because it is written with today's vernacular, the situations they find themselves in made me laugh out loud. Paul Revere is depicted as the bumbling idiot, instead of the rebel who warned of the British invasion. He was so stupid!! To use one of my favorite Southern sayings....Bless his heart! Daniel Boone is also a main character, and he is a no nonsense kind of guy, and he's my favorite!
Then there's the monsters of the story....werewolves, zombies, dragons, wyvern, succubae, and many others. Pretty much think about a mythical creature and it's probably in the story. The French team up with the Indians during the French and Indian War and a character named Guyasuta begins researching why these monsters appeared in North America and not "across the pond." They decide that the monsters started showing up 200 years earlier and the story revolves around the why and how to get rid of them. Especially the how to get rid of them since they seem to be drawn to fighting and the Revolution is on the horizon.
This is a fantastical blend of history, sci-fi, and fantasy. Real people, real events all surrounded by the world that the author has created. Overall, it is nicely done. If you know me, you know my vice is historical fiction and fantasy. However this is the first time I've ever read a blend of the two genres, and to be completely honest it just didn't work for me. What did work was the dry humor and satirical nature of the story itself. FYI this book does contain some graphic violence (hello....zombies!!) and strong language so I'd suggest it for those over 18. If you enjoy a good fantasy novel, like a little history, and want a good laugh, I highly recommend you check out this book.
[I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]
The promised combination of paranormal, American history and humour of this novel appealed to me, and I must say I spent quite a good time reading it. While the plot itself is actually quite serious (the War of Independence and the couple of decades that preceded it, seen through the prism of "what if supernatural creatures had plagued the colonists on top of it?"), it also makes fun of a lot of events, tropes, and famous characters—often directly, but sometimes also in a more subtle way. If you want to read a really serious supernatural retelling of history, the humour might break it; on the other hand, if you're looking for a funny story, and don't mind a bit of swearing and jabs at political correctness at times, then it may be for you. (As a word of warning, though, it's best to brush up on your American history first, otherwise some hints and jokes won't work so well.)
What may contribute to a reader liking or not liking this novel—depending on personal tastes:
* The characters aren't too developed. The story spans over 20 years, and partly rests on assumed knowledge of the historical personas it makes use of. For instance, don't expect to be carried on a journey into Paul Revere's life, thoughts and feelings. Too many characters are involved for this to happen. However, you'll find a lot of known names.
* Tropes. Lots of tropes. Allusions to red shirts, and the likes... I like when a novel plays on those, so I was glad whenever I found some. Since humour is part of the story, they work for me, much better than clichés thrown into a "serious" plot. (There's one character in particular who likes pointing out every time a Deus Ex Machina pops up.)
* Recurrent jokes, like zombies and werewolves regularly coming to crash a battle or skirmish. (I must admit that after a while, some of them became a little old in my opinion, though.)
* Historical accuracy: not 100% accurate. Mostly the research was well-done in my opinion, but sometimes, a character will find him/herself in a place a few days too early, compared to what really happened. This said, the novel also plays on those "wrong facts", using them to lean on the fourth wall. Scratch that: to punch a hole through it, actually. Again, this worked for me, but may not do so well for a reader who dislikes such occurrences.
* The writing: a bit dry in places, but otherwise befitting the humorous undertone. I've seen better, I've seen worse.
3.5 stars. It has its faults, and sometimes overdoes it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and laughed regularly.
Well hello and welcome to our review of Midnight Riders by Pete Clark. As you can see, we’ve awarded this book 4 stars as we absolutely loved it! I may be English (don’t hold it against me, please) but I have a strange fascination with all things American, especially the history (there’s not a lot of time there but boy have you guys had a lot happen). That being said, it was fabulous to be given the opportunity to review a book which tied two of my greatest passions together, the history of the War of Independence and supernatural creatures!
The story has an excellent grasp of the history, and the sarcasm and satirical nature of the humour is fabulous throughout. The history is very well weaved into the story, neither takes precedence which makes it a very interesting read, especially for those of you who are interested by history. The humour, particularly the French bashing, amused me greatly, and the camaraderie between the characters really adds an extra dimension to this. It has brought a very important era of history to life in a way that will interest a new generation of young people – extra kudos for that!
