Dan Wells

John Wayne Cleaver is a sociopath. His dad’s name is Sam – that makes him the “Son of Sam”, he shares a name with serial killer John Wayne Gacey, and his surname is a weapon. He also works at a mortuary and loves seeing the dead bodies that come through.

He can’t emote his feelings. He doesn’t feel any empathy. He has a monster inside of him telling him to kill, but to try not to kill he lives his life according to a set of rules he has made for himself.

So when a serial killer show more starts killing off people in his town, John becomes fascinated. Obsessed. He spends all his conscious moments trying to come up with a motive and a profile. And then… he sees who the killer is and makes it his effort to kill him before he strikes again.

It’s a really intense real, but highly entertaining. I particularly loved the parts between John and his psychologist Dr Nebler. John is very open and upfront about his thoughts and feelings and I felt like as a reader, I really learnt a lot about who John is.

We really get into John’s head during this book. See how he thinks and what his thought patterns are. It’s quite disturbing at times, especially how he thinks about Brooke in particular (his neighbour who has a crush on him – and visa versa), but it certainly was captivating and interesting none the less.

The twist that takes place about a third of the way though the book is absolutely massive. It changes the whole way you see the book and its characters, and certainly knocks John for a loop as well. Dan Wells was so clever when he wrote this book, the way that twist (really, there’s actually two twists kinda all made up into one big twist. lol) was played was absolutely brilliant!

Well written, and fascinating – I really enjoyed this book and hope to be able to read the sequel at some stage! show less

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I knew enough of Wells' work to know that it would be well-written, but I've never been a horror fan and I didn't know what to expect from the genre. Happily, I found this book to be strong on psychological suspense and character development and light on gore and other elements that would have been a turnoff for me. I also loved the main character's deadpan sense of humor.

🚀📚✨🚀 Zero G by Dan Wells ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 Stars)

Tropes & Themes:
🚀 Kid Hero
🏴‍☠️ Space Pirates
😆 Humorous Adventure
🧠 Clever Problem Solving
🌌 Alone in Space
👦 Underdog Protagonist
🎧 Fantastic Full-Cast Audiobook

What It's About:

Zero is supposed to spend the next hundred years peacefully asleep in a stasis pod while humanity travels to a distant planet. Unfortunately for him, his pod malfunctions and he wakes up a century too early! At first, having an show more entire spaceship to himself sounds pretty awesome, but things quickly take a turn when a family of space pirates boards the ship with plans to hijack it. With 20,000 colonists asleep and no adults around to save the day, Zero has to rely on his wits, courage, and creativity to stop them before it's too late.

My Thoughts:

I know I'm definitely not the target age group for this book, but honestly? This was such a fun time! 🚀✨

Zero G is cute, entertaining, fast-paced, and packed with adventure from beginning to end. Zero was an easy character to root for, and watching him outsmart pirates using nothing but his brain and determination was incredibly enjoyable. The humor landed well, the banter kept things light, and the story never took itself too seriously while still delivering plenty of exciting moments.

One of my favorite things about this audiobook was the full cast narration. It added so much personality and energy to the story, making it feel almost like listening to an animated movie. Every character felt distinct, and the performances made the adventure even more engaging.

If you're looking for a quick, wholesome sci-fi adventure with plenty of laughs, clever problem-solving, and a lovable young hero, I'd absolutely recommend giving this one a try. Whether you're a middle-grade reader or just someone looking for a fun palate cleanser between heavier books, *Zero G* delivers a stellar adventure. 🌟

**Audiobook Cast Highlights 🎧**
The full cast includes Emily Woo Zeller, Margaret Ying Drake, Betsy Hogg, Josh Hurley, Jonathan Davis, Jennifer Van Dyck, Chelsea Spack, Charlie Thurston, David Shih, Eunice Wong, Eddy Lee, Allyson Johnson, and Polly Lee, all of whom helped bring this cosmic adventure to life.

some quotes that resonated with this story but are not in the actual book: 💫

> "Sometimes being the smallest person in the room just means nobody notices what you're doing."

> "Space is huge. Being alone in it is even bigger."

> "The best way to beat someone stronger than you is to think faster than they do."

Overall, this was a delightful sci-fi romp full of heart, humor, and adventure. 🚀🏴‍☠️🌌 show less

I don't know what it says about me that a book about a teenage psychopath and serial killer demons gives me so much joy, but I also don't care!

Even though the first book in this series only received 3.5 stars from me, I enjoyed it very much. The main reason for that rating came down to (as Dan Wells often speaks about on his podcast Writing Excuses, where I first heard about these books) the lack of foreshadowing (or as Dan puts it, the initial promise made to the reader). Because of this, I show more was caught off guard by the antagonist and the conflict. I like a good genre bend, but it wasn't as seamless as it maybe could have been, which brought down an otherwise extremely entertaining read.

Everything that was less than perfect in the first novel was absent in the second. And everything that made the first good were even better in this installment.

The audiobook narrator for this is insanely talented at sounding like a hormonal, emotional, psychopathic teenage boy who is in the middle of a lot of shit. The fights John has with his mom make me feel like the kid at the slumber party who tries to tip toe into the kitchen for a glass of water while people are screaming in the living room.

The demon in this book is way better than the first and John's stake in the conflict, toeing the line between soon-to-be serial killer and mentally ill kid trying his best, and the ever shifting state of his reputation in his hometown all became that much more pressing in the second novel.

As completely awful as a lot of John’s thoughts are, his determination to be better, hard fought self-reliance, and disciplined approach to being a good person in the face of his own psychopathy made me feel so unbelievably strongly for him. The fact that John struggles so hard against his own mind and his own nature to be a good person is the type of crazy twist on the accidental hero architype that hits you like a stray golf ball when you realize just how well done it is. Bravo Dan Wells for making me feel such sympathy for a character who has to remind himself not to kill animals or his loved ones!

If you want a novel with a lot of internal conflict, this is the book for you. You do have to be okay with being inside the head of a character who embodies two of the most emotionally volatile types of people—teenagers and psychopaths. So, yeah, proceed with caution. This boy can definitely do dark. show less