The Stranger Times

The Stranger Times, Book 1

By: C. K. McDonnell

Narrated by: Brendan McDonald

Brought to you by Penguin.

STOP PRESS! The Stranger Times wins the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Audio Work!

There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them . . .

A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable.

At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own.

When tragedy strikes in her first week on the job The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they'd previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined.

The Stranger Times is the first novel from C.K. McDonnell, the pen name of Caimh McDonnell. It combines his distinctive dark wit with his love of the weird and wonderful to deliver a joyous celebration of how truth really can be stranger than fiction.

©2020 C.K. McDonnell (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A filmic romp with great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise. (Eric Brown)

I tore through The Stranger Times. Like an entertaining collision between the worlds of Mick Herron and Charlie Stross, it's a novel that proves ancient eldritch horror is no match for old-school journalism. (CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE, bestselling author of Fallen Angel)

There are weird happenings in Manchester; good job the drunk and dysfunctional journalists of The Stranger Times, a newspaper dedicated to paranormal and the unexplained, are on hand . . . terrific, easygoing fun. (Robert Millen)

Amazing voice performance

The guy who reads this story deserves a medal. The variety of voices is honestly amazing and may be the best audible performance I've ever heard. The story is often funny and it's entertaining, if a little long-winded and vulgar/dark.

Glad I stuck with it!

The first couple chapters had me wondering if I should keep listening. There were a lot of characters being introduced and some of them were a bit annoying, but it all ends up meshing together well with humor and some unusual plot twists. The narrator is very good! Off to get book 2.

Brilliant, Fun, My favorites. I listen on repeat

I listen to this book over And over and over again, and I hear new details or angles almost every time. Nowadays, I listen to the three novels on repeat when i want to be just simply HAPPY. I can laugh and enjoy the dynamic interaction of a bunch of intricate multidimensional lovable protagonists, who form a whole team of great characters. The "bad" guys are perfect targets for strong dislike and satisfying "just desserts." McDonnell makes crazy-insightful observations and not so subtle critiques on modern British and American society as a lighthearted and hilarious satire. The plots and numerous subplots are fantastic with evolving "magick" premises.
The comedy is intertwined throughout with perfect timing and rhythm.
Even in the tenth or twentieth listen I catch myself laughing out loud. I want to memorize these books-- they make my brain "feel good".
(Btw-I have no clue to what the reviewer with the "animal cruelty" criticism is referring. Did he/she actually listen to the same book???

🌟 💫 Newest Star Narrator

The audiobook itself is constantly laugh out loud funny, entertaining and well-written story. It’s a very well executed fresh concept…but what makes it special really brings it all together is Brendon McDonald’s multiple unique voices that give fleshed out characters even more depth and dimension. HILARIOUS and BRILLIANT. More please!!

Narration takes 5-star story to a 10-star production

Comedic horror is a rare and under-appreciated genre. There's plenty of fun and humor throughout the wider world of horror, but it isn't so easy to find horror novels that could just as easily be shelved in the "humor" section- filter for plot depth and character development, and you're left with only a few choice authors. CK McDonnell now sits on a lonely shelf next to Jason Pargin, and I couldn't be happier.
The characters in The Stranger Times are absurdly endearing, populating a modern horror fantasy world that keeps the tension and hilarity constant and equal.
After listening to hundreds of audiobooks, I generally feel that a bad narrative performance can't spoil a great story, but a good one can elevate it to something more. Brendan McDonald has given the best I've ever heard, and carried it across all 4 books in the series (so far… I hope?). In this first book alone, there are at least 25 distinct voices, and they're all readily discernible through a combination of tone, pitch, inflection, and accent (the accents are particularly delightful for an American whose primary source of reference is just listening to a lot of UK music). McDonald's delivery matches McDonnell's story at every turn- as a package, listening to the Stranger Times is incredibly rewarding.