Welcome to Night Vale

I haven't listened to the podcast this is based on but I don't think it mattered. It's an entertaining book filled with weirdness and silliness, but with a real story underneath. It was good? But I don't think it will leave much of an impression on me.

In a word...disappointing.
I had been with the podcast from day one, an early promoter of it to anyone who would listen, and a big fan of a lot of the early "weather" musicians before they were featured on the podcast. I've been to every live show that's been through Oklahoma (though they skip it on some tours despite a creator being from here and selling out every time...strange that...). That being said, somewhere along the line I felt like even the podcast started to lose some of its magic, some of its luster. Its actually been probably two years since I've listened to an episode. I still appreciate its inclusivity, its giving voice to types of characters that wouldn't normally have it, but somewhere along the line the weirdness and self-referential nature began to feel self-indulgent, done to death.
I knew going into the book that it was set early enough in the timeline of events of that it was when I still felt the podcast was charming and delightful, and hoped the change of format (while bereft of Cecil's lovely voice) would rekindle some of my fondness for the world. Unfortunately it did quite the opposite. After one false start, I did eventually finish it.
Some things that didn't work...the Nightvale writers are used to writing for a very specific format in terms of the podcast, one that is even mirrored in the live shows. A first act, with strangeness, problems, and mysteries. The weather as an interlude. Followed by what is essentially a third act where things are already resolved and we're sort of told in brief summary what would have occurred in the second act and a bit of aftermath. A handful of multi-episode story arcs are the exception here. That works great for the format of the podcast. It doesn't work in a novel. We're given a first act where new or barely known characters are introduced as well as their problems, and at the end a very brief third act in which their problems reach resolution. But the vast majority of the book is spent on the second act...and its too much book. For characters we have no knowledge of or investment in from the pre-existing podcast, most of the book is spent on sort of recycling through their problem without any real progress. Its...boring? Which is never something I would have thought I'd say about a Nightvale story. And while the two main characters have some minimal development over the course of the story, I feel like its barely enough to qualify them as dynamic.
There's also an issue of shoe-horning in a reference to as many characters and locales as possible for podcast fans, which is probably off-putting to the reader who was not already a fan, and doing so while not telling us anything knew about most of them. Not only not telling us anything new, but not utilizing in a way that speaks to their unique nature. Yes, Old Woman Josie and the Erikas are here. Could they easily have been replaced with virtually any other existing or new character without any change to the narrative occurring? Yes. Do we learn anything new about them we didn't already know? No. So why cram in those references? One of the few places or people referenced we actually get some new information about is the library/librarians, but even that is done in such as way as to be disappointing. Part of what made Nightvale interesting is the same technique that helps make horror effective: when we don't know exactly what something is or looks like, its left to the reader's imagination and is all the more effective. But when you describe something in too much detail, give it too much form and shape, it loses some of its horror. Like Lovecraft said, the greatest fear is fear of the unknown. Now that I know what the library is, its not so interesting or frightening.
A similar complaint, with all the many and varied personalities inhabiting Night Vale already, that I'm sure fans would have loved to know more about...why invent a couple of totally unknown characters to make the protagonists of the very first novel? Its an...odd...creative choice.
Overall, not a great book, either as a one time huge fan of WtNV (I still have the the original scout buttons and badges from the first run), or as a fan of horror/fantasy/weird fiction in general. I realize the fan community will disproportionaly rate this 5*s regardless of its merits as a book, but if you happen to make it to this review, definitely give this one a hard pass.

Based on a podcast, but close enough. I LOVED this book. I was reading it at night exclusively, before falling asleep. The first night after I finished it, I was so bummed out that I was done with it that I almost picked it up again. What a great, fun, silly, fantastic story. LOVED IT. And the podcast, which is saying a lot as I have no patience for podcasts.

The story was interesting and funny at times, but I found the pacing to be jarring. A lot of character development happens in the first 75% of the book with very little forward momentum with regard to plot. Then, once the characters are fully developed, the plot moves a breakneck speed, rushing to conclude.

