Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One (Tales from the Gas Station, #1) by Jack Townsend

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One (Tales from the Gas Station, #1) Reviews

• 
  Mort

  There is a very special place. We’ve all been there. Yes, even you.
  Perhaps it was only for a fraction of a second and dismissed just as quickly, perhaps you are not even consciously aware of it.
  
  But, once I tell you, you will never forget it. And you’ll be surprised by the number of times it happens to you. It doesn’t matter what you call that place, the name will probably differ from person to person.
  
  Me? I call that place OFF.
  
  Another thing you should remember is that you can’t knowingly go there. No matter what you do, how drastic, it is not possible.
  e.g. Even if you stick your head up Ernest Borgnine’s ass, it won’t do you any good. (I thought about explaining this reference, for I didn’t just pluck it out the air, but it should be more fun leaving you hanging...)
  It must be a surprise. Like a pregnancy after a vasectomy...
  "That damn doctor screwed up my wife's vasectomy, I tell ya!"
  
  Interested yet?
  I’ll try to explain as best I can:
  OFF is where your mind goes when you fully believe, even for a fraction of a second, something that goes against your personal logic, reason and life experience. In other words, to believe in something you think is impossible.
  
  I can see that frown, so let me give you some examples:
  
  - When you brace yourself and pick something up which you thought were going to be heavier than it actually is, and for a fraction of a second you believe you’ve become stronger.
  
  - When you get on a skateboard for the first time, and for a moment you think to yourself you can do this, right before your feet goes the opposite direction than your body.
  
  - When you walk into the bar, and this beautiful girl gives you this big, welcoming smile, and you think to yourself ‘This girl digs me!’, right before her huge boyfriend who entered after you passes you.
  
  - When they give you a mixed Rubik’s cube and you think you can solve it.
  
  
  Are you getting what I’m saying, here? Give me some more examples, I beg you to make me laugh...
  
  Anyway, the reason a went into this whole unwanted explanation, is to make you understand that this book takes place, almost entirely, in OFF. Things may seem normal at the gas station, but there is just a little something, well, off.
  
  While I enjoyed the humor a lot (it has this JOHN DIES AT THE END vibe), and the writing was much better than I expected, it felt a little too long for what it offered. It is the first one in a series, so there is more story to come, but once the gag has run its course, it’s probably better to put it to bed.
  
  So, the best advice I can give you, is to break this one up into two or three parts. Read something in between, just to keep the humor fresh.
  
  Still, very good effort and I’m glad I read it.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Misty Marie Harms

  Every town has one. That creepy, out of the way gas station with the weird customers. Jack just happens to be working at the one in this story. All kinds of characters swing by the gas station. Monsters, supernatural forces, shoplifting raccoons, and garden gnomes. Then his best friend reveals the body of a local politician hidden in the trunk of a car, and all hell breaks loose. This book is horror, supernatural, comedy, and drama. Decent read.
• 
  Michelle

  A couple gnomes showed up right outside the back door, and I left them where I found them because one of them was holding a steak knife and I don’t need that kind of crazy in my life.
  
  My husband listened to this on audiobook and said, "You should buy this. It's like John Dies at the End. You'll love it."
  
  So, I bought it. And I read it. And he was right, I loved it.
  
  Jack, our extremely unreliable narrator, works in a crappy gas station at the end of town. He is tasked by his therapist to write a journal (which quickly becomes a blog) and we get to read a plethora of bizarre stories concerning lawn gnomes, ghosts, alternate dimensions, shady federal agents, monsters and murder cults in Jack's dry, sarcastic humor.
  
  The situations are over-the-top ridiculous and the characters wandering through the gas station are hilarious. I laughed out loud too many times to count.
  
