Video Night: A Novel of Alien Horror

By: Adam Cesare

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

Who better to repel a body-snatching alien invasion than a group of teenage horror nerds?

Billy and Tom are best friends, but each knows that at the end of the school year they'll be moving in different directions. But why not go out with a bang and throw one last video night? They can invite some girls over, order a pizza, then maybe try and fight the alien infection that's taken hold over their suburban town.

It's The Breakfast Club meets The Night of the Creeps in this slime-drenched '80s horror romp.

"Hit that first chapter. It’ll hook you, and the next time you look up, you’ll have swallowed the book. It’ll be nesting inside you like a seed, like an egg, like an invasion." -Stephen Graham Jones, author of Mongrels

"The momentum keeps building. The stakes keep escalating. The monsters just keep getting worse and worse, the catastrophic mayhem more juicy and hopeless. Best of all, the writing moves like a greased torpedo, compulsively readable as it rockets through your brain." - Fangoria

"If you put together the gore, action, monsters, and sense of excitement that made '80s horror movies so great, you'll only have about half of what makes Video Night a must-read tome for horror fans." - Horrortalk

©2017 Adam Cesare (P)2018 Adam Cesare

80's Creature Feature FUN!

VIDEO NIGHT is a perfect example of a creature feature combined with a small town and 80's nostalgia. For fans of this type of horror, it would be difficult for you to find a better book than this.

Billy and his best friend have a standing date once a week to watch a video, almost always a horror movie. Their video store is small and space is limited, so they've seen every horror movie available over and over again. But this week, VIDEO NIGHT is not going to go as planned. Both boys have dates and not all of them will survive. In fact, most of the town won't survive. Will Billy himself make it through? You'll have to read this to find out!

I love all kinds of horror, dark fiction and even some fantasy, but I have a special place in my heart for both the 80's and for creature features, so this book was perfect for me. (It only took me so long to read it because friends of mine, [I'm looking at you Kimberly and Andi], gifted me a gorgeous signed/limited edition and I didn't want to crack the spine!) I had some high expectations going in, and I'm happy to report that this book lived up to each and every one of them.

I listened to the audio and Matt Godfrey did a great job of narrating, as always. I admit that I wondered how his calm manner would work in a book that was so fast paced and gory, but I needn't have worried. He brought it all home with a certain style that I enjoyed.

If you like creature-features and 80's nostalgia, or if you grew up during that time, there is no book out there better suited to you than VIDEO NIGHT!

BONUS! If you're a member of the Horror Aficionados group at Goodreads, come join us during the month of April, when Adam Cesare himself is participating in a group read of this book. He'll be available for your questions and comments! It's free to join and all you need is a copy of the book!

*Thanks to Matt Godfrey, the narrator, for the free audio of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

Almost Too Much Fun

'Video Night' is like an 80's horror comedy kick to the face and I loved every single second of it. This creature feature style story follows Billy and Tom who enjoy a weekly 'video night' where they typically enjoy a horror film. This week, though, they each have a date with them and the night is going to go a whole different way. It also serves as a warning against congesting unknown drugs... but that's another story! Matt Godfrey delivers a truly fabulous performance in this one, because of him I could barely put it down. I couldn't have enjoyed this book any more and I couldn't recommend it more highly - if you are a fan of horror in any capacity, you should check this out.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Alien

Man, I do love books like these. I call 'em B-movie books becuase they embrace the feel of those older movies that were made for teenagers on a Saturday night. I think the best movie example of a tribute o that kind of film wsa Night of the Creeps. It played on every single troupe it could, admitted the kind of story it was, and never apologized.

Video Night does the same. This is Invasion of the Body Snatchers blended up with Alien. I could almost say that I even see a touch of the Thing in there, but it is more the other films. Cesare does an amazing job here. He lays out the premise quickly and easily. He sets up the characters and their setting, and then he goes about destroyng the lives of the people in Sleepytown, USA.

The story is really fun and fast paced, and I inwardly cheered whenever an alien burst out of someone's face. In some ways, this really felt like the way Sandler did an 80's movie with The Wedding Singer or Cusack did in Gross Pointe Blank. Just seeing the eighties again, and the mention of VHS brought a tear to my cold heart. The only way this could have been better is if he could have figured out a way to have an actual 80's soundtrack playalong in the back of the narrator.

Godfrey does AWESOME (sorry, had to do that 80's reference) here as the narrator, BTW. He plays the characters as if he were in the book, and he knows how to play a scene. His pacing is spot on, and he knows when to joke and when to mope.

