I loved this. I read very little Sci Fi. I don't really like a lot of it, but there are exceptions and Frederic Brown is one of them. Years ago I had I loved this. I read very little Sci Fi. I don't really like a lot of it, but there are exceptions and Frederic Brown is one of them. Years ago I had a paperback of short stories by him. The book was named for one of the stories in it, "Paradox Lost." It was terrific. All the stories from that book are in this one along with a bookload of stories just as good. The stories are for the most part short, entertaining, humorous and cinematic in the sense you can see any one of them being easily made into a TV episode and in actuality some of them were, the most notable being "Arena," which was used in a Star Trek episode and I believe an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode. I think some of them also made The Outer Limits, and Twilight Zone. That should give you an idea of the entertainment value found here. Read some Frederic Brown. You will not be disapointed,...more
I was disappointed. I really liked "The Jekyll Revelation" but in many ways this one really jumped the shark. I'm being generous giving this 3 stars. I was disappointed. I really liked "The Jekyll Revelation" but in many ways this one really jumped the shark. I'm being generous giving this 3 stars. Masello was reaching for Dan Brown's audience in this but missed the mark by overdoing it. In Jekyll the supernatural element could be attributed to the character's perception after taking the equivalent of an hallucinogenic drug. In this one it was up front with all the flaws inherent. I like a good supernatural story but so few are. Most have all these very evident flaws. A supernatural power that is seemingly all powerful but somehow can't kill the hero. The superfluous characters introduced just to die. Things like that. They defy logic. This gets annoying after a life time of reading. I can suspend disbelief but the logic has to be coherent. This wasn't. This just missed being a total cookie cutter. As usual a familiar locale and historical figures thrown in draws me in and this largely takes place in Princeton, a college town about an hour or a little more away, and there are some NYC scenes, and I enjoyed the historical research that went into this. But the bottom line is...don't bother....more
I was vacationing and forgot my cell phone - hence my Kindle app. right before I left for home my brother in law gave me the paperback of this. I readI was vacationing and forgot my cell phone - hence my Kindle app. right before I left for home my brother in law gave me the paperback of this. I read it on the flight home. Entertaining crap! Formulaic. Cookie cutter. Write by numbers. Big plot flaws. My review of "The Strain" would fit this also. In fact they're the same book. Just change vampires to animals. This all being said it somehow entertained me on the flight. I guess now and then you have to read crap. ...more
I liked this one! For me Stephen King had lost it. Going back to the 70's I read “Carrie” when it first came out – thought it was ….ok. Then came “SalI liked this one! For me Stephen King had lost it. Going back to the 70's I read “Carrie” when it first came out – thought it was ….ok. Then came “Salem's Lot” and I loved it. From that point I eagerly read every Stephen King book through “It” and from that point lost interest. “It” , “The Tommyknockers” and subsequent books started to boor me. I would lose interest. I wondered if it was me or him. I wanted to like him. I have family in Bangor Maine that would tell me what a great guy he is. How he would contribute to local causes. I felt guilty about not liking him, but I thought the books were wordy and boring. I would say to myself “I just read a hundred pages and nothing has happened”. In short I felt SK had lost his mojo. He continued to crank them out and I stopped buying them. Now and then I would try one and get nowhere with it. I got through “The Cell” and thought it was terrible. I manged to get through “Under The Dome” but was under whelmed. I DID like his book “On Writing.”
Not the case with this one. I don't know if it's because I love time travel stories or SK was just in a better groove... but I liked it. It held my interest. No startling new ideas regarding time travel or anything but just a good yarn with a satisfying ending that made me glad to be aboard for the ride....more
I read this in the mid 80s. At this point, while I don't recall many plot details, I do recall that I enjoyed the book, although I thought it was inteI read this in the mid 80s. At this point, while I don't recall many plot details, I do recall that I enjoyed the book, although I thought it was intentionally an attempt to write a Stephen King type novel for obviously commercial reasons. ...more
I read this when it was first released in paperback back in the 70s. It's my favorite of Stephen King's books and the first I read.I read this when it was first released in paperback back in the 70s. It's my favorite of Stephen King's books and the first I read....more
This is an action movie in the form of a book. You’ve seen it all before. The formula is simple and all the familiar elements are here. There is a thrThis is an action movie in the form of a book. You’ve seen it all before. The formula is simple and all the familiar elements are here. There is a threat. In this case vampires, although it can be anything - an epidemic, earth is going to be hit by an asteroid, terrorists, killer clowns etc etc. There is a hero and a sidekick aware of the threat but working for an agency too stupid to understand the depth and seriousness of the threat. Maybe the agency has been corrupted by the evildoers. In any event the hero and sidekick have to go rogue in order to survive and fight the threat. Introduce a bunch of expendable characters who are there solely to die and throw in a few sublplots involving divorce, custody battles and other day to day scenarios to fill things out and you essentially have it. The ending is predicitable and opens the door for the sequels (this is a trilogy). No surprises here. I wanted to read something light and this surpassed my wildest expectations. If I had days free this would have been done in a few hours.
