The Empty Ones

4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum bibliosanctum/2016/09/09/I think it’s incredibly awesome that The Empty Ones is a lot like punk rock but in book form—loud, fast-moving, aggressive. It does its own thing, all the while being shamelessly, wickedly unapologetic about it. Better yet, I loved that this sequel was even better, funnier, and more entertaining than the first book!The story picks up again not long after the events of The Unnoticeables, for both timelines—because as you’d recal [...]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.My rating is 3.5 stars.It is difficult to find sequels that are better than the original. Sure, a few are out there, but those are the exception to the rule — at least, in my opinion. But, now, I am happy to have uncovered one of those rare sequels in The Empty Ones, because Robert Brockway has delivered a follow-up to The Unnoticeables that delivers a swift kick to reader’s proverbial asses — but only in the best of ways.Picking up shortly after the conc [...]

As someone who has a seriously broken mind's eye, and has the hardest time imagining anything that's happening in the books I read, Brockway has blown the hell out of my neural eccentricities and I had an actual world in my head, including the parts that don't even exist. He's that good at describing what is happening, the characters, and the non-existentent purely psychological aspects of the human psyche.Damn good book. I meant to wait it out until I bought some cheap beer & a leather jack [...]

In the Unoticeables Robert Brockway gave the gift that every horror fan secretly hopes for—a new and exciting horror mythos. The fact that the gift was wrapped in layers and layers of action, comedy, swearing, suspense and swearing was an attractive bonus. But, at its core, the story of the super beings that mathematically syphon the life force of their victims, and the punks that throw beer cans at them, was too compelling not to be further explored in a sequel read the full review please fol [...]

Thank you to Tor Books for the copy in exchange for my honest review!Picking up right where THE UNNOTICEABLES left off, I dove right into THE EMPTY ONES by Robert Brockway. It's always such a treat when a series continues just as strong as the first book. It's arguable that this one is better than the first - it's got the wicked humor, it moves fast and aggressive, and there are new elements added to the mix!It's 1978, Carey's main mission in life is now revenge. He and Randall survived the war [...]

3.5 - Full video review: youtube/watch?v=W4fHr

It's probably not a great idea to jump into a series with the second book, so maybe I'm not being entirely fair to The Empty Ones, but I didn't like this book very much. Its punk sensibility feels like it's wearing air quotes the entire time, and the mythology behind the plot machinations never coheres into anything really interesting. I spent most of the time wondering why I should care. Brockway writes well enough, and I'd consider reading something different from him, but I don't feel any rea [...]

Won in the Giveaways - not read, passed to another reader.

Even better than the first one! If the first one had one major flaw (upon reflection), it would be the lack of a really good villain. This book introduces a truly menacing and at the same time sympathy-inspiring villain in an ingenius way. I am very excited for the next (Final, I believe) entry of this story.

Review coming soon to HorrorTalk. For now, suffice it to say that the mayhem and hilarity that commenced with The Unnoticables continues in full force in The Empty Ones. Brockway delivers bleeding edge fear heavily laced with pure, unadulterated fun.

Review originally posted on Erlebnisse: erlebnisseweb.wordpress/2** Received a copy of The Empty Ones by Robert Brockway from Agent Sam Morgan in exchange for honest review**It’s a Saturday. It’s a glorious day outside; feels like crisp October weather despite being the second week of September. Tiny hooligans that belong to the neighbors I’ve never met scream and frolic outside. It’s my day off and my options of how to spend that day are limitless, only growing because of the beautiful [...]

The Lovecraftian FeelingsRead this book to know how universal monsters might see us. Brilliant work from the singular genius of Robert Brockway.

It's rare that I remember anything more than a general outline of the plots of the books I've read some time ago. This is especially troubling when I'm about to jump into the next entry of a saga, when I happened to have read the previous one last year and can't remember jack of the all-important details.Now then, my usual M.O. is to think "screw it" and go at it anyway. After all, if it's self-contained stories it won't matter, and if it's a sequential story, the continued plot will become clea [...]

4.5 stars from Marion and 4 stars from Jana, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATUREThe Empty Ones (2016) is suspenseful, scary, action-packed and occasionally gross. This is the second book in Robert Brockway’s THE VICIOUS CIRCUIT series, following 2015’s The Unnoticeables. The Empty Ones crackles with tension, and I found that several of the questions that plagued me at the end of Book One are answered here. By the end of this one, I am even more worried about young stuntwoman Kaitlyn t [...]