I really recommend this book. I also hope that there is another one to follow, as this is a fun, nostalgic romp that ended far too quickly! Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

Night of the Alien Invasion

Have to start out saying how much I enjoyed the setting for this story. I loved the setting of the video night with the girls, the discussion of horror movies - all of my favorites might I add, the talk of the mom and pop video store and employees, and the whole 80's high school feel. Very nostalgic for me, so right off the bat I was in love with this story and completely hooked.
I feel like this alien story is a pseudo Invasion of the Body Snatchers mixed with V, the original miniseries, mixed with a bit of some teenage Stephen King novel, and maybe a little bit of The Thing. Either way it is a great mix which makes for a wonderful story. With popular TV shows bringing back the nostalgic look and sound of the 80’s I think this book fits in perfectly. I was raised on all the movies that the boys discuss and this story definitely felt like it fit within that niche. Makes me want to rewatch all those movies.
If you are a child of the 80's, loved the small horror movie section in video stores, or like the popular Netflix show then you should definitely get this book. It is well worth a listen and this author should be added to your list.
Matt Godfrey has the perfect voice for this type of story. Having listened to a few of his other books he seems to have found the right books that complement his tone and cadence. His subtle voice change for characters is perfect so that it doesn’t distract from the overall tone and you can easily become memorized.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Loved it

Fantastic B style creature horror
Dripping with 80s nostalgia I had a blast listening to this one
Well narrated and highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Video Night

I wasn't sure about this book at first. I thought that the premise was nice but really the story could have broken down at any point and left me feeling like I wasted 8 hours on another bad book. That was not the case here. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. It began like so many 80's horror movies and just kept rolling. It was funny and nostalgic (to me certainly) and left me wanting more for sure. Matt Godfrey was fantastic reading this and was actually the reason I picked it up. Going forward I will be looking for more books by Adam Cesare as well however.

Just so you know, if the book had ended with survivors huddled on top of a Winnebago each carrying an atypical weapon like a fire poker or a little league participation trophy looking over a sea of zombies with a mix of terror and giddy determination in their eyes, I could not have been more thrilled. My childhood buddies and I could have been Billy and Tom (ok, we would have all been Billy).

This book was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

80's Horror movie essence to the marrow!

Would you consider the audio edition of Video Night: A Novel of Alien Horror to be better than the print version?

Definitely, Matt Godfrey does a fantastic job a separate voices and gives every character a distinct personality that adds to the story and makes it more thrilling.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I would have to say Billy. He's the stereotypical geek underdog and builds up to being a horror survivor and gets the girl too.

Have you listened to any of Matt Godfrey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but he was very good, might search for other books he's narrated when i'm in need for a new audiobook.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Spoilers
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Th moment when sheriff rebels and wins.
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.

Any additional comments?

Time just flew by with this one it was so entertaining.To quote another reviewer, it's like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Alien". What I was constantly thinking near the end, "They sooo need a canister of liquid nitrogen, or at least a dry-ice base extinguisher. That would be AWESOME!"

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

Like a classic movie

this felt like listening to a classic horror movie being played out in the 80s the tone is exactly what the author was going for.
However the pacing felt off and abrupt pauses are constant.
Meaningless moments are put everywhere and it becomes a chore to listen at times.
Overall pretty good for a classic B movie feel

I will definitely try another book by this Author

This book was very good, the author did an awesome job with the characters and dialogue and references, etc, Plus the main story line was pretty sweet.

An awesome Sci-Fi Horror

Very well done sci-fi book that is reminiscent of a B- horror movie. Awesome rea

Classic schlock horror

Very entertaining. It's a 1980s set alien invasion story, with teenagers as the main characters. They're all standard stereotypes, nerd, bad boy, bitch, girl next door, etc, but they're developed well enough that you start caring about them.

The story is well done, with good descriptions of the aliens, as well as their thought processes and reasoning. It's slightly derivative of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or They Live, but that's to be expected from this type of fare, and Cesare acquits himself well within a well-worn genre.

Good book

I enjoyed listening to this book. it reminds me of the film The Faculty. Gross aliens, grossing out poor mixed up teenagers. Good stuff!

Don't waste your time

This is truly terrible.

The idea sounds fun, but there's literally no story here. At best, the content would make an ok short story, but certainly not 8 hours worth.I struggle to find words to summarise what an utter waste of time it was to listen to this.

Over 200 audible downloads over 10 years, and this is the first 1 star review I've given.

Great fun.

A good fun book that is a fantastic 1980’s teenage horror romp. Well worth a download.