Clark has a brilliant, easy to read style to his writing which makes it easy to dip in and out of when you get 5 minutes to read. For me, this is a very important thing in a book as I rarely get time nowadays to read a book in one sitting, and so this was an added bonus for me. I previously mentioned the characters, and I have to say some of them are incredibly hilarious and very well written. Prescott and Boone particularly grabbed my imagination, and Hannah added an excellent dynamic, even if the plot arc with Hannah and Prescott could have been developed a little further (but that’s just me being a little picky).
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read which had good pace, developed well and weaved all manner of supernatural creatures into it’s pages. Accurate, and exciting history, manipulated with expertise to add the supernatural element in a very believable and enjoyable way. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or even supernatural books as it’s really fab, I know I’m repeating myself, but honestly, it needs saying! Pete Clark has a very unique style of writing, very similar to my own sense of humour, and I am very much looking forward to reading more from him in the future.
Midnight Riders by Pete Clark Early American history is interesting to some and now, it’s finally interesting to me. This book is a fun crazy mashup of historical fiction, humor, and the supernatural. The Rippers are anything paranormal and troublesome. The American Founding Fathers have more than the English or French to worry about! But they find a way to stop the Rippers from multiplying and it involves finding the last lost descendant of the Roanoke settlement of the 1500s. There’s plenty of humor in this book. Daniel Boone’s smelly raccoon hat gets him recognized far more often than his skills with a gun. Swamp Fox Frances Marion is so very PC while Samuel Prescott tries to go anonymous everywhere (and fails). Paul Revere is a bit of a twit but makes awesome weapons and dinnerware. Then the author tosses in things like a wendigo, werewolves, succubi, zombies, mole people, etc. yet everyone knows there are no such things as vampires. This story had me chuckling all the way through. Now sometimes I did get silliness fatigue if a joke was used too many times or if there was just scene after scene of humor without something more serious to ground the story. Also, there are very few female characters and for the longest time our only females are some succubi. Eventually we get a female character that affects the plot, but again, she has a pretty small role. I really liked how this humorous tale pulled in the Roanoke mystery and made it a key point to the plot. I’ve long been interested in this historical mystery and it was fun to see a new take on it. The author tosses in key historical moments like the Boston Tea Party and the First Congressional Meeting. Of course, every thing goes awry with those due to the abundance of supernatural beings mucking about in the New World. Sometimes the story felt more like a D&D adventure (there’s even a maze crawl!). All together, it made early American history sound way more interesting than the boring version told in public schools.
I received a copy of this book at no cost (via Audiobook Blast) in exchange for an honest review. Narration: Michael Gilboe did a great job with this book. He came up with some great voices! I loved his gruff Morgenstern and his proper Frances Marion. There were even some supernatural critter sounds tossed in. All his characters were distinct.
Early American history is interesting to some and now, it’s finally interesting to me. This book is a fun crazy mashup of historical fiction, humor, and the supernatural. The Rippers are anything paranormal and troublesome. The American Founding Fathers have more than the English or French to worry about! But they find a way to stop the Rippers from multiplying and it involves finding the last lost descendant of the Roanoke settlement of the 1500s.
There’s plenty of humor in this book. Daniel Boone’s smelly raccoon hat gets him recognized far more often than his skills with a gun. Swamp Fox Frances Marion is so very PC while Samuel Prescott tries to go anonymous everywhere (and fails). Paul Revere is a bit of a twit but makes awesome weapons and dinnerware. Then the author tosses in things like a wendigo, werewolves, succubi, zombies, mole people, etc. yet everyone knows there are no such things as vampires. This story had me chuckling all the way through.
Now sometimes I did get silliness fatigue if a joke was used too many times or if there was just scene after scene of humor without something more serious to ground the story. Also, there are very few female characters and for the longest time our only females are some succubi. Eventually we get a female character that affects the plot, but again, she has a pretty small role.
I really liked how this humorous tale pulled in the Roanoke mystery and made it a key point to the plot. I’ve long been interested in this historical mystery and it was fun to see a new take on it. The author tosses in key historical moments like the Boston Tea Party and the First Congressional Meeting. Of course, every thing goes awry with those due to the abundance of supernatural beings mucking about in the New World. Sometimes the story felt more like a D&D adventure (there’s even a maze crawl!). All together, it made early American history sound way more interesting than the boring version told in public schools.