  I'll certainly be picking up Volume Two sooner rather than later.
• 
  Amy

  Oh my! This was so much fun! On to Volume 2 ;)
• 
  inciminci

  Anyone who ever worked in retail knows how weird customers can be sometimes. I was lucky enough that in all the time I worked as a bookseller in Berlin I always had very cool customers and I can’t complain at all, having had the chance to chat with people about books and being surrounded by books, but I know that in other areas things can go very eerie and awry. In a gas station in the middle of nowhere, for instance, positioned above an eldritch god living underground.
  
  Poor Jack needs to put up with that exactly. Moreover, he suffers from a mysterious illness that will eventually kill him and attends therapy sessions that are included in his treatment package. From his psychiatrist to the local police, to his bosses, everyone is convinced that Jack is going insane, and maybe the reader thinks so too? Whether invented or not, Jack’s tales of his gas station shifts are a little bit creepy but always hilarious; plants that grow into human hands and organs, garden gnomes equipped with steak knives, a former death cult member moving in, online communities on the wildest conspiracy theories, a spy on the hunt for an animal that doesn't even exist, and and and...
  
  I loved reading this book, it was a breath of fresh air amidst all the doom and gloom I usually read.
• 
  The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo

  All you really need to know about me is that I hated The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If you liked it, then you will like this. Tales from the Gas Station is weird with dumb humor.
• 
  Paul Ataua

  A great one for those who love that horror comedy combination. Horror stories with Jack, the wacky sarcastic gas station attendant who has seen just about everything. I am sure most people will just lap this up, but I really don’t really handle bizarre and hilarious especially when joined with scary.
• 
  Ian

  'Chaotic reality or cosmic fantasy?'
  
  Jack works at the sleepy, weird and wonderful gas station at the end of town, but things are beginning to stir and something is afoot. How can these crazy things be happening, why are they happening and what on earth do they mean? Jack is about to find out.
  
  I went into this one not knowing what to expect and found it to be just so intriguingly different. Imagine experiencing an ongoing freaky acid trip, laced with the absurd and surreal and then just add a trace of the supernaturals and then you might get some idea. At times it was a case of lighthearted comic horror but occasionally things became dark and sinister and all without any deliberate explanation or direction. Events were truly random and the reader was left pleasantly wondering what was possibly going to happen next.
  
  Lots of great ideas, with wonderful detail, but I found the humour to be a little hit and miss at times and proceedings slightly too disjointed and scattered for things to seriously gel together properly in order to bring about a sense of closure and complete satisfaction to this otherwise undoubtedly enjoyable read. Perhaps this was simply because the ending was not what I was expecting that left me feeling a little disappointed and maybe I might get more answers to my questions if I decide to delve and explore further into part 2 of this series. However, certainly a unique and original storyline with twists and turns that will leave the reader pondering on the eventual outcome and where it might all just possibly lead.
  
  A talented writer who sure knows how to describe and tell a good story.
  
  Rating: 3.5 disturbingly creepy, bright, unexplained stars.
• 
  Zombie Reader

  This is a bizarre but thoroughly engaging book. Recommended if you enjoy twists and turns from an unreliable protagonist who isn't sure himself what, or who, is real and what/who isn't. At first, Jack seems like a regular guy just trying to burn away his days in peace from his job at the cash register. Unfortunate for him that the universe wants to spin the Rubiks cube of reality around him whenever he gets behind the counter. One thing's for sure - strange things are happening at the gas station... or are they? Is there even a gas station?
• 
  Katherine

  
  Must admit, Jack has a really interesting life (ha-ha). His stamina and cold-hearted mind are the thing I admire and jealous.
  
  Honestly, it wasn’t quite a book I’ve read. It was several days I’ve lived through on this nowhere gas station.
  
  This adventure was so crazy, so interesting, so quaint, so creepy, so funny, and soooo… cozy. Well, it’s closer to witty jokes, nevertheless, I was openly laughing quite often.
  I don’t know what the magic Jack has, but the story and his writing in a complex - made a thing. You never know if all this shit happens for real or… It catches a reader and never let him go before the last page.
  
