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The Alehouse at the End of the World

Stevan Allred (Goodreads Author),

Reid Psaltis (Illustrator)

3.16 · Rating details · 173 ratings · 56 reviews

When a fisherman receives a mysterious letter about his beloved’s demise, he sets off in his skiff to find her on the Isle of the Dead. The Alehouse at the End of the World is an epic comedy set in the sixteenth century, where bawdy Shakespearean love triangles play out with shapeshifting avian demigods and a fertility goddess, drunken revelry, bio-dynamic gardening, and a ...more

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Kindle Edition, 334 pages

Published November 6th 2018 by Forest Avenue Press

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Nov 19, 2018 Michael Ferro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Over at Heavy Feather Review, I had the true pleasure to review Stevan Allred's new novel, THE ALEHOUSE AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Forest Avenue Press). Folks, this one is a doozy: a medieval-esque fantasy tale set to the tune of Monty Python that is both hilarious and enlightening. A story of tyrants, friendship, and perseverance that is not only brilliant and fun, but quite timely in this modern America:

"Though the antagonist of this book is an egotistical crow god hellbent on ruling the Isle of ...more

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Dec 23, 2017 Dianah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, arc, quotes, autographed, favorites, local, blurbed-by-me

There's all manner of craziness in The Alehouse at the End of the World: a giant beast who's swallowed the spirit world, a hairless blue fisherman, a trio of shape-shifting god-birds, a self-aggrandizing (Trumpian?) crow, The Isle of the Dead, a feathered goddess, and a dead woman who's.... well, you'll see. Yet underneath these fantastical guises, lie the same hearts that can be found in all of us; some are kind, some are driven, some are evil, some are insatiable, and in spite of their ...more

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Nov 04, 2018 Gerry rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Once again I am confused by publishing dates but hey ho. Netgalley tells me this is released on the 16th November but Goodreads tells me its 11th November so I’ll go with that.

I am also confused by this book. Sorry.

I picked it up because something about it seemed very Terry Pratchett esque and from what I’ve read since, I am not the only person who got that vibe. I think it’s something to do with the merging of fables/ Shakespeare/ comedy and human foibles which is something that Terry Pratchett ...more

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Sep 16, 2018 Tracy Rowan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book because while it intrigued and amused me, it also often flummoxed me. I will say that it was never what I expected, and that's often a good thing in terms of my reading. Stevan Allred has produced a novel that often reads like an R-rated cross between a Shakespearean comedy andAlice in Wonderland, a world run by bird gods and goddesses. There's also a good deal of sex, and some excellent ale.

The man, a sailor and fisherman, learns that his ...more

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Apr 13, 2018 Doug Chase rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was fortunate to read an early galley of Stevan Allred’s new book. It is amazing. A fable, an adventure, a story filled with treats for us lovers of words and culture and the world. This is one of the rare books I never wanted to end. Completely satisfying, dramatic, hilarious, a wonderful world. I’ll buy a lot of copies for my holiday gift list.

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Jan 24, 2019 Julene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Stevan Allred is a favorite author, so I was excited when his new book came out even though it is not the kind of book I usually read. After reading it I'm wondering why I don't read more fantasy novels!

He is a master writer paying attention to every detail. To disclose, I studied with Stevan when he was one of the Dangerous Writers (with Tom Spanbauer) in Portand. I love his description at the back of the book, he got up early each morning before the sun rose, lit a candle and wrote into the ...more

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Feb 02, 2019 Ann-Marie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: advance-reader-copy, fantasy

There is an old definition that says in a comedy the characters have some control over their own destiny, and in a tragedy they have none. By that definition, a tragedy can be roaringly funny and a comedy can have you in tears.
"The Ale house At The End of the World" is presented as a comic tale, which is confusing to some people. It is not funny. It is ironic, sarcastic, it has some laughs, but it is not, as some people were hoping, "Terry Pratchett like.
At times this tale is not even very ...more

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Jan 08, 2019 Tanya rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: malewriter, mythology, netgalley

"Can you not tell me what I must do?"
"Perhaps I can look it up," said the cormorant. He produced a book from under his wing, Mortimer’s Compleat Atlas of the Afterlife ... [loc. 891]

A fisherman (never named) has been living on a desert island, shipwrecked. He receives a letter from his beloved (never named: hardly anyone has names: the fisherman calls her Cariña, but that is just his pet name for her), with a covering note informing him of her death. He has not seen her for years: but, determined to find her again, he sets out in an unseaworthy craft -- convinced that he'll die in a storm -- to seek her on the Isle of the Dead.

