Florida Man: A Pulp Weird Fiction Novel

by Samuel Brower

Florida man Barry Babcock becomes a viral meme after a perceived suicide attempt. The stunt lands Babcock in a behavioral health facility, where he relays his story to the staff psychiatrist assigned to his case. Babcock’s tale begins simply, covering his arrival in Florida, his addictions and habits, and his mundane existence living in a trailer at the edge of a swamp. Soon however, the story takes a strange turn, and Babcock tells of discovering a race of cryptid frog people living in the swampland behind his home, and claims that his entanglement with these people is what eventually led him to being institutionalized. Over the course of many therapy sessions, the lines between fact and fiction are blurred, and Babcock’s tale begins to reveal a possible explanation behind strange happenings in central Florida.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2022

About the author

Bestselling author Samuel Brower crafts haunting, immersive tales that blur the line between horror, dark fantasy, and the supernatural. His breakout novel, Haint, became an Amazon bestseller in 2024, cementing his reputation as a must-read voice in modern horror fiction. To date, Brower has published ten gripping novels and dozens of chilling short stories, with his work featured in renowned magazines like Voices, Nine Tales, and Zero Flash. A professional member of both the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, Brower brings a seasoned, masterful touch to every eerie world he creates.

Reviews

[Bill Philibin · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Book - 4.0 Stars, Audio - 0 Stars)

Note to authors... If you have a book that includes Accents, Dialects, Phonetically spelled words, made up words, or even trying to spell out slurred speech and are considering using Virtual Voice to narrate your work... Please please please, at the very least, put a disclaimer on it.

Imagine a book that takes the fabled "Florida Man" headlines and writes a story about the "facts" behind them. This is a fun story, good characters, interesting world building and conceptually intriguing.

I like this author and plan to read more by him.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! So very freaky & kinky. Full of imaginative characters and situations.

However, I thought the author took way too many liberties with Ayahuasca considering it is a holy sacrament to many indigenous people and others who have been helped by it. Too many people equate it with and assume it is like LSD or psilocybin mushrooms and that simply is not the case. It's probably better to not write about something like that if you don't know what you are talking about. The author introduces the concept of a party drug that is a synthetic Ayahuasca and I can assure you there is nothing party-like about taking a purgative.

Finally, I thought this quote summed up the current political state of the USA just perfectly: "They call it the land of milk and honey, but what they don't tell you is the cows are mad, and the bees are Africanized [e.g., "Killer Bees"].

[Lori Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bizarre, funny, and sad

I saw this as a suggested book. Strange, I thought, I was just thinking I need a change from King, Koontz, true crime etc. Maybe comedy, get away from all the dark stuff. I lived in Florida for a couple years and this is like some of the bat crap crazy things I heard/experienced in Tallahassee. Yes, there are tales of frog people, gator hybreds (by the government of course 😹) . This brought back LMFAO memories. It did have it's dark and sad side. Overall... WICKED FABULOUS! I'm off to the next one. Ta-ta for now.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun book by Samuel Brower: the author of Haint. A man gets hopped up on a new drug and does a bunch of crazy and hilarious things that spark the very first “Florida Man” headlines. He ends up in a psych ward talking to a mental health professional about his adventures and you begin to wonder if the things he saw and did were real or products of his drug fueled imagination. It’s free on kindle and also available on Amazon Prime in hard copy or on Audible. #recommendation #whitetrashurbanfantasy #absurdist #horror #darkhumor

[Richard Saturno Vagnoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this,a lot !

This story is weird and convoluted,slightly sick and screwed up. Damnit, I liked it! Sam Brower made me believe it ! Genius.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Or too bad, but. Could have been a lot better. A few rough places such as ‘taught’ for ‘taut’.

[Peter M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

I loved how the news reports seemed like they were real. I also liked how the whole thing seemed like it was real but also like it could have been fabricated

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5