Dead Inside

Dan Deadman Space Detective #2

by Barry J. Hutchison

Dan Deadman is having one of those days.

After saving the grim and gritty alien city of Down Here from something big, mean and mind-bendingly horrible, Dan is looking forward to unwinding in the closest available bar. Annoyingly, the universe has other ideas.

Instead, Dan finds himself investigating a cheating husband, two horrible murders, and the potential enslavement of everyone in the galaxy. With his caseload stretching his woefully limited detective skills, his car in pieces, and the whole 'being dead' thing not doing him any favors, Dan has no choice but to ask his friends for help.

And that's when his problems really start.

Featuring motivational gangsters, predatory worms and a whole classroom full of defecating infants, "Dead Inside" is the second book in the Dan Deadman Space Detective Series, and the follow-up to the best-selling "Dial D for Deadman".

Genres: Science Fiction, Comedy, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Humor

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2017

About the author

Barry J. Hutchison is an award-winning author, screenwriter and writer of comics. Having written over 70 books for children and teenagers, Barry is now writing books for adults. Space Team is his first grown-up novel.

Barry lives in the Highlands of Scotland with his wife, two children, and irritatingly upbeat dog.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are such a treat!! I love this entire series and the narration is sheer perfection. This one even included outtakes which had me cracking up.

[Meenaz Lodhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second installment is even better, if it’s possible. Creative impressive situations,Is Dan is becoming more sensitive? Funny, action packed from the start, Hilarious! Waiting for the third in the series!

[Shane Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fonking good story.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth story I have read in the Space Team Universe, but I have read many others by the author. Several months before reading this I encountered the works of J.D. Kirk I also discovered that Kirk publishes children’s books as Barry Hutchison, and other adult fiction as Barry J. Hutchison. I have read 21 stories published under the Kirk Name and am now branching out to the ones under the Hutchinson names, this is the twelfth under that name. He is coming up on 200 books across the three pen names. If I had known that or I might not have picked up this first one. Friends call me a ‘completionist’ in that when I find an author I like, I try to read everything they have published. I have enjoyed all I have read from his pen and this one was no different.

The description of this novel is:

“Dan Deadman is having one of those days.

After saving the grim and gritty alien city of Down Here from something big, mean and mind-bendingly horrible, Dan is looking forward to unwinding in the closest available bar. Annoyingly, the universe has other ideas.

Instead, Dan finds himself investigating a cheating husband, two horrible murders, and the potential enslavement of everyone in the galaxy. With his caseload stretching his woefully limited detective skills, his car in pieces, and the whole 'being dead' thing not doing him any favors, Dan has no choice but to ask his friends for help.

And that's when his problems really start.

Featuring motivational gangsters, predatory worms and a whole classroom full of defecating infants, "Dead Inside" is the second book in the Dan Deadman Space Detective Series, and the follow-up to the best-selling "Dial D for Deadman".”

When doing research for the Dial D for Deadman review I found on Barry’s site a reading order for the Space Team Universe Books and Short Stories:

1. Space Team
2. Space Team: The Wrath of Vajazzle
2a. Space Team: The Holiday Special
(found in Space Team: A Lot of Weird Space Shizz)
3. Space Team: The Search for Splurt
4. Space Team: Song of the Space Siren
5. Space Team: The Guns of Nana Joan
6. Space Team: Return of the Dead Guy
7. “Dial D for Deadman”
7a. “Dead Men Don’t Get Paid”
(found in Space Team: A Lot of Weird Space Shizz)
8. Space Team: Planet of the Japes
9. “Dead Inside”
10. Space Team: Time Titan of Tomorrow
11. “Dead in the Water”
12. Space Team: The King of Space Must Die!
13. Space Team: Sting of the Mustard Mines
14. Space Team: Sentienced to Death
15. Space Team: The Hunt for Reduk Topa
16. Konto Garr: Bounty Hunter and Occasional Babysitter