I expected more. Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth was a great movie that worked on a number of levels. This is just cookie cutter formulaic disposable pop fiction. ...more
A classic of it's genre. I read it first around 1961 and found it truly scary. No point in recapping the plot - I'm sure most of us know it very well.A classic of it's genre. I read it first around 1961 and found it truly scary. No point in recapping the plot - I'm sure most of us know it very well....more
Historic as the first (or one of the first) anthologies to employ the term Fantasy as a genre. It's a collection of short stories selected by Borges, Historic as the first (or one of the first) anthologies to employ the term Fantasy as a genre. It's a collection of short stories selected by Borges, Bioy Casares and Silvina Ocampo. for me, as with most short story collections, it's the type of book you keep around and pick up when you're in the mood for a short story. ...more
Jack Finney is responsible for my love of time travel stories. My first exposure to this genre came when I was eight or nine years old. I was watchingJack Finney is responsible for my love of time travel stories. My first exposure to this genre came when I was eight or nine years old. I was watching tv at my grandmother’s home – a show called Science Fiction Theatre. It was late afternoon or early evening on a Sunday. The story made quite an impression on me – I still remember the exact title. It was Time is Just a Place and it told of strange new neighbors, a husband and wife, who moved in and became acquainted with the couple living next door. The husband claimed to be an inventor and showed their new friends some hitherto unseen gadgets that were extremely futuristic. Eventually it is revealed that they are from an unpleasant future and have escaped back to a more inviting time.
When I was reading the third story in this book, Such Interesting Neighbors, I realized it was the plot described above. A little internet research revealed Time is Just a Place was based on Jack Finney’s short story and that the original show I saw was available for viewing on You Tube. I watched it. The low budget, 1950s style special effects seem cheesy now but they sure made an impression on me then. Reading Such Interesting Neighbors now presents no such problem – it is a terrific short story, as are all the stories in this volume.
Is there anybody reading this that hasn't seen at least one of the movie versions? The first (and imho best) movie version pretty much followed the boIs there anybody reading this that hasn't seen at least one of the movie versions? The first (and imho best) movie version pretty much followed the book aboout 95% of the time. Really the main difference is in the "happier ending" - kind of a lift from War of the Worlds. Finney has a clear, straight forward writing style that communicates well. ...more
An enjoyable read that started a trend that imho ultimately degenerated into romance novels with a supernatural theme. In any event - this was a good An enjoyable read that started a trend that imho ultimately degenerated into romance novels with a supernatural theme. In any event - this was a good one....more
Good 19th century vampire story. Atmospheric and sexually charged, the story flows nicely throughout. I remember seeing a movie version on late night Good 19th century vampire story. Atmospheric and sexually charged, the story flows nicely throughout. I remember seeing a movie version on late night tv some time ago. After reading this I'd like to see it again....more
I loved "The Shadow of the Wind" but I think Zafon has surpassed himself with "The Angel's Game." This book is similar in atmosphere and setting. The I loved "The Shadow of the Wind" but I think Zafon has surpassed himself with "The Angel's Game." This book is similar in atmosphere and setting. The cemetery of forgotten books is back and plays a similar role to the one it had in Shadow. In Shadow I suspected what turned out to be the main twist. In Angel's I was unable to do so. As I neared the end of this book I wondered how Zafon could possibly resolve several elements of the story and I anticipated some incongruitites. NOT the case! Zafon's resolution satisfied all requirements.
I'm looking forward to Zafon's next book. Will it again be set in Barcelona? Will the cemetery of forgottn books again play a role? If they do - great! If they don't I have enough confidence in Zafon's writing that I'll be happy to see where that book takes me....more
Definitely a classic. this probably the third time I read this - the last time being over 25 years ago. It's been on my revisit list for sometime. In Definitely a classic. this probably the third time I read this - the last time being over 25 years ago. It's been on my revisit list for sometime. In the past six months I've read "The Invention of Morel" and "A Plan For Escape" by Bioy Casares and that set the stage for this encore.
Wells writes in a clear accessible style and I'll soon be reading more of him. I've never read "The Invisible Man" and the last time I read "War Of The Worlds" I was a child....more
Short and to the point. Held my interest and in some ways didn't go where I thought It was going. There is no other evaluation for this book than exceShort and to the point. Held my interest and in some ways didn't go where I thought It was going. There is no other evaluation for this book than excellent....more
I picked this up on impulse in B&N a few weeks back. The blurb interested me - I mean a combination of Borges, Umberto Eco, and Gabriel Garcia MarquezI picked this up on impulse in B&N a few weeks back. The blurb interested me - I mean a combination of Borges, Umberto Eco, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez AND reminiscent of "The Club Dumas".....Got to get it! I'm glad I did. It's simply a good atmospheric mystery and romance that held my interest all the way through although I correctly suspected one aspect of the mystery right from the beginning. ...more
I enjoyed it. It's a long book but Kostova managed to keep my interest throughout - an accomplishment in a book this length. I've given up on several I enjoyed it. It's a long book but Kostova managed to keep my interest throughout - an accomplishment in a book this length. I've given up on several Stephen King novels in the past few years (although I liked his earlier books)because I would lose interest and think "nothing has happened in the last hundrred pages." That wasn't a problem here....more
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