Billy Dent is the world's most notorious serial killer, but even killers need to go on vacation sometimes. When a mysterious death occurs in the hotel where Billy is staying, his "job" seems to call. Will his vacation truly be down time for him after all?In this prequel novella to the I Hunt Killers trilogy, bestselling author Barry Lyga crafts a creepy, intricately plotted mystery.
Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. According to Kirkus, he's also a "YA rebel-author." Somehow, the two just don't seem to go together to him.
When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wouldn't you?
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl is his first novel. Unsoul'd is his latest. There are a whole bunch in between, featuring everything from the aftermath of child abuse to pre-teens with superpowers to serial killers. He clearly does not know how to stick to one subject.
When a friend told me about the Jasper Dent series, I was intrigued. Now, with a little time on my hands, I thought that I would binge the collection to see what I think for myself. It all starts with a slew of short stories, which will seemingly lay the groundwork for the full-novel trilogy. Being the chronological fiend that I am, I thought beginning with the earliest piece (time period, not published) made the most sense. In this short story, Lyga provides the reader with a tale whose focus is solely on that of Billy Dent, father to Jasper. Needing a little time away, Billy leaves his son in the capable hands of a relative and makes his way on an airplane to a hotel getaway. Minding his own business, a young woman almost literally falls into Billy’s lap. What follows is the story of hotel getaways and carnal desire, which leads Billy to find solace in one of the things he has missed. While his murderous sentiments have been rising to the surface, he does not go through with it, but chooses instead to slink out of the room. However, when he makes it back to his own private room, he learns that he left the keycard behind. Able to make his way back, his recent conquest remains on the bed, but upon further inspection, she’s dead. Panicked that he will be fingered for a murder he (actually) did not commit, Billy rushes to find the real killer and tie this up in a bow, without arousing any suspicion. All this while on vacation! Someone surely has a sick sense of humour with him as the punchline. Lyga has me intrigued and I think I will continue to see where this series goes! Great for those who like a quick read to get their feet wet for a series sure to have many twists. I cannot offer a full recommendation, as I do not have enough context to do so yet.
After struggling with a few books of late, this was a refreshing short piece that held my attention as I drank my morning coffee. I am intrigued to see where things will go and how Billy fits into the larger series, as well as Jasper’s role. I know there will be serial killings and I know the Crows plays some role, like a gang or organization, but I am still on the outside with regards to much of it. For now, I can say that Lyga offered a great insight into Billy for the series newbie, keeping me interesting as he thought about Jasper, his own life, and the decisions he had to make when parenthood was thrust at him. In short order, Lyga develops Billy and makes him interesting enough for the reader to want to know more and see how things will progress. I am eager to get my hands on the rest of the series and have a better handle on the entire collection of characters. The story was decent and it kept my attention throughout. The narrative flowed well and the pages almost melted away as things progressed. Easy to comprehend with some decent editorializing, I will gladly continue with this series and allow fans to see where my head is at with these pieces. Bring them on and let’s see what Barry Lyga has to come!
Kudos, Mr. Lyga, on a great start to a reading binge. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely loved this! So fun (and eerie) to get inside Billy's head.
Although this occurs before the first book in the series starts, this is definitely one that you can't read first as it gives away too many spoilers for book three. Definitely worth your time to read though and fans of the series are going to love it.
Definitely a "read once you finish the trilogy" kind of piece. Gah. I haven't touched the Jasper Dent books in years, not since I blew through the audiobooks in a fever state. I'd bought the trilogy in hardcover so I could have those glorious blood-spattered covers on my shelf, and then passed them along to a friend awhile back. Whoops, because now I want to reread them. I do remember Charlie Thurston doing an excellent job with the audio (as he does here too); maybe I'll give them a second go later this year.
The more I think on it, I wouldn't call the trilogy itself YA. This short piece certainly isn't; seeing everything from Billy's POV is intensely male-gazey and disturbing and he does not censor himself at all. Hello, serial killer. Still a great piece though.
Aunque suene increible, me gusto el tono desenfadado y ligero de la precuela, creo que lo hace destacar, ademas, creo que tiene un desarrollo correcto para el numero de hojas que tiene.
En fin, en Down Time encontre una precuela diferente y dificil de olvidar.
For the rest of the series Billy had been the bogeyman, so it was interesting to see Billy like this. On vacation, living his life. Trying to hide what he was at his core. I liked seeing Billy panic, trying to find ways to hid what he was part of and of course Billy came out fine. What did surprise me was the note left for Billy.
Thid series is one of my favorites. This was a nice, quick murder mystery. Billy Dent goes on vacation and ends up trying to solve a murder he didnt commit.
When I Hunt Killers came out in 2012 it blew me away. It is one of my favorite books and series and I average well over 100 books a year. The IHK trilogy is comprised of: I Hunt Killers, Game and Blood of My Blood, and now this story is the fifth IHK short story or Novella's. The others are: Lucky Day, Career Day, Neutral Mask and Blood Boy. This is a new story and set well before any of the others in the series. I was under the impression that the IHK series had run its course. It looks like we not only receive a new novella but might even be getting a new series. And this book was worth the wait. This novella packs a lot of punch for the size.
