There's some great humor in this book, but pacing could be stronger. I enjoyed it but wanted more from it, to round out that humor.

Quite the interesting read, though not for everyone. A sort of medieval-esque mystery with hi our that’s clearly Monty Python inspired and a prose that seems to have attempted to emulate Terry Pratchett in points. The descriptions of women can come off as crude at times, but the authors creativity and attempts at quirky humor are clearly well-intentioned. Perhaps in future books the trouble with the slow pace will be resolved.

An odd book that defied my expectations and created its own imaginative take on myths and deities. While at times it followed a strange structure, it was overall a whimsical and beautifully told story. I look forward to reading more works by this author.

I couldn't get into this one and had to DNF it. Too much over-sexualisation of female bodies - this book is billed as a comedy, but it just feels more crude than funny.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free e-ARC for me of this novel in exchange for a free review.

Wow. So much crudity, sexualization of the female characters, boobs, boobs, and more boobs. Basically most women will not like this book. However, the writing style itself isn't awful and some of the mythological references are interesting, but that can't save it from the awful way the female characters are treated.

a kind of darkly comic fantasy story akin to the tone of work you'd find in Neil Gaimen's novels or Terry Gilliam's films--enjoyable and highly creative without be unmoored from the banal realities of life

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

I had no expectations when starting to read "The Alehouse at the End of the World" and contrary to all the praise and reviews here, I did not like it.

It started off alright: a fisherman receives word from his passed beloved that he should meet her in the Island of the Dead. He is eaten by a whale and comes to the Island of the Dead.

The Island of the Dead, however, isn't really about the dead though in this story. After transforming his loved one back into a human (from a clam), the island becomes Sex Island. I don't know why this should be entertaining, but this is 120% male gaze, nipple focussed annoyance. The Island is inhabited not only by the souls of the dead in clam-form, but also by demigods in birdform. The Crow has become King of the Dead after the Raven left. There's also a Pelican, a frigate bird etc. And the rest of the novel is basically about overthrowing the beast that is the island of the dead and fucking birds.

I really really don't get it. Like at all. And I skim read 70% of the novel after growing increasingly annoyed with it at the beginning.

1-2 Stars because the language was well done and the mythological references were interesting...

What a strange read this was. It's very well written, but it seems like the great writing style is wasted on a mediocre story. The pacing is good and steady, but there is very little tension buildup that leaves for a rather dissatisfying payoff. But despite its problems I actually liked the book and would read more from this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book.

This book was slow to start and seemed to have a hard time getting rolling, but once it did it got decent. The overall plot was tough to follow though and I had a tough time finishing it.

A great fantasy read keeps you engaged from the beginning to the end. The perfect modern fable i can't wait for more from this author

<blockquote>"Can you not tell me what I must do?"
"Perhaps I can look it up," said the cormorant. He produced a book from under his wing, Mortimer’s Compleat Atlas of the Afterlife ... [loc. 891]</blockquote>

A fisherman (never named) has been living on a desert island, shipwrecked. He receives a letter from his beloved (never named: hardly anyone has names: the fisherman calls her Cariña, but that is just his pet name for her), with a covering note informing him of her death. He has not seen her for years: but, determined to find her again, he sets out in an unseaworthy craft -- convinced that he'll die in a storm -- to seek her on the Isle of the Dead.

Then he is swallowed by a whale, and deposited on the shore of the Isle of the Dead, which is currently governed by a scornful and narcissistic crow. This crow, together with his companions (a pitying pelican and a curious cormorant), turns out to be a shapeshifter, and possibly a demigod. The crow is wholly unhelpful, but the fisherman does finally understand that the dead arrive nightly, by canoe, on this island -- which has been swallowed, whole, by the fearsome Kiamah beast after the death of the Old Gods -- and have their souls harvested by the crow and their bodies burnt. The souls become clams, and return to the material world to be reborn. But the fisherman can't imagine how he can locate the soul of his beloved. And the birds -- including the most likeable character here, a six-foot-tall frigate bird (no name) with a spyglass and a pistola -- anticipate a fearsome cosmological event.

There is also a fertility goddess, Dewi Sri, and some ethereal beings known as the Turropsi, the weavers of fate. There are invented words, and words that are deliciously obscure. There are love triangles, disguises, and indulgence in pleasures licit and otherwise. This is a world that reminds me of Pacific Northwest mythology, with overtones of late medieval travellers' tales and a surreal ambience that's sometimes humorous, and sometimes bleak.

It's taken me months to read.

