Calico Kids

By: Todd Downing

Narrated by: Todd Downing

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

One summer became the adventure of a lifetime.

Summer, 1982. When two local teens go missing from the riverside town of Calico, Oregon, a middle school nerd steeped in wild conspiracy theories steps in to investigate.

With a posse consisting of a busboy, a delinquent, an LA transplant, and a cheerleader, A.J. sets out to prove that a Satanic cult is behind the disappearances, all while dodging the local sheriff, high school bullies, and a deputy drunk on authority.

But instead of a dark cult, the group encounters a legion of ghosts, mysterious government agents, alien technology, and an interdimensional crisis of literally Earth-shattering proportions.

From the author of the Airship Daedalus pulp-adventure book series, and adapted from his short story, comes a love letter to retro-'80s science fiction and horror, in the vein of Stranger Things and The Babysitter. Equal parts John Hughes, Stephen King, and Steven Spielberg, Calico Kids is a coming-of-age story set in a rural town, full of impossible adventures.

todddowning.com

©2020 Todd Downing/Deep7 Press (P)2021 Todd Downing/Despot Media LLC

Early Eighties Adventure!

Todd Downing uses his knowledge and personal experience from the time period as a well crafted tool. His vocal performance for his own audiobook is as good as the story itself. The ability for him to deploy his first generation dude accent, combined with his spot on for the time period, descriptive vivid language, really makes the adventure come alive.

Gen Xers don't miss this little gem!

Calico Kids is delightfully nostalgic without a trace of hokiness or pandering to the genre or people who remember how badly we all wanted to have an adventure like this over summer vacation. I would have absolutely loved this book at 13 and I enjoyed the hell out of it at 44. Nicely done. the fact that there is an accompanying Spotify playlist is a really fun and emersive bonus.

As fun as it was being a kid...

Remember endless summers spent riding around town, getting into trouble with friends, making everything an adventure? Todd Downing clearly remembers those long lazy summers with friends, and in this story, he shares the ghosts of those summer memories with us, adding in just enough flavor and spicy to kick it up a notch.

Reminiscent of the 'kids on bikes' adventure movies I grew up on, Todd has crafted a light and delightful tale of exploration, adventure and a bit of coming of age shared by a group of unlikely friends, and then ramped it up a bit to get a fantastic story that is charming and entertaining.

The Santa Cruz kids

The story brings me back to growing up in Santa Cruz and Aptos with Todd Downing and his myriad of gaming friends. Brings back a smile on my face to adventures taken with great similarities to this story. Hoping that many other adolescent and teenage kids are able to enjoy at least the fantasies of stories like this. Rock on.
Randy

An Engaging Time Capsule of a Story...

Todd Downing's fantastical tale of a group of kids in the rural northwest is part Goonies, Stranger Things and the Kids on Bikes RPG. Fast-paced yet with great character development, it evokes an early 1980s that could have -- and should have -- been.

Downing's narration really fits the bill here, capturing the nuances of his written words and amplifying the suspenseful portions of the book.

While appealing to the nostalgia, it also delivers a great story about friends as family from start to finish.