Billy Dent, Billy Dent, Billy Dent! This story gives us a little more insight into the man, the murderer, and the monster! Billy is going away on vacation to help maintain his cover as a normal run of the mill guy. But we find out he hates flying and has some other neurosis that we had previously been unaware of. We also find out that calm, cool, and collected Billy is that way weather he has planned a murder, or just happens into unforeseen circumstances.
We do not actually hear from jasper in this story, but we do hear Billy's thoughts about Jasper. Some of the back story and also the role Jasper was being groomed for. If you have not read the IHK's series you could read this as an introduction, and if you have read them you will definitely want to read this story. The story is very well written, but we would expect no less from Lyga.
What does a serial killer do on vacation? How does he put out a presence of a normal person, but really is just maintaining a cover? What does a killer do while sitting on the beach? Read Down Time to find out what Billy Dent does while on vacation.
Another excellent short story from the masterful pen of Barry Lyga.
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Barry Lyga. As well as an author profile and interview with Barry.
A thoroughly gripping book about a serial killer on a legitimate vacation. Lyga's written a devious and semi-charming character whom we as an audience can understand the motives and thought process, but still have a complete lack of sympathy for. A strong villain who is still interesting to read without forcing any anti-villain stuff unecessarily.
It's got a lot of twists and turns to keep it good. A suspense and mystery you kind of want to figure out maybe even more than the protagonist does. A fun and quick read to get the ol' brain goin'.
This was a completely random library find selected primarily by length. At 80some minutes it was just right for the drive ahead. Never heard of the author or the series this is a prequel to. Went in with no expectations, hoping to be entertained. And entertained I was. A rather low brow form of entertainment, but good enough for the time. I’ve looked up the author afterward. Lyga seems to primarily be known for his YA and mostly superhero comic book work. No wonder I’ve never heard of him. But here’s the weird thing: bizarrely enough, this very R-rated story is a prequel to a YA trilogy. The series features a serial killer, and this prequel is about his dad, who is also a serial killer. So, how’s that supposed to work exactly? I thought the point of these prequel novellas that many authors do was to tease and entice the readers into their fictional universe, but it’s difficult to imagine that one’s expectations will be met going from a very adult book to YA. Personally, I’m all for age divisions in reading. Kids books should be for kids, young adult books for young adults, etc. I think adults have no business reading YA outside of some tragic form of mental regression. So this doesn’t make much sense as a prequel. But as a standalone novella, it’s decent enough. Kind of has that rather cheap pop appeal that one might expect from an author of YA and superhero comics, but it works. If you are on vacation and want to hear a story about a prolific serial killer on vacation (ideally, these two are very different things0< than go for it. The audiobook is narrated nicely, too.
In this prequel novella to the I Hunt Killers trilogy, bestselling author Barry Lyga crafts a creepy, intricately plotted mystery.
This novella and review probably won't mean much to you if you haven't read the I Hunt Killers Trilogy. And you definitely shouldn't read if you haven't read the books either, because the novella contains some spoilers for the entire premise of the trilogy.
Also, this review may, subsequently, contain spoilers for the trilogy as well. You have been warned.
This is a novella, so I don't really have to much to say about it other than that the I Hunt Killer trilogy is one of my all-time favorite trilogies. When Lyga came out with this, I decided to purchase it in support of the announcement of a new book involving Jasper Dent, the main character in the trilogy. This novella, however, follows his serial killer father, Billy, a few years before the trilogy takes place.
Overall, I feel like my money was well spent. This novella brought me back the joy of the trilogy and reminded me just how much I enjoyed it. You find out some interesting things, and while this story doesn't really add a lot to the trilogy, it does offer some context on to who Billy actually is as a person. And, needless to say, I really liked it a lot and look forward to the new novel!
If you are a fan of the trilogy, I would definitely recommend you check this one out!
As far as literary characters go, Jasper “Jazz” Dent had the distinction of becoming one of my all time favorite fictional teens, followed closely by Artemis Fowl – though Artemis started as a tween, my favorite tween resides in Moon Base Alpha. This prequel to Barry Lyga’s I Hunt Killers is a gem, a diamond in the rough. Not so surprisingly as exquisite at the other four prequel stories.
This story features the last man to ever be considered “father of the year,” Billy Dent. Mass, murdering, serial killer Billy Dent is on vacation and what pray tell is he doing? Well, solving a murder of course. Of course? Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Gotta love it.
The third person character narrative POV – my all time favorite narrative voice – takes us into the inner working mind of Billy Dent. Perversely twisted mind that it surely is, let the wizard take a backseat, it is still a delight to peek behind this curtain.
A backpedalling (wink, wink) foreshadowing of Lucky Day, is our Easter Egg treat. This book is truly a worthy part of this series.
" There was only one way to solve the problem, Billy realized. Without intending to, he chuckled at the very thought. "
When Billy goes on vacation to have some down time, a mysterious death occurs in the hotel, where he is staying. But what did he have to do with this? Did he have anything to do with it, at all? And what is he going to do about it, now?
I especially enjoyed that this book shows us a different side of Billy by kind of changing his role to something not so billylike, which keeps things interesting, creates some unusual but funny situations and draws the reader in.
Even though, it's a prequel you should probably read it after the trilogy, as it may contain too many spoilers otherwise.
Altogether, it's a fun read and a great addition to the 'I Hunt Killers' book series. So, if you're not just interested in Jasper but also his rather strange dad Billy Dent, then this book is exactly right for you.
This story is limited in the way novellas and shorter stories just are. However, it is compelling and fascinating in the way Lyga's whole "I Hunt Killers" series just is.
I would give the main I Hunt Killers trilogy a 5. They are absolutely fascinating. Great stories. Keeps you guessing. Great twists. Exciting storyline. Slightly unnerving and uncomfortable. Characters that you are utterly pulled in by. I felt myself hanging on every word of the books.
This prequel is not as amazing as the main books but then it is a little short story and limited by that. It also would not be as good to any reader who has not already read the main trilogy.
Make sure if you read this book that you read the main, regular-length novels first and that you save the prequels like this one for AFTER. If you don't then many of the references in this prequel will not make sense or at least will lack the greater meaning. Much of what makes this prequel good is the fact that it is colored in by the trilogy. Also, you will ruin a major twist of the main series if you read the prequels first!
I got the audible of this short novel and was creeped out. The narrator gives Billy a slightly southern/western drawl with just a bit of menace. And he does a great job portraying 'Inside Billy' and 'Outside Billy.'
This prequel to I HUNT KILLERS has Billy Dent, the serial killer with no conscience, as the main character. He's taking some time off, building his outside Billy persona, in preparation for his next....murder.
But...he gets involved in a murder that he didn't commit. What to do? His choices show the depravity and deviousness of his mind.
Short references to some of the other family, and a chilling story of Billy's and Janice's plans for Jasper after birth.
Billy is fascinating, like a poisonous snake is fascinating...we know we're nothing but prey, but we can't look away.
NOW I need this series to continue, with the adventures of Jasper after the end of the series. We need more Jazz.
My review is for the audio version read by Charlie Thurston.
This is a bite-sized snack of a novella following Jasper's dad Billy, as a serial killer who goes on vacation (purely for appearance's sake) and ironically ends up having to solve a murder in his hotel to keep himself from getting caught.
I read I Hunt Killers some years ago and really liked it, though I never got around to reading the rest of the series for whatever reason. I suspect that this novella spoiled a couple of details regarding those books, but it was still a fun little read nonetheless. I do wish it had been a little longer, but for what it was it was quite good.
The narration was excellent as well. Thurston is clear, does a good voice for Billy, injects proper emotion where it's needed, and doesn't make any mistakes or mispronunciations that I caught. All in all, a fun listen!
Word of warning! Do not do what I did! Read this after you read the third book!! I didn't know when to read it but thought it was a prequel that would be before the events of the book. Not sure why I thought that but it absolutely is not! It will ruin something very important (that I ruined for myself in regards to the third book). It was hard to rate this because I was a bit sad I ruined this thing that I can't mention. Please do not read this book until you have finished the series!!! Still, it was interesting and well written. Just wish I had waited.
Oh did I love this I Hunt Killers prequel!!! Billy Dent, the serial killer is mesmerizing as he discusses his life, his son, Jasper and in this prequel - how he shows the world outside Bill - normal and taking a vacation. Reading this reminds me how much I loved this series and want to revisit Jasper - definitely not Billy. A great teaser, Lyga is the best when it comes to describing serial killer crazy and demented!
Excellent, as always. Barry Lyga can write contempt! I love the juxtaposition between Inside Billy Dent (serial killer who loves what he does) and Outside Billy Dent (the person he has to pretend to be in order to fit into society).
In this prequel novella, Billy is trying to show "normal" by taking a vacation. But someone is watching him and decides to mess up (improve?) his out of town trip.
If I could've read the whole I Hunt Killers series from Billy's perspective, I would've. He's so dang interesting. Creepy as hell, nightmare-inducing for sure haha, but interesting. I'm ashamed that I missed this short story for 2 whole years, it was definitely worth reading. And only one theory of mine turned out to correct, so I liked that haha. Good short story.
Wow!! This short story definitely delivered a punch! Billy might have gone on vacation but murder sure didn't. The short story definitely left me guessing til the end! Loved it!
Seeing how Billy Dent's mind work was really disturbing. He was always one step ahead. He definitely knew the difference between a killer and a cold calculated killer. I know that he was the latter. I'm going to diving into Jasper's series soon.
Unfortunately, I didn't care much for this one. I thought it dragged and was boring. I like that the author took the time to write these little novellas, but I really don't think this is worth paying for unless you are a completionist or if you want a little peek into Billy's head.