It also felt far, far longer than it actually is. That may just be an artefact of reading so slowly. I'm still not sure why it didn't engage me. Perhaps it's the lack of names? Perhaps the misogyny of some of the characters? (A man is unfaithful. A woman is unfaithful. Guess who dies at the end?) A imaginative, vivid fantasy that, for me, fell flat.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for this honest review.

I was intrigued by the description of this book, a strange dream-logic style story creating its own mythology, something right up my alley when it comes to fiction. I enjoyed the story and found the characters weird but in a fascinating way, what didn't make this a five-star for me was the writing style. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just the very stylized voice didn't really click with my brain while reading and I had to force myself to focus. I will say it is worth the read for the weirdness alone!

Full review at <a href="https://skiffyandfanty.com/blogposts/reviews/bookreviews/reviewalehouseendofworldallred/">Skiffy and Fanty.</a>

On the whole, very imaginative, unusual and dramatic but the sex got to be a but much for me.

This book is steeped in mythologies, from the Americas through to the Far East and even Ouroborous. The story is based outside of the 'real' world but with recurrent echoes of things that will be familiar to the reader. All of the characters are unique, but offer reflections on human strengths and frailties, particularly those associated with relationships and attraction. The world-building is interesting and shows how these different mythoi can be woven together. The plot is based on the goals of the various protagonists. Although there are central characters there is really no hero/heroine with which the reader can align. As such, there is little empathy for anyone and the reader is drawn along with the story without affinity for any individual. This reduces the reader's vested interest in what is going on.

Sex is a common theme throughout and the descriptions are explicit but tend to use obscure language to dissipate the impact and get the reader to reach for the dictionary or appendix. Heterosexual and Sapphic love are explored and discussed between various individuals as the story unfolds, but the language used keeps the reader at a distance.

There is a steady pace to the story, but with no real sense of tension, this is the sort of book that can be picked up and put down at any point without the need to complete a particular scene. Although the book is divided into sections that are thematic these do not really add to the structure of the story.

The story is resolved with some characters achieving a sense of self-worth through sacrifice. That 'good' wins out is not surprising given the thematic nature of the tale. The remaining characters are not given a happily ever after but rather the opportunity to create their own mythology. All of this is tied up quite quickly compared to the rest of the book and this could feel unsatisfactory.

The rating would be more of a 3.5 than a 4

I wanted to like this so much more that I did. In an effort to try to be clever and stylized I think somethings get very lost. Important things like plot, story and characters. Disappointing overall .

I DNF this book. It's not it, it's me, really, but this one just wasn't for me.
Sadly, this book was not for me. It's not that it's bad, at all. The writing is something special and it's all like a fairytale. But it's also a little bit too... dreamlike, atmosphere-speaking, and it's just not my cup of tea. And I couldn't care for the story. I've tried but I wasn't invested in it, even if, as far as I have read, it was quite original and interesting. But it just wasn't for me. Maybe it would come a better time for it, or maybe not.

The Alehouse at the End of the World is the story of a fisherman who finds his way into the afterlife to try to rejoin his beloved who recently died; he meets a trio of birds who happen to be deities, who are not entirely helpful in his quest. This book was not the one for me, but it is an interesting and worthy creation nonetheless. I expected a lot more humor from this book, but I didn't find myself laughing. The beginning is a slow build and is perfect for readers who like heavy world-building. With the description, I expected humor more like Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but this book isn't that fast-paced. The concept for the afterlife is fascinating, and Allred did a great job of building a unique landscape.

I wanted to like this book. It's elegantly written and has some very interesting ideas about the nature of self and life and death, and makes use of historically-relevant metaphorical figures. But it is dull, and it is repetitive, and all of the elegance and metaphor in the world can't help it move along a little faster and in a way that makes any of the characters seem anything but cardboard.

Well, that was different - I've yet to read a fantasy that stayed with me like this one! I mean, sure, LOTR and all the standard pillars are epic, but this one just.... it's kind of like a film that you watch and then think about for the next month. You know? It lingers, and that means it's worth reading. If nothing else convinces you, solid writing, great plot, and a cool cover!

**A thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

WARNING: Sexual imagery that can potentially leave you, the reader, baffled.

In a long ago era a book such as The Alehouse at the End of the World by Stevan Allred would be one to marvel at. We would pick through its interesting nuisances and hidden comedic breath, hoping to come out the other end with something we could take away from the experience. This, however, is the year 2018 and all I can say is, why oh why was this book written now?

