Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, and fun. But many holes
Review: I did enjoy this book. I found it hard to put down, and it was enjoyable. The story was fast paced and quite thrilling at times.
I would of given this book more stars if it were not for many loose ends that are left at the end.
Other than the main character the character development was rather thin. But the biggest problem were all the unanswered QUESTIONS! Clark brings some interesting twists into the story, but he never answers where in the world they came from.
If you don't mind loose ends and many unanswered questions. this is a fast paced, fun read that could of been great had Clark given us some answers, it makes you wonder if he couldn't come up with any answers because he didn't know himself.
So you do feel a little cheated in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but could have been better
Review: I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book "Stranger" by Simon Clark and that I feel that overall it was a very well-written and interesting book that held my interest, although it isn't perfect. The premise of the book is that civilization has collapsed following the outbreak of a disease that makes people go crazy and creates in them an all-consuming desire to kill anyone who isn't infected. Another symptom of the disease in the early stages is that once you catch it you become extremely afraid of other people who have the disease. The disease originally broke out in South America and as a result the people who caught it in South America presumable became terrified of other people with the disease and wanted to get as a far away from them as possible so they immigrated to the United States. So what happened is two-thirds of the population of the entire continent of South America poured into the United States. Once they got here many of them would stand at the side of the road begging for bread so the Americans nicknamed them "bread bandits." As the disease progressed in them they started to go crazy and they developed an overwhelming desire to kill anyone who wasn't infected. So what happened is one day the "bread bandits" went on a rampage all across the United States and started burning down our cities, killing huge numbers of people, and destroying everyone's property. As a result our society collapsed. Except for one small town in New Jersey where the main character lives. This town in New Jersey has been fortunate enough to have been completely spared of the destruction the rest of the country has gone through. The main character, who lives in this town, has the unique ability to supernaturally sense whether or not any person he comes in contact has the disease. As a result he is the town executioner. The people of the town use him to screen any strangers who come wandering into the town for the disease. If they have the disease he kills them. Problems arise for the main character when the people of the town start to become so paranoid about catching the disease that they begin acting in irrational and immoral ways. I won't say what they actually do or reveal anymore of the plot because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might read this book. The book was captivating, interesting, and had a good premise. It was a page-turner and I found it hard to put down. The only complaint I have about the book is the ending. I was hoping in the end the author would explain in detail the true nature of the disease and what it ultimately was transforming people into. Throughout the book the reader is kept in the dark about just what this mysterious disease is and why it causes people to turn into homicidal maniacs. I felt that by the end of the book the reader deserves a decent explanation of the disease, since the disease and its effects upon mankind form the crux of the plot. However, the explanation given by the author leaves most questions unanswered. This was disappointing. Another problem I have with the book is how easily our society collapsed. I felt that this was somewhat unrealistic. To me, it doesn't seem probable that a bunch of South American immigrants would be able to completely obliterate the entire United States in a matter of days. How could they defeat the United States military, the most powerful military in the world ? How could they defeat our law enforcement ? I know that the author says two-thirds of the population of South America had come to the United States, but I find it hard to believe that even two-thirds of South America could so easily topple our entire society and destroy the entire infrastructure of the United States. This is yet another facet of the book that the author could have explained in more detail. That said, I do recommend this book. It was a compelling, enjoyable read and as far as books with an "apocalyptic" premise go this has to be among the best.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable page-turner, but SO flawed...(maybe spoiler)
Review: I'll spare you the book report and shoot to the flaws, as I saw them: Clark never explains why Valdiva was able to beat up that bully in the middle-school flashback, or why that incident was so similar to his ax-murdering of infected visitors to Sullivan. There would seem to be a tie-in, but there just isn't. Clark twice, accidentally, refers to his devastated hometown of Lewis as "Sullivan." Why is the book so poorly edited?! Full of errors, like a manuscript that needs one more proofread it didn't get. What the people of Sullivan do to that girl is so horrible, so putrid, Valdiva should have (and could have, supposedly) ax murdered them all, so why the blank didn't he? Valdiva let that crime go unpunished, and I lost respect for him - and the story - because of it. Why did Valdiva find himself swept up by murderous rage when confronted by ONE infected monster, but when menaced by a crowd of them, he turned tail and fled with a perfectly clear head like anyone else would do? Valdiva's method of execution of those poor visitors to Sullivan was needlessly sloppy and hideous. I disliked him for it. The explanation for that wasn't good enough, and that behavior in him didn't even last through the book. Why couldn't he have used a gun from the start? It P'd me off when Valdiva's little buddy kept showing concern for the putrid townfolk of Sullivan - more so when Valdiva listened to the guy! There was no mercy for infected visitors, and that was "OKAY," so why couldn't Valdiva show no mercy to the worthless citizenry without the book appearing politically incorrect and a bad influence on us readers?? Yes, the novel is VEDDY British for a novel set in America. That was most evident in Clark's use of our mutual language, like the shortening of "around" to "'round," and saying "come to that" instead of "as a matter of fact." But after a while, it didn't distract me. The flaws rankled as I read, but I didn't want to put it down. Good story, decent writing and, I thought, a GREAT ending.
