HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY KIDNAP STRANGERS was both uproarious and ridiculously brutal, just the way efficient satire should always be. It's going to piss a lot of people off though, as not everyone has a sense of humor about themselves. Online writing communities are this relatively new phenomenon that most people still take too seriously for their own sake. None takes themselves more seriously than BILF books though and that's a problem for bitter book reviewer Harlan Anderson. Max Booth III's previ...

Max was gracious enough to give me an advanced reading copy of his latest book in exchange for an honest review, but after reading it I'm not even sure I can be honest. What if I end up kidnapped and shoved in a trunk with a bag full of severed heads? I don't want to be kidnapped because I wrote a bad review. Actually that's the premise of the book and the kidnapping and everything else that happens in Booth's book is a direct result of a sheer panic and indecision. If you're actually using this...

Harlan reviews books. He admits to being an asshole and his favorite books to tear apart are ones published by a small indy company called BILF (Books I'd like to F@ck). BILF is a bunch of assholes since they rejected to see the greatness of Harlan's own venture as an author. Harlan likes to venture out to a local coffee house to do some of his reading. He takes his trusty e-reader than he has stocked full of illegally downloaded books and heads out. Then he has the misfortune of running int...

This was some bizarro, crazy, non PC, obscene, disgusting, bust out laughing while gaging, writing. I have never read anything like it. It is guaranteed to be banned by many religious organizations. Everything was just so wrong, I loved it.The horrors include terrible writers, worse editors, half arsed publishers, drugs, knives, guns, vomit, sex, murder, severed heads, porn, wicked reviewers, violence and one cute Weiner dog.-Not for sensitive readers.I had fun, sick twisted fun with this. I enj...

A zany dark crime caper full of severed heads, witty dialogue, and lamentations on the state of the indie-lit scene. This should be required reading for everyone who is writing in small press today. This book is about you! How to Successfully Kidnap Strangers is pure entertainment.

How to Successfully Kidnap StrangersI bought this book. No one bribed me with a free copy. However, after reading it, I find my fingers shaking over the keyboard. This review could very well end up with me in the trunk of a car. Screw it. I love a good fight.In all fairness, How to Successfully Kidnap Strangers was one hell of a fun time. The author has a gift for creative plot and my lord does he layer on the tension with a sense of humor. The ties to the world of small press and wannabe writer...

So this was my first foray into Bizarro Fiction - a genre I didn't even know existed. Apparently the literary genre was coined Bizarro Fiction in 2005. Wikipedia says, "Bizarro fiction is a contemporary literary genre, which often uses elements of absurdism, satire, and the grotesque, along with pop-surrealism and genre fiction staples, in order to create subversive, weird, and entertaining works." Yeah...I'd say this fits the bill. If you spend any amount of time on Goodreads, you are freque...

So, this was interesting...I think? I liked it...I think? After a night of extreme partying, 5 friends, who happen to co-run a small press, wake up and go on a somewhat unintentional crime spree. From robbery to kidnapping to murder, these guys do it all. There's crucifix dildos, fast food drug wars, and not to mention talking severed heads. But that's what happens when shitty reviewers write shitty reviews, right? This book was equal parts laugh out loud hilarious and disgustingly cringe worthy...

Absolute madness. A tweaked shows up with a body in the trunk of a car and things go apeshit until the final sentence. I have had the privilege of reading a couple of Max Booth III's books and I can say he definitely one of the most unique voices in fiction. After reading this book, I do not want to "label" or "categorize" his stuff into a specific genre. Just be prepared to have your mind blown. I dug the story, but the main reason I like Max SOOOO much in because I have never read anyone quite...

I get real nervous when reading about authors kidnapping book reviewers. This is not the first novel on this topic but, for reasons that will be disclosed, it is the best novel about kidnapping book reviewers. But I do know some book reviewers that should be kidnapped. If one is a reviewer, they should always write about the book and, even if the book sucks, they should not take the negative hyperbole to a personal level. Even if the author is a truly creepy creature who writes about disembodied...

The world of small presses gets a dose of satire done right. Hilarious and candid, with memorable characters and a snowballing shitstorm of terrible events. The book picks up quickly doesn't let up. There was some worry initially that the author would not be able to keep up the level of humor without it seeming forced or overdone, but it was unnecessary. As with the other books I have read from Max Booth III, How To Successfully Kidnap Strangers is witty, smart and well done. It seemed I was gri...

I give this 4 stars because I do not want to be beaten, kidnapped, bound and gagged, and thrown in a closet with a serial killer.. No seriously, the author gave me what I wanted in the story's ending. I was ticked off through most of this book. The characters are turds. I'm talking down right cruel. The cop was the most likable but his choice of reading material was questionable. I am guessing that Booth was lampooning the pretentiousness and depravity that can occur in a small press company fil...

I've been wanting to read Max Booth III's work for a long time and had initially planned to read THE MIND IS A RAZORBLADE first. But then I read the premise of this one I'm going to talk about today and knew I had to read it stat. So THE MIND IS A RAZORBLADE will come another day but, over the course of this review, I'm going to tell you why you should read that one, this one, and anything else he's written or might write in the future.Max Booth III is a diverse guy. He wears several different h...

Absolutely perfect in so many ways. Funny as all hell...a comedy of errors in the BEST way possible. Really, so good ya gotta read it to see how awesome it is!

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com I knew even before I started reading that it would be a hard job to write a review of it. It is a bizarre novel and seriously, at which point should you judge one?The story takes place around a small publishing company specialized in publishing weird, bizarre novels (not unlike this one). When one of them, who also has a serious drug issue, sees a negative reviewer on the street, something breaks and the reviewer end up in the truck. Fr

Max Booth III’s compulsively readable new novel, How to Successfully Kidnap Strangers, is an anthem for small, independent book publishers and authors. The novel is well constructed, with a tight plot and solid, unique characters. Its story is warts-and-all depiction of what goes into running a small press, though in this case readers will want to know what goes into the literary sausage. There are twists and turns that no one will see coming, because, really, when an angry, and likely quite int...

Max Booth can kidnap me anytime he wants.

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY KIDNAP STRANGERS is an irreverent, hilarious joyride into the bowels of small press hell. I’m not small press published but as someone who mostly self-publishes, I face many of the same problems including douche reviewers like Harlan Anderson (a once rejected, scorned wanna-be author who writes scathing reviews for all of BILF Publishing’s titles). Coincidentally, Harlan lands in the hands of the BILF Publishing crew when Billy—a not-so-talented drug-addicted writer—ends up k...

Max Booth III is a writer I've been meaning to read for some time now. Ever since the publication of Toxicity a couple of years ago.The title of his newest novel, How to Successfully Kidnap Strangers, just reached out and grabbed me. When I read the book's description on it's Amazon page, it was decided. Here, take my money.The description that made be spend my hard earned money...1. Do not respond to bad reviews. 2. If you must respond to bad reviews, please do not kidnap the reviewer. 3. If yo...

I feel very conflicted about this book. I don’t know if I hated it or enjoyed it..I think the authors intention was to write a bunch of awful, unlikable characters, with a ridiculous plot that spiraled out of control. Don’t get me wrong, it DID work, but for some reason I just feel sort of, meh towards it..I hated everyone. Everyone sucked and even the people who weren’t awful I still hated 😂 I cared about nobody in this book. But at the same time it was pretty fun. I pretty much read it in 2 si...