Review: Gritty, Grimy, Gruesome and Great Reads!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2014
I have only read the first three books of the series so far, and had intended to wait and write my review after having finished reading the entire series, but due to financial constraints, sadly that may be a while. Being incredibly eager though to try to learn as much as I could about the main character, his unfortunate victims, as well as the over-all story, I decided to read the descriptions for the three remaining books in the series... sadly I learned little to squelch my thirst for more information via that route, and I don't want to read any spoilers via reviews, so I will have to suffice in saying that I would think my efforts to try to learn more as soon as I could, (however meager the morsels...lol) speaks volumes about this series! If this were all one book it would be the type of book that from the moment a person reads the first page they would have a hell of a time putting the book down again until they get to the very last page! I recommend this series highly, although it is not for the faint of heart or weak stomached... Thankfully I fall under neither category! However I would also recommend that you heed my warning of how hard it is to put these books down once begun, so be sure you have both the time, and the money (worth every penny!!) to finish what you start!As a note to the author, I have read numerous "critiques" by Toot Sweet, and I simply want to say two things...First of all, no matter how much someone may crave attention, even negative attention, in my opinion to some degree once they achieve that, it often seems to just encourage them. However those who have read these books and truly appreciate the creative depravity of an author such as this will keep coming back for more, regardless of the occasional attention whore who may try to take anything away from this series, or anything else written by this wonderful story teller.Secondly, a small bit of correction/education regarding your comment about if a person could feasibly fully read, comprehend, review, and potentially even edit to any degree a six book series within a 15 day time span... The answer is a definite yes, it can be done! I for one do so on a quite regular basis, especially just the reading and reviewing part. I would just like to say that I am above average in IQ (no true genius though, dang it...lol), with an insatiable passion for reading that goes back as far as I can recall. By the age of 11 I had read literally every book in our school's library, and one summer read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica, every volume, one by one. As a result, I read much quicker than most people I know, averaging a 250 page novel in an afternoon if I am left alone and really into the story line, or a minimum of five books a week while still having a full time life above and beyond my reading time... I began beta reading a couple years ago which then led to a few self publishing writers asking if I would consider also editing for them as I would often do so to some degree anyway when beta reading as a stickler for grammer...lol  As of this point iin my life I can usually read and edit a medium sized novel (approx. 250 - 300 pages) in 2-3 days, which includes spell checking, seeking out grammar errors, as well as reviewing for any portions of the story that may seem to not make sense, or in any other ways that stand out to me, including anything I may see as strengths and weaknesses in the tale. If I am only doing a final proofread, nothing else, I find that seldom takes me more than 2 days maximum to read but it's most likely finished in one. I recognize that the "average" reader may not be able to read as quick, with full comprehension, as I can but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. I do agree with the author that it seems highly unlikely that the "reviewer" with all the negative claims regarding the lack of editing, etc did read all six books in that time frame, and if they actually have read the full series they obviously did not catch on to the many nuances with plays on words or the unique personalities of certain characters that would be much less believable had their grammer be that of an English Lit. student! Anyway, more than enough attention given to Toot Sweet...This is a wonderfully horrific series of books (at least volumes 1-3 that I have read) filled with all the fabulously disturbing creativity that I believe will continue to draw in a growing number of new readers on a regular basis, whether because they've read a book by Kirk Alex, or someone they know has and is raving about it to them. Personally I will continue to recommend his work to anyone who enjoys a good gore fest with a touch of humor tossed in and I cannot wait to read the last 3 books in this series, or anything else this man writes!