Allow me a brief moment of generalization as I say that this book at its heart is misogynistic, sexist, and unnecessarily crude to the point of ridiculousness. Underneath the fable lies the need to tell meaningless cock, fart, and poop jokes like a caveman who just discovered civilization. I did not take anything intellectual away from this, instead feeling as one does after watching all the movies in the American Pie catalog; dirty and brain dead.

I picked up this book mainly for it’s cover (I like good artwork) and the synopsis sounded like something that was semi up my alley, while being just different enough to dip my toes outside my comfort zone. I was very much mistaken. This was not at all what I had expected.

GOOD POINT: My disdain for the story aside, the writing was a force to be reckoned with. The way the words flowed effortlessly made the reading incredibly easy, making the experience a little less painful for me. The author knows what he is doing in this context, I just wish he had used his incredible gift to tell a different story.

The book begins with the death of a lady who is the Beloved of a man whom we only know as the Fisherman. He declares that he shall rescue her from the Isle of the Dead. So begins his journey that leads him to the belly of a whale that spits him out right onto the Isle of the Dead. Here we meet the evil Crow, the Cormorant, the Pelican, and the Frigate; all demi-gods though the Crow is the highest of them. He is the King of the Dead, ruling over the Isle of the Dead that has been eaten by the Kiamah beast.

The plot doesn’t really heat up until the fertility goddess appears. By the order of some oracles she brings to life the Fisherman’s Beloved by having her nurse at her breast. Thus, kick starting a sort of prophecy that would bring about the end of the Kiamah beast who is just the worst.

GOOD POINT: I was not troubled by the breast feeding scene as some might be. It was a great depiction of what breasts are in fact made to do. Bringing forth sustenance to ensure life. It was actually beautifully depicted.

After the fertility goddess brings back to life the Fisherman’s Beloved it is revealed that she is meant to seduce the evil Crow in order to produce his offspring. She was also told that two lovers would need to be sacrificed in order to defeat the Crow and the Kiamah, that would be the Fisherman and his Beloved, which doesn’t really work because as the story progresses we see that there really isn’t a mutual love between them.

After all the Fisherman has been through his beloved has zero memories of her past life and therefore has zero feelings for him, but he’s an impressive lover so she diddles with him, using him for his sex, but essentially is just pulling his heart strings along, making him think that they have finally been reunited.

Most of the story deals with the Fisherman’s Beloved lusting after the Crow, while the Pelican lusts after the Fisherman. There is some disturbing scenes of the Fertility Goddess having sex with the Crow. She also bangs the Pelican, the Fisherman’s Beloved, and the Frigate bird. Basically letting her nether regions touch every living thing within a two inch radius of her because she feels she’s justified.

Look, I’m not a prude, but this was just so cringy to me. The author makes reference in his acknowledgements that the sexual escapades of the Fertility Goddess were taken from his readings of Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. I have read this book multiple times and while yes, it promotes the experience of many different lovers, no where in its pages did it recommend adultery or cheating. This is what the Fertility Goddess does and spreads to the other characters. The Fisherman is basically assaulted by the Pelican pretending to be his Beloved, because had he known who he was bedding, he definitely would not have partook.

Then while all this is happening, his Beloved runs off for a “night of passion” with the Crow. This is all kept secret until the Pelican and the Fisherman’s Beloved want more and get caught when the Crow, vile creature that he is, beats the hell out of the Fisherman’s Beloved. I did not feel sorry for her. She was warned many times that the Crow was a bastard and went to him for sex anyway. This is a poor representation of women and it made me disgusted at the character.

Additionally, the female characters have time to run off together and “couple” essentially playing with each other until climax and I’m sitting her wondering why this is a thing, but the men aren’t running around doing the same? It very much felt like the old way of thinking that “if girls play with each other it’s not gay, it’s for my [male] pleasure” which was just gross. If you are going to have scenes like that, the least you can do is make your story more realistic and show the men doing the same.

At this point things speed up because the Fertility Goddess is preggo and they must now defeat the Kiamah beast and then the Crow (Though the Fisherman’s Beloved is torn up about it, solidifying my hate). It all kind of happens quickly in the last quarter of the book which means that the other 75% of it is just avian demi-gods fucking around and with the two humans.

The Kiamah is destroyed along with a few other key characters that while their deaths were sad, I really could only muster a “meh.” The story abruptly ends after that, leaving the reader with an awkward “where are they now” montage at the very end.

GOOD POINT: I will admit that there was one thing that made me smile at the end and it was literally the very last sentence. I won’t explain, because if you are like me, this will be the one highlight of the book if you make it all the way to the end and I would not take that from you.

BAD POINT: Bird Cock