3 starsreviewstaphorosisRobert Brockway's The Empty Ones has character, at least. It hits you over the head with character, pokes it in your eyes, drags it through your brain, and pulls it out your ears, hoping that you'll wipe away the blood and come back for more.The plot is interesting enough - there are several kinds of dark, part-human (or ex-human) creatures, and they cause havoc - though apparently only selectively. The book shifts among several viewpoints and timeframes of characters try [...]

More punk rock, more empty shells of former humanity, more balls of light seeking to "solve" the problem of the human race.This sequel to The Unnoticeables once again follows the parallel story structure of the first. This time around, Carey in 1978 is going to Britain to seek revenge against Gus, an Empty One who killed most of Carey's friends. In 2013, Kaitlyn, Carey, and Jackie are trying to find Marco, the Empty One that nearly killed Jackie in a similar fashion to all of Carey's friends.Muc [...]

I received this book via first reads. If punks, monsters, gore, swearing, sarcastic humour and non-stop action is your thing, then this book is for you. There are also frequent sexual references, which goes without saying for setting the scene for punk rock, but I am just putting this out there as I know some people don't like it.As I said above I won a copy of this book and when I received it, I realised it was the second in a series so I ordered the first one as I have a thing about reading b [...]

I listened to the audiobook of the unnoticeables not that long ago, looking for something to read since I had nothing left in queue and it was a nice surprise. Original, funny in parts, nice action sequences and the voices of the characters were unique enough to make you care (of course when it comes to audio books the voice actors play a big part too). So I didn't know exactly where the book would go after part one but I definitely wanted to read or listen the second part. When it finally came [...]

This is the second of a three-part series. In addition, the author follows three timelines so I found it to be a little tough sledding. It is urban fantasy and the author has created a world of monsters that appear to be threatening humanity - or at least a part of it. There were several classes of monsters and since there were some cross cultural differences among the protagonists, different names were used for the same class of monster by different individuals. That was a little off-putting as [...]

The first book, I thought it took some time find its flow and that the portrayal of punk was a few years ahead of its time, but I ended up really enjoying it. I still have the latter complaint this time around. Misfits LPs in 1978 just weren't a thing. But I'm not gonna let that ruin it for me. I dug the hell out of part 2 of the Vicious Circuit trilogy. We're in London and Mexico this time around, chasing not-Iggy Pop in one era and not-AC Slater in another. This part of the trilogy really fles [...]

Is it fair to review a book when I've read only half? I loved the first book in this series, but this second book just isn't grabbing me. The new British characters are all interesting, but it feels like the book is just rehashing what we already knew, but with a British accent with UK slang. Maybe it get better later, but I found reading The Empty Ones to be a chore. Don't let my two star review stop you from reading this, perhaps my reading brain was just not in the right place for this.

Simply put completely bonkers in the very best way. Robert Brockway's second book featuring the misadventures of cantankerous NYC punk Carey, his best (and possibly only friend), Randall and former stuntwoman Kaitlyn who find themselves caught up in a nightmarish scenario is just as good if not better than first book The Unnoticeables.Recommended.

I loved the representation of crude punk culture but I also appreciated the further explanation of what is going on with the Angels. The ending just raised more questions so I look forward to the next book in the series.

Book 2 in a series. Although I made myself finish this book, it wasn't very good. I doubt anyone could identify with the characters and the back and forth between time with the chapters doesn't help the story except to make it more confusing. Save yourself some trouble and don't read this book.

If I had to create a list of my top five favorite fictional characters, Carey would certainly be on it.

Brockway's writing is hilarious, dramatic, horrifying and entrancing all at the same time. His trademark blend of cosmic horror and whiskey-fueled antics makes me long for part three!

Loved it. Great sequel.

Rating: 4 starsReview posted at Fantasy Literature .

Love, love, love these books, short though they may be. The characters are so interesting and the story has me cringing and laughing out loud all the way through. Can't wait for another instalment.

All I am going to say about this book is that it is awesome and I cannot wait til the next one comes out. And also if it gets made into a film/miniseries I am auditioning.