What do you think?
Rate this book
Wasteland
Angelo Marchetti is dead. If the Hitman is to live again, he must reach the Avalon. But in order to do that, he will first have to escape a small town called Boondocks. Armed with just his tools of the killing trade, he must battle the forces of evil in order to survive.
476 pages, Paperback
First published January 21, 2011
51 people are currently reading
893 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 14, 2015
Wasteland by Keith Crews belongs to the special kind of books, which can be read again and again.
It begins in the moment of death of Angelo Marchetti, a mafia hitman, and then tells two interleaving stories. The first is a story of Angelo's life, starting from his early childhood. The second is a story taking place after his death, in the Wasteland.
The story of Angelo's life is a fascinating, but rather serious read, dealing with difficult subjects. It's written in the down to earth style, with natural dialogs and great characters. The events taking place in the Wasteland are more metaphorical, and described in an ornate, elaborate prose. The moments were the two stories interpenetrate are the most stunning passages of the book, surreal literary masterpieces.
Wasteland is not an easy, action-packed entertainment. It's a book which demands intellectual effort and emotional involvement from the reader, but it offers an unforgettable experience in exchange.
The audio edition, narrated by John Bell, is of exceptional quality even for a professionally produced audiobook. The style of narration matches the writing style and greatly enriches the whole experience.
It begins in the moment of death of Angelo Marchetti, a mafia hitman, and then tells two interleaving stories. The first is a story of Angelo's life, starting from his early childhood. The second is a story taking place after his death, in the Wasteland.
The story of Angelo's life is a fascinating, but rather serious read, dealing with difficult subjects. It's written in the down to earth style, with natural dialogs and great characters. The events taking place in the Wasteland are more metaphorical, and described in an ornate, elaborate prose. The moments were the two stories interpenetrate are the most stunning passages of the book, surreal literary masterpieces.
Wasteland is not an easy, action-packed entertainment. It's a book which demands intellectual effort and emotional involvement from the reader, but it offers an unforgettable experience in exchange.
The audio edition, narrated by John Bell, is of exceptional quality even for a professionally produced audiobook. The style of narration matches the writing style and greatly enriches the whole experience.
February 3, 2013
A mafia hitman trapped in Hell made to relive his past ostensibly to redeem himself. Plot, interesting: the development of Angelo from bullied boy to elite mafia aided by Vincent is covered in some detail. Characters are somewhat cardboard: I felt that Vincent convinced; Angelo was conveniently written but I couldn't 'feel' him. The rest of the characters were a little 2D. Writing: so this is an ebook, and I think it needs an editor. There's too much explaining, backfilling and over-rationalisation. Having said that, the mill section of the village scene at the end of Angelo's training works, but this is the 'exception that proves the rule'. There were several times when I felt the characters were 'repositioned' within a scene, which added a sense of dislocation to the naarative flow. Now, if the writing could get tidied up, by which I mean made more concise, then this could be quite a good little read. The action sequences, especially the hand to hand fighting, feels authentic; the development is logical; the snapping back from Earth to Boondocks feels right; the magic mirror, barman and the tentacles have a Lovecraftian odour (ichor?) about them. But... the train feels like "I need to do something to link to book two", and some of the transitions feel forced.
December 6, 2012
I can't believe not many readers have had at this novel, it's a delicious cross between 'The Godfather', 'Sandman Slim' and 'The Devil went down to Georgia'.
Loved the mix of paranormal, Mafia and cold blooded stone cold killer ethics, the characters are unapologetic and multifaceted, absolutely loved 'Uncle Vincent' and it's great to be carried off elsewhere, bravo, I want more...
Loved the mix of paranormal, Mafia and cold blooded stone cold killer ethics, the characters are unapologetic and multifaceted, absolutely loved 'Uncle Vincent' and it's great to be carried off elsewhere, bravo, I want more...
January 31, 2013
I enjoyed the reading, the mix of personal drama and supernatural twists. But the ending let me down. I understand this is the first book in a series, but somehow I was expecting a more concrete conclusion. I don't know... blame George R. R. Martin and his neverending Song of Ice and Fire. I'm becoming more suspicious of series of uncertain length and resolution, and stories published in a series for the sake of selling more volumes.
