What do you think?
Rate this book
Life on the 64 Bus
After being diagnosed with mental illness, Keats wants nothing more than to get away. His first day in Rome he falls in love - and she steals his wallet and passport. See, this isn't the Rome of La Dolce Vita. This is the Rome of confidence scams, warring gangs of pickpockets living in the catacombs, and Robin Hood philosopher kings. Keats falls in with this off-the-grid society and, for the first time, finds himself a part of something. The eclectic group of Misfits (with a capital M) teach him every scam they know and the group's leader, an aging punk rocker they call the Carny, seems to be grooming Keats to be his replacement.
But running from problems is never a good idea. After a series of knife fights, kidnappings, car chases, and a nude sprint across the city, Keats begins to suspect something is wrong with the Carny, something that could put his new family in serious danger. Protecting them, however, will mean a betrayal of everything he holds dear.
Hey, at least he's on vacation.
Funny, romantic, and action-packed, Life on the 64 Bus is a story about how family isn't always connected by blood, no matter how much of it gets spilled.
But running from problems is never a good idea. After a series of knife fights, kidnappings, car chases, and a nude sprint across the city, Keats begins to suspect something is wrong with the Carny, something that could put his new family in serious danger. Protecting them, however, will mean a betrayal of everything he holds dear.
Hey, at least he's on vacation.
Funny, romantic, and action-packed, Life on the 64 Bus is a story about how family isn't always connected by blood, no matter how much of it gets spilled.
318 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2021
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Brad C. Hodson
26 books56 followersOriginally from Knoxville, TN, writer Brad C. Hodson currently hangs his hat in sunny Southern California. A former stand-up comedian, he also founded an award winning sketch comedy group and has been published in several national magazines.
He's the recipient of the Roselle Lewis Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the Kornbluh Award for non-fiction, as well as several screenwriting awards. He's written professionally for stage, screen, page, and games (both video and tabletop), and loves storytelling in all its forms.
The feature film adaptation of his first novel DARLING will begin shooting in the spring of 2020. The book's 2nd revised edition is currently available as an audiobook through Audible. His upcoming novel THE MUD ANGEL was recently optioned for television.
When not writing, Hodson is the Administrator for the Horror Writers Association. For more information, please check out www.brad-hodson.com.
He's the recipient of the Roselle Lewis Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the Kornbluh Award for non-fiction, as well as several screenwriting awards. He's written professionally for stage, screen, page, and games (both video and tabletop), and loves storytelling in all its forms.
The feature film adaptation of his first novel DARLING will begin shooting in the spring of 2020. The book's 2nd revised edition is currently available as an audiobook through Audible. His upcoming novel THE MUD ANGEL was recently optioned for television.
When not writing, Hodson is the Administrator for the Horror Writers Association. For more information, please check out www.brad-hodson.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 28, 2021
Long after I have forgotten the title to this book making it nearly impossible to recommend to anyone I will remember the story. This is a wild ride on an adventure so crazy it becomes a thing of wonder. I had so much fun following this story it was impossible to put the book down once I'd started reading. The author, Brad C. Hodson, thanks a group of people for helping him to become a better storyteller in the acknowledgments. I too thank them.
The characters are very well developed and there are enough of them to make a large family. I enjoyed learning about them one at a time. The setting is modern day leaving space to imagine the story itself could really happen without the mess of trying to imagine how people lived in a different time and trying to imagine if the details are accurate.
In my reviews I never share what is readily available on the flyleaf and I won't here because I'd hate to rob someone of the opportunity of discovery. This is a great read!
The characters are very well developed and there are enough of them to make a large family. I enjoyed learning about them one at a time. The setting is modern day leaving space to imagine the story itself could really happen without the mess of trying to imagine how people lived in a different time and trying to imagine if the details are accurate.
In my reviews I never share what is readily available on the flyleaf and I won't here because I'd hate to rob someone of the opportunity of discovery. This is a great read!
