Dweller

By: Jeff Strand

Narrated by: Scott Thomas

The lifetime story of a boy and his monster.

When Toby Floren was eight years old, he discovered a monster living in the woods behind his house. A ghastly, frightening creature with claws, fangs, and a taste for human flesh. As he ran out of the forest, screaming, Toby felt that he'd been lucky to escape with his life.

Years later, Toby finds comfort with the creature. It's his own special secret - something that nobody else in the world knows about. Somebody to talk to. Somebody to confide in. Sure, Toby has concerns about his own sanity, but really, what boy wouldn't want to be best friends with a monster in the woods, especially if he's being tormented by bullies? The creature, who he names Owen, may be the answer to his problems...

From Jeff Strand, the author of Pressure, comes the story of a macabre, decades-long friendship. A relationship that will last their entire lives, through times of happiness, tragedy, love, loss, madness, and complete darkness.

©2010 Jeff Strand (P)2016 Jeff Strand

Right in the feels.

This book has its sad moments.
This book has its funny moments.
Some horror and some gore.
But above it all, this book is about a boy and a monster, an unlikely pair to be sure.
You'll laugh.. and to be honest, you might cry. One thing you won't do is want to put this book down. Jeff Strand does it again, he has created something truly amazing. Scott Thomas brings his words to life like no one else really can. If you enjoy this as much as I'm sure you will, try Wolf Hunt 1 and 2 or Pressure. Just be prepared. Like this book, neither author or narrator will let you down lightly.

One of Jeff Strand's best.

I'm a huge fan of Jeff Strand's work, to the point where I don't even bother reading the synopsis because I know he's going to deliver, no matter what the story's about. So I went into DWELLER blind. Holy cow.

Strand's versatility is insane. He can write a heartwarming book like BLISTER, hilarious and bloody comedies like the WOLF HUNT series, outstanding coming-of-age books like AUTUMN BLEEDS INTO WINTER, and everything in between. DWELLER would be a mix of all of these.

Long story short, Toby befriends a monster in the woods. Things, both good and bad, happen. (I'm bad at writing a synopsis, but that's basically the nut of it.)

Man, if you're ready to have your emotions run through the wringer, this is the book for you. You'll be laughing on one page, cringing on another, and ready to cry on the next. There were times I audibly gasped while reading, and I screamed in anger and disbelief at least once. Strand does many things with his writing I love, and one of those at the top of the list is how his characters are both developed and treated. They are realistic and the risks they take have consequences. You, the reader, may not like those consequences, but they feel very real all the same.

Scott Thomas, as usual, is brilliant with his reading. Like I said, I've been on a Strand kick as of late, and Thomas has been the ever-reliable narrator on this journey. He absolutely nails it each and every time, and DWELLER is no exception. I said it in past reviews and I'll say it again, with Thomas narrating, you could literally remove the name in the "NAME said" and you'd know who's talking because Thomas' voices are so diverse. He's so good, it's gotten to the point where I'm looking for *his* work too, just as I would an author's. He brings whatever he's reading to life.

DWELLER is a great listen from top to bottom. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Surprisingly Affecting Boy-And-His-Monster Comedy

An unconventional boy-and-his-monster story in which the pet is the problem. Dweller is a consistently witty and funny comedy about an antisocial misfit who develops a friendship with a fearsome forest monster but there's an unexpected depth. Toby and his monster friend Owen are really just a pair of sad sack screwups who keep accidentally killing people, and it pushes everyone away. Surprisingly, the story isn't just confined to their youthful friendship but Toby grows into a man and we get the sense of how this toxic friendship has affected his life. It soon becomes clear, that Owen the monster symbolizes much more than a hairy, razor-clawed forest beast. Ultimately, this is a story about those jokey guys who are always wisecracking, but you can see in their eyes that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. Weaves a self-destructive spell on the reader and makes you laugh while leading you into a dark little cave of friendship gone wrong.

Dweller

Not all monster are bad. This story is about an 8 year old who befriends a monster living in the wood by his house.
The book is well written and will keep your interest from the first page to the last.

Scott Thomas is perfect for narrating this book. his voice(s) are good and easy to listen to. I look forward to hearing more of his work

Weird, tense and creepy

I enjoyed Strand's Pressure but this was so much better. Weird, tense, creepy and very sad. Very well written. Great character development. Definitely recommend this one.

The narrator did a good job. Very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

If you like

Big foot like creatures, coming of age stories, rooting for the underdog , stories of love, and friendships in unlikely places then you will love this story. I did. This is one I would definitely come back to and listen to again. I was given this audio in exchange for honest and voluntary review.

This book broke my heart

I just wrote a review where I stated that books that absolutely move me rarely come along. Well the crow tastes delicious because the very next book I listened to absolutely broke my heart.

What would happen if you gave a complete idiot the task of being responsible for a killing machine? That's the premise of this book. So intense was the main character's stupidity that you had no choice but feel sorry for him, and the entire mess his life became because of a monster. In that sense, my heart broke for this character named Toby. There were so many decisions made where I literally said out loud, "No! Bad idea!" But of course the idiot Toby did it anyway.

Listening to this book is like watching a train wreck. You can't look away and don't want to miss all the gory details. It made me look forward to my commute to and from work, just to see what was the next mess Toby got himself into.

Scott Thomas is an amazing narrator. His mastery of voices complemented the book, and his choice of Toby's voice I think was perfect.

This audio book was gifted to me in exchange for a unbiased review.

happy..sad.. everything. ...full spectrum

can't say enough good things about this author and his books ... recommend to all reading this review

This book was too much.

Everything about this book spoke to me, Which is rare for a book. I've never listened to anything like this and I doubt I ever will again.
I'll definitely listen to this again.

Original story well performed!

I started listening Sunday night...stayed up til 9 am on Monday to finish. I could not find a stopping point it was so different from what I've read lately.
You follow the life of a man from boyhood to older man...every aspect of his life is affected by this "creature" .
What he does, where he lives and he does some things most any one could identify with even though some are disturbing.
I did fall in love with the "creature" and his reactions to the main character "Toby."
The narration is good, voices of kids are a bit tinny but that's just for the first part of the story.
it's not the average monster story. it kept my interest the entire time! it's definitely worth reading! I intend to read more books by Jeff Strand in hopes they are as good!