|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 11 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Where Evil Comes to Roost! Dec 27, 2008
By Todd A. Fonseca
Somewhere outside of Detriot Michigan, a spectral cosmic light lasting only moments, intersects the souls of a young suburban boy named Arnold and a fabulously large Rooster. Afterward, Arnold is imbued with a second sight allowing him to see the souls of those around him, including animals - especially chickens. Seeing souls gives Arnold a slight glimpse into the future as the souls actions occur just before those of their corporeal hosts. Though an advantage in sports where Arnold can anticipate his opponents every move, it also sets him apart from the rest of humanity causing his eventual banishment by his parents to a home for boys. Recognized by Father Beau as gifted in second site, Arnold is sent to France where he joins a secret order of those men charged with banishing the souls of trapped fowl to the next life. However, though the order exists, none have the site of Arnold who quickly demonstrates his. He eventually becomes Armand - the Exorciste de Volaille - the poultry exorcist!
Meanwhile, across the world, the Rooster has also been forever changed by the light. Capable of thought and even speech, the Rooster becomes king of an ever expanding farm owned an operated by Bobby Garfundephelt and his wife. However, all is not well on the farm and without giving too much of the plot away, evil takes root on the farm and Bobby is forever haunted by the undead chickens and their Rooster king. Only Armand, now aged and scared with the wounds from setting straight the worlds "fowl" wrongs, can save Bobby. Or can he?...
Eric Knapp's Cluck: Murder Most Fowl is a masterpiece. I honestly did not believe I would like this book as much as I did. Reminiscent of the Rod Serling's Twilight Zone or even the best of what Tales from the Crypt had to offer, Knapp creates a intriguing and engaging tale of three lives intertwined and changed forever. This is an incredibly creative piece of fiction that in lesser hands would have come across at best campy and at worst just plain stupid. Rather, Knapp has pulled off an amazingly entertaining novel. The graphics by Ian Richard Miller at the onset of each chapter are perfect and are displayed in the oval shape of an egg. Completing the professional and all encompassing feel for the story is the unique font titling each chapter.
I don't give out 5 stars easily and never expected to do so when I started this book. But truthfully, this is one of the most creative, different, offbeat funny, and intriguing books I've read this year. It is definitely not mainstream and one might have to be in the right mood to appreciate it's brilliance, but I believe few would be disappointed in reading Cluck (I can't believe I'm actually typing this). Good luck Mr. Knapp and congratulations on an extremely well written tale.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
The best zombie chicken book I've ever read Dec 15, 2007
By David Y
Highly recommended! Cluck is a riot - dry, dark comedy which might be frightening if the concept weren't so silly (so silly that you might think a book about zombie chickens couldn't be any good, but you would be wrong: this really is a great story!) The book is well written and enjoyable, with a story that progresses well and a very colorful cast of characters: Bobby, who spends so much effort pretending that he's a hick he actually becomes one; Armand, the Exorciste de Vollaile (Poultry Exorcist) who has conversations with a voice in his head; and the Rooster King, who is a big evil zombie rooster, but who you manage to feel sorry for somehow ...
Cluck seems to get lumped in with gag-horror like "Shaun of the Dead" and "Poultrygeist", and it will probably appeal to people who like that kind of comedy, but I thought it was a bit more intellectual - certainly more "literary" than I expected.
While the story is entertaining (and absolutely unique) I should also mention that the production quality of this book is superb. The cover art is even better than it looks online, and there are illustrations at the start of each chapter (25 chapters, total).
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Animal Farm on Acid Dec 16, 2007
By S. K. Strom
"crazed fan"
An excellent holiday gift for the twisted animal lover in your life! A veritable encyclopedia of zombie chicken lore. Explore the inner psychological workings of the zombie chicken's mind, whilst improving your French.
The premier zombie chicken book of our time. Admittedly, the genre may be small, but should the author write a sequel (hint, hint) then it will be twice as big as before.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Cluck a Duck - this is a great book Feb 29, 2008
By R.W. Ridley
Even though this is a book that fits into a very narrow niche (zombie chickens), the writing is good enough to make this book a genre buster. Yes, it's told tongue and cheek and yes, there are zombie chickens, and yes, there is a somewhat bumbling anti-hero, but this story is so well told that you don't have to be a zombie chicken fan to enjoy it.
It may sound strange, but Cluck is a more than decent literary effort. I thoroughly enjoyed and connected with both Bobby and even more surprising, the Rooster King. When you can make a zombie chicken a unforgettable villain, you're doing something right. My prediction is that this is destined to be a cult classic.
I love a book that highlights our warts and tells a meaningful story without cramming it down our throats. I found that in Cluck and I got a few laughs out of it, as well.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
For every chicken sandwich... Mar 29, 2008
By Patrick S. Dorazio
"Author of The Dark Trilogy"
I figured I could use the "best zombie chicken book ever written" quote, which would be entirely accurate, but instead I will lead this review with a warning. I DARE you...no, I double dog dare you...to look at a batch of chicken nuggets or a KFC drumstick the same again after reading this story. If this book does not put you off on eating chicken...ah, forget it. I am still a chicken eater and will probably always will be, even after reading this. In fact, I have a hankering for a spicey chicken sandwich right about now.
I did ponder during this story whether the author has a fondness or hatred for poultry based on the tone and tenor of this original recipe (yes, I went there) of a novel. It is hard to tell, because he makes it abundantly clear that there are three things you need to know about chickens from the outset: They are dirty, they are loud, and they are stupid. But that does not necessarily make them evil or in any way bad. Tasty maybe, but not destined to be diabolical.
In this epic tale of supernatural bantams, supernatural houses, and supernatural beings that dwell inside Chicken Exorcists (the ghosts of chicken exorcists past?), we are given the chance to see the world from both the chicken eye view (very low to the ground, where flying tomatoes and rotten eggs are downright irresistable) and the humans who challenge them.
While this story was perhaps a bit long in the beak from the standpoint of overall length, the author gives us a tremendously detailed farce that reminds me somewhat of something that Terry Pratchett might produce, footnotes and all. The sly, somewhat serious but not taking itself serious tone is pitch perfect for a story of this magnitude. For a independently produced work the editing and flow of this story is outstanding, with both likeable and dispicable characters including annoying, arrogant Frenchmen, which is something every story should have.
Overall, a terrifically amusing and entertaining tale of a man, his chickens, a rooster on steroids, the house they live in, and the exorcist who would somehow dare to save them all.
See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
|
|