Then he is swallowed by a whale, and deposited on the shore of the Isle of the Dead, which is currently governed by a scornful and narcissistic crow. This crow, together with his companions (a pitying pelican and a curious cormorant), turns out to be a shapeshifter, and possibly a demigod. The crow is wholly unhelpful, but the fisherman does finally understand that the dead arrive nightly, by canoe, on this island -- which has been swallowed, whole, by the fearsome Kiamah beast after the death of the Old Gods -- and have their souls harvested by the crow and their bodies burnt. The souls become clams, and return to the material world to be reborn. But the fisherman can't imagine how he can locate the soul of his beloved. And the birds -- including the most likeable character here, a six-foot-tall frigate bird (no name) with a spyglass and a pistola -- anticipate a fearsome cosmological event.

There is also a fertility goddess, Dewi Sri, and some ethereal beings known as the Turropsi, the weavers of fate. There are invented words, and words that are deliciously obscure. There are love triangles, disguises, and indulgence in pleasures licit and otherwise. This is a world that reminds me of Pacific Northwest mythology, with overtones of late medieval travellers' tales and a surreal ambience that's sometimes humorous, and sometimes bleak.

It's taken me months to read.

It also felt far, far longer than it actually is. That may just be an artefact of reading so slowly. I'm still not sure why it didn't engage me. Perhaps it's the lack of names? Perhaps the misogyny of some of the characters? (A man is unfaithful. A woman is unfaithful. Guess who dies at the end?) A imaginative, vivid fantasy that, for me, fell flat.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for this honest review. ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 Emma rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish, arcs

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 43%

The premise of The Alehouse at the End of the World immediately caught my attention. Boasting the underworld (of a sorts), talking birds, and fate, I hoped this would be a sort of Terry Pratchett-esque romp full of funny asides and satire. There definitely are funny asides -- the footnotes were one of the elements of the story I found the most entertaining -- but Alehouse doesn't quite feel like Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 43%

The premise of The Alehouse at the End of the World immediately caught my attention. Boasting the underworld (of a sorts), talking birds, and fate, I hoped this would be a sort of Terry Pratchett-esque romp full of funny asides and satire. There definitely are funny asides -- the footnotes were one of the elements of the story I found the most entertaining -- but Alehouse doesn't quite feel like a romp.

The story follows an unnamed fisherman who travels to the Isle of the Dead with the hopes of rescuing his beloved. Things do not go according to plan, partially because the Isle of the Dead has come under new leadership at the hands of the boasting crow. There are lots of references to myths and ancient civilizations that have informed the interesting underworld the author created in Alehouse. A lot of these references went right over my head, but someone who is well-versed in these texts would probably gain a lot more enjoyment from this book.

Perhaps the biggest thing I couldn't get beyond was the treatment of the female characters in this story. It's worth mentioning that things could get better, since I didn't finish the story, but the three female characters lacked the depth and autonomy given to the male characters. These females exist in the book primarily as objects to be coveted by the males. Two out of three perfectly fall into the tropes of doting caregiver and sex object. The fisherman's beloved does have a bit more nuance to her (view spoiler) The male characters are given complex motivations and funny lines of dialogue. The females? Not so much. This only got worse as the book went on and was one of the largest reasons I quit reading.

The Alehouse at the End of the World is by no means a bad book, just one that wasn't for me. I would describe this more as a literary work than a fantastical one, as the fantasy elements don't play a huge role in the story and serve mainly to support the classical-feeling plot. If you really like descriptive writing and references to lesser-known mythology, Alehouse executes those elements well. Overall, this is a character-driven story that has the feel of a classic epic poem rather than a fantasy novel. ...more

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Feb 04, 2019 Duane Gosser rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book started off well but fell off hard. Story ran out way before the book ended. Also, the author is apparently trapped somewhere in middle school based on the number of times and way he worked fecal and genital references and jokes into the story.

