Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful and disturbing novel
Review: "Red" is the kind of book you can't put down once you start it and you will read it to the bittersweet ending. Its the story of an elderly man with a dog named Red he loves more than life. A simple lonely man, he has few good things in his life after losing family members tragically years before. On the day, he takes his dog fishing with him, three boys come along, rob him and shoot his dog for no reason. After this, he tries to seek justic for the murdered dog, but two of the boys are rich and from a powerful family. Each thing he tries is thwarted until he takes matters into his own hand.This book is depressing and thought-provoking. As a dog lover, I identified with Avery especially with his feelings at the loss of his pet. This book is about how little the law protects animals and as well as showing the problems of class still prevalent in our society. It is not a horror novel, but a classic novel of love and vengeance. Its one of the best books by Ketchum I've read and its great. Good from beginning to end, Red will stay with you long after the last page. A great, great novel!
Rating: 
Summary: A book with a wide range of emotions
Review: "Red", the first book I've read by Bram Stoker Award winning author Jack Ketchum, will wring a number of different emotions out of the reader. Anger, compassion, sympathy, relief are just a few that many readers will experience while reading this short novel. The book revolves around a lonely old man and his dog and how both of their lives are basically destroyed by the immature actions of three teenage boys. As Avery Ludlow and his dog Red, begin to wrap up an afternoon of fishing, their peaceful time together is disrupted by the appearance of Harold and Danny McCormick and their friend, Pete Daoust. The boys, it seems, have decided that old Avery may just be an easy "mark" way out in the middle of nowhere and decide to rob him. After finding out that Avery has little or no money, Danny McCormick (the obvious leader of the boys) decides that the group needs to insure that Avery won't say anything about the failed robbery, so out of spite and intimidation, Danny shoots and kills Red. What the boys didn't bank on, of course, is the determination and vengence of this grizzled Korean War veteran and the love that he had for his only friend. As Avery (or Av, as he is referred to throughout the bulk of the book) sorts out HIS emotions, he sets upon a course of action to right this wrong. When he finds out who the boys are and contacts their parents, he is rudely rebuffed and called a liar. The parents refuse to believe that their little angels could have committed such a heinous crime. Well, they picked the wrong guy to mess with! Ketchum does a great job of building the suspense and even throws in a twist or two. Will Avery get the satisfaction of having the boys dealt with by the authorities or their parents or will he have to take matters into his own hands? The reader will have to find out for his or herself. The book is a VERY quick read because of its length and also due to the way that Ketchum causes the prose to jump off the book. Just prepare for an emotional roller coaster as you churn through the book to the finish. Also included in the August 2002 Leisure Books printing of this novel is the novella, "The Passenger". Very good in it's own right. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A book with a wide range of emotions
Review: "Red", the first book I've read by Bram Stoker Award winning author Jack Ketchum, will wring a number of different emotions out of the reader. Anger, compassion, sympathy, relief are just a few that many readers will experience while reading this short novel. The book revolves around a lonely old man and his dog and how both of their lives are basically destroyed by the immature actions of three teenage boys. As Avery Ludlow and his dog Red, begin to wrap up an afternoon of fishing, their peaceful time together is disrupted by the appearance of Harold and Danny McCormick and their friend, Pete Daoust. The boys, it seems, have decided that old Avery may just be an easy "mark" way out in the middle of nowhere and decide to rob him. After finding out that Avery has little or no money, Danny McCormick (the obvious leader of the boys) decides that the group needs to insure that Avery won't say anything about the failed robbery, so out of spite and intimidation, Danny shoots and kills Red. What the boys didn't bank on, of course, is the determination and vengence of this grizzled Korean War veteran and the love that he had for his only friend. As Avery (or Av, as he is referred to throughout the bulk of the book) sorts out HIS emotions, he sets upon a course of action to right this wrong. When he finds out who the boys are and contacts their parents, he is rudely rebuffed and called a liar. The parents refuse to believe that their little angels could have committed such a heinous crime. Well, they picked the wrong guy to mess with! Ketchum does a great job of building the suspense and even throws in a twist or two. Will Avery get the satisfaction of having the boys dealt with by the authorities or their parents or will he have to take matters into his own hands? The reader will have to find out for his or herself. The book is a VERY quick read because of its length and also due to the way that Ketchum causes the prose to jump off the book. Just prepare for an emotional roller coaster as you churn through the book to the finish. Also included in the August 2002 Leisure Books printing of this novel is the novella, "The Passenger". Very good in it's own right. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Ketchum Does It Again