I have been intentionally jumping around Barry’s middle grade, young adult, and adult series. This was such a fun read. With a whole lot of slap stick humour, over the top antics. And at times it was laugh out loud funny. It reminds me of several series and authors, most of whom, I read when I was much younger. In a way this book and both series are like a jump back in time for me. The first to come to mind was Harry Harrison’s Bill the Galactic Hero series and his Stainless Steal Rat series, the next was Robert Asprin’s Phule’s Company Series. But for all the sense of a mash up of these other series there is something different about this offering, I absolutely love the concept of the Deadman series. And the universal translator that blocks swearing is very easy to decipher. As is obvious by the title Dan is dead, yea literally dead. He is trying to make a living as a Private Eye. Think Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, except he is dead, not a zombie. And has a conscience even though he fights it often. Ollie (Oledol) is a woman he rescued while closing a portal to the malwhere a place of nightmares. She says she cannot remember anything and she is now more than a bit of a side kick. And man does she have some kick. And Artur his pint size leprechaunish friend. The characters are great. The humour is maybe a bit juvenal. Think Deadpool with an automatic filter to clean up the language.

This story picks up shortly after the previous novel in the series. And there is a novella or short story in an anthology that falls between the two novels. In this one We find out more about Ollie, her powers, and even Dan’s own backstory. We also learn a little more about those who live in floating cities above.

This book marks the 33rd offering from Hutchison I have read in the last 10 months, under the three names he publishes under. They have all been entertaining reads. Some have been excellent. Reading this as mentioned was like a throwback to stuff I read in my late teens and early twenties. It was a very fun read. I love the character of Dan Deadman and look forward to reading more of his stories in the standalone trilogy and in the larger Space Team Universe. A highly entertaining read I can recommend for mature readers who love the slap stick humour!

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited, yes I've read them already, individually and as sets, own some, but it's my ku and I can do what I want to. Hutchison is more fun than a barrel of {space} monkeys!! Space Team: A Lot of Weird Space Shizz: Collected Short Stories {preorder, I already did, due out 15th of this month}

After saving the grim and gritty alien city of Down Here from something big, mean and mind-bendingly horrible, Dan is looking forward to unwinding in the closest available bar. Annoyingly, the universe has other ideas.Instead, Dan finds himself investigating a cheating husband, two horrible murders, and the potential enslavement of everyone in the galaxy. With his caseload stretching his woefully limited detective skills, his car in pieces, and the whole 'being dead' thing not doing him any favors, Dan has no choice but to ask his friends for help.And that's when his problems really start.

Featuring motivational gangsters, predatory worms and a whole classroom full of defecating infants, "Dead Inside" is the second book in the Dan Deadman Space Detective Series, and the follow-up to the best-selling "Dial D for Deadman".


Space Team
Space Team: The Holiday Special
Space Team: The Wrath of Vajazzle
Space Team: The Search for Splurt
Space Team: Song of the Space Siren
Space Team: The Guns of Nana Joan
Space Team: Return of the Dead Guy
Space Team: The Collected Adventures: Volume 1
Space Team - The Wrath of Vajazzle - The Search for Splurt
Space Team: The Collected Adventures: Volume 2
Song of the Space Siren - The Guns of Nana Joan - Return of the Dead Guy
Dead Inside: A Space Team Universe Novel (Dan Deadman Space Detective Book 2)

Space Team: A Lot of Weird Space Shizz: Collected Short Stories {preorder, I already did, due out 15th of this month}

amazons, bookstores, and all finer truck stops near you, VAT at Restaurant at End of the Universe Book Store Emporium -- Featuring spaceships, spacemen, space battles, space spiders, and lots of space stuff in general, isn't it time you set (space)
sail with Space Team?

[Shawn Dvorak · Rating 5 out of 5]

BUY. THIS. BOOK...this is some funny schizz! I laughed out loud so many times my wife threatened to take my reader away from me - she couldn't hear the TV over my outbursts. The dialog between Dan and feisty elf/dwarf/something Artur are roll-on-floor funny. Artur reminds me of Terry Pratchett's
Mac Nac Feegle, with a little dash of raunchy, and Dan's character makes a perfect foil for Artur's bald language. My only regret is that I read it straight through, and now I'm already finished.

This second book in the Dan Deadman series (seriously, go buy both this and the first book "Dial D for Deadman." NOW!), has Dan, Artur, and former trans-dimensional kidnappee Oledol are again hopelessly mixed up with demons from various flavors of Hell, the corrupt local police force, and confused repairmen. Luckily, Dan is already dead so he's really hard to kill, Artur's apparently indestructible, and Oledol has a few tricks up her sleeves (hint, it's her hands).

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part Dashiell Hammett. Part Police Squad! All Fun!!!