Anyway, I liked the story enough. Let's see what Keith Crews is going to tell us about Angelo in Wasteland II
Anyway, I liked the story enough. Let's see what Keith Crews is going to tell us about Angelo in Wasteland II
November 9, 2013
Reminds me of the Dark Tower series by SK... After the first couple of paragraphs I was thinking the author is trying to hard but I stuck with it and did end up really enjoying the story. I couldn't get enough of the DT series and this satisfied my craving for something similar.
November 13, 2024
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Maybe THE worst. It makes me wish for a zero star or a negative star option. It makes me feel bad because I have one-starred books that are so much better than this. It is billed as a kind of knock-off of Stephen King's Dark Tower, with "the hit man" stuck in what we assume is a literal hellscape. The vast majority of the story is actually flashbacks to the characters life. The story is weak even by genre standards but that's not what makes it so uniquely awful: most of the book reads as if it had been written for one of those "worst writing" competitions. The author never uses one word when eight will do. He seems to think that good writing is packing as many cliches into a given amount of space as he can. It's never "maybe" but always "maybe, just maybe". This is exacerbated by the fact that the author often doesn't seem to actually understand the meaning of the various cliches he uses, to the extend that they distract from the story or are actually inconsistent with what he probably means. He also misuses many common phrases and verbs, for example using prepositions with verbs that don't require them.
I will say one thing good about this book: I listened to the audio version to get to sleep at night, and it was very effective at that. I can't imagine who would buy this book or why my librarian would stock it.
I will say one thing good about this book: I listened to the audio version to get to sleep at night, and it was very effective at that. I can't imagine who would buy this book or why my librarian would stock it.
March 10, 2019
I really liked the idea of purgatory and this was the reason I downloaded this book. I liked the idea of the bartender and the drinking game. I even liked the backstory. Where you lost me was the two years of training in Italy by former CIA, FBI and IDF forces. I found this ludicrous.
March 26, 2013
One highly entertaining and engaging read. The book starts off with the main character dead and what a great place to start. The former Mafia hit man finds himself in a bar in the afterlife and partaking in a drinking game like no other, three drinks, three questions and the promise of redemption. This part of the book acts as a great platform for the reader to explores the hit man's past and the choices that lead him to the bar. I found myself engrossed in his story only to be pulled back to the bar just like the hit man and then dunked right back into the action. All in all a great story and concept extremely well executed. This book is a great example of what the indie author revolution has to offer.
April 8, 2015
A hitman – and the afterlife
This novel tells the story – or rather part of the story – of Angelo Marchetti, a Mob hitman. He enters the afterlife and has to confront his past, firstly as an orphan getting involved in organised crime and then as a trainee hitman.
It is quite well-written but suffers from an abundance of similes and metaphors. Somewhat engaging, it leads onto another volume also taking place in the afterlife. The main characters are well-defined, if not stereotypical.
I am not interested enough to want to read the next volume but lovers of novels about organised crime may enjoy this book.
This novel tells the story – or rather part of the story – of Angelo Marchetti, a Mob hitman. He enters the afterlife and has to confront his past, firstly as an orphan getting involved in organised crime and then as a trainee hitman.
It is quite well-written but suffers from an abundance of similes and metaphors. Somewhat engaging, it leads onto another volume also taking place in the afterlife. The main characters are well-defined, if not stereotypical.
I am not interested enough to want to read the next volume but lovers of novels about organised crime may enjoy this book.
June 24, 2016
I liked this book. I like the author's writing too. It is a free read, unpredictable, and there isn't anything else out there like it. However, it does remind you of Stephen King, his Dark Tower series, and The Godfather all rolled into one. The trials Angelo goes through are hardening & heart-breaking. Still I cheered him on until the end!
December 15, 2012
I really enjoyed this book! It got it's "hooks" into me within the first couple of pages and carried me on a hell of a ride through the twisted corridors of Mr. Crews' imagination! Try it! It will definetly leave you wanting more!
October 18, 2011
I liked this book! Really was kind of a fund read. The author is a little rough around the edges, but I think he'll get better as he keeps writing.
September 16, 2014
Great suspense and adventure.
Want to read
February 4, 2014To read
March 1, 2015
very enjoyable
What it lacks in grammar and punctuation it work than makes up for with a story that keeps you wanting more
What it lacks in grammar and punctuation it work than makes up for with a story that keeps you wanting more
July 27, 2013
Not my cup of tea.
July 1, 2015
Good book, some great writing reminiscent of the Stephen King style
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews