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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
4 Stars
The Omen by David Seltzer.
July 2021 Reading Challenge.
Review to come.
The Omen by David Seltzer.
July 2021 Reading Challenge.
Review to come.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a swift and sharp story that packed a punch, particularly for its time. I watched the original movie in anticipation for reading this and am happy to say they align closely. There were only some minor differences in details.
This book only dragged for roughly one chapter where it went into a lot of depth around religious texts and doctrine. Other than this slump, the book had good pacing and jumped right into the drama.
If you are an old school horror fan - pick this one up!
This book only dragged for roughly one chapter where it went into a lot of depth around religious texts and doctrine. Other than this slump, the book had good pacing and jumped right into the drama.
If you are an old school horror fan - pick this one up!
Awesome book. One of my favourite films of all time and the film is true to the book for once. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A horror classic that holds up in the 21st century. Some aspects have become a bit cliche but that’s only because others have imitated this great book.
The Omen - ruining it for guys named Damien since 1976.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(3 stars)
THRIFT STORE WHY: It’s The Omen, baby!! I bought it because I knew the story and had some interest in it… plus it was very, very short.
BACK COPY LIES (what the plot really is): A husband unwittingly
WOULD I RECC TO READ: It’s a classic. But maybe just see the movie.
FUN FACT: I had no idea ‘Good Omens’ was such a parody/homage to this book. It’s obvious in hindsight.
Review:
Gotta say, this was one of those rare times where I just thought ‘hey, this guy can write!’. I liked the style quite a bit, even though I didn’t like so much else (characters, plot, world, lore). The writing, pacing, and suspense is all quite good though.
I did say I enjoyed the pacing, but in truth it was very odd. The book is not very big- my copy had smaller print, yes, but it’s still like 250~ average pages long I’d say. The concept of the book is that it’s about the antichrist, but this isn’t really stated for a while. It’s only at the very end our main character is like ‘oh damn this kid is the antichrist and evil’, despite the audience knowing from page one, and having seen it by page like, 60.
The pacing is done well in that things develop at an even pace, and action scenes move by quickly- there’s a good sense of unease, even if it was partially ruined for me by just… having read the back cover. The climax happens fast (the last chapter) and is over very quickly, and the earlier parts of the book are more dedicated to marriage turmoil and light politics. And the middle has a LOT of bible quoting going on.
I guess I can’t pretend to be surprised, but this is a very christian/catholic book- it leans heavily on the idea of secret satanic cults ruling the world, the power of christ, and talks a lot about israel and jewish people but in a sort of ‘they are important to christian myth but not as good as us 🙂 ‘ sort of way.
I’m a fan of Apocalypse stories and religious lore, but for a book that is at once very much about it, this book doesn’t… have a lot about it. While it quotes parts of the bible at you, it’s really only a couple passages, and not even the interesting ones from Revelation. I wanted more information about… the devil? The dog? The child? But it was like the author was deadset on only using canonical sources (not expanding on the lore in an interesting way), and also cherrypicking certain parts.
I guess it’s hard to explain clearly. I like demons and the devil, and while it’s rare I read something this straightforward morality wise (THE DEVIL IS EVIL), I still wished we knew a little bit more about anything, so it didn’t just feel like a bunch of statements about how this would work. We were told a lot, and I wanted to know more about how this was set up, how the cult communicates with satan, what that dog even was, et cetera.
Though this is a classic book, and has a very cinematic feel, I found the whole thing somehow lacking. I wanted more about the child, who we basically never saw. I wanted the wife to not be such a cliche neurotic type. I wanted the religious stuff to not be so grating, and yet I wanted a more in-depth exploration of religion than what we got. This book is far more suspense over horror- the scene at the zoo is quite horrifying, but otherwise most of the story is just tension building. The suspense is well done, yes, but due to the short length and slow beginning, it felt like we never really got much in terms of payoff.
From what I can tell, the movie adaptation follows the plot of this very precisely. Again, this makes perfect sense, as the book is short and cinematic and almost feels like it was a screenplay first. With that in mind, I would say you could probably just watch the movie for a quicker, and likely better, experience. I was sort of hoping I would read this book and be able to turn to the movie with more insight, or some sort of fun fact about how it differs, but it seems like it barely does.
So, you know, I’m basically saying you should probably just watch the movie if you have any interest in this book. It’ll probably be a better experience.
THRIFT STORE WHY: It’s The Omen, baby!! I bought it because I knew the story and had some interest in it… plus it was very, very short.
BACK COPY LIES (what the plot really is): A husband unwittingly
WOULD I RECC TO READ: It’s a classic. But maybe just see the movie.
FUN FACT: I had no idea ‘Good Omens’ was such a parody/homage to this book. It’s obvious in hindsight.
Review:
Gotta say, this was one of those rare times where I just thought ‘hey, this guy can write!’. I liked the style quite a bit, even though I didn’t like so much else (characters, plot, world, lore). The writing, pacing, and suspense is all quite good though.
I did say I enjoyed the pacing, but in truth it was very odd. The book is not very big- my copy had smaller print, yes, but it’s still like 250~ average pages long I’d say. The concept of the book is that it’s about the antichrist, but this isn’t really stated for a while. It’s only at the very end our main character is like ‘oh damn this kid is the antichrist and evil’, despite the audience knowing from page one, and having seen it by page like, 60.
The pacing is done well in that things develop at an even pace, and action scenes move by quickly- there’s a good sense of unease, even if it was partially ruined for me by just… having read the back cover. The climax happens fast (the last chapter) and is over very quickly, and the earlier parts of the book are more dedicated to marriage turmoil and light politics. And the middle has a LOT of bible quoting going on.
I guess I can’t pretend to be surprised, but this is a very christian/catholic book- it leans heavily on the idea of secret satanic cults ruling the world, the power of christ, and talks a lot about israel and jewish people but in a sort of ‘they are important to christian myth but not as good as us 🙂 ‘ sort of way.
I’m a fan of Apocalypse stories and religious lore, but for a book that is at once very much about it, this book doesn’t… have a lot about it. While it quotes parts of the bible at you, it’s really only a couple passages, and not even the interesting ones from Revelation. I wanted more information about… the devil? The dog? The child? But it was like the author was deadset on only using canonical sources (not expanding on the lore in an interesting way), and also cherrypicking certain parts.
I guess it’s hard to explain clearly. I like demons and the devil, and while it’s rare I read something this straightforward morality wise (THE DEVIL IS EVIL), I still wished we knew a little bit more about anything, so it didn’t just feel like a bunch of statements about how this would work. We were told a lot, and I wanted to know more about how this was set up, how the cult communicates with satan, what that dog even was, et cetera.
Though this is a classic book, and has a very cinematic feel, I found the whole thing somehow lacking. I wanted more about the child, who we basically never saw. I wanted the wife to not be such a cliche neurotic type. I wanted the religious stuff to not be so grating, and yet I wanted a more in-depth exploration of religion than what we got. This book is far more suspense over horror- the scene at the zoo is quite horrifying, but otherwise most of the story is just tension building. The suspense is well done, yes, but due to the short length and slow beginning, it felt like we never really got much in terms of payoff.
From what I can tell, the movie adaptation follows the plot of this very precisely. Again, this makes perfect sense, as the book is short and cinematic and almost feels like it was a screenplay first. With that in mind, I would say you could probably just watch the movie for a quicker, and likely better, experience. I was sort of hoping I would read this book and be able to turn to the movie with more insight, or some sort of fun fact about how it differs, but it seems like it barely does.
So, you know, I’m basically saying you should probably just watch the movie if you have any interest in this book. It’ll probably be a better experience.
Had always heard of this film, recently purchased the book being a fan of horror. Really enjoyed this, at first it was a tad bit difficult to follow in a few parts but then it was just fascinating. The way it started with the biblical quote about the beast and 666, a quote I had heard hundreds of times before being an avid Iron Maiden fan. Intriguing, gripping, and the ending has me wanting more! There is no one in the world more scary than little Damien