  It’s a well-build story, all those events connected and logical (crazy, yeah). Every part of the story isn’t forgotten and not for nothing. I worried, The Tales could be alike Welcome to Night Vale, where it seems, the book is a set of random crazy events. But The Tales are logical in their craziness and I had a great time with it. I determinate to read his next books but want to wait a cooler season – I think it’s more proper vibes for reading The Tales.
  
  Jack, I'll miss you!
• 
  J.D.

  Jack works at a lonely gas station on the outskirts of a strange small town. Being the only full time employee, he sees most of the stranger things that happen first hand.
  
  After deciding to start an online blog about his experiences, it opens a door to a whole new round of trouble he never saw coming.
  
  I'm not sure exactly what kind of book I just read with this one. What I can say for sure is that the author is definitely a creative guy.
  
  The storyline itself was a bit all over the place, jumping from one strange occurrence to the next so quickly that I had a hard time keeping track of what the heck was going on.
  
  Most of the events and strange occupancies didn't seem to fit together very well. Many things were also not properly explained or tied in which left me feeling more confused than anything else when finishing the book.
  
  Going in I was expecting more of a strange and creepy read. It turned out to be more of a humorous story that got downright silly and unbelievable at times.
  
  While I did enjoy some parts, this book just didn't hook me or make enough sense overall for me to want to continue on with the series.
  
• 
  Jennifer

  A book that will be enjoyed by those who enjoy black humor and shaggy dogs. I thought often of Douglas Adams and Weird Al as I was reading the book if that helps. It’s kind of a genre crossing mess so I wouldn’t call it Horror or Paranormal or humor exactly - I’m fairly sure it’s a work of fiction but then again who knows? I’ve never been to the gas station at the edge of town, but I think I might have seen it.
• 
  Christine McCann

  Sort of just a truckload of weird stories dumped in a pile, but done with such style that I thoroughly enjoyed it. This didn't have much of a throughline plot, but what there was intrigued me - I would like to know more since it wasn't remotely wrapped up in this volume.
  
  This is very reminiscent of David Wong/Jason Pargin's
  John Dies at the End novels, and evidently it has a similar origin story - online tales connected and published as a book. I found Jack's stories less compelling than Dave & John's weird, gross, hilarious, and oddly philosophical romps, but they scratch the same itch.
  
  I'll definitely be tuning in to the YouTube stories to see what additional fun is in store!
• 
  Darren

  Creepy and self-referential hilarity in the vein of 'Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil', the Good Place, and pretty much any Joss Whedon production. Memorable characters. For fans of
  Peter Clines or
  Jeremy Robinson. This will resonate with anyone who ever had a crummy job that left them bored for hours, dreaming of battling other-worldly phenomena, shadow agencies, and raccoons (yes, raccoons).
• 
  Cobwebby Eldritch Reading Reindeer

  I totally LOVED this horror novel, and I hope there's 20 sequels! I have little sense of humor, but even so I frequently laughed aloud at some of the scenes or turns of phrase, so yes, I guess this is a "horror comedy." I also totally emphasized with protagonist Jack. Man, this dude can't get a break! But he still perseveres, despite permanent insomnia and, I think, more than a touch of Asperger's [witness his encounters with the vain psychoanalyst], bullies, weirdos, and gods under the gas station. Like the Energizer bunny, he keeps on keeping on. [Like a Timex, he keeps on ticking. ] Assaults, broken bones, insomnia, betrayal: NOTHING stops this unassuming feckless hero. Gotta admire.
• 
  Jonathan Echevarria

  Loved this book. At first I was hesitant to give it a chance. Didn’t like the protagonist at first. His laid back attitude kind of pissed me off. However after the story continued on, I got to see how the adventures changed him for the better. This is one of those stories that grow on you overtime, and I was happy to see it was all connected rather than just a bunch of unrelated short stories like some of the reviews claimed it was. After finishing the John Dies At The End series I felt this book filled the void left behind after John and David’s journey came to a close.
• 
  Nick Imrie