Once again beware of books that have a "amazing story blah blah" by Kirkus Reviews on front cover

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Nov 13, 2018 Caitlin Farley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A thoughtful look at romantic relationships and what makes a hero.

A fisherman gladly gives up everything to join his beloved on the Isle of the Dead, but nothing is even close to what he expected to find when he gets there. His beloved Carina’s soul lies hidden in one of the many clams buried along the shore of the Isle of the Dead and to find it he’ll have to make a deal with the cunning and tyrannical Crow god who rules here.

I’m quite fond of the mythological concept wherein people travel to A thoughtful look at romantic relationships and what makes a hero.

A fisherman gladly gives up everything to join his beloved on the Isle of the Dead, but nothing is even close to what he expected to find when he gets there. His beloved Carina’s soul lies hidden in one of the many clams buried along the shore of the Isle of the Dead and to find it he’ll have to make a deal with the cunning and tyrannical Crow god who rules here.

I’m quite fond of the mythological concept wherein people travel to the realm of the dead in search of lost loves, but that journey is almost incidental to the plot. There are far greater stakes at play in the fisherman’s quest to return to the material world with Carina.

The Kiamah, a mighty beast born from the hatred and bloodshed of a mighty war, has devoured the entire spiritual world. The bird gods of the Isle of the Dead: the vicious Crow, scholarly Cormorant, matronly Pelican, and swashbuckling Frigate, have thus far prevented it from swallowing the material world as well by feeding it soporific conaria.

The Alehouse at the End of the World is a lyrical, lovable novel but the pace is a lot slower than what I’m used to. That was a challenge for me although it was ultimately outweighed by the many aspects I loved about this novel. To avoid any risk of spoilers, I’m going to list these elements with as little context as possible:

Sex that is as saucy as you’d expect with a fertility goddess involved, yet never veers close to being pornographic. This includes an absence of fantasy bodies and fantasy lust in the mixed group of bird gods, fertility goddess, and people engaging in it. It got a bit much for me at times but works in general.

While this is the fisherman’s tale for the most part, he’s not the only hero in this story. One could even argue that he’s the least of the heroes in this novel. Nor are the true heroes the ones you see coming.

There is a literal alehouse at the end of the world.

It’s dark and rather brutal at times. The Crow is a spiteful, cunning, narcissist of the most dangerous variety.

The ouroborous was a very nice touch.

Altogether, The Alehouse at the End of the World is a satisfying, leisurely read with interesting rhythms and invented words to satisfy literary fiction fans as well as solid mythological concepts for fantasy fans.

Book provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review
...more

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Dec 31, 2018 Colin Hardy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is steeped in mythologies, from the Americas through to the Far East and even Ouroborous. The story is based outside of the 'real' world but with recurrent echoes of things that will be familiar to the reader. All of the characters are unique, but offer reflections on human strengths and frailties, particularly those associated with relationships and attraction. The world-building is interesting and shows how these different mythoi can be woven together. The plot is based on the goals ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Desiree rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I thought this was an interesting take on the Shakespearean comedy. Readers who are unfamiliar with the difference between a Shakespearean comedy and a modern comedy should know that this book is not going to be funny in the way you’re looking for. Shakespearean comedies pertain more to struggling lovers, love triangles, deception, and reunification. They are light hearted but not necessarily funny. This book has all of the above in spades and I found it highly entertaining.

I also enjoyed the ...more

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Nov 20, 2018 Jason Arias rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Stevan Allred's The Alehouse at the End of the World is a book wrapped in mythology, drunken with humanity, tarred in the same tinctures that simultaneously hold us together and tear us apart, and thoroughly feathered throughout. There's enough cultural head nods and eye winks and cleverness to keep Literary Master's classes discussing the between-the-lines for semesters on end.

