{"id":1348,"date":"2026-07-13T19:53:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/?p=1348"},"modified":"2026-07-13T19:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:53:49","slug":"fun-times-at-the-bloodbath-by-jeff-strand-5-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/2026\/07\/13\/fun-times-at-the-bloodbath-by-jeff-strand-5-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun Times At The Bloodbath by Jeff strand – 5\/5"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to write an original review these days as someone who doesn\u2019t (nor would want to) have early access for the sole purpose of writing a review. I enjoy reading. I enjoy writing. What I don\u2019t enjoy is feeling obligated to read or write. If I write a review, it is because I want to. And I definitely want to write about FUN TIMES AT THE BLOODBATH.<\/p>\n

Ginger Nuts Horror review<\/a> probably puts it most eloquently as Strand\u2019s \u201csharpest, funniest, and most unsettling novel in years.”\u00a0 <\/span>Can I even reference another review from my own? Sure I can. I just did. In the words of Ziggy, \u201cLet\u2019s do this, bitches!\u201d Don\u2019t know who Ziggy is? You will – if you read FUN TIMES AT THE BLOODBATH.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our protagonist is Margot. Her brother receives a personal invite to beta-test a new video game about to enter the market. A game that, despite the low-end graphics, promises to be the hottest and bloodiest new game. What none of the beta-testers are suspecting is how this game has been engineered to be so addictive that they cease all efforts of survival – think eating, drinking, sleeping, relieving themselves of bodily waste. Anyone who interferes with their gameplay meets with tragic results. But Margot is on the case until the end. Little does she realize she is part of the sinister plot to release the game to the masses!<\/p>\n

As usual, Strand\u2019s wordsmithing kept me engaged beyond my usual pre-bedtime casual reading. It was almost as though I was\u2026 addicted? Damn you Jeff!<\/p>\n

There are so many moving parts to this story a concordance would almost be justified. When Strand moves you on to the next set of characters, you reluctantly read ahead, still wanting to know what\u2019s going to happen to the last group of individuals you were reading about but soon their fate falls to the wayside as you are fully engulfed in the next set\u2019s plight. Then we spin on a dime and continue on with the previous sets of characters and I found myself saying, \u201coh yeah\u2026 back to these guys!\u201d<\/p>\n

Moneyquote: \u201cAnd she wasn\u2019t thrilled to know her daughter had a clit ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now that I have finished FUN TIMES IN THE BLOODBATH – no wait, AT THE BLOODBATH, is there anything more I can do? Have I peaked? All I can do is say goodnight!<\/p>\n

Pick up your digital or paperback here<\/a>, but do so at your own risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to write an original review these days as someone who doesn\u2019t (nor would want to) have early access for the sole purpose of writing a review. I enjoy reading. I enjoy writing. What I don\u2019t enjoy is feeling obligated to read or write. If I write a review, it is because I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[705,313],"class_list":["post-1348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-fast-times-at-the-bloodbath","tag-jeff-strand"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/328CD08F-8B64-4E89-9C50-1FEF6B13AF44.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1349,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348\/revisions\/1349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.basilweb.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}