October 28, 2021
This is a helluva fun book that hits a lot of notes—knife fights, Roman history and philosophy, pickpocketing, the mythos and spirit of the Romantic poets—all while keeping you engaged with a plot that is both restless and beautifully sure of itself. Despite learning lots and covering plenty of ground, you never feel like you’re slowing down. The protagonist, Keats, and his eventual pseudo-mentor, the Carny, both swerve between maniacal and heartfelt, savage and wise—the best of humanity and the worst. Hodson doesn’t pull any punches. The characters are flawed and earnest and striving, teetering between redemption and self-immolation at every turn.
The moment Keats decides to travel, a path which might contain something of redemption, you’re swept up out of ordinary life and dropped into Rome through Hodson’s eyes—magic, romantic, cracked, and bustling with life, culture, and dark secrets. Hodson’s Rome has two faces, the day and the night. The daytime Rome affords you its life and culture, full of beautiful plazas and historied sites. The nighttime world dives into the underground Necropolis where Keats finds himself amidst a secret society of thieves and misfits. The vibe is something like Fight Club meets Never-never land. Full of literary figures and mystery, a place where ghosts and old gods take on their own power and reality.
The book’s prose is slim and efficient, moving like a knife fighter, sparse and exact with its cuts—moments of beauty, or nasty gashes of horror and betrayal. The dialogue keeps you on your toes, too. There’s always some sly humor circling the edges. There’s a Palahniuk sense of wry humor and insight twisting into everything.
At its deepest levels, the book is struggling with the idea of family and belonging, as much as it is about fighting the dark, self-destructive impulses the live inside us. The parts of us that want to tear all the good stuff down, because we feel we don’t deserve it. The narrative has us believing that maybe we can change for the better, even if we’re fucking it up the whole way through.
Life on the 64 Bus somehow blurs the lines between a great escapist read, and a book that’s grappling with freedom, even if it comes at the cost of self-destruction.
The moment Keats decides to travel, a path which might contain something of redemption, you’re swept up out of ordinary life and dropped into Rome through Hodson’s eyes—magic, romantic, cracked, and bustling with life, culture, and dark secrets. Hodson’s Rome has two faces, the day and the night. The daytime Rome affords you its life and culture, full of beautiful plazas and historied sites. The nighttime world dives into the underground Necropolis where Keats finds himself amidst a secret society of thieves and misfits. The vibe is something like Fight Club meets Never-never land. Full of literary figures and mystery, a place where ghosts and old gods take on their own power and reality.
The book’s prose is slim and efficient, moving like a knife fighter, sparse and exact with its cuts—moments of beauty, or nasty gashes of horror and betrayal. The dialogue keeps you on your toes, too. There’s always some sly humor circling the edges. There’s a Palahniuk sense of wry humor and insight twisting into everything.
At its deepest levels, the book is struggling with the idea of family and belonging, as much as it is about fighting the dark, self-destructive impulses the live inside us. The parts of us that want to tear all the good stuff down, because we feel we don’t deserve it. The narrative has us believing that maybe we can change for the better, even if we’re fucking it up the whole way through.
Life on the 64 Bus somehow blurs the lines between a great escapist read, and a book that’s grappling with freedom, even if it comes at the cost of self-destruction.
November 10, 2021
There were moments I loved this book and moments I hated what was going on.
As an avid traveler, I felt for the victims.
Mental illness takes it’s toll on the main character, he’s divorced, his mistress hates him, he’s lost his job and his life is a disaster. His father blames him for his mother’s early death and isn’t any comfort to him during his childhood.The decision to go to Rome and walk the streets his mother wrote about in her journal turn into a nightmare adventure with the “Misfits” who lurk the city looking for prey.
Although they all have tragic pasts, they become an interesting if not disturbed family. Love the inclusion of history, poetry and art.
Rome is an amazing city, when I go back I will definitely look at it differently.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.
As an avid traveler, I felt for the victims.
Mental illness takes it’s toll on the main character, he’s divorced, his mistress hates him, he’s lost his job and his life is a disaster. His father blames him for his mother’s early death and isn’t any comfort to him during his childhood.The decision to go to Rome and walk the streets his mother wrote about in her journal turn into a nightmare adventure with the “Misfits” who lurk the city looking for prey.
