Review: Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One by Jack Townsend

Title: Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One

Series: Tales from the Gas Station #1

Author: Jack Townsend

Genre: Adult, horror comedy

Publication date: October 2018

Published by: Jack Townsend

Source: Purchased ebook & audibook

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Read the stories it's based on for free on the blog!

Listen to the stories it's based on for free on YouTube!

Buy it: Amazon | Audible | Book Depository

Synopsis: Working at a dead-end retail job in the middle of nowhere can be hard. The long hours. The helpless customers. The enormous eldritch horror living deep below the building...

As the only full-time employee at the twenty-four hour gas station at the edge of town, Jack has pretty much seen it all. But when he decides to start an online journal documenting the bizarre day-to-day occurrences, he unwittingly attracts the attention of much more than just a few conspiracy theorists. With the body count steadily on the rise and a dark, ancient force infecting the dreams of everyone around him, Jack will do everything in his power to stay out of the way and mind his own business.

After all, he’s just a gas station clerk. It’s not like he’s getting paid enough to wage battle against the nightmarish aberrations plaguing his community. Besides, he already has his hands full attempting to manage all those mysterious lawn gnomes, the mutant raccoons, and the charming phantom cowboy who lives in the bathroom.

Based on the award-winning creepypasta by GasStationJack, Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One is a love letter to the pioneers of classic horror tailored to a generation that grew up in the era of smartphones and WiFi.

My rating: ★★★★★

There was always something strangely comforting in the consistency of this place’s disconnectedness. The gas station always felt like a place outside of time, not really connected to the rest of the world but still technically part of it. If the gas station were a planet, it would be Pluto. If the gas station were a vowel, it would be Y. If the gas station were an X-Man, it would be Wolverine. (And that is probably the nicest thing anyone will ever say about the gas station.)

I love listening to horror narrations—MrCreepypasta’s narrations, to be specific. A while back, he started a story called Tales from the Gas Station and I just absolutely loved it! I was always looking forward to more episodes from that series. I don’t even remember how I found out about this book, but when I realized that it was that story in book form, I got really excited! And then I was even more excited when I found out that MrCreepypasta was the one who did the narration for the audiobook too! It was all just too perfect! So I bought it immediately, and it totally lived up to my expectations!

If you’ve read/listened to those short stories that were previously posted online, this book is pretty much that, but with a few more details thrown in. It goes much more in-depth into Jack’s history and the reason why he starts to blog his experiences at the gas station. Knowing what happens didn’t bother me in the slightest, just because I adore this fun, wacky world and I didn’t mind revisiting it. The setting is this isolated gas station in the middle of nowhere where really weird things happen. And when I say weird, I mean REAL weird.

For as long as anyone around these parts can remember, things have been weird. I don’t mean “definitive proof of the supernatural” weird. More like “there’s a cow on the roof of the building again” weird. The kind of weird that makes you stop and ask “Why?”

You know, like random lawn gnomes showing up in the store randomly...

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.

Or unexplained doors showing up out of nowhere...

Did somebody install a door while I wasn’t paying attention?

You know, weird! 🤣 And I loved every second of it! Sometimes I wondered to myself, “What even is this book?” 😂 But all the bizarre situations are what I loved about it! This book almost had no plot to it... not exactly. It was much more character-driven, and I was totally okay with that because I love the characters as well!

So first we have Jack, our main character, who I absolutely love! He’s very, I don't know, nonchalant, I guess? And very unfazed when it comes to all the weird things that happen around the gas station. He does not give one single shit and I love that about him. The fact that he’s not easily surprised or impressed is very amusing. The guy just wants to do his shifts and read his books, and you know what? As a fellow booknerd, I can respect that. Lol. Oh and I cannot forget about his sass, because while he may not be easily surprised, he does get quite annoyed with the antics that go on at the gas station (especially when they interrupt him from his books! How dare they?! Lol.)

The awkward “Do you have a moment to talk about something that will change your life forever?” No, dude, I’m working at a shitty gas station in the middle of nowhere and I’m perfectly happy being miserable until I die. Good day, sir.

I love him 😂 And unfortunately for him, danger always lurks around the gas station because of all the weirdness.

I swung a few pathetic shots his way, which he was able to dodge easily. In the end, I didn’t lay a single finger on him. (Although, I did mess his knuckles up pretty bad with my face bones, so at least I have that.)

Tony screamed, “Jack! The gun!” I pulled the weapon out of my pocket and chucked it as hard as I could. It smacked Spencer right in the face and he fell over. I was very proud for the two seconds it took me to realize what I had done wrong.

Jack, no! 🤣

Another character I love is a guy Jack likes to call Marlboro. He’s kind of an airhead and I love it.

Right then, Marlboro surprised the pants off of everybody. He let out a cackle and screamed “Fuck yeah! Let's do this! I’m not afraid to die!” before reaching up, grabbing the gun pressed against his head, and pulling the trigger.

“What... what the hell is wrong with you people?!” Benjamin said, backing away from us.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with us,” said Marlboro, relieved to be free from the headlock. “What the hell is wrong with your gun?”
“You crazy son of a bitch! How did you know I was out of ammo?”
“I didn’t.”

He’s such an idiot 😂 I just love all the characters and their interactions and the ridiculous things they find themselves in. This book was just a lot of fun and it had me laughing like every other page. It was great!

Another thing I loved was that it could get a bit gory at times... this being a horror comedy, it makes sense. So if you like horror comedies or books with dark humor, I highly recommend this one! It has definitely become one of my favorite series! I adore this weird, creepy, funny world and all the wacky characters 🖤

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