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will_cherico's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
2.0
This is pretty much a 1:1 adaptation of the movie without much added to it. Hawke's pretty good at capturing the same "summer in New England" atmosphere in the same way the movie is, but the book suffers from all the classic pitfalls of a formulaic slasher. I don't have much to say about it beyond that, especially because of how it's essentially a copy of the movie script formatted to be prose.
There is a part in this book wheretwo characters have unprotected sex and the guy starts smoking pot while his girlfriend goes to the bathroom. A hysterically long time is spent on the guy's inner monologue as he admonishes himself for taking such a risk, contemplates whether or not it was sexist to assume she was on the pill instead of taking initiative to wear a condom, thinks back to a basketball buddy, then thinks to himself about how we as a society are afraid to talk about sex in a frank and honest way with others. He resolves to become a more sex-positive person and talk to his girlfriend about getting more serious, and how he's even willing to marry her/support her choice to get an abortion if she turns out to be pregnant. He is then murdered on the spot. The story then cuts to the girlfriend, and we get *another* hilariously long aside about the girlfriend's thoughts on sex and how she was never a "wait till marriage" girl but she never really liked sex until her boyfriend now, etc. etc. etc... she's then murdered on the spot. That was easily the best part of this book.
There is a part in this book where
cyanide_latte's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I'm not sure if I have much to say on this one, but I think to the credit of this book, Simon Hawke did make it very accessible to individuals who might not have seen the movie. Perhaps that could be argued as a flaw of the book, that it follows the framework the movie left for it too closely, but one of the biggest things that the story hinges on is the mystery of the killer. And in that regard, I think Hawke did an excellent job with what he had to work with.
Additionally, he took the time in this novel to really get more into the individual characters' heads, which we don't see in the movie. The characters in Friday the 13th tend towards not being memorable, and fitting more of a bland one or two character traits that aren't even explored in-depth. Hawke takes the time to dive into everyone's inner thoughts and feelings, and while I know that this is a turn-off for a lot of people, because many of those inner thoughts turn into lengthy monologues, I appreciated him making the effort to make them more than just two-dimensional.
I haven't been able to find a print copy of this book, and indeed, it and the other Friday the 13th novels seem to be so scarce that they go for absurd amounts. I was able to read this thanks to listening to the fan-recorded audiobook on the YouTube channel The 80s Slasher Librarian! Huge kudos to them for making that possible! If someone would like to go listen to their recording before jumping into the film, I do recommend it as a decent introduction to the story!
Additionally, he took the time in this novel to really get more into the individual characters' heads, which we don't see in the movie. The characters in Friday the 13th tend towards not being memorable, and fitting more of a bland one or two character traits that aren't even explored in-depth. Hawke takes the time to dive into everyone's inner thoughts and feelings, and while I know that this is a turn-off for a lot of people, because many of those inner thoughts turn into lengthy monologues, I appreciated him making the effort to make them more than just two-dimensional.
I haven't been able to find a print copy of this book, and indeed, it and the other Friday the 13th novels seem to be so scarce that they go for absurd amounts. I was able to read this thanks to listening to the fan-recorded audiobook on the YouTube channel The 80s Slasher Librarian! Huge kudos to them for making that possible! If someone would like to go listen to their recording before jumping into the film, I do recommend it as a decent introduction to the story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use and Ableism
angelahayes's review
5.0
4.5 Stars
Friday the 13th by Simon Hawke.....
One of my reads for scary month- Halloween 2021.
RTC
Friday the 13th by Simon Hawke.....
One of my reads for scary month- Halloween 2021.
RTC
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