  If I say "This is a poor man's
  John Dies at the End" I really do mean it as a compliment.
• 
  Brindi Michele

  *3.5 stars*
  
  This kind of read usually isn't my cup of tea, but I found it to be quirky and humorous. And the narration bumped it up a star, for sure.
• 
  blok sera szwajcarskiego

  Don't you want to become a cult leader?
  Stalk weird, green-hatted gnomes?
  Commit some Kieffercides?
  Unconsciously dig a few holes in random places?
  Serve a rough cookie dough, even though your workplace do not serve cookies nor cookie dough?
  Or maybe you dream about performing multidimensional ritual?
  ...
  No?
  
  Oh. Okay.
  
  Well then, maybe you want to work at a gas station?
  
  The year is 2012 and the first episode of "Welcome to the Night Vale" airs. People start to gather around this strange phenomena and small town vibes.
  
  The year is 2018 and "Tales from the Gas Station" are published. There aren't many people who know about this book, but the vibe is similar. Small town. Random gas station. A protagonist who is either too stupid or too smart for paranormal shit that happens around. There is dark god, a group of radioactive racoons, excellent humor and great writing.
  
  So maybe you should apply for a job there? See those things for your own eyes?
• 
  [Name Redacted]

  This was...fine. Perfectly fine. Imagine "Welcome to Night Vale" but focusing entirely on the bleak and the absurd. The protagonist is dying from a neurological condition that causes permanent insomnia and we see the strange things he witnesses working the nightshift at a run-down petrol station in the rural American South. How much is real? How much is delusion or hallucination? We have only his word to go on.
  
  Having known someone who actually developed that neurological condition...this ain't it, bruv. His body and brain slowly broke down as the repairs to both which occur during sleep were absent for him. He consumed an INSANE amount of food as his body no longer had a "hibernation mode." He got hit in the head by a basketball toward the end of our acquaintanceship and went blind in one eye, then started going deaf. But all through this novel, I couldn't help but imagine him as the protagonist/narrator of this novel and it made me smile.
• 
  Kate

  For whatever reason I thought this would be more like Creepypasta where a guy in a gas station tells many short stories of many different weird/creepy encounters while at his job and although that's what it seems like at the start, you realize that it's actually a narrative. Although I can see how the author was trying to blend in horror and comedy, and in some places it was really good, ultimately it just really shows a lot of...bad writing when it comes to the comedy stage. A lot of times I was cringing while reading this and quickly skipped every other word just to get through some parts, which is a shame because when it came to some of the creepy aspects of this book, Townsend actually did a pretty good job. As a whole though, this book was really bad and not what I thought it was going to be.
• 
  Jennifer

  This was exactly what I expected from a Tales from the Gas Station story, was definitely not disappointed. Lots of unexpected twists that you wouldn't guess from the regular stories on Reddit. Finding out the missing pieces of the free stories (the Halloween incident, whatever happend to certain characters, deeper character motivations) just tied things together. Mrcreepypasta as narrator of the Audible version did great, as always. I can't wait for Volume 2.
  
  Also, as a bonus, it generated some... interesting suggestions in audible 🤣
  
  
• 
  Missy

  A great blend of comedy and horror! I love Jack's sarcasm! Also if you haven't yet, check out MrCreepyPasta on youtube!
• 
  Bryan Meadows

  More than I expected
  
  What can I say? This book really surprised me. I liked the title and read the synopsis and thought “what the hell, I’ll give it a shot”.
  I was not disappointed at all. Fast read, very interesting, prose is very different from anything I’ve read in a while and just an all
  out overall entertaining book.
  It’s weird, and I like weird. But there are moments of hilarity and what I think is just flat out brilliant writing.
  You can’t help but like the main character even though he’s mostly a wise cracking, who gives a crap, smart ass.
  
