The Stranger Times: (The Stranger Times 1)

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I haven’t read anything by Caimh McDonnell before and, to be honest, found some of the dialogue a little stilted, which meant I took a while to get into it. However, by the middle, I was totally engrossed. For, while, “The Stranger Times,” has been seen as a publication full of odd stories and run by some crazy characters, there may be more fact than fiction in the bizarre events that seem to be occurring in the city. When a homeless man is killed in strange circumstances, and the unpopular and ambitious D I Tom Sturgess insists on investigating, the scene is set for the bizarre to need to be believed. The premise of Caimh McDonnell’s novel caught my attention because as a teenager I discovered a UK magazine called The Fortean Times, which reported on ‘weird news’ (and still does as far as I know) and went to great trouble and expense to have it imported by my local newsagent for a year or two. A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. First of all, this book made me laugh aloud so many times. I love all of the characters, even the ones I wasn't supposed to. This urban fantasy tale is about The Stranger Times and its employees - a newspaper that reports on all the unexplained things that go bump in the night....or float around in flying saucers. Could it be a little something...more? The Stranger Times” is the first novel in the “Stranger Times” series and was released in 2021. There are dark forces at work in our world so thank goodness “The Stranger Times” is on hand to report on them. A weekly newspaper that is dedicated to the wonderful and the weird (but mainly the weird), and it’s the go-to publication for the inexplicable and unexplained.

The characters and their relationships. Each of the characters were all so well-defined and had beautiful relationships with one another. Even Banecroft, who we all saw as a moody grouch, had an emotional past, and though he didn’t show it, we know he still cared about Simon, Hannah, and everyone around him. I love the bonds between each of the characters because the amount they care about each other is described so beautifully by the author. There were also so many diverse reps!! There were plus-sized mc’s, as well as queer mc’s, as well as people of colour!! While I was introduced to various ‘Types’ and magical bits and pieces, I don’t really have my head around this part of the world yet. I’m hoping the gaps in my knowledge will be filled in more when I read the sequel. Welcome to Manchester. And a whole new cast of colourful, odd, rude & entertaining characters. The prologue also signals a new genre. This is a mash-up of sci-fi, mystery, fantasy & mythology, served with a side of the author’s signature snark.I am very much planning to reread this again, and I look forward to the later two books in the series. Welcome to The Stranger Times.... A filmic romp with great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise’ ERIC BROWN, T he Guardian OMG, where to start with this review? The book is aptly named, not only because it is the title of the newspaper in the story but because it is completely and utterly strange. It is bizarre, weird, and oh so wonderful.

So what we have is the basic battle of good vs. evil. Initially, readers are as clueless as Hannah as to what is actually going on in the world around us. Magic, mythology, scary critters & the stuff of nightmares….Manchester has it all. And it’s the Stranger Times’ job to keep us informed. They’re used to the usual harmless weirdos but clearly there is a new game in town. And not everyone from the newspaper will survive. When the weekly The Stranger Times offers her the job as assistant editor, she takes it, even when editor Vincent Banecroft seems to be the rudest and most callous person she's ever met. Still, the cast and their amusing office dynamics more than make up for a fast-moving, gripping story. Hannah is a fine protagonist/reader surrogate - flawed but likeable and “good” - while Vincent Banecroft, the irascible curmudgeonly editor-in-chief (think Spider-Man’s J. Jonah Jameson but Irish) stole the show with his bottomless fury energising every scene he was in. There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them . . .

In Other News

Hannah’s new boss shot himself in the foot during her job interview and that’s not even the weirdest thing that’s happened this week. She’s just joined The Stranger Times, a newspaper that reports “the weird and wonderful from around the world ‘and beyond’”. Think Fortean Times. ‘You’d be surprised what I’d believe. It’s been a hell of a week.’ Hannah is the new Tina, AKA, assistant editor. Her boss (the guy with the new hole in his foot), Vincent Banecroft, is “foul-smelling, foul-mouthed and foul-tempered”. Banecroft lives in the office, as does Manny (clothing optional), who’s in charge of the paper’s printing department. Stella is enjoying life as an almost student, or at least she is until a man falls from the sky right in front of her, leaving a big old hole in the pavement for Manchester Council to fill. The obvious question of how he ended up in the sky in the first place has no obvious answers, which is where The Stranger Times come in. This book came into my reading life at the exact time I needed it to. I was DNFing books what felt like left and right. My friend Ev sent me the audiobook of The Stranger Times narrated by Brendan McDonald and all that changed. I guess plenty of people have said a lot of things about all the movie and TV references this series has and how it recreates the eighties in all their faults and splendor. I will not add to that. Wonderfully dark, extremely funny, and evocative of Terry Pratchett – which I think is the highest compliment I can give.’ ADAM KAY, bestselling author of This is Going to Hurt

Vampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester . . . I really hope that this is the beginning of a whole series of books as it is so unique and entertaining! At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own.The Chronicles of St Mary's series author JODI TAYLOR declared 'I loved this . . . great premise - great story - great characters . . . hugely enjoyable.' There she meets Grace, Simon, Stella, Ox & Reggie. They fulfill the colourful, odd & entertaining part of the equation. The rude bit comes courtesy of managing editor Vincent Banecroft, a man intent on drinking himself into a coma. Right away, you know each of these people has a past that needs to be explored & we get hints as the plot progresses. But it’s not all giggles & insults. There’s a spooky, darker side to the whole story.

My other challenge comes from the plot implications in the decision to include the antagonist-team and the perspectives of those they murder. Since we're privy to the steadily increasing number of victims, we're more aware of the potential danger than any of the characters in the book. Using their viewpoints makes for a strange emotional conflict between humor and the increasing body count. It was also uncomfortable to be so concerned about the people being kidnapped and killed, even if some of them were jerks.

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All that plus territorial ghouls, homicidal felines, eternal (and seemingly unstoppable) gnomes and a celebrity Who's Who that'd put a royal wedding to shame, and you're looking at a wild few days for The Stranger Times. I wasn’t that gripped with much of anything that was happening because a lot of it was predictable - even when a minor character dies early on, I knew they were going to be resurrected because this is set in a world of magic so why not? And then in the epilogue, there they be. Yawn. McDonnell isn’t able to make the reader feel the emotions his characters are feeling because events either have little or no weight to them or you can guess what’s going to happen next so you’re never convinced that what he’s telling you is what it is.