The amount of whimsy and wit keeps the narrative buoyant with chuckles, while the pure humanity of the characters ...more

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Nov 25, 2018 Kendra rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I wanted to like this book. It's elegantly written and has some very interesting ideas about the nature of self and life and death, and makes use of historically-relevant metaphorical figures. But it is dull, and it is repetitive, and all of the elegance and metaphor in the world can't help it move along a little faster and in a way that makes any of the characters seem anything but cardboard.

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Jan 22, 2019 Craig Russo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

I was fond of a lot of things about this story. The way the author (and narrator) made it sound like some Arabian tale. And the way it realistically portrayed lust and the way we justify it in our own minds, regardless of the harm it does to others.

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Dec 13, 2019 Whitney added it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

DNF. Not enjoying this one at all. It's completely different than its description. I was expecting a light and funny romp through the underworld and mythology, and instead it is tedious, sexually graphic, and more enamored of its language and philosophical flights of fancy than its actual plot. If you feel the need to discover how a threesome between a human woman, a winged goddess, and a pelican would work, this book is for you. If not, skip it.

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Feb 19, 2019 Savannah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Oh man, it took me ages to get into this book. The first 100 pages were a slog. I wasn't attached to any of the characters and the monotony made it difficult to get/keep interest. But, after page 100 or so, it was like the book flipped a switch and it was suddenly interesting and there was a problem to solve that was worth my attention. 2.5/5 stars really, just rounding up.

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Feb 17, 2019 Paul rated it liked it · review of another edition

A romp; great for a beach read (if you like kitschy pulp), but about 70% of the way through, you will have it figured out and will be ready to move on.

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Feb 08, 2019 Shelly מרינו rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I didn’t know quite what to make of this. It’s a very strange allegory and/but it kept me reading. Amazing use of language, incredible vocabulary. This would be a fun guy to hang out with. What an imagination!

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Aug 04, 2019 Theresa Kennedy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was such a fun book. I finally finished it today and would definitely recommend it to people who enjoy the tone and pace of mythology. It was kind of like reading The Odyssey of Homer. There are parts that are funny, and challenging and ultimately is was such an entertaining and fun book. Unlike anything I've ever read.

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Oct 16, 2018 Rouyuan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, fantasy

Although wildly inventive and unique, enjoyment is not a term I'd associate with this book. I like weird books, I like crazy ideas, I like things that diverge as far as possible from the norm with unabashed confidence—but this book was somehow still a struggle for me despite how open I was to it.

To start with the good, Stevan Allred is a tremendously skilled writer when it comes to his prose. The writing is pinpoint precise, and he has an obvious knack for words, producing a style I did like Although wildly inventive and unique, enjoyment is not a term I'd associate with this book. I like weird books, I like crazy ideas, I like things that diverge as far as possible from the norm with unabashed confidence—but this book was somehow still a struggle for me despite how open I was to it.

To start with the good, Stevan Allred is a tremendously skilled writer when it comes to his prose. The writing is pinpoint precise, and he has an obvious knack for words, producing a style I did like reading—clear and concise, without being simple or generic or filtered down to cater to the lowest common denominator. Along with that, he fused together some unique ideas in this book, and I did particularly appreciate the addition of South East Asian myths and legends.

However, the other aspects of the book failed to deliver. The book had a grand, mythic atmosphere to it, but the bawdy humour injected throughout felt tonally dissonant. Although the description promised humour, every instance of it fell flat for me. The plot didn't quite grasp my attention, and the characters were severely lacking. As another reviewer mentioned, the way the female characters were handled in this book was off-putting. The overly frequent descriptions of their breasts and other physical attributes, the strangely sexual narration of even entirely banal activities—it all came together to make for a slightly uncomfortable read. And I'm not gonna lie, the whole woman/bird sex bits just weren't my thing (yes, yes, she's a winged goddess, so she's kind of half-bird in a way, but that doesn't change the fact her body is still mostly humanoid. The book lovingly describes it in detail, after all, with extensive consideration of her apparently fantastic chest).