  I don’t know, I just really enjoyed this book. Give it a shot. Not for everyone, but then again, what book is?
• 
  Chris Miller

  This was a unique novel. In many ways, the writing style reminded me of Jeff Strand with the injection of humor throughout. Like with Strand's work, it flows very well here.
  
  There is an air of absurdity to this book that plays well into the mystery of what's happening and why, and the MC's interactions with all the absurd goings-on and strange characters he encounters adds levity to what might otherwise be a rather ho-hum tale.
  
  What keeps this one from failing is the humor and the MC, who stumbles through the story without ever actually DOING very much. Normally, this would pull me out of the story a bit, but here, it works very well, leading to many laugh out loud moments throughout. Occasionally, the humor falls flat, but it's so rare--and even when it does happen, it's always immediately followed by a nugget of gold--it doesn't detract from the overall experience.
  
  The dialogue is mostly good, thanks in part to the humorous approach, and while character development only really occurs with our MC, it's done well and the whole story is focused on him, not the other players, who mostly have small parts to play here and there.
  
  This was a win all around for me. It's a horror story that I would have found interesting but largely flat had it tried to play it straight, but with the perfect injection of humor, this became a home run for me. I'd recommend to anyone.
• 
  maricar

  wHAt iN tHE AAAASS did i just read???
  
  shooketh.
  
  (i don't normally use that word. and i certainly have never said it out loud before. but for purpose of this written reaction, imma say it.) I AM SHOOKETH.
  
  this book puts you through the wringer.
  
  " Oh, you think you know what's going on? HA! you don't. idiot."
  (basically my conversation with myself the entire time.)
  
  but it's also all good. coz it's funny. and i love deadpan humor.
  
  perhaps the only thing i'm a little miffed about is that i'm not too hot over the idea of delving through the second installment -- funny characters aside.
  
  coz there was just something kinda exhausting about the many plot twists and turns. the feeling of not finding a satisfactory level of closure for at least some of the plotlines that keep getting allusions. the zany things that are happening around jack our intrepid unreliable narrator are a tad too much to keep up with (and up to now i am still trying to wrap my head around so many things because qUeStiONs!).
  
  still, i do recommend this one. if you're looking for an entertaining, fast-paced, confusing, and funny read and won't mind that about 90% of what's happening is effed up... grab this book.
  
  and good luck.
  
  
  
  
• 
  WooWooSpooky❥

  3.5 stars
  
  Our main character suffers from a rare disorder where he doesn't sleep. And while he spends all his awake time working at the gas station, as he idly stands by all these strange occurences keep happening but to him its just another regular, normal day. He decides to keep a blog of all the occurances that happens and thats when he realizes through his followers that maybe something isn't quite right and something else is a foot. Something dark and ancient is calling him. Hes been chosen.
  
  This could have been a little shorter. We get a lot of story with a lot of weird things that happen. We get gnomes that appear out of no where that seems menacing, a cult that lives in the woods, hand plants and much more. While I love all things weird this book could have been a few pages shorter. Its a repeat of the same weird things happening, then something new, then its the same weird things happening again. I loved the concept tho and the humour. We don't get deep into character build up but there's a many characters and plenty of strangeness.
  
  Not quite horror or creepy, tho it has elements in it that intertwine comedy with it. Its an interesting read.
• 
  Alex

  This is a modern diamond in the rough. With existential and surrealistic themes saturating the dark horror of The Gas Station, Jack Townsend has created a narrative that is as scathing in its review of modern life as it is humorous.
  
  If you're a fan of the films Tucker and Dale vs. Evil or What we do in the Shadows, this is definitely something you should read. Similarly, if you enjoyed Courage the Cowardly Dog or The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy, or even Adventure Time's darker episodes, give this a read.
  
  The Creepy Podcast has a full-length audio rendition that's done very well for free!