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professorfate's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, I may be going into an area (literary analysis) with which I am not comfortable in this review.
I enjoy horror fiction. Stephen King and Peter Straub are undoubtedly two of the giants of the genre (along with F. Paul Wilson). When I see a new book by any of these three gentlemen, I usually get it the first day it’s out. I love almost everything Mr. King and Dr. Wilson put out. Mr. Straub, on the other hand, I have a more difficult time with, and I think that I finally figured out why in reading this book.
The setup for this novel is thus: in 1966, a guru-type named Spencer Mallon gathers together a group of three college students and four high-school students and seduces them so that they will help him enact a ritual. His intentions, as far as we can tell, are not evil in any way, but things go horribly wrong in the ritual, causing one college student to get ripped to shreds and another to apparently disappear from this world altogether. The narrator of the novel is a successful author who is having trouble writing his next book. Taking a cue from his editor, he thinks about tackling a non-fiction book, and decides to look into what happened in that meadow in 1966. As it turns out, the narrator was a friend of the four high-school students in the ritual, and was invited to take part, but he wasn’t taken in by Mallon and thus stayed away (in fact, he felt he was kept away by the other four). He spends the novel getting in touch with his four friends (one of whom is his wife) to find out what they all saw.
I find that part of this—the author being apart from the story—is an apt metaphor for how I see Mr. Straub’s books. Mr. King and Dr. Wilson’s books tend to get me involved emotionally: I almost feel like I have a stake in what happens to the characters and I feel compelled to read on to see what happens. With Mr. Straub however, I feel as though I’m standing apart from the story just watching. With this book (as I said in an early status update after 50 pages on goodreads.com), Mr. Straub had set a beautiful table and I was anxious for the feast. But when it came out, I found that the food, while good, wasn’t sumptuous like I would have expected after the setup.
This is not to say that I feel this way about all of Mr. Straub’s books. “Ghost Story” and “Shadowland” are two of my favorite books of all time, and I can still remember details of those books 25+ years after reading them (hmmm—I may have to reread them, actually). "The Talisman"? I have worn through two copies of the book from all the rereading of that I've done. But I find with some of his later books, like the Tim Underhill trilogy and others, that I get to the end and I’m either completely confused (not that hard, considering I’m not that bright) or I just feel an overwhelming sense of “meh”.
This book is good, close to great, even, but I wouldn’t call it excellent. It’s enjoyable, but it didn’t completely involve me.
3.5 / 5
I enjoy horror fiction. Stephen King and Peter Straub are undoubtedly two of the giants of the genre (along with F. Paul Wilson). When I see a new book by any of these three gentlemen, I usually get it the first day it’s out. I love almost everything Mr. King and Dr. Wilson put out. Mr. Straub, on the other hand, I have a more difficult time with, and I think that I finally figured out why in reading this book.
The setup for this novel is thus: in 1966, a guru-type named Spencer Mallon gathers together a group of three college students and four high-school students and seduces them so that they will help him enact a ritual. His intentions, as far as we can tell, are not evil in any way, but things go horribly wrong in the ritual, causing one college student to get ripped to shreds and another to apparently disappear from this world altogether. The narrator of the novel is a successful author who is having trouble writing his next book. Taking a cue from his editor, he thinks about tackling a non-fiction book, and decides to look into what happened in that meadow in 1966. As it turns out, the narrator was a friend of the four high-school students in the ritual, and was invited to take part, but he wasn’t taken in by Mallon and thus stayed away (in fact, he felt he was kept away by the other four). He spends the novel getting in touch with his four friends (one of whom is his wife) to find out what they all saw.
I find that part of this—the author being apart from the story—is an apt metaphor for how I see Mr. Straub’s books. Mr. King and Dr. Wilson’s books tend to get me involved emotionally: I almost feel like I have a stake in what happens to the characters and I feel compelled to read on to see what happens. With Mr. Straub however, I feel as though I’m standing apart from the story just watching. With this book (as I said in an early status update after 50 pages on goodreads.com), Mr. Straub had set a beautiful table and I was anxious for the feast. But when it came out, I found that the food, while good, wasn’t sumptuous like I would have expected after the setup.
