"This book is surely Chicken Soul for the
Soup" Tom Morton
Here at Front Street we tend to do things a bit differently- we do
whatever we feel like! So when we hear of a book about Zombie chickens
we all put life on hold and check it out. I mean seriously- Zombie
chickens? Life is too short to ignore an opportunity like this. And
with a generous author we were able to get two books to read- one copy
flew over to Austria and the other just went one state over to
(honestly) Mexico, Maine. The Mexico copy also traveled over to
Peru, Maine (no, this is true) And we all have a lot to say so here are
our thoughts...
First up- Austria: Reviewed
by Ann Marie Chalmers (Her email also said " I won't be eating chicken for a
while...it was extremely weird...but still kind of good...I know I want
to check out the 2nd part...but I don't know why ;)
Anybody picking up this book and seeing it
is about zombie chickens would think it is going to be a strange and
weird
read.Well strange and weird just isn’t
the half of it in this epic tale of undead poultry, haunted farmhouse
and an
evil rooster.
Ancient evils have trapped the souls of
some chickens somewhere between life and death.Poor Bobby Garfundephelt, who has just taken over the farm,
finds
himself trapped in the maze of rooms avoiding deadly traps that the
evil
Rooster King and his army have laid down to kill him. However all is
not lost! The Exorciste de Volaille have
heard about his
fight and are sending their best armed staff member to enter the
horrible house
to do battle with the nasty rooster.
This tale is full of the supernatural and
super strange.Some readers will find
this surreal story hard to get their heads around.A lot of readers will also find it hard to eat
chicken again…or at least not for a while.This book has an interesting blend of comedy and mystery and
twists the
normal fight of good vs. evil around to take place between humans and
chickens.
Quite humorous at times this is well
written and entertaining but not something that your ordinary every day
reader
will enjoy.This is definitely a well
acquired
taste that some people will spit out while others will devour it up and
lick
their fingers after.Brave readers will
be rewarded and will not take this seriously but see it for what it is
- ‘The
best undead chicken novel of all time’.
This reader will never be able to eat
‘popcorn chicken’ again without thinking about this book and laughing.She has also already politely declined the
offer of lunch in the form of chicken earlier today and will need a
while to
have any kind of lust for that particular meat.This is not a book for the weak!
Definitely amusing and most bizarre this is
an out of the ordinary first in the series which will have you clucking
for
more.I have heard from the author that
the sequel will be taking part in the ‘Black Forest’ which
makes me wonder how far
chicken zombies can travel.
Now
up- Peru (Maine): Reviewed
by Tom Morton (His email said "Hey Barb, I loved this book! I guess it's just
my kind of humor. After ruling out blurbs like "Boy, does this writer
know his cocks!" )
Eric D. Knapp’s Cluck, Murder Most Fowl is not your
typical Boy-meets-Chicken Zombie kind of story we all know and love.
Thanks to
Fate, and a liberal dosing of Inter-spectral light, Arnold
becomes much more than the average mind-boggling boy genius. Given a
gift at
birth to see the souls of nearly every life-form (as well as some
non-life-forms), he uses this “second-sight” much as any teen boy
would: to
impress his friends and become the darling of the football team. It is
only
when Arnold’s talents
become known
to a well-meaning priest that he is set upon the path of his true
calling.
Sent to a secret
order in France,
Arnold is unsure of his
role in
life, until he receives The Charge from the Order’s dying patron. Now,
with the
immortal memories of generations, he is armed with everything he needs
to carry
out The Charge. For it is into his hands that is thrust the highly
enviable
duty to eradicate the pestilence of undead chickens around the world.
As all things in
Nature seek balance, the Inter-spectral Rift imbues a genetically
enhanced
rooster with a power beyond any rooster that has come before it. The
rooster
king, or Rooster, comes back from the mouth of Hell (literally) with
its unholy
army of undead chickens (talk about dark meat!) to haunt a truly bad
man, i.e.
the farmer who set the whole lot of ‘em on fire.
When Arnold
is drawn to the sprawling farm that holds these unholy spirits, he
knows that
he faces his true nemesis. The question is, when faced with a power
beyond his
understanding, will he prevail?
In this
sure-to-be-timeless-classic, Knapp gives us extraordinary insight into
the fowl
mind. This book is surely Chicken Soul for the Soup. I’d even go so far
as to
say that after reading his book, I will not mind getting caught knapping ever again.
And last (?)*-
Mexico (Maine): Reviewed
by Barb Radmore I will not repeat the plot since it
is covered above. Yes- it is about zombie chickens. And my
favorite character is the car. But the plot is not common or
complacent. The author is able to take an idea that is absurd and
ridiculous and create a very well done, full bodied piece of
literature. It would have been easy to let the book rest on its
innovative plot but it is much more than just horror.
Literature? With zombie roosters? Impossible! Not when as well written
as Cluck has been. The creativity is also in the setting- the finely
detailed places are as much a part of the book as the plot. It is not a
book one rushes through just to see the end result, its strength is in
the author's way with words. It is that which makes this book a must
read for all lovers of not only horror or humor but also those who
appreciate a really good writer. The ending is wild, the plot does
twist and turn and the action in the end is turbulent. It will satisfy
those looking for a bit of gore and horror but is not too much for us
wimps either. But it is getting to the ending that is as much of a
treat as the final results.
But to be sure it is also not a book that can be walked away from
easily. The pacing is brilliantly done with a rhythm that carries
from beginning to end. It is not action filled, feathers do not fly
nonstop throughout. The writing flows to trap the reader, the joy is
getting caught up in the words, the sentences and, of course, the
tongue in cheek humor.
Knapp likes to compare his writing to Terry Pratchett and it is an
accurate one. They both seem to have a lot of fun with their craft- the
reader feels they had as much fun coming up with the ideas as the
reader has reading it. Some books seem like the author must have
struggled to write each page, in Cluck one pictures the author at his
computer, beer in one hand (or maybe a Kickin' Chicken Cocktail),
typing a way and laughing his head off.
The sequel will be "Quack- Murder Most Waterfowl." I am looking
forward to it!
(When this comes out as a movie can I be the voice of the car? That
will be my first question in the author
interview!)
Cluck by
Eric D. Knapp