Cryptofauna

By: Patrick Canning

Narrated by: Steve White

Working as a janitor at an insane asylum in rural Idaho has Jim in the dumps. One night, his attempted suicide is rudely interrupted by one of the residents, and he's recruited to play a game called Cryptofauna. The bizarre contest of worldwide mischief and meddling might actually help the blue custodian discover a reason to live, if he can survive the deadly trials that await....

“If Alice and Wonderland and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy had a love child, it’d be Cryptofauna. This fantasy novel creates an acid dream of lovable characters, tense twists, and a storyworld unlike any I’ve experienced...it’s a beautiful story, funny at times, ridiculous in the best possible way, intense and action packed." (Nico Bell Writes)

“Every so often, you come across a book that leaves you wondering if you should be looking into psychedelic drugs, because you realize that your reality is rather limited. This is definitely one of those books...one of the strangest, most intriguing things I've ever read.” (Songs Wrote my Story)

“Cryptofauna is fantastically strange, it's so funny and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. But it's also deep and poignant and [the] attention to detail is superb.” (Rae’s Reading Lounge)

©2018 Patrick Canning (P)2019 Patrick Canning

What a fun ride!

Fun and crazy story with great characters and an unique back drop. How can anyone not love a book that has insane people, dogs, cured leper monks, and drugged up shapeshifters?!? I won't give anything away but if you're reading this review I advice checking it out.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

LSD LitRPG... sorta

Patrick Canning is probably one of the the wittiest writers I've ever listened to in a long while. He creates an amazing Cheshire Cat type world where a game is played by mortals, in the real world, in order to please and entertain the immortal. It was fun, crazy and incredibly creative. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a lot fun in their super natural, adventure, buddy books.

Steve White is superb in the delivery and really gives Canning's word the kind of flippant, tongue in cheek tone when it needs and as well as incredible gravity when things go wrong. I White was the perfect narrator for this book.

Try this book. Try this book. Try this book.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.  

Entertaining Dark Humor

When Patrick Canning sent me an email asking for a review, I had to jump on it. Cryptofauna sounded too much like David Wong’s John Dies at the End to ignore. I don’t read many black humor books, but I love David Wong, so I was excited to dive in. Now that I’m done I’m honestly, I’m not sure how to rate it. It’s a mind trip that is reminiscent of David Wong’s John Dies At The End, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The black humor was present, but there was one thing that just didn’t sit right with me.

The most unsettling thing about this book is the casual use of racist remarks. I don’t enjoy reading racist or homophobic slurs, and I don’t enjoy having them thrown casually around in a book. It was done to show how uncouth a character was or someone starting a fight, but I found it completely unnecessary. I’m not used to reading the N-word or seeing the F word (the derogatory term for a gay man) or even referring to people solely by their ethnicity. I assume that the author was doing this for shock value and to add to the black humor feel, but it still didn’t sit well with me.

The characters in this book were unique and fun. They are what I enjoyed the most about this book. It was fun to watch them interact, and I loved how quirky and weird they all were. I loved how every character was there for a reason, and I loved seeing how they handled the twists and turns that the plot had.

The plot was exciting but also jumbled. I can’t help but think this might have been a book that should be read instead of listened to. The narrator was good, but with how jumpy and convoluted the plot was, it was hard to follow when just listening. I ended up borrowing the book from the KU library to use as a reference when I got lost. There were times I had to backtrack just to understand what I just read. This book definitely requires your full attention, and even then, you might appreciate it better high.

**I Received this book in exchange for an honest review**

Interesting, funny but a bit confusing

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all options expressed herein are my own.

I am a huge fan of this author's other book "Colonel & the Bee." This book is completely different. You literally fall down the rabbit hole with Jim and try to figure out what is happening, who is in charge, and what is this game Cryptofauna which Jim has to play. Parts of the book had me chuckling and parts were quite confusing which makes this book a bit hard to review. There were enough parts, some really good humor and characters which I enjoyed to say I liked it overall.

Steve White, the narrator, is fantastic. He used distinctive voices for the characters, had great comic delivery and was so enthusiastic as he narrated.

Excellent!

Take a dash of Douglas Adams, add some Monty Python, and throw it in a blender with a real-world RPG. That's Cryptofauna.This is a humorous, light fantasy tale that does not disappoint. You are thrown into a world that is equal parts modern day and fantasy. While there is no backstory about the game being played, it is appropriate for this book. You learn along with the MC, Jim, all about the game of Cryptofauna, and how it influences the real world. The narration of Steve White is excellent, and gives each character it's own personality and feel. My personal favorite is Max, a Jinn that has to be heard to be understood. While I can't give anything away about the plot, as it would spoil the fun, I will say that if you pass this up, it's your own fault. Grab a copy of this, a fresh pair of socks, and settle back and enjoy! I was given a copy of this book free at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

I have been listening to "heavy" audibles lately and wanted something like. This did not disappoint. The quips are golden. I found myself wanting to write them down so that I can use them later. The story line is entertaining but it is the quips and side comments that really make this book golden!

The narrator is perfect - great speed and inflection. I did not have to alter the playback speed at all (yes, I do that usually).

So seriously, if you love dry humor, quips and "did he really just say that"s, you HAVE to listen to this book. By far the most entertainment I have had in a long time!

Hope there will be more.

Great story and narrator

This book was well written and has a little of everything from action To humour even horror for you Insect haters
With many Likeable characters The narrator Does a great job giving each a voice
the door is left open for a second book hopefully Will be learning more about cryptofauna in the future
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily Left this review

Fast paced and a lot of fun

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook.

I wasn't sure if I'd like this book or not when I selected it on Audiobook Boom but it turned out to really surprise me. It's a mix of fantasy and action all mixed together in a nonsensical game called "Cryptofauna".

The main character, Jim, is selected to be the newest recruit in this game and isn't really given much in the way of instruction. He's just kind of pushed or thrown into one situation after another throughout the book and as he goes through the process of learning this game he picks up companions, each with their own special quirks, including a painter who hates the color blue.

There was a lot of humor and a lot of feel good moments in this story. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in
fun, fast paced fantasy stories.

so good!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I really quite enjoyed this book. It is fun, completely bonkers, and truly engaging. The narration is done really well and made this one heck of a fun listen. I will definitely look for more from this author and/or narrator.

fun

such a fun easy and very well told story it was enjoyable very interesting and very smart and the thing I liked most about the book it's that the author didn't write to much to make you laugh but you laughed so much that it was brilliant
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review