Cyclops Road

The books that Jeff Strand produces never fail to entertain me. This book is one of my new favorites of his. Cyclops Road was fantastic. I bought it the day it came out, which was just two days ago, planning on making this Strand novel last a little while for once. No such luck. Now it's finished and I'm back to waiting for another book, or the audible version of this one.Please note, this is not a horror novel. I don't want to say too much, but there's some nail biting scenes, and it is chock full of the funny this author is known for - along with a bit of sadness. This book is pretty different from most of his work, story-wise. Never once did this slow my reading down, however. Only work and life did that. Anyway, pick this book up and give it a go.

Another great story from one of my favorite authors.I started reading Cyclops Road on my way to a wedding. After reading the prologue, I was extremely depressed and I had to stop reading. That's not a bad thing at all. I just wasn't expecting this from a Jeff Strand book.Then came the first chapter and I found myself laughing out loud. It takes talent to do that to the reader and with his latest, Jeff takes the reader on one hell of a road trip and keeps you guessing until the very end.Highly recommended.

I bought this going in blind, because basically I love Jeff Strand books. He's pretty much the single best writer of dialogue in the business, and when I see a new book coming out by him, I just automatically pick it up. I haven't been let down yet.The story... wow. This is kinda hard to do without spoilers, and I hate to spoil a good book. Ok, the closest book I can compare this to is Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez. Both involve people out to fight a cyclops (eventually). Mythological road trips I guess would be the genre name. I loved HATERQ, and while this book is WAY different (for instance the lead female is NOT, in fact, a giant minotauress and this is NOT set in a world of epic fantasy), it's still sort of the same idea. People go on a road trip that seems weird to try and fulfill a mission for vague reasons that seem to fit any RPG out there.So, I plunked down my cash (metaphorically, because I got the ebook and frankly you can't really "plunk" paypal anywhere), fired up the kindle and got my read on. I teared up a bit (manly tears though, cause I'm manly, dammit), I laughed, I laughed some more, I winced, then laughed a bit more.Was it his greatest book? No, because I double checked and the title isn't Wolf Hunt. Was it an awesome book? Yes, because I spent my cash and enjoyed it greatly. Was it worth the 5 stars? Eh...Yea. The ending is sort of sudden (but frankly, there really wasn't anywhere to GO from the climax), but it's nowhere near as annoying as David Wellington books tend to be with the immediate resolution of the plot and BAM "THE END" and screw you for wanting some sort of epilogue.Basically, buy this book, or just borrow it on kindle unlimited and read it. Dude's a hell of a writer and while I feel this isn't his greatest work, it's still a damned fine read.

Mr. Strand has done it again!! Awesome fantasy/adventure book with just the right amount of killing, sadness and humor. He weaves the humor into one liners that will make you laugh out loud (LOL), but in no way does this take away from the more serious parts in the book.The characters set out on the road trip from hell. They are a odd mix of characters. One is just a oh umm kinda guy trying to get over some really terrible heartbreaking stuff. The girl is a very to the point, no messing around type who has now stepped out of her very sheltered life and into the real world to complete her destiny. Another guy is a total awesome nerd type who plays Dungeons & Dragons and has been training for this adventure since he was 15. The other guy is a tough man. The group finds him in a strange little town, under stranger circumstances. Before he joins the group, the group and him have to participate in a bizarre "team building exercise". Coming a little late to the party is a grandma who first said no thanks, but now has said ok to the group. This is a group of semi-heroes.They now are all together and back on the road. Together they make a very unusual team but it seems to work pretty good for them. However they do run into some bumps in the road, but they find the courage to carry on. At times in this book you think you know where the author is going but then he throws a twist and turn, now you find yourself going in a totally different direction. Great adventure, pick this book up.

Jeff Strand is very quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. After reading Blister and Pressure and thoroughly enjoying them I picked up Cyclops Road. This is by far my favorite Jeff Strand novel to this point and definitely one of the stand-out novels I’ve read this year.The novel begins when Evan, an unemployed widower, discovers Harriett, a young adventurer. Harriett is being mugged by three men. These muggers don’t know what they are getting into but soon find out the hard way. Harriett is quite the expert in hand to hand combat. A real bad-ass. She’s been training her entire life for a prophesied mission. That mission: to slay a cyclops in Rapport, Arizona. From there Evan decides, what the hell, I have nothing better to do, I’ll give Harriett a lift from Florida to Arizona. They don’t take the most direct route as they have several other prophesied heroes to pick up along the way. They also have several opponents to contend with on their journey.Cyclops Road is paced in such a way that will you be glued to this book to find out what happens next. Jeff Strand’s writing is filled with a snappy, witty dialog that you’ll be hard pressed to match in the horror genre. There is action that is reminiscent of some of the best superhero and monster movie battles ever screened. My imagination enjoyed every word of it. I look forward to reading more of Jeff Strand’s novels and stories. He’s original, witty, and never boring.Five Stars*****