Fountain Society

Rating:
Summary: Fair debute
Review: "Fountain Society" is film director (my favorite) Wes Craven's first novel, and it was actually pretty good, though predictable. In it, mad scientist Frederick Wolfe is the head of one of many top secret U.S. govenment science studies, specificlly some wild cloning and organ harvesting experimenting. As elder weapons technology scientist Peter Jance is approaching death, his brain is transfered into the younger Hans's body. Hans's girl-friend starts looking for him and begins to uncover the extent of these black ops. I saw every twist coming a mile away, and so there really was no suprise for me what so ever. However, the characters were pretty good. Elizabeth is pretty convincing, well, up to a point. Hans/Peter is actually pretty good, usually convincing. Dr. Wolfe was very dark, but never taken far enough to be truelly evil. The action was pretty fast and I liked the pacing a lot. I know I am not painting a flattering picture, I swear it is really pretty good. Just if you have read Robin Cook, you'll get the idea pretty quick.

Rating:
Summary: Fair debute
Review: "Fountain Society" is film director (my favorite) Wes Craven's first novel, and it was actually pretty good, though predictable. In it, mad scientist Frederick Wolfe is the head of one of many top secret U.S. govenment science studies, specificlly some wild cloning and organ harvesting experimenting. As elder weapons technology scientist Peter Jance is approaching death, his brain is transfered into the younger Hans's body. Hans's girl-friend starts looking for him and begins to uncover the extent of these black ops. I saw every twist coming a mile away, and so there really was no suprise for me what so ever. However, the characters were pretty good. Elizabeth is pretty convincing, well, up to a point. Hans/Peter is actually pretty good, usually convincing. Dr. Wolfe was very dark, but never taken far enough to be truelly evil. The action was pretty fast and I liked the pacing a lot. I know I am not painting a flattering picture, I swear it is really pretty good. Just if you have read Robin Cook, you'll get the idea pretty quick.

Rating:
Summary: A chilling story to lead us into the new millenium
Review: A very horrifc and chilling story of what our Government might be plotting already for the 21st century. A very enjoyable book and a must for Wes Craven fans.

Rating:
Summary: Definite movie potential.....Craven is a master......
Review: An unbelievable tale of love, hate, jealousy, malice, and government secrecy that has been masterfully written. Suspenseful and "spine-tingling" from cover to cover Craven continues to twist plots and minds with this courageous first novel. I can only hope that there a many more to follow.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent work by horror maven Wes Craven
Review: At White Sands Missile Range, several research projects are competing for military funding. Seventy-six years old Peter Jance heads up Hammer, a weapon system that will make American military superiority geometrically leap that much further over any rival. At the same time elderly Dr. Frederick Wolfe leads Fountain, a study into regenerating destroyed spinal columns.

As Peter closes in on his coup, his pancreatic cancer leaves doubt whether he will live to finish the project. Frederick offers a way to save the brilliant Peter's life. He will extract Peter's brain from the scientist's dying body and place it inside another human body. Wolfe selects financial wizard Hans Brinkman because years ago he secretly cloned Peter with Hans being the results. Thugs abduct Hans in Europe, fly him to America, and transfer Peter's brain into his body. The only flaw is that Hans' lover has good reason to suspect foul play. Then there is the revised Peter who was not morally comfortable doing what he agreed to have done.

Horror movie king Wes Craven (Elm Street) shows the vastness of his talents as he writes his first novel. FOUNTAIN SOCIETY is an intriguing medical horror thriller that raises questions of morality and ethics. Is it okay to kill an innocent person to save an Einstein or a brilliant but dying cancer researcher who might save millions of lives if he/she lived? Though there are a few minor leaps of faith involving secondary plots, the prime story line is intelligent, thought-provoking, and absolutely frightening. Welcome to the wonderful world of novels Mr. Craven.

Rating:
Summary: Craven - Fountain Society
Review: I didn't hold out much hope that Fountain Society would be anything other than an amusing, yet generic, thriller. In that respect I was not at all disappointed. Fountain Society is a cookie-cutter thriller. There's nothing about the novel that distinguishes it from hundreds of others. The plot is decent and interesting but nothing special. The characters are fairly two-dimensional and their dialogue is nothing special. In fact, one of the few things I found unique about the novel was the setting.

Don't get me wrong - Fountain Society is not a BAD novel. It's just not overwhelmingly impressive either. It's entertainment. Nothing more.

Rating:
Summary: Craven - Fountain Society
Review: I didn't hold out much hope that Fountain Society would be anything other than an amusing, yet generic, thriller. In that respect I was not at all disappointed. Fountain Society is a cookie-cutter thriller. There's nothing about the novel that distinguishes it from hundreds of others. The plot is decent and interesting but nothing special. The characters are fairly two-dimensional and their dialogue is nothing special. In fact, one of the few things I found unique about the novel was the setting.

Don't get me wrong - Fountain Society is not a BAD novel. It's just not overwhelmingly impressive either. It's entertainment. Nothing more.

Rating:
Summary: "Boom!" in more ways than one
Review: I first bought this book, not because of the author, but because of its cover. Sure, never judge a book by a cover, but a good cover does help sell a book. And in this case, it worked.

Sure we have novels, and we have novels. But what makes Fountain Society stand out from the rest, is the way Wes Craven seems to be writing two different stories into one book. And he still manages to seamlessly combine these two into one grand finale.

Think The 6th Day and superweapons and you get fountain society.

Rating:
Summary: Craven almost grows into the medium
Review: I happen to be a pretty big fan of Wes Craven films-- I think he makes horror into something funny and smart-- no mean accomplishment. I suppose it's only natural that I'd be disappointed by his first attempt at a novel, given that my expectations were pretty high.

_Fountain Society_ is based on the idea of amoral scientists deciding to extend life through cloning experiments and a love affair trying to survive through all the associated horror. The book begins *very* slowly and is full of clunky cliches and most of the major plot points are easy to guess. It did start to redeem itself by the end-- Craven started to get more of a feel for his characters and express more of the complexity that makes him such a good filmmaker. Unfortunately, it wasn't soon enough to save the novel as a reading experience.

I *will* read a next novel, should there be a next novel, but I'd definitely take a miss on this one.

Rating:
Summary: Still don't understand the "Fountain" part
Review: I hated this book, for a while anyway. The first 50 pages were, in a word, horrible. The language is so elaborate it becomes confusing and forced. Dialogue seems as though written on a storyboard (and a couple of the post-it notes fell off). Craven tries to make mystery and intrigue by omitting any introduction, leaving a confused reader. His story loses that magical flow, leaving a tale that jerks around like a teenager driving a car for his first time.

Then it gets better.

At around page 70, Craven realizes that a book isn't a movie and finds his niche. The conversation isn't as forced, and he actually develops a fine story. He obviously did heavy research for the technical parts of his novel which helps give it a more realistic feel. However, he feels a need to keep the action high... constantly. Eventually, this dulls the reader as the main characters encounter every death trap and moral dilemma the author can create. Readers will find themselves propelled from a love triangle, to a showdown with a Colonel and back again within five pages. Considering the novel is 450 pages long, it's a lot of jumping around.

Still, Craven has a magnificent first attempt. His characters have personality, he provides a new twist to an old theme, and most importantly, he carries that idea throughout his book. It is an interesting story, and although I don't recommend you put it on the top of your wish list, remember the title the next time you go book shopping.