I have been a fan of Mr. Hutchison's "Space Team" series ever since I came across it, eagerly reading every book until I was caught up. I expected this spin-off series to be more of the same. Much to my surprise, I have enjoyed this series more than "Space Team". I was amazed at the author's ability to not only capture the atmosphere and noir feel of classic detective stories, but also his ability to infuse humor into what is otherwise serious situations. Mr. Hutchinson has a very deft touch when it comes to balancing comedy, action, and drama.

As with "Space Team", there is great character development throughout the novels, and you can't help but smile at Ollie's clueless nature, or Artur's Highland accent and propensity for violence. Of course then there is Dan Deadman, the detective with a non-beating heart of gold, who manages to look out for them both.

Fans of well-done humor as well as those looking for a noir-type mystery in an alien setting would do well to dive into this series.

[Ines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Deadman is hired by a woman from Up There, who thinks her husband is cheating on her, and is asked by a former friend to investigate a gruesome murder of a kid and his father. Dan is also trying to help Ollie become a legal citizen of Down Here, avoid wars with monsters from other dimensions, and steering Artur away from bars. The latter probably being the most difficult task.

This was a good action-packed book that made me giggle more than the first. We learn more about Dan's past and about Ollie and her power. Also, reading Artur being Artur is a treat. I think I enjoyed the mystery more on the first book, but in this one the characters are more developed. The audio version is amazingly well read by Phil Thron, who plays all the voices convincingly (he gets 5 stars for the narration), and there's a chapter only with bloopers!

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan and Ollie (instead of "Stan and Ollie") are back in another Deadman adventure.

These books are a little dryer than the space team series, a d not just case Dan is dead. Most of the humor is Ollie or Autur based, and bother characters are much more absent in this book than the first.

The "detective" case is weak and the side cases is not very strong either. This book seems much more about world building and character development than about comedy, mystery or sci-fi.

It made for a much more dull listen than the first. While enjoyable just not as good as it could have been if some of the more interesting elements were worked in.

Still though, Phil Throng did an amazing job, and it was a good book, so I will soldier on and look forward to the 3rd installment of the series.

[Hiren Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new Dresden files

I really like all the books that this author writes. The Deadman series is definitely different than the Space Team series. Artur definitely carries the comedy, with Ollie contributing to the jokes as well. Deadman is a little too serious, maybe the plot could allow him to be funnier. The action is great though, and the plot moves along well. This book reminded me a lot of what I loved about the Dresden files. Dresden was a bit too much of a goody-goody though, and Deadman doesn’t suffer from that. Jim Butcher pretty much gave up on that series though. I hope the Deadman series continues to its conclusion.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, I found things to work on in the yard so I could busy myself while listening to my book. Fun times for all!

It is the return of Dan Deadman, Ollie and Arter (maybe I should buy a print book just to learn how to spell his name!). Boy, are they all busy this time. Dan and Arter started off looking for a young one stolen from its mother in an alternate dimension, then they were hired to track an errant husband AND Dan was tipped off by a former co-worker to look into some ritualistic murders. And that was all within 24 hours.

It was good entertainment and Phil Thron did his usual, fantastic narration.

[B. Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan returns in the second book in the Dan Deadman Series. This time we delve deeper into the detective trope and explore more of the massive city, Down There. I appreciated that the seemingly innocuous events set up throughout the book all had satisfying payoffs in the end. This book was cleverly written, with a well thought out plot, and fleshed out characters. Artur and Ollie are back too, with the former carrying more of the comedic load this time. Not to be outdone, Ollie flexes her skills this time around with terrifying results. Overall I very much enjoyed Dead Inside, and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Dial D for Deadman.

[Lisa Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan and the gang take a cheating husband case that ends with the destruction of half the city thanks to more fun entities from the malware. Par for the course, because that's what Dan's life, er, death, is like. Dan still hasn't paid off the loan shark he owes money to, a bit of his old life comes calling, and will poor Artur ever get to the pub? Meanwhile Ollie is just as blindingly naive and literal as ever. Dan reminds me a bit of a parent who hasn't slept in years trying to keep up with an seven year old with adhd and no limits and a four year old with no clue. Read it for the leprechaun alone. It's a rollicking good time.

[Teri Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as funny as the first, but substantially feckin good!