Admittedly, I don't listen to the podcast, but I found the trope of "list of normal thing, normal thing, crazy thing, normal thing" to get formulaic and predictable.

I liked it for what it was. Of note, I listened to the audiobook and found it to be superbly acted, as you might imagine since it is the cast from the podcast.

"Weird at last. Weird at last. God almighty, weird at last. Welcome to Night Vale."

Yaaay, Night Vale. I love this city. I didn't mind meeting other characters than Cecil and Carlos, even though I would have loved just staying with those two lovebirds.

But I love the whole concept of Night Vale, so more angles to the familiar town were actually quite informative. Not helpful or, Glow Cloud beware, explaining anything useful, but interesting nonetheless.

What especially struck me was the different perception of all the "accidents" that happen in Night Vale. What is normal to Cecil is apparently still strange to some Night Vale citizens. Cecil is obviously an unreliable narrator, but the extent of it baffled me a bit.

The story itself had some lengths and inconsistencies (which I guess actually weren't intended, like when Jackie can't write stuff other than KING CITY but later jots down some notes only to go back to not being able to write anything else). Those things, as small as they may seem, really annoy me.
Loving the podcast a lot, I'll still read the other Night Vale novel(s) coming my way.

I began listening to the Night Vale podcasts recently, but was quite rapidly hooked.
The book is different from that, obviously. It isn't Cecile talking to you, although there are "chapters" of Cecile's show.
The story was as funny/creepy/weird as ever.

I have mixed feelings on this one. There are some beautiful moments in this book, and I'm a huge fan of the podcast. But I'm not sure if the goofy strangeness of Night Vale is as effective in the book. To a certain extent the lovely weird gems feel more distraction than enhancement.

Just the kind of humor I needed, I think. Faux-dark and mysterious - reminiscent of that [b:Discovering Scarfolk|20493657|Discovering Scarfolk|Richard Littler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415801874s/20493657.jpg|33482166] novel I read last year but with jokes not written by Beavis (or Butthead) or targeting, well, anyone, really. Listened to this as an audiobook, assuming the podcast origins of Night Vale called for it - was pleased with the result.

Joseph Fink has an original imagination. Seems like a brain I'd enjoy walking around in.

I mentioned earlier that this book's greatest strength and its greatest weakness were the same: its adherence to the silliness of the original podcast. Having finished the book, I stand by this. The deeper, more emotional story -- that of Josh and Diane and Jackie, and how they fit into each others' lives -- is one that works well in a dark and confusing world like Night Vale. What DOESN'T work, though, is that same story interspersed with the comical and ridiculous non sequiturs that are integral to the podcast's appeal.

3.5 stars if I could. It contains all the requisite weirdness that a proper story set in Night Vale should; that said, after reading it, I'm realizing that the podcast is so successful because it is able to spread its narrative over many episodes. A book has a much shorter timeframe to accomplish a satisfying arc. Ultimately, I'd recommend this for fans of the series, but for outsiders, I wouldn't.

If you aren't familiar with the podcast Welcome To Night Vale, here's the scoop.  The story is told by Cecil, the radio announcer at the Night Vale radio station, where being an intern is a fatal position. Night Vale is a place where weird things are normal.  The dog park is off limits to everyone, including dogs.  The Secret Police are watching and no one believes in angels - including Old Woman Josie who happens to live with several.  A scientist named Carlos moved to town to study the weirdness of Night Vale.  Carlos has beautiful hair and Cecil loves him.I've only listened to about 8 of the podcasts but it is enough to get familiar with the concept.  The book tries to put a plot to the strange happenings.  I don't think that it succeeds very well.  I enjoyed this book in brief snippets of 5 to 10 minutes at a time.  Longer than that at one sitting and it got to be too much.  This is a book that you enjoy for the absurdity of the discussion and not the greater story.

This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story