NETGALLEY BOOK REVIEW: Holus Bolus by William Pauley III

Audiobook Length: 5 hours and 37 minutes

Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Bizarro Fiction, Horror,

No. of Book in Series: 6

Publisher: Doom Fiction

Published Date: June 1, 2023

Goodreads’ SynopsisOUR PROTAGONIST is pretty sure he’s just committed a murder. The body is newly dead, he’s the only one around, and a quick look at the evidence suggests he’s guilty as sin.

Also, he’s totally insane.

A rare brain condition causes his memories to reset every day, and because of this, he often wakes up in strange places with no memory of how he got there. He can’t even remember his own name. When he’s not racking his brain over his shoddy memory, he’s arguing incessantly with a disembodied voice that doesn’t seem to belong to him, one he can only hear inside his head.

He may not know much about the troubling situation he just woke up to, but he knows, without a doubt, that he’s completely f*cked.

While the odds are certainly stacked against him, there may be hope for our protagonist yet, for clutched in the corpse’s cold, clammy hands is a handwritten tome that suggests not only his innocence, but also reveals some bizarre and dangerous secrets, leading him to believe his own apartment building may be to blame… or is, at the very least, an accomplice.

That sounded better inside his head.

Luckily he’s not the only one trying to solve the case. The book also leads him to a group of outcasts who are in the midst of their own investigation. The only problem? They all suspect one another!

One thing’s for certain, someone inside the tower is a cold-blooded killer. Can our protagonist solve the murder before he falls asleep and his memories reset? Or worse, before the killer strikes again?

Find out in HOLUS BOLUS. You’ll be pushed to the very edge of sanity!

Read Start Date: March 1, 2024

Read Finish Date: March 7, 2024

My Review: I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is yet another unique and brilliantly written novel from William Pauley III. The fantastic Connor Brannigan returns as the narrator. While it is the sixth book in the Bedlam Bible series, the main character, along with a few other characters, are from another book, The Doom Magnetic Trilogy.

The story opens with a bang, throwing you headfirst into the nightmarish reality of the protagonist. Waking up next to a dead body with no memory is a terrifying proposition, but add a dash of amnesia that wipes the slate clean every night, and you have a recipe for heart-pounding suspense. Is he really the killer? Was it someone else? How did he come to be in this situation? And what the hell is Holus Bolus, and what will happen when the counter gets to zero?

The supporting cast is quirky and enjoyably weird, and the last portion of the book twists and turns in a way that I never saw coming.

As with all of Pauley’s books, this one is a must read for fans of the weird and those who can handle descriptive violence and gore.

Other Books I’ve Read in this Series:

To see my review of the above book, please click on the following titles: The Tower, White Fuzz, The Astronaut Dream Book, Fight Tub, The Ballad of Old Joe Booth, Twelve Residents Dreaming.

Reviews Published
Professional Reader
10 Book Reviews

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

NETGALLEY BOOK REVIEW: Hearers of the Constant Hum by William Pauley III

Audiobook Length: 6 hours and 50 minutes

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Bizarro Fiction

Publisher: Doom Fiction

Published Date: September 11, 2021

Goodreads’ SynopsisDella Comb is the queen of her hive. She’s only in her early twenties, but she’s already managed to build an empire selling drugs to junkies who are looking for the ultimate escape. The key to her success is that she manufactures her drugs with a secret ingredient: a very specific blend of pesticides.

Her only problem is the two bumbling exterminators she’s come to rely on for product. They spend more time playing video games and making armchair philosophies than actually working. Thankfully, they realize they too are short on supplies—pizza and breakfast burritos—so they give her a call, asking to meet up at the Chase High Rise, a building known for its unique brand of squalor.

Immediately, she feels sick to her stomach. Not only is the place absolutely disgusting, but it’s also home to Bill Krang, a man who claims to hear insects speaking. The things they say don’t make sense, even to him, but the words are causing him to physically deteriorate at a rapid pace.

Della’s ultimate fear is meeting this man and contracting his disease. However, business is business, and Krang’s apartment is abundant of product. Before long, she finds herself thrown straight into her worst nightmare, and the experience…changes her.

HEARERS OF THE CONSTANT HUM challenges its readers to work against instinct by exposing the dangers of our own curiosity. It’s more than just a story, it’s a warning of a much needed social change. We either take its advice, or risk rewriting what it means to be human in a world ran by insects.

Read Start Date: February 11, 2024

Read Finish Date: February 18, 2024

My Review: I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Bill Krang, our protagonist, is a captivating mess. He’s plagued by the constant hum, a nonsensical insect chant that both drives him mad and fuels his bizarre investigation into the deeper meaning of the chant. As he gains knowledge about his situation and the world at large, his body begins to decay — to collapse. He lives alone in a dingy apartment filled with cockroaches when he meets Della and her exterminators.

This book is dark and weird, and I enjoyed the particularly unconventional and unsettling atmosphere. My skin crawled with Pauley’s description of the cockroaches. As always, Pauley’s prose is descriptive and draws the reader into the story. The characters are another highlight of this book. The exterminators are characters from another of Pauley’s books, The Brothers Crunk, which I have not read yet. I know what I’ll be reading next!

Connor Brannigan is, as always, a fantastic narrator.

I would highly recommend this book to people who like weird and/or bizarre horror fiction. If you are already a fan of Pauley’s books, this one won’t disappoint.

Reviews Published
Professional Reader
10 Book Reviews

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.