I received a copy of this book at no cost (via Audiobook Blast) in exchange for an honest review.
Narration: Michael Gilboe did a great job with this book. He came up with some great voices! I loved his gruff Morgenstern and his proper Frances Marion. There were even some supernatural critter sounds tossed in. All his characters were distinct.
Well I must say that this was definitely a twist on history. I enjoyed it though. At times I even found myself laughing out loud. I don't usually read this kind of thing, but I am glad I read this. A really nice change from my usual and a great way to spend a few hours! It was just to unrealistic for me though. I wish it could have been more believable because this could have been an amazing story. Not that it was not good, just not a wow book. I really did like it though and that shocked me. I can't really say why but it did. This is a book with the kind of humor my family loves. So that really drew me in. I definitely say you should give it a try. This isn't a book all would enjoy but, it is a good laugh and a new view on history. I can say I would have much rather history been this interesting while I was in school. Then it would have been my favorite subject. I do wish that everyone could love this kind of book but they do not. I did enjoy it and I look forward to reading more of Pete Clark's work. It was new to me and I will be reading more like it for sure. If you enjoy history with a twist then this is the perfect book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was hilarious and full of surprises. You never knew what was going to happen next and every surprise was funnier than the first one. You followed historical characters such as Paul Revere (my favorite character), George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Daniel Boone. Throw in some crazy monsters and you have the ultimate historical/supernatural book.
One of the first scenes in the book is of Paul Revere standing in a ditch staring at the sky in the middle of war time and talking about shooting stars. Daniel Boone is with him yelling at him to get down. It sucked me in from that point on and it only got that much better as it went on and on.
I would highly recommend this book to anybody that loves a good historical or supernatural book this is definitely for you. On the other hand if you just want something to make you laugh this would also be for you.
Narration - Michael Gilboe - Pretty Good! There are a ton of characters in this book and some of them are pretty funny. I'm sure he had fun narrating this title and it shows in his performance.
This is kind of a crazy book. It's basically a retelling of some American History with the introduction of Paranormal elements - in a humorous fashion. I have to believe the narrator had a ball reading this and creating all these characters.
I don't know what else to say without giving things away. It's humorous, there's some mystery, there's a lot of tongue in cheek politically correct/incorrect humor and a fun way to review a warped retelling of American history.
It's pretty "out there" but it was definitely an enjoyable listen!
I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge from audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review
Personally, the best giggle was Swamp Fox Francis Marion knitting sox! Since this is mostly set before my time (retired Rev War re-enactor), I was freely able to enjoy the silliness without rancor. The personalities are skewed from the traditional drivel, and the additional threats from supernatural beings is a hoot. Satire and humor rule the day (and night) in this unconventional romp thru apparent history, so leave reality in the kitchen and enjoy the laughs. No summary or spoilers needed. M. Gilboe has the snark and wiseassery down pat and gives a great performance! "This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."
I loved this book a lot more than I thought I would. The sort of "American" humor doesn't usually make me laugh out loud, but this book had me rolling and quoting all day. The numerous characters were a bit overwhelming, but the storytelling was fun and action packed. I am definitely recommending this to everyone I know.
I listened to the audio version and Michael Gilboe did an excellent job capturing the humor and satire of the book. His characters were outrageous and the accents suitably stereotypical. Listening to Gilboe narrate this book is the only way to enjoy it.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
A funny alternate history of the beginnings of the USA that includes werewolves, zombies and the occasional succubus. It is a tongue in cheek kind of book that is funny for the first hour but then I sort of lost interest. I intend to go back to it when I need a nonsensical read to lighten my mood. . "This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."
I really enjoyed this mashup of the alternate history of the United States with paranormal creatures.The inclusion of zombies and werewolves with historical figures like Paul Revere and George Washington was quirky fun.The narrator did an amazing job portraying each character and is a very talented voice actor.This book reminds me of the unique humor of Pride and Prejudice with Zombies.I received an audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not one for history related books but this one was awesome. it was the history of America and yet so much more. with monsters and funny cynicism in every turn it was the best book ever!
Midnight Riders by Pete Clark will take you on a journey like none other! It will make you question just what you have been taught, thought and always believed about history. There is so much more to it! Is is real or is it make believe? Read more to find out!