Rating:
Summary: A solid "end-of-the-world" novel for fans of that genre'
Review: Simon Clark has taken the successful formula that he used in one of his earlier works, "Blood Crazy" and made it smarter, more exciting, and more relevant to his US audience by using "smalltown America" as the setting in "Stranger".
Greg Valdiva is a resident of the town of Sullivan who has a strange and important job that he performs for the town's residents. You see, he is the town's executioner who can sniff out "hornets" or those infected by a strange disease that is sweeping the North and South American continents. The disease drives the infected individual mad and gives the carrier the urge to kill any unaffected humans. The town of Sullivan is safe only because of its location and through the gift that Valdiva has. As paranoia begins to take hold of the town's residents, Valdiva begins to consider his options OUTSIDE of Sullivan. One night, as he investigates some strange lights in a neighboring town, he encounters a beautiful girl who is leading a small band of survivalists. Valdiva's decision then becomes to help the small group and risk banishment from Sullivan or settle back in behind the town's safe walls. He chooses the former and thus begins a exciting story about survival and the strength of the human spirit.
Without giving away too many plot details, let me just say that there are a number of memorable encounters with the "hornets" as the small group tries to find a safe place to settle. Clark pulls no punches when it comes to some of the gory and bloody details of battles between the groups - so this is not a book for the squeamish.
My criticisms of the book are minor. I would have rather seen Clark stick to his own "turf" and set the book in England. (He does struggle with American phraselolgy and slang in some parts.) As earlier reviewers have noted, there are a number of unanswered questions as to the origin of the plague, how it's passed, and so on. But these do not detract from the reader's enjoyment of the novel.
Fans of the EOW genre' will certainly enjoy "Stranger". While it doesn't rank with "The Stand" or Robert McCammon's "Swan Song", it doesn't fail to deliver. And Clark has left the door open for a sequel in the future. If the reader enjoyed any of Clark's earlier works, then he or she will definitely want to get a copy of this book.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED FOR "END-OF-WORLD" AND SIMON CLARK FANS
Rating:
Summary: Perfection can't last long...not in a good horror novel!
Review: Sullivan is a town located on an island in a lake. When the rest of the world goes belly-up due to a catastrophic plague--which turns normal people into zombie-like madmen--Sullivan remains untouched. Greg Valdiva has a gift. He can tell when someone has the plague, even before symptoms show. He kills them--he can't help it. It's gotten him into some trouble. It's also made him Sullivan's protector--the only reason they keep him around. But things are changing. Sullivan can't hold out long. And Greg begins to sense that more horrific discoveries--and possibly the answer to all his unsolved questions--lie out in the world...out in the wastelands of America. "Stranger" is an appopolyptic book about how easily civilization could be destroyed. Sure, it's not highly believable. And sure, it's sort of a rip-off of King's "The Stand". But it's still a fast-paced, well-written book. Simon Clark is a hell of a novelist. Maybe not the best; he'll never be a King or Koontz. But he's good--better than many out there today. "Stranger" is a must-read for all those who are scared by the hidden dangers of the world. It'll terrify you!
Rating: 
Summary: Addictive, Gory, and fun!
Review: This is even better than Clark's classic BLOOD CRAZY. A must for end-of-the-world-type of story fans. Loaded with inventive kill scenes, tension, and some good doomsday commentary. I believe this is Clark's first novel to take place in the USA, and he does a great job using American slang (and not British). Great job. One of the funnest horror tales I've read in some time.
Rating:
Summary: Completely awesome!
Review: Well I thought the book was ok,it kept me interested init enough not to put it down,but I too thought Simon Clark could of elaborated more on Greg Valdiva's insights on he could detect "Hornets" or "Bread Bandits".Why him and what's that about him being from the "Hive",the author left me wnating to know more about that as well,other wise the ending was ok and it was a good book.
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