Book Review; Mostly Void, Partially Stars; Welcome to Night Vale Episodes 1

Hi readers and welcome to Night Vale! 

I've been a fan of the Night Vale podcast for sometime now. I've written about it before but if you don't know about it; Night Vale is a desert town which weird things happen, the normal becomes scary and nothing is ever as it seems. The stories are narrative in the form of a radio show which I think just adds to the mysterious and creepiness! 

About two years ago, I reviewed the first Night Vale novel which I totally enjoyed and have linked below. I read the second novel - It Devours! Last year and loved that too, though I must have missed out reviewing it on here. Today we are looking the third book but not an actual novel from the Night Vale creators because this is actually the first volume of the podcast scripts! 

Unlike with the novels, I strongly recommended listening to Night Vale before reading this book. There is so much more 'weight' to hearing aloud the scripts then reading them. There are events that come across so much better and stir emotions. Plus, the weather is a music piece which of course you can't listen to in the book! 

This book was really brought out of the fans. There are introduction to each podcast which gives a small insight into how that one came about and I always liking learning that kind of stuff. It's not written like a lot of scripts I've read before and I guess that's because it's mainly one character. Though there are some stage directions and other characters do come in. 

Cecil Palmer is the host of the show and I love is almost monotone voice. It's so calming and he just gives this natural feel to everything that's happening - though it's mostly unnatural and often scary! My favorite character is The Faceless Old Woman, maybe it's just because she's voiced by Mara Wilson, but I love the idea of her character - she lives in every home, is everywhere else and watching everyone and all the happenings of Night Vale all the time. She's an interesting, supernatural being.  

Reading the podcasts actually showed me how much I'd not taken in from listening to them the first time around! I think because Night Vale has now developed more, it's strange to look back at the beginning when it wasn't so whole and defied. The little side stories and characters that appear and then don't come back until something bigger happens, it was interesting for me to see the seed of those ideas. The narrative isn't a consent flow and can't really be read in a novel form way. So, it's hard to talk about the plot. There's just a lot of things going on and some of those things become more important and others get lost. 

For me, I did find reading the podcasts easier then listening to them because I have to force myself not to do anything whilst listening because I'm easily distracted by multi-tasking and then I realise that I've missed whatever has just been said. I need to make time to get back into Night Vale and catch up! I have the second volume of scripts to read next, so maybe after that I'll try and set some time aside in the evenings. I might not do a review of that book though, got some other stuff I want to write about, including; a series of manga I've been reading for the last few months, a few novels I read last year that are worth talking about and possibly reviewing the Harry Potter books which I plan to re-read all of for maybe the second or third time. I've re-read some of the book individual but not the whole set.

Overall, if you are a Night Vale fan and fancy seeing how the podcast scripts are created and/or you fancy some nostalgia of the desert town, then this is a good book to flip through. If you've not hear of Night Vale then give it ago. It's surprisingly gripping! 

Thanks for reading, until next week. Goodnight, Night Vale, Goodnight!

Links;

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29634931-mostly-void-partially-stars

http://www.welcometonightvale.com/

http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/book-review-welcome-to-night-vale-novel.html

Book Review: Welcome To Night Vale A Novel

Hi readers, 

I'm becoming more determined to make Mondays the day I post to this blog. I'm not sure why, I guess the routine of doing so? Also, because I'm free on Mondays, it's like the only day I don't have anything else to do, well beside from starting work on getting ahead with short stories for my other blog and catching up with emails. Once, again I've no idea how long this is going to last for as I've all ready got some plans for the new year and I'll be writing more about them sometime in December. For now though, let's look at today's topic. 

Of all the books on my list this year, Night Vale was the one I was most excited about. I've been listening to the podcast for ages and enjoying them, though I often fall behind with them because I really can't do anything whilst I listen to them as I lose concentration with it. I was also lucky enough to go to a live show in Manchester UK with my boyfriend. Strangely, the podcast works on stage very well and it made me more eager to see how a novel would work out.

Firstly, you don't have to have even heard of Night Vale to pick up and read the novel. Of course, being aware of the settings and characters is useful, but the way the novel is written gives you everything you need to understand all of this. Though, if you are looking to find out why Night Vale is so supernatural then you won't find any answers here! Like with the podcast, you have to just accept Night Vale for the surreal unnatural world it is, where anything can and will happen.

The plot focus on two female characters and their search for a very unusual man who is waiting for them in a city that is very difficult to get to. Interjected between the chapters are extracts from the Night Vale radio station (which if you didn't know is how they do the podcast) and as these go along it becomes more apparent how they fit in with main plot. Plus, they are humors snips of life in Night Vale. Along the way are side-plots and themes about family, life, jobs and out of the box solutions. I could so go into a lot more with the plot, but I don't want to spoil it.     

I really connected with the characters and the ending linked them all together which nice to see. Even though the focus is on the main set of about four or five characters, the background ones feel like they have their own issues and aren't just there to be the stereotypical background people. I really hope that some of these characters get their own novels in the future because it'd be interesting to find out more about them. I think that nearly a everyone will be able to connect with a character or more in the novel because many are likable and have realistic problems such as being a parent, a teenager, a mayor etc. 

I did enjoy the narrative, which is linear, though you'd think given Night Vale itself, it wouldn't seem so straight forward, but that does mean that anyone can read it. If you know Night Vale then you might find yourself- as I did- hearing the voice of Cecil as you read, if not it comes over in a friendly, simple, matter of fact tone. The characters dialogue is natural enough and pacy too.  

My favorite part of the novel has to be the visit to the library, just because it's the complete opposite of a normal library. There's still bookshelves and books, but not as we know them to be. Also, the librarians are actually monsters that want to kill people. I really like the idea of the 'normal' being totally flipped and I think that's why Night Vale is so attractive.   

Overall, This novel was great and I loved it. I would say to expect the unexpected if you've just discovered Night Vale and if you're returning then the novel really does feel like an extension of the podcast only longer and more in depth about things. I seriously can't wait for the next one...I hope there's going to be one!