Stolen Roads

By: Randy Chandler

Narrated by: A. Williams

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

"It was like I was riding on a stolen road, like somebody'd just shanghaied the road and plopped it down in some foreign land." Thus, "stolen roads" entered the esoteric lexicon of popular culture.

William Kidd’s travels on stolen roads begin when he’s a boy on leave from a psychiatric hospital and survives a car accident that kills both his parents.

Although hallucinations are nothing new to him, Kidd knows the otherworldly thing crouched on his dying father’s chest at the scene of the accident is no hallucination. Nothing in his mental inventory of the planet’s natural creatures jibes with this pebble-skinned thing nearly as big as a man, a terrifying beast with spiky shoulders and lizard-like snout, its long knobby limbs folded insect-fashion as if it might suddenly leap or fly away without warning.

The beast claws the boy’s face, giving him an indelible totem-mark scar he still wears as a young man when he goes on the road in search of the creatures he calls “trocs.”

Kidd soon meets the Fluckers, a married couple claiming to have happened upon a “lost road”, and they entice him to join them on an expedition to ride a suspect blacktop into what may be an alternate world.

When Kidd’s psych-hospital alumnus Rose Rivers the trippy earth-obsessed rock hound pops back into his life, she invites herself along on what she calls a trip to The Big Nowhere. Rounding out the team is Rita Younger: dive bar owner, former biker club member and acknowledged “badass babe.”

But The Big Nowhere is filled with otherworldly dangers. And the road home could be a dead end.

Buckle up and hit the road for a thrilling ride into the dark fantastic. A literary collision of horror and fantasy on the road to a new kind of hell.

©2019 Red Room Press (P)2019 Red Room Press

great performance

interesting story but very different, the narration really makes it worthwhile and brings the characters to life

Whoa!

The story starts out pretty "feet on the ground" but gets a little twilight zone towards the end. I was really having a hard time with the narrator on some of the voices. The voice for Rose "Rocky" Rivers became pretty grating right away and her dialogue pretty cringy. I don't mind cussing at all but it felt a bit much with that character and perhaps it was the voice that didn't lend well, I'm not sure. Perhaps too it was the shock value behavior of Rose towards Kidd that was out of nowhere that contributed to the "too much" factor.

The story itself was pretty interesting and original. I DID keep wondering how old Kidd and Rose were. He seemed maybe younger than 21 but Rita was giving him beers and he smoked so I don't really know.

The Big Nowhere was an interesting idea and was really developed well as a story landmark. The creatures were creepy and formidable.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Informative book

Stolen Roads is an informative book that deals with supernatural things that happen in deserted roads. The narrator was phenomenal. I would have given the book a higher rating but something happened in the book I did not like and it turned me off. I received this audio book at my request and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Road Trip Into The Heart of Hell

Marked by a monster, our protagonist can see them, he joins with a handful of other fleshed out characters on a road trip into horror and dark fantasy. The characters really dive this novel keeping entertaining throughout.The narrator does a good job of bringing the story to life.

I receieved the review code for this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.

Different

This story is unique. It has a lot of cussing and sexual content that was not needed for the story. Other then that I enjoyed the book.

Solid Book

I found Stolen Roads to be a very enjoyable supernatural horror story about a group of unusual people on an adventure into the unknown. The narration by Aleeza was outstanding. I loved the voices she had for each character as it helped pull me into the story.

It was ok.

The plot premise was great. And for.the most.part the story was ok. I think there is a potential here for a hell of a series. Having said that, I feel this one was a little bit of a missed opportunity. A fairly straight shot through what could have been a massive twisted journey. I really liked the characters Rose and Natcho. Everyone else felt a bit cut and paste. The writing, in my opinion, is a bit unpolished. Parts were really good, but it was peppered with bits that felt a bit juvenile. While I thought the narration was decent, it didn't really suit the story, and I think added a bit to the juvenile feel in some parts.
As I write this, I start to wonder if maybe I missed a point. If I look at the story through a different characters eye, the narration becomes a lot more suiting. I dont know. I'll pretend that was the intent, and it makes it that much better. Worth checking out.

Great Narration

The narrator’s intonation throughout her reading made it seem like I was right there in the story. Reading pace was perfect to not overwhelm and kept me engaged the entire time

Wow! Not for everyone but I liked it

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another. I’m curious what another book would be like. He has quite the imagination. Very Stephen King to me. He aptly skirts the line between gritty/ horrific/ creepy and excessive.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Aleeza Williams ) and I would listen to another. She brings each character to life with vivid personalities. Her performance is wonderful. I especially love her interpretation of Rose.

There are explicit sex scenes, plenty of excessive violence and plethora of swearing. Despite this, I did not find it offensive. It is out there though. I’m sure it’s not for everyone.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Highway to hell

Marked by the beast and cursed with the ability to see them Kidd is recruited by a couple to help find the road to nowhere
Fantastic characters with creative worlds and monsters keep it interesting
Excellent narration by aleeza especially the voice of rose
Highly recommended to any horror fan
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review