Midnight Riders

By: Pete Clark

Narrated by: Michael Gilboe

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

©2013 JEA Publishing (P)2015 Pete Clark

Interesting and colorful

If you could sum up Midnight Riders in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, surprising, entertaining.

What about Michael Gilboe’s performance did you like?

He went all out on his narration. He made this feel like a combination of watching a live play, an audio-book and a Monty Python movie.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I definitely had a few questioning looks at certain moments of this book. I didn't quite know what to expect when I first started this book, and it was a bit of a surprise.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

Mel Brooks and Monty Python got together and...

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."

Quirky Fun

Any additional comments?

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.

If Seth MacFarlane wrote history...

This book is a humorous retelling of events leading up to and during the revolutionary war and involves characters such as Samuel Prescott, Daniel Boone, Paul Revere, and Benedict Arnold. If you are a history buff and a stickler for details, you will not enjoy this book. If, however, you like novels featuring vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like, you will enjoy this book. If you're a fan of Seth MacFarlane (or liked the movie A Million Ways to Die in the West), you will also enjoy this book. However, there is a reason that Family Guy is only a half hour show. I could only listen to this book in small doses. The humor was a bit much after a while, but was thoroughly entertaining for short periods of time. The narrator was great at choosing distinctive voices for each character (and there was quite a large cast of characters in this book); some that I liked and some that I didn't. My favorites were Boone and Prescott. I got a kick out of their dry wit and sarcasm.

Overall, I am a fan and would read more books by this author. I received this audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Quirky

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.
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"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

OMG I laughed so hard - this is a great story

Would you listen to Midnight Riders again? Why?

YES, Enjoyed it very much

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Swamp Fox, Francis Marion. Because he’s the Swamp Fox

Which character – as performed by Michael Gilboe – was your favorite?

They all, Michael Gilboe did a great job with all of the voices that were required for this story

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom

History Would Have Been A Lot More Fun!

What did you love best about Midnight Riders?

It was funny, really funny. It went from Silly to Laugh-out-loud which also made the book fun to read or listen to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Swamp Fox, Francis Marion. Because he’s the Swamp Fox!

What does Michael Gilboe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Yogi Berra said “90% of the game is half mental.” I believe that that audio books are very similar, but with different percentages; 51% story and 49% narrator. Michael Gilboe brings believability does a great job with all of the voices that were required for this story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I actually did try to listen in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

The only issue I had with the book was that it was a little long, but that might have been because I tried to listen to the whole thing at once.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

If only early American history were so interesting

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.

Absolutely loved it.

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.

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.**

Midnight Riders

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.”