Review: Any fan of horror novels quickly recognizes the name Jack Ketchum. Ketchum's most notable work to date is probably "The Girl Next Door," a bleak novel about the torture-murder of a young girl. Also worth mentioning is "Ladies Night," a graphic story about a chemical spill and its subsequent effects on the female population. Ketchum is a master of graphic gore, but his recent books are seeing a receding of the red stuff in favor of suspenseful, character driven stories. "Red" is an excellent example of a kindler, gentler Ketchum (if that is possible!). Oh sure, there is still an unpleasant event at the center of the story that allows a few other unpleasant events to unfold, but "Red"' does not come close to approaching the nihilistic insanity Ketchum usually creates as a matter of habit. "Red" tells the story of Avery Ludlow, an elderly country gent who runs a little store out in the sticks while living with his trusty dog Red. Avery's wife has long passed away and his daughter lives far away, allowing Avery to do whatever he feels like doing in his spare time. One of his favorite pastimes is fishing, which is where we encounter Avery as the story begins. Unfortunately for Avery, even an activity as mundane as fishing has its own dangers. When three young toughs pay a visit to Avery's fishing hole, an attempted robbery leads to the shotgun killing of Red. What the three kids do not know is that Avery is a Korean War vet with an unpleasant family tragedy that has made him as tough as nails. He is not about to roll over for three snot-nosed punks, and the consequences of his stand slowly escalate tensions between Avery and the family of two of the boys. What starts with veiled threats quickly moves into the realm of broken windows, broken ribs, and armed confrontation with a predictable elegiac outcome. "Red" is a sad story. Anyone who owns a pet will cringe when Red dies a violent, needless death. In fact, Ketchum is probably counting on this event to instill a killing rage in the reader. Are there any pet owners who would not feel Avery warranted in his quest for justice, any type of justice, for his dead dog? Ketchum wants us to sympathize with Avery right from the start, something that is easy to do when we meet the father of the boys who killed Red. Ketchum garners further sympathy from the reader when Avery's attempt to get redress through legal channels comes to nothing. Even a story about Red on the local news fails to remedy the situation. Ketchum fishes for our empathy at every turn of the story as Avery seeks restitution for the death of Red. About the only unbelievable element of the story is Avery's relationship with a loud-mouthed New Yorker serving time as a reporter at the local television station. This relationship seems to come out of nowhere, apparently as a means for Avery to tell the reader about the family tragedy that claimed his wife and two sons. The McCormack family, Avery's nemesis throughout the story (two of the boys are members of the family), suffers from a lack of detailed development. Ketchum continually hints at evil doings within the family but we never see anything concrete until the final showdown between the McCormack clan and Avery. For example, the McCormack's maid has a maimed hand, implying that the McCormack's had something to do with her injury. Regrettably, this chance for an excellent flashback story never appears. Perhaps a longer version of "Red" (it is currently 211 pages in mass market form) would shed light on this aspect of the McCormack family.
Purchasing this copy of "Red" treats you to a bonus short story, entitled "The Passenger." This grim tale of a murderous crime spree and bloody revenge should remind most readers of the Ketchum they know and love. Janet is a young lawyer defending a scumbag in a murder case. Janet is a little angry that her sometime boyfriend Alan fools around on her every chance he gets. Her personal life quickly becomes insignificant when her car breaks down on the way home, where she gets a lift from Marion, an old high school acquaintance who turns out to be a complete wacko after suffering years of abuse from bad boyfriends. When the two hook up with a trio of vicious thugs on the run from the law the story descends into murder, madness, and mayhem. Ketchum weaves several independent story threads into a seamless voyage into the dark underbelly of American life. This story should remind Ketchumites of his novel "Joyride," another tale of murder on the highway. The big difference here is the coldly calculated revenge Janet wreaks on her tormentors at the end of the story. The inclusion of this story here is much appreciated, as Ketchum's writings in any form are sometimes difficult to find. What we find in this mass-market paperback is both the old and the new Jack Ketchum. Prepare yourself for suspense and bloody horror with the purchase of this book. Pick up this edition of "Red" before it goes out of print with the concomitant rise in price that will entail.