The first book in this series had me smiling almost every page. This one had my brain cells dancing with concern for my beloved Dan, Ollie, and Artur. Every time I thought the worst that could happen had happened I discovered that, sadly, I was wrong. This book has so much action that I found myself re-reading whole pages just to keep up. I do still wonder about the Tessingham's, and if Dan got paid. I already have the next book, maybe the answers will be there.

[Y.I. Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

H for Hilarious!

Dan and company are having another bad day...or two.

Upon finishing one job, he's pulled into another, has to get Ollie identification from a worm, deal with yet more denizens from the Malware, oh and get his office outer wall and window fixed by not-so-professional builders. Then there's the debt he still owes to Shornak and car trouble.

Barry Hutchison has become one of my favorite 5 authors with his hilarious, action-packed, sci-fi. Between this series and Space Team, I'll always have fun, well plotted stories to read.

[Lee Piner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining detective/scifi novel. I didn't mention in my review of the first book in the series the appearance of a character named Artur. This character bears more than a passing resemblance to Terry Pratchett's character Wee Mad Arthur in more ways than his name. He's the same height and the same temperament. I guess I don't mind seeing a character more-or-less reused, but it's worth mentioning.

[Jeff Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the first Dan Deadman novel, I wasn't a huge fan. I thought the series was okay, but it didn't have a lot of the panache that Space Team did. This book changed my mind about the series. All of the characters grow and develop in this installment, and the story is both interesting and fast-paced. While still not on the same level as Space Team, I finished this book excited to read the next one and see where Dan, Artur, and Ollie's adventures take them.

[Natalie Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely just brilliant.

I love Barry's books, Space Team is awesome. What I love so much about Dan Deadman is that even though it's a lot darker Down Here than it is in the rest of the galaxy he still makes me laugh all the way through.

The action starts with the first word of Dead Inside and literally doesn't stop until the end. I want the next one!

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Deadman returns in his second book, from the Space Team spin off. As with all of Barry's books, the characters and there interactions, are what makes these books so good. With Dan, Ollie and Artur, you have three characters that keep you wanting to read on. This series has the potential to be as good as Space Team series.

[Jolter164 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Dan Deadman adventure!

This is just as much fun as the first book and there were several parts I read over again just to keep laughing. We get to see a little development of the characters and I expect we'll learn more as the series continues. I'm eager to keep these going!

[Caroline Arnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action, suspence and humour!

Once again Dan, Ollie and Artur are in a pickle. Solving cases, saving the world (twice!!...at least) and Artur finally go to the pub. Rip roaring plot, funny as fonk! Would not just recommend but demand you read this series! That is if you wanna, ahem.

[Gary Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deadman is awesome

I really enjoyed the the second book in the Deadman series and really enjoyed the storyline.

Ollie and Arthur are awesome sidekicks and the chemistry being shown between Dan and them has been really fun to read.

Another great book and a must read if you enjoyed the first.

[Moriah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stumbled upon the first book as it was recommended by audible. Hilarity and horrific deaths ensued. Not sure if Artur or Molly is my favourite character.... this book is possibly even better than the first, and the first book was amazing. If you can handle horrific murders and love a hard bit detective and his.... friends, then I highly recommend this series

[Joe Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think what makes these books so amazing is that they're amusing despite the incredibly high stakes. There's also an incredible consistency across the works, keeping the feel even between the different series and themes. Another big winner in the Space Team universe.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeeeeeaaaaaadddddmmmmmaaaannnn

Out trio is back at it not too far in the future from our last outing. And the hits keep coming. Travel along as friendship is realized, old debts paid and new debts made.

[Mr Geoffrey Bowlt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review

Fonking good read-no shizz.I was only expecting something as good as the last book,but this one was even better!Well done that man.

[Dorian Yeager · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't challenged!

Nothing political in here. My views weren't challenged. I don't feel like my mind was opened to new experiences. I was entertained. And thank Christ for that.

[Bob Snook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barry,

What the fonk? We need more Dan, somewhere in his travels a trip up there. Great book, good plot and an eye out for more.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Future fun classicd

The style and pace of these books are brilliant,love the twists and turns. These are a must have in your list of good reads!

[ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME!!!!!!!

LOVED IT!!!!! Dan Deadman is the coolest anti-hero. And Barry Hutchison has the best humor around. Delightfully written and without unneeded cursing.