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Drags a bit, but really good

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-04-24

It seemed to drag a bit when the story headed towards its conclusion. Overall a good story. Tragic but enjoyable.

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Surprisingly good.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-18-24

Started slow, and it was hard to see how seemingly scattered scenes and (at times, boring) facts could combine into a cohesive negative. In the end it happened that this story all came together and proved a good read. I’d recommend it if you like Victorian mysteries.

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Pretty good, but no Invisible Man.

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-14-24

I enjoy Wells, but this was a bit difficult to get into. Once the excitement began and Dr. Moreau was slain, it picked up and was better. Performance left nothing lacking—it was very good.

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Outstanding and convicting

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-13-24

A truly remarkable life, and a truly remarkable capturing thereof. Not only does it expose you to Bonhoeffer’s life, but also his development as a theologian, and reveals things about the deplorable Nazi regime that are relevant for today. Highly recommend.

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A good who-done-it loosely based on Psycho

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-10-24

This book was a good who-done-it, and it’s made all the more interesting because it occurs in the world of Norman Bates/Psycho. The performance by Richard Powers is quite good. He performs all three of the Bloch Psycho novels and does a fine job with all of them.

First, the good. The story contains interesting characters, a good overall story, and less of the Over the Top, grotesque depictions seen in Psycho II. The story moves swiftly and adequately shows the impact Norman Bates had on Fairvale.

The bad. The ending presented neither a surprising twist, nor a solution that any reasonable reader could have predicted. Part of the fun of these sorts of mystery stories is putting the pieces together yourself, or at least being able to see the full picture looking back. That is not possible with this story. I can’t help but compare it to Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes stories, where there may have been subtle items that get revealed at the end, but most people who read those stories would have the tools at their disposal to make an educated guess on the solution (especially if they’re applying Holmes’ methods!). The story lacks that same sophisticated charm, and therefore, it most likely won’t be one I revisit.

I genuinely enjoyed the first Psycho novel, but have always been of the mind that it is one of the few instances where the movie is better than the book. I expected that Bloch would have done more with the world of Psycho and his later installments are a bit of a let down. All that said, it was still an enjoyable story, and worth listening, if you enjoy the world of Psycho.

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Decent read but not on the same level as the original

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-08-24

I presume Bloch was trying to compete with the over-the-top depictions of sexually explicit material found in early Stephen King novels and similar works, but he went overboard with some of his backstories and descriptions of sex acts. I was not able to suspend belief enough to see the way he portrayed police in this story as believable. No self-respecting detective would avoid following a lead like those given to police in this book.

That said, while this book fails to capture the aura of ‘Psycho’ overall it still presented a nice twist and was a good next step in the Psycho series. Bloch also breaches the subject of the moral depravity in Hollywood well before concerns about the “casting couch” came to public attention. A decent read, but not on the level of the original.

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Classic styling, creepy twists and turns.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-28-23

Quality stories and carefully calculated to be unsettling. As a fan of the Romero films I found this a great companion to the films. Highly recommend if you’re a fan of the film.

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A modern vampiric classic

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-04-23

I enjoyed this thoroughly. Minder vampire stories tend to shun the creature’s limits as defined by folklore and as Stroker so carefully compiled them. The lore is clear that as evil creatures vampires are susceptible to Christian symbolism—wild roses, running water, crosses, elements of communion, the sun and so on. These weaknesses are not abandoned, but rather expounded. King does a great job of putting some onus on the bearer of these emblems as well, not unlike the failed exorcists who couldn’t help the demoniac boy in Matthew 17, Excellent work all around.

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Excellent. Timely and timeless wisdom

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-15-23

This book is reading and considering thoroughly. Excellent and full of timely and timeless wisdom.

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