If you want something entirely new and odd and creative, try this book. If you want something that's not typically found in the fantasy genre of late, give this a shot. It's not a bad book, it just wasn't for me. But if characters with depth and an engaging narrative are requirements for you, I wouldn't recommend this. ...more

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Jan 31, 2019 Kate (Looking Glass Reads) added it · review of another edition

Despite the prose being nice, this simply isn't holding my attention. There are a plethora of unnamed characters, none of whom I feel any sort affinity to. Perhaps I'll come back to it one day, but for now, it's going to remain unfinished.

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Oct 14, 2018 Alan rated it liked it · review of another edition

‘We are all of us but parts of a pattern not of our own making.’

Stevan Allred’s new book promises much, but does it deliver? This is the story of an unnamed fisherman who learns of his wife’s death and sets off to the Isle of the Dead to find her soul and bring her home. Here be shape-shifting bird deities, a usurping Crow who acts as despot, and as the tale develops we are bombarded by any amount of myths and allusions which direct the action. Eastern and Western mythologies combine: we have a ...more

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Nov 06, 2018 Vivienne rated it liked it

Shelves: mythic, historic-fantasy

My thanks to Forest Avenue Press for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fisherman receives a letter telling of the death of his lost love and then travels Orpheus-like to the Isle of the Dead to find her. There he encounters a group of avian shape-shifting demigods and a fertility goddess. Adventures follow, including a fair few erotic encounters. There’s also an adversary in the form of a crow, a petty tyrant living up to the crow’s archetypical role of trickster.

While I ...more

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Jan 23, 2019 Lili rated it liked it · review of another edition

From Negalley for review:

I was intrigued by the description of this book, a strange dream-logic style story creating its own mythology, something right up my alley when it comes to fiction. I enjoyed the story and found the characters weird but in a fascinating way, what didn't make this a five-star for me was the writing style. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just the very stylized voice didn't really click with my brain while reading and I had to force myself to focus. I will say it is ...more

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Nov 13, 2018 Chelz Lor rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Not really sure

Shelves: adult, meh

**A thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

For a full review that goes into detail about why I find sex with bird men super weird you can go to my website ChelzLor.com

The writing is top notch and is the reason for those two precious stars on this review. The author is a master word caster and I hope to find something of his I can read without cringing someday. This was not the day.

The story is mostly sex with bird men and women intermixed with a supposed ...more

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Oct 17, 2018 Katrina rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, e-book, fiction, sci-fi-and-fantasy

On paper I felt I should have loved this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t come together for me. Steven Allred is an excellent writer and there are some incredibly creative, as well as original, ideas in this novel. The story has a very mythological feel which is something I ordinarily love, but there was a huge disconnect between the tone of the story and the coarse humour that ran throughout. The characters also fell a bit flat to say the least, particularly of the female ones.

I do think others ...more

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Dec 05, 2018 Sibil added it · review of another edition

Shelves: readtoreview

DNF at 25%

Thanks to NetGalley and to the editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Sadly, this book was not for me. It's not that it's bad, at all. The writing is something special and it's all like a fairytale. But it's also a little bit too... dreamlike, atmosphere-speaking, and it's just not my cup of tea. And I couldn't care for the story. I've tried but I wasn't invested in it, even if, as far as I have read, it was quite original and interesting. But it just ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Mary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a read! This book is both in and out of my comfort zone. Fantasy, check. Lots of smut and weird metaphors for body parts? Not really check. Craft beer and the PNW? Check, check. Slightly oversized pages and small print? Sigh, not check.

I admit the first 100 pages or so were occasionally a slog but I'm glad I kept reading. The world is really creative. I loved the imagery. The ending was very moving.

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About Stevan Allred

Stevan Allred

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Stevan Allred has survived circumcision, a tonsillectomy, a religious upbringing, the 60's, the War on Poverty, the break-up of The Beatles, any number of bad haircuts, years of psychotherapy, the Reagan Revolution, the War on Drugs, the Roaring 90's, plantar fasciitus, the Lewinsky Affair, the internet bubble, the Florida recount of 2000, the Bush oughts, the War on Terror, teen-aged children, a ...more