So Disappointing

This was such a cool concept that I ignored the negative reviews and gave it a shot. Unfortunately, the execution was really not good. This was poorly written--lots of passive voice, overuse of the pluperfect (think lots of sentences like this: 'The last time he had seen his wife, she had told him that she had no longer liked tomatoes as much as she had said she had'), and the author has a really annoying habit of referring to his characters by their titles, instead of their names. Think, 'The young psychologist thought,' or, '...said the medical examiner.'

Also, it seemed that the characters' responses to death did not always make much sense. Either their responses were exaggerated or strangely muted. It never quite seemed proportional. I don't want to give anything away, but one character has almost no reaction to one of their parents dying. Also, the setting is really vague. I may just be dense, but I didn't get that this was Canada until hour nine. I don't know if it was mentioned before and I just missed it, but this weird small town could be any weird small town. And then, after all that, the ending is abrupt and, at least to me, doesn't make much sense.

The weak writing isn't helped by the fact that David Marantz reads the whole thing in the slightly smug drawl of a True Crime TV show narrator. Also, for the people like me who find this kind of thing upsetting, there are a lot of gruesome animal deaths. Some of it is gratuitous. There is a lot of gratuitous gore in general, so just be forewarned.

All in all, I would advise you to skip this one, but at the very least, take a listen to the sample and decide for yourself if you want to listen to 12+ hours of that narration for a story that, in the end, just doesn't really hold up well.

10 people found this helpful

Starts off great, but ends rather flat.

I won't spoil anything, but the book looks really promising at first. As things go on, the plot becomes rather hokey, and the charm was lost.

10 people found this helpful

I enjoyed this as my first free book.

It was a nice lengthy story to listen to while o was at work. I stock shelves for 8 hours a day so it made the time go by fast. I think the author thought out the story well but there being so many characters. I never lost interest while listening. Defiantly think it would have been a difficult book for me to read on my own but having it read to me made is super easy to follow. I loved the reader of the story.

4 people found this helpful

Didnt see that coming.

Ill be honest, I’m not much of reader but was certainly intrigued by this book having heard the author talk about it on various podcasts. I chose the audiobook route because I have a terrible attention span. About 10 chapters in I was hooked and knew it was well worth my time. Hoping for a sequel and also excited to check out JFs other books!

9 people found this helpful

I listened in two days

I’ve had this on my list for a while and finally decided to give it a listen while doing some remodeling. It kept me entertained and listening until I was forced to sleep. I had read the negative reviews but paid attention to the positive ones more. I’m glad I did. I’m not sure what the gripe is because I thought it was good. Clearly there is a sequel planned so know it won’t be entirely wrapped up but that doesn’t necessarily bother me. Looking forward to the next one!

3 people found this helpful

INCREDIBLE.

Perfect mix of true crime, small town Gothic, horror and plain old blood and gore. Great characters and a deeply entwined plot. I can't WAIT for the sequel!

3 people found this helpful

Wonderful and dark.

Human darkness manifested. What happens when you discover the God of your own making. This brings into perspective the idea that we create our own demons and hell.

3 people found this helpful

This book is awful.

The first chapter of this book shows unbelievable promise and I was so intrigued. I didn't realize the best part of the book was finished and I hope to save you money and/or credit along with your valuable time by imploring you not to select this book. I listened to the entire novel and tried to find something to like about it, but I couldn't find anything redeeming. If I didn't know better, I'd believe this was the work of an angsty teenager who dissected small animals he'd found in his backyard.

10 people found this helpful

The right choice for my free trial

Would you listen to A God in the Shed again? Why?

Would definitely listen again. I was thrilled with how well this turned out as my Amazon Prime free trial. Absolutely delighted.

What about David Marantz’s performance did you like?

David's narration gives the feel of listening to an older relative telling you a scary story around a halloween campfire.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Keep One Eye On The Shadow

2 people found this helpful

Gods don’t die

I loved this book, the story was deeply messed up and if you like gore, I mean like David Cronenberg kinda gore you will love this!

1 person found this helpful