The Bandit Kings of Nowhere Park

By: Jonas Samuelle

Narrated by: Sam Pearson

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Not all bad kids have lost their way; some have found their calling. When two young friends sneak out to explore the Phoenix summer nights, they discover more than they'd ever imagined.

Nowhere Park is a haven for troubled kids. On the first night of summer, magic doorways appear in each of the seven cities of the southwest, and all the bastard boys and wild girls come running to answer the call. No adults, no police, no laws can follow them through.

There are only a few rules to the Park, and the first is to obey the king. Legend has it that anyone who breaks the rules will be cut down by the Snipes — huge scorpion creatures with sword-like claws. The boys have no intention of meeting them, but when they run afoul of Nowhere’s cruel, new king, they have to decide which legends they believe, and which are most likely to kill them.

©2020 Jonas Samuelle (P)2021 Jonas Samuelle

An incredibly entertaining listen

I absolutely loved this book! I listened to it on my commute to and from work and found myself not wanting to get out of my car. The author made me quickly become attached to the main characters. It was a refreshing take to see a story where the protagonists not only have flaws but would be considered "bad kids." The story itself had some unique concepts that I really enjoyed and I would love to see explored even more in a sequel.

Not my usual

Very entertaining, not my normal genera but it was a thrilling story I think everyone will enjoy.

Great Story Awesome Narration

Such an awesome story that really draws you in . The narrator is amazing, you really truly feel like your listening to different characters in the story not even realising that it's one guy doing it all. Again such a great story and amazing narration I would highly recommend this book.

Youthful rebellion wrapped in poetic prose

I have a confession to make. I got this book for free when the writer gave out codes in a Facebook advertisement. I don’t remember what the advertisement said, I just remember thinking “Ooh free audiobook” and snatching a code. After that, I downloaded the book and let it sit in my library for months. I didn’t have high expectations for it, and I’m ashamed of myself for that.

But you have to put yourself in my shoes, here, I would NEVER put one of my audiobooks out there with dozens of codes for just anyone to pick up. People who do that either don’t care about their work and only want eyes on it… or they have wrapped themselves in the armor of their talent and skill. I thought it would have been a case of that, that I’d listen to this audiobook for five minutes, cringe a bit, and then move on to something else. I thought the writer gave this out because he didn’t care, and why should I?

As it turns out, this writer, Jonas Samuelle, has more balls, chutzpah, cajones, or whatever you want to call it, in his pinky finger than I do in my whole, fat body.

This story has a youthful rebellion that many other stories cannot match, and the ones that can are not competently written. Is this story competently written? No. This story is beyond that. The language, the flow of words, is like Kerouac or Morrison. It’s like listening to the prose equivalent of poetry. And it’s only enhanced by Sam Pearson’s gravelly, yet sweet voice narrating and performing the characters. If I had one nitpick to give about the narration, I’d say that young Holliday sounds a bit too much like Jim Varney, though it’ll work fine for the character as an adult.

The plot is something I don’t want to spoil too much of. It’s magic in all the best ways, real in all the most gut-wrenching. My only complaint is that this isn’t a stand-alone story. There’s going to be more.

So, I hope the rest of you sit patiently with me as we await Mr. Samuelle’s next brilliant tale in this universe.

Positively surprised!!

This is the book you’d get if Stephen King wrote Peter Pan! Dark, personal and supernatural! Totally loved this book and the narration!!