Scan barcode
vondav's review
4.0
Abe was an imaginary friend, good at his job until he got bored. On his final strike, the committee gave him one more chance, find out who killed one of the elite, the boogeyman Ira. Being the first policeman on the Hill, he puts together a team involving his friend Zane another boogeyman and career counsellor Brady. One big problem, he did not know where to start, so had to rely on his connections in the otherworld.
Living in a land of imaginaries, you come across quite a lot of weird and wonderful characters and it is not often that you read about Norse Gods rubbing shoulders with tooth fairy assistants. Ade was a comical character who relied a lot on his quick comments. Coming across as sarcastic he did rub quite a few people up the wrong way. One of my favourite characters was Brady, who reminded me of one of those aging hippies who would be at camp singing Kumbaya.
I enjoyed how the author brought some of the human world into the Hill, Zane’s obsessiveness over a police badge and Ade would fall back on police TV shows he watched when he was an imaginary friend. What starts out with a mysterious death soon turns into a matter of life and death. The story was a quick read and I really got into it until about 50% as Ade was shown into a cave housing all sorts of strange creatures. This stopped me in my tracks as I could not understand where the story was going but as I kept reading, it became clear the reason for that particular journey. Throughout the story you find out more of Abe former life and his relationship with the human boy Truman. There are some laugh out loud moments thanks to Ade and a unlikely character of a deranged Tooth Fairy, and there were times when you felt sorry for the life Ade had and the troubles he had to overcome. The story reminded me of Monsters Inc. for adults as like the film, the imaginaries relied on children to believe in them
This is the first book I have read by this author and I am interested in to reading more of his work. If you like your fantasy read with a difference than pick up this book.
lilyn_g's review against another edition
3.0
I knew when I accepted The Boogeyman’s Intern that there was a strong chance I wouldn’t end up liking the book. I even told the author up front that I was concerned because it was the type of book that sounded very hit or miss for me. Luckily, that wasn’t the case, and I actually did like the book. However, that doesn’t mean the read went without problems.
The first half of The Boogeyman’s Intern went swiftly. It was charmingly weird, definitely unique, and I enjoyed seeing how things were being laid out. Matt Betts created an interesting world, and the effort he put into the story was obvious. I couldn’t wait to finish it….and then, suddenly, I could. Over the course of the next ten percent of the book, I lost the desire to continue reading it. That was, needless to say, a bit strange.
Part of the issue is I do feel like the book drags a bit in the third quarter. For a while Abe is kind of spinning his wheels, and while it’s realistic, it just doesn’t make for exciting reading. It was also a bit too obvious who the bad guy was and at least some of what was going on with Abe. However, I’m going to say that some of my lack of desire to continue the read was probably due to the fact that I just wasn’t in the right mood for it.
However, though, the last fifteen percent or so of The Boogeyman’s Intern re-ignited my interest. Things start coming together, bad guys are revealed, secrets are aired. All the good stuff I love to read.
Overall, it was an entertaining read, even if I wasn’t exactly the type of reader it was made for. While the pacing seems a bit wobbly, the characters were fun, and the dialogue was fitting. The sheer oddity of the setting and how that world interacts with our world was awesome. There were also some thoughtful remarks about how fear (and society) is evolving. If weird fantasy fiction is your thing, definitely check it out.Initial thoughts: A very unique premise, mostly solid writing, and a somewhat expected but still nice ending.