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heather93's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
the_glendon's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
zare_i's review against another edition
5.0
In the days of WW1 and WW2 it was called what it is - shell-shock. Then came more "understanding" era and this clear and pretty self-explanatory psychological state became convoluted to unimaginable levels. Because, hey, how can you say that in your society you have shell-shocked people, you can only have traumatized people. And while this might have started by bureaucrats unfortunately it was picked up by a medicinal profession that just had to classify every superficial facial or body tick as a separate trauma. And thus main substance got lost.
This book, truly a very rare book on the subject because there is no surplus of drama, no over-emotional layer to it, although a critique of a war and what it does to the person (no matter the era, be it Korean or Vietnam war, and I think it was same with WW1 and WW2) it is first and foremost critique of the way society greets its soldiers after the conflict they are sent to fight [by that very society]. Because they are embarrassment and it would be much more convenient if nobody returned from the war at all - as they say "far from sight, far from heart".
Book has a much stronger effect than the first movie in the series. To describe it in a single sentence it would be unfortunate-turn-of-events. When man returning from hell in Southeast Asia, John Rambo, comes across a veteran from earlier days who is having his own personal problems, Teasle, both proud and stubborn, time-bomb starts to tick last seconds to destruction. What starts as war of wills soon escalates in a full scale conflict in the country where John Rambo manages to tie full force of law enforcement and National Guard until he gets cornered while raising hell trying to escape.
Excellent novel on how misunderstanding and unwillingness to understand and know the other can have devastating effects. When pushed to the limits and to wall only way remaining is forward because there is nothing to lose. Only other novel that made same impact on me is novel Testament by the same author.
As is case with all Morrell's novels highly recommended to fans of action thriller. It is a sad and tragic story and as all tragedies truly worth reading.
This book, truly a very rare book on the subject because there is no surplus of drama, no over-emotional layer to it, although a critique of a war and what it does to the person (no matter the era, be it Korean or Vietnam war, and I think it was same with WW1 and WW2) it is first and foremost critique of the way society greets its soldiers after the conflict they are sent to fight [by that very society]. Because they are embarrassment and it would be much more convenient if nobody returned from the war at all - as they say "far from sight, far from heart".
Book has a much stronger effect than the first movie in the series. To describe it in a single sentence it would be unfortunate-turn-of-events. When man returning from hell in Southeast Asia, John Rambo, comes across a veteran from earlier days who is having his own personal problems, Teasle, both proud and stubborn, time-bomb starts to tick last seconds to destruction. What starts as war of wills soon escalates in a full scale conflict in the country where John Rambo manages to tie full force of law enforcement and National Guard until he gets cornered while raising hell trying to escape.
Excellent novel on how misunderstanding and unwillingness to understand and know the other can have devastating effects. When pushed to the limits and to wall only way remaining is forward because there is nothing to lose. Only other novel that made same impact on me is novel Testament by the same author.
As is case with all Morrell's novels highly recommended to fans of action thriller. It is a sad and tragic story and as all tragedies truly worth reading.
papidoc's review against another edition
3.0
Liked the book better than the movie, but enjoyed both. Sort of a reactionary fairy tale, complete with anti-hero who is both sympathetic and tragic. At the time, it appealed to the survivalist in me. Damaged veteran returns from the war, traveling through a small town finds himself persecuted by the police, and reacts out of instinct as he would militarily. The rest is predictable, but well-written, as he makes use of his well-earned survival and fighting skills to first escape, then survive, and finally hunt down his persecutors. Has undertones of anti-war sentiment, but generally is a good example of Morrell's adventure fiction.
cgutt's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad read. I think this was one of those rare instances where the Movie was better than the book.
baileycb's review against another edition
5.0
This is definitely a grade A example of a book being so much better then the film. I never really liked the film version , I found it to honestly not be that interesting and never really liked the character of Rambo. Then I found out that it was based on a book which I was told was a lot more horror then action and my god it was amazing. This book is truly amazing, probably one of if not the best book I’ve read so far this year. The way the characters were written and how the book explored the mind set of the two leads (Rambo and Teasle) was amazing. I remember from watching the film versions a while ago that Teasle in the film was just your typical villain who work for the police trying to get Rambo, but in First Blood he honestly felt like the main character as most of the horrific events that happen in the story happen to him and Rambo is more then anything the villain of the story which is just so damn good. Honestly after finishing this amazing story I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to watch the Rambo films again because this is 100% the superior version of the story.
readacorn's review against another edition
4.0
Kurzmeinung /Lese- und Hörerlebnis
Als Stallone/Rambo- Fan war diese Lektüre für mich längst überfällig. Man ist es ja gewohnt, dass Bücher tiefer gehen als Filme, aber in diesem Fall hat mich das Ausmaß doch erstaunt. Den Hintergrund von Teasle, die Beziehung zu Trautman und vor allem John Rambos innere Dialoge geben noch einmal ein ganz anderes Licht auf die Geschichte. Teils auf dem Kindle gelesen, teils mit von Audible vorlesen lassen, war der Sprecher sehr gut. Die Dialekte hat er sehr glaubhaft interpretiert und bei Trautman hätte ich glauben können, es spricht Richard Crenna. Dass der Ausgang im Buch anders ist als im Film wusste ich wohl, dennoch barg es für mich eine Überraschung. Ich bin froh, diese Lücke jetzt geschlossen zu haben.
Als Stallone/Rambo- Fan war diese Lektüre für mich längst überfällig. Man ist es ja gewohnt, dass Bücher tiefer gehen als Filme, aber in diesem Fall hat mich das Ausmaß doch erstaunt. Den Hintergrund von Teasle, die Beziehung zu Trautman und vor allem John Rambos innere Dialoge geben noch einmal ein ganz anderes Licht auf die Geschichte. Teils auf dem Kindle gelesen, teils mit von Audible vorlesen lassen, war der Sprecher sehr gut. Die Dialekte hat er sehr glaubhaft interpretiert und bei Trautman hätte ich glauben können, es spricht Richard Crenna. Dass der Ausgang im Buch anders ist als im Film wusste ich wohl, dennoch barg es für mich eine Überraschung. Ich bin froh, diese Lücke jetzt geschlossen zu haben.
bwky85's review against another edition
5.0
This one is an absolute crackpot! The movie, though kept the same tone, doesn’t hold a candle to this read.
mxmarks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
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? Yes
3.75