One additional warning is for those not comfortable with the concepts of masturbation, paraphilias and pornography. Much of this book is about the quest for pornography and sometimes highly unusual masturbatory practices. Many times while reading, I found myself trying to identify how many different possible paraphilias were being implied throughout the book. Some of these acts are quite shocking and difficult to read, which will undoubtedly force some to toss the book. Again, if any of the themes previously mentioned are personally upsetting, this is not the book for you because many are discussed in some detail.

Although I did find these themes shocking at times, I read the book with a mindset of learning and there were many times I found it extremely enlightening to read about the thoughts that were going through this person's mind. Although Walker is not a serial killer, I also found myself wondering whether his revealing passages might provide insight into the mind of those who have become serial killers. Had Walker acted upon his violent fantasies I have no doubt that he would have become a serial killer, and that is the most frightening aspect of this book. He walked up to the edge and looked over, while on several occasions practicing stalking so that he may attempt to make his violent fantasies become a reality.

I must admit that many times the story and themes were so stereotypical of the life of known serial killers, that the work took on a feeling of fiction. Any reader of research done on serial murderers may have this feeling because his thoughts, behaviors, and characteristics so resemble that of the typical serial murder research subject. Again, I used this as a learning objective as to the importance of not relying solely on the self-report of subjects, because this is Walker's view of the story and his attempt to define himself as a "could-have-been" serial killer.

With all this said, one might expect that I did not enjoy the book or would not recommend it. This is far from the truth. Although I have warned of the subjects that might not be of interest to some, there is much more offered by this book for those interested in learning from one man's point of view, what it is like to be lonely and unable to find a human connection. This is Walker's journey to find himself, which takes him to several locations both mentally and physically without a known destination. I found myself wondering near the end of the book whether the story was more about self-destruction or self-actualization. This cannot be determined as the journey is not yet complete.

I enjoyed the book overall and found it interesting and well written. The author is highly narcissistic at times, but truth be told, I found some of his off-the-cuff remarks about himself quite amusing. I also found some of his thoughts about others to be quite horrifying. The content definitely kept my attention as I attempted to surmise whether this person would indeed evolve into a serial killer, even though the title plainly stated that he did not. I ended up reading the book twice, which is no small accomplishment considering the nearly 600 pages involved from cover to cover.

Again, I will close with the warning: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. For those who can remain objective, and are interested in the thoughts and behaviors of a "could-have-been" serial murderer, check this book out. I believe you will learn something by reading the book. For those who are disgusted by paraphilic endeavors, walk away and save yourself the time and money.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

An unpolished, but interesting coming-of-age tale  Sep 21, 2004
By grover3d
It is incredibly difficult to comment upon (and certainly to critique) someone's autobiography....especially someone kind enough to share his words with us ravenous BookCrossers. However, my brief correspondence with MonstrousWalker leads me to believe that he is looking for honest opinions, so here goes....

The book is MonstrousWalker's version of the book that each voracious reader thinks he/she has in him/her, but MonstrousWalker has taken the brave step of actually completing it, so kudos. That said, as a diary of a man's life, it is amazing. As a book to be read and enjoyed by others it is sorely in need of a good editor. The book was simply too long and repetitive in numerous spots. It was FILLED with grammatical errors (a pet peeve of mine, and I'll admit that there are others who are not bothered by this at all) - while I'll agree with the sum of MW's teacher's who apparently told him he was a good writer, they might well have encouraged him to spend a bit more time on the mechanics of English usage. The substance is there, however, and MW can be justly proud of the result.

As to the main "character", I found him "monstrous" only in the banality of his perceived problems. The book read as if it should have been subtitled, "Teen Angst, Plus One". So you hate yourself, you hate your parents, you feel you don't fit in, you can't get girls, you feel sexually unfulfilled, and you go through a bad teen-age break-up? That is the story of nearly EVERY adolescent, and one that doesn't require 600 pages of exploration. I assume the "serial killer" hook was intended as nothing more than a come-on to catch potential readers. I saw nothing in our narrator that would have ever lead me to believe that he was capable of any but trivial crimes - a kid stealing shoes off the street does not a serial killer make.

I was also a bit put off by the narrator's repeated references to his "homelessness". He may have WANTED to feel rootless, but to describe himself has "homeless" when he went hungry for about 48 hours and was never more than a phone call away from his loving parents is rather an insult to those who do not enjoy the sorts of options that the narrator has.

But you'll notice I kept reading. With the criticism I've noted above, I found myself wondering why I didn't just quit the book. In the end, I had a real desire to see what happened to this wayward boy (for he remained a boy throughout this book), and MW's writing was good enough to keep me hooked.



1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Not much to say...  Sep 08, 2006
By Biz
Here we have a long winded and very tedious story of a young man who enjoys walking around all day and night. We also are privy to his eating and sleeping and masterbating. Sometimes he follows people around and pretends to hurt them and sometimes he just masterbates some more. Kinda describes the daily activities of alot of people I know. But thankfully, they don't feel the need to write 600 pages about their wandering around and masterbating.

2 of 3 found the following review helpful:

revolting, but hardly monstrous  Aug 19, 2005
By DVDJones "DVD"
Though "Serial Killer" jumps out from the title, the author never came close to becoming one, so it seems that the title is to lure in unsuspecting readers. The sexually deviant content is told in sickingly detail, and I have to admit I couldn't read all 600 pages of it.

I give it 5 stars, its in my top 3 favorite books!  Aug 06, 2008
By Nick "Nico"
The book is very interesting, it makes you think and gives you some ideas, but I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, nor would I ever recommend this to children!

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