The Hollow City Audiobook By Dan Wells cover art

The Hollow City

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The Hollow City

By: Dan Wells
Narrated by: Roger Wayne
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Dan Wells won instant acclaim for his three-novel debut about the adventures of John Wayne Cleaver, a heroic young man who is a potential serial killer. All who hear the trilogy were struck by the distinctive and believable voice Wells created for John.

Dan Wells returns with another innovative thriller told in a very different, equally unique voice. A voice that comes to us from the realm of madness.

Michael Shipman is paranoid schizophrenic; he suffers from hallucinations, delusions, and complex fantasies of persecution and horror. That's bad enough. But what can he do if some of the monsters he sees turn out to be real?

Who can you trust if you can't even trust yourself?

The Hollow City is a mesmerizing journey into madness, where the greatest enemy of all is your own mind.

©2012 Dan Wells (P)2020 Tantor Genre Fiction Horror Psychological Thriller & Suspense Scary Exciting
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This has the best plot that i’ve enjoyed in a long time. It reminds me a bit of Frank Herbert’s stories. What amazing twists. I loved it.

Amazing plot

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Protagonist spent the first half of the story flying off the handle all of the time. It could have been made into a drinking game. However, I stuck with it to see where the story was going, and I liked the second half much more.

Protagonist drove me a little nuts

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Hard to describe without spoilers, but this was an immersive and enthralling listen. The performance/narration helped draw me into the story.

Memorably disturbing

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I binged it in an eight hour car ride, fantastic reader, great story, would read again

They Live meets One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Volume is lower then other audio books. Volume also goes from short periods of loud. To the narrator whispering. Annoying to constantly adjust volume, but story was great.

Audio Fades

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A first person story involving a schizophrenic main character? Count me in!

The Hollow City has the absolute best unreliable narrator I’ve ever experienced. Meet Michael Shipman— a young man who is sent to a mental hospital after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Shadow Men follow Michael’s every step, strange sounds come from the hallway outside of his room at night... not to mention that terrible phobia of anything electronic.

As his mix of reality and fantasy begin to blur, his becomes increasingly paranoid and erratic. Michael’s steady downward spiral into madness is a realistic, and highly entertaining, endeavor for the reader.

The audiobook is narrated by Roger Wayne, which was a to to me. Overall, this book exceeded my expectations by far! Dan Wells is quickly becoming one of the best niche urban fantasy writers! I already want the second book!!

The Hollow City was incredible!

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this is one of the best Horrors I have come across. it is an intense, Vivid, and terrifying look into a mind struggling with Madness. what is real? what is delusion? the excitement intention are Non-Stop. ultimately the storyline turns into a brilliant sci-fi conclusion. I absolutely loved this listen. from The Amazing storyline to the wonderful performance this is a top of the line work of Horror. I hope to find more by this author.

the horror of Madness

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Having never read anything by Dan Wells before I have to say he is an excellent writer. The story is effortless to listen to, flows smoothly and keeps you speculating what's real and what isn't through the entire adventure.

The Hollow City starts out with a crime scene and what appears to be a supernatural occurrence captured on CCTV, then the rest of the story is told from the main character's POV. Michael Shipman is a schizophrenic. He's afraid of electronics, cell phones, people without faces and horrible monstrous things only he can see. No one believes him when he says there's something in his head that enables him to spot the faceless men and really, he's a calm guy...unless threatened, then he lashes out violently to defend himself, because, who wouldn't do that? He's recently been hospitalized, his head injuries from a fall treated (he jumped out of a window to avoid the faceless men) and has then been transferred to the psych ward for evaluation. He was captured by the police due to a two week disappearance that he has a total blackout remembering. He also hasn't been taking his meds for six months or so. And there's a strong suspicion he's The Red Line serial killer that's murdered ten victims (that they know of) in the last six months, by horribly mutilating their faces, the most recent occurring during Michael's two week blackout.

Wells does a brilliant job navigating the ins and outs of an unbalanced mind, putting you right into the thick of things. And Roger Wayne's performance puts the cherry on top of an intriguing story. Very enjoyable to listen to. Not my usual genre, but it was highly entertaining and kept my interest throughout. Every character was perfectly voiced, making you wonder if they're real or a figment of Michael's imagination and whether his belief in his innocence is actually the truth. Well worth the credit.

Intriguing

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Dan Wells is a master of storytelling. He brilliantly weaves a tale of the challenges of mental health and dealing with those challenges day to day and moment to moment. This is a respectful and thrilling deep dive into the psyche of a young man who struggles against time and his mind to clear his name and solve a mystery he has held onto for years. It’s a brilliantly executed book that is well worth your time!

Master Work!

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