Although they all have tragic pasts, they become an interesting if not disturbed family. Love the inclusion of history, poetry and art.
Rome is an amazing city, when I go back I will definitely look at it differently.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.
October 21, 2021
There’s a specific sort of sinister magic felt by any reader who gets their hands on a new Brad Hodson novel. It’s a hard feeling to describe precisely, but it’s akin to coming home after a long time away. The writing style and characters housed within this particular novel amplify "wry dark comedy" to a new level. While the wit and guile possessed by the main protagonist is completely fresh, yet profoundly grounded and honest. Highly recommend even if you've never set foot in Rome.
September 27, 2021
If you love stories about pickpockets, this is a book for you 🌟 I am definitely going to put this book in my favourite books list.🌟 I wanted to rate this book 4🌟 actually. But towards the end, it just broke me. I cried
🌟 The main character, who was a tourist turned local has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Topamax & Lamital. I have a soft spot for those who are living with BPD. I was diagnosed with BPD for about two years. The author mildly described how BPD can affect a person.
🌟 It has that Robin Hood + Six of Crows + The Irregulars vibes. A group of people who are living ‘underground’ trying to survive in their respective worlds.
🌟Such and interesting read. Full of characters and adventures (of the pickpockets) I love their nicknames ( they don’t use their real names ) But, I have to admit that sometime I had to flipped back a few pages because there are quite a number of characters. I tend to lose track. But after a few chapters in, I was good to go.
🌟 They even had names for different techniques of pickpocketing/scamming/game of thievery 🙈
- The Magic Flute
- Goin’ Fishin’
- Shock and Awe
🌟 Oh did I mention that the book was set in Paris? 🥰
🌟Love-hate-relationships . The true meaning of friendship. The importance of networking. Faith. Trust . Hope.
🌟 I am fascinated with the character called The Carny. He is a-well-read-leader . He read Rummi, Keats, Chinua Achebe , Voltaire , Imru’ al-Qais. No wonder he could give suitable nicknames to everyone in the group 🤩
🌟 They have specific activities for some days. Thursdays are A-Book-Club-Day
🌟 I just love books with short chapters 🙈.
🌟 “I’m broken,” he had written “and this is the only way I know to fix myself.”
🌟 “This is why we were all Misfits. Look at the music we listened to, the movies we watched, the books we read. We were anachronisms. None of us belonged to this age. The world moved on and left us behind.”
(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
🌟 The main character, who was a tourist turned local has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Topamax & Lamital. I have a soft spot for those who are living with BPD. I was diagnosed with BPD for about two years. The author mildly described how BPD can affect a person.
🌟 It has that Robin Hood + Six of Crows + The Irregulars vibes. A group of people who are living ‘underground’ trying to survive in their respective worlds.
🌟Such and interesting read. Full of characters and adventures (of the pickpockets) I love their nicknames ( they don’t use their real names ) But, I have to admit that sometime I had to flipped back a few pages because there are quite a number of characters. I tend to lose track. But after a few chapters in, I was good to go.
🌟 They even had names for different techniques of pickpocketing/scamming/game of thievery 🙈
- The Magic Flute
- Goin’ Fishin’
- Shock and Awe
🌟 Oh did I mention that the book was set in Paris? 🥰
🌟Love-hate-relationships . The true meaning of friendship. The importance of networking. Faith. Trust . Hope.
🌟 I am fascinated with the character called The Carny. He is a-well-read-leader . He read Rummi, Keats, Chinua Achebe , Voltaire , Imru’ al-Qais. No wonder he could give suitable nicknames to everyone in the group 🤩
🌟 They have specific activities for some days. Thursdays are A-Book-Club-Day
🌟 I just love books with short chapters 🙈.
🌟 “I’m broken,” he had written “and this is the only way I know to fix myself.”
🌟 “This is why we were all Misfits. Look at the music we listened to, the movies we watched, the books we read. We were anachronisms. None of us belonged to this age. The world moved on and left us behind.”
(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews