Three years have passed since Royston Blake left Mangel for Parpham Mental Hospital, his unstable mind finally entrusted to professionals. He served his stretch, and now he’s out, pronounced “cured” by the Doc. But a lot can change in three years, even in Mangel. Blake’s gal, Sal, has gone off and had a kid for one. His kid…whom Blake’s never even met. Not to mention that most of his old haunts, including Hoppers, are gone, replaced by a gleaming new shopping mall. But like the Doc says, change isn’t always for the better. A mysterious opposition group calling itself the “Old Guard” has expressed its displeasure with the development in the local newspaper. Now words are no longer enough, and they want Blake to enforce their message the old-fashioned way. But Blake just wants to do right by his son, a simple dream made all the more complicated once he realizes Mangel won’t let him go without a fight. Charlie Williams has upped the stakes with King of the Road, a new twist on his violent, darkly comedic chronicles of Mangel.
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"Not quite up to the standards of the previous books but a good read nevertheless."
— Keith (5 out of 5 stars)
Blake is a dazzling creation of well-intentioned prejudice and overblown machismo, dripping with dramatic irony.
— BBC OnlineThis is gloriously funny stuff and so original that other writers must be gnashing their teeth in jealousy
— Guardian“There’s a real depth to the characters…Anyone familiar with small town life will appreciate the pitch-black sense of humour.
— Big Issue in the North" Brilliant book. Loved the characters and the stuff Royston gets up to! "
— Gem, 12/27/2012Charlie Williams is the author of several novels, including Deadfolk, Booze and Bum, Stairway to Hell, and King of the Road, among many others. He and his family live in Worcester, England.
James Clamp is an award-winning voice actor, earning his first AudioFile Earphones Award in 2011. Originally from London, he currently lives in New York.