This is not to say that I feel this way about all of Mr. Straub’s books. “Ghost Story” and “Shadowland” are two of my favorite books of all time, and I can still remember details of those books 25+ years after reading them (hmmm—I may have to reread them, actually). "The Talisman"? I have worn through two copies of the book from all the rereading of that I've done. But I find with some of his later books, like the Tim Underhill trilogy and others, that I get to the end and I’m either completely confused (not that hard, considering I’m not that bright) or I just feel an overwhelming sense of “meh”.
This book is good, close to great, even, but I wouldn’t call it excellent. It’s enjoyable, but it didn’t completely involve me.
3.5 / 5
maggotqueen666's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
lizella's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a slow-paced mystical mystery. A group of high school and college kids are lead to conduct a dark magic rite by a college professor. Some live and some die, but they are all changed by the experience. The husband of one of the participants that was not involved starts on a journey to learn more about what happened that day decades later. He reconnects with those still around to learn what they experienced and how it has changed the course of their lives. The repercussions of the event are deep and changes his understanding about many relationships and events over the years.
I found the book to be a bit slow, but interesting from the perspective that the event had time to fully reveal its devastation and significance over a lifetime as opposed to looking at the event in the immediate aftermath.
* Audiobook Version
Unabridged / 14 hrs 33 min
Narrator: Robertson Dean
Publisher: Books on Tape
Release: 02-09-10
I found the book to be a bit slow, but interesting from the perspective that the event had time to fully reveal its devastation and significance over a lifetime as opposed to looking at the event in the immediate aftermath.
* Audiobook Version
Unabridged / 14 hrs 33 min
Narrator: Robertson Dean
Publisher: Books on Tape
Release: 02-09-10
msbups's review against another edition
1.0
I honestly had to force myself to finish this book, always hoping it would get better. I wasted 2 afternoons of my life.
I loved Floating Dragon by Straub. I also really enjoyed The Talisman (although, I suspect it was more SK's writing I liked).
This book was awful, senseless drivel. The married couple have the same 1st names - weird, but it has no meaning. None of it had meaning. The long drawn out climax was anticlimactic. It was like Straub had several great storylines but once he put them together, he didn't have much, and instead of stopping he just went ahead and published it - unfinished, making no sense.
Such a let down.
I loved Floating Dragon by Straub. I also really enjoyed The Talisman (although, I suspect it was more SK's writing I liked).
This book was awful, senseless drivel. The married couple have the same 1st names - weird, but it has no meaning. None of it had meaning. The long drawn out climax was anticlimactic. It was like Straub had several great storylines but once he put them together, he didn't have much, and instead of stopping he just went ahead and published it - unfinished, making no sense.
Such a let down.
clairereviews's review against another edition
4.0
Difficult to get into, and hard to get back into once put down, but worth persevering as got much better in the the second half, then i couldn't put it down!!
ttrican's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
I usually like Straub's work. This book though was a complete miss.
ktxx22's review against another edition
2.0
Hooked by the back cover. Disappointed by the contents within!
misterintensity's review against another edition
4.0
In the 1960's four teenage friends entranced by a guru participated in a ceremony that changed their lives forever. In the present, the husband of one of the four investigates what happened that day many years ago. The strength of this book lies in the characters and how the shifting point of views add to the overall mystery. Straub is successful at slowly revealing what went on that night and how that night changed the individuals involved. What starts off as fragmented pieces of a puzzle makes sense in the end as the fate of each character is tied to aspects of that character's personality and background. While this is classified as a "horror" novel, it reads more like psychological suspense than howl inducing horror. The events of that night is horrific once fully revealed but Straub's focus is more on how that night affected the individuals involved than on the events of that night. Straub's biggest success is his ability to make the personal bond between these characters feel real.