Rating:
Summary: Tragedy: Man's Best Friend
Review: Avery Allan Ludlow is a man haunted by the siren songs existing within the fond recollections of the past, with his time spent dwelling upon the threshold of a world in which he now almost totally alone. His only surviving companion, a 14 year-old dog aptly titled Red by his deceased beloved, has become family to him during these trying times, leaving him attached to a life that would have otherwise consumed him within swells of tumultuously horrific "long agos." For that Av is thankful and finds himself seemingly loving this dog just as much as he does his own father. In the blink of an eye everything can change and Avery knows that well, for he has had the misfortune of watching the house of cards called happiness crumble again and again. Still, he doesn't seem to think of the dreadful concoctions that can be birthed simply by being at the wrong fishing spot at the wrong time. In fact, everything seems to be going fairly well for him on that fateful day as he approaches his three-catch limit - until those three boys and their shotgun comes along. Then, a lifelong friend is gone in what can only be described as a purely malicious act perpetrated without the benefit of rhyme or reason. This sets Avery into a plan of action, him simply demanding that tiny taste of justice that seems to elude him at every corner, making him wonder if anything can be done within and perhaps outside the law. While a fairly short read that clocks in at only 211 pages (there is another story in addition to Red in the book adding an additional 93 pages), the description that Ketchum manages to coat page after page with is quite simply phenomenal. Although not particularly a gruesome piece, it nonetheless touches on many issues including that of what defines family, the psychological torment of how loss feels and how one copes with it, and the sway of class warfare in the life of the common man. Here, the detailing is superb and the empathy one feels for Avery as he progresses through hoop after hoop is a little frightening because the hatred within him is understandable and, to an extent, condoned as his need for payback becomes greater and greater. To me, this seems to be one of the writer's talents, capturing the emotional spectrum dashing madly through the thinker's mind while life around them is still progressing and the little things weigh in on the events outside the character's control. As included in the book is the short story, The Passenger, which focuses on the dilemmas of Janet Morris, lawyer and driver of a Taurus, as she finds herself broken down on the road and in need of aid. Luckily for her an old highschool acquaintance was passing through by the name of Marion Lane. Unluckily for her, however, is the fact that the events of the night are just beginning. The Passenger was a faster-paced ride than Red but was, in some ways, flawed as it journeyed through its rather fragile storyline. The description was there and the character's torment was there as well, but the ending to the story was a bit far-flung and sketchy for my tastes. Still, I didn't fault the book for this because, quite simply, I didn't buy the book for anything but Red and was pleased with the way it played out. For someone looking for a nice mystery that borders on a bit of suspense/horror, then I would recommend Red with one notation. It really isn't frightening and it really isn't graphic, so don't expect the horror aspect to shine. Instead, expect something that portrays the issuance of pain and a seemingly real man's reaction to it and you'll not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Pardon me...
Review: Did I read the same novel? I read this book wanting to discover an author I've never read from before. Out of all of the myriad of novels I've read in the past couple of decades I have to say this was my least liked. The writing was sloppy and the story line was too basic. I pointed out so many writing and grammatical errors. How could a book like this get published? Hmmm. I am appalled by the sterling reviews this book has had and I feel I must give my 2 cents worth.
Rating:
Summary: Economic prose that hits hard
Review: I admit I am one of the people who bought this book because of the praise from Stephen King. Mr. King has never let me down with his suggestions on great writers. He turned me on to Larry McMurtry, Bentley Little, Donald Westlake and Jack Ketchum. "Red"'s strength is it gets right to the point. Ketchum does not meander in subplots that, while build character, takes you away from the main point of the novel- struggle for power. Ketchum is able to show the measure of a person's character in the course of the story's action. "Red" is a quick and exciting read. One of those books you get so involved in you put off everything else until you are done.
Rating: 
Summary: needn't be re(a)d
Review: i agree with thye review from publishers weekly. i would like to add that this is standard stuff, we've since it before and it wasn't good the first time. too slow to be suspenceful, too unoriginal to be interesting, the writing style isn't that bad. this is too simple, and it could easily have been done better
Rating:
Summary: emotionally horrifying
Review: I seen one review that stated I don't know why this is in the horror genre. Heres my answer: This is REAL terror just keep thinking "what if this happened to me" and you will understand. All the man wanted was an apology. I have read so many horror novels with all the blood, guts, and sexual perversions you can imagine, but in time the all seem the same. I can promise you that this one will stick in your mind. It will be a novel you will talk about and tell everyone you know to read.It is heartbreaking and real.I will say it again Ketchum is a genius!
Rating:
Summary: Kudos for Ketchum!
Review: I'm an avid book reader. With many books under my belt--I must admit this was one of the most excellent written books out there!
The words just seem to flow. You just get started into it and before long, you notice you're on page 100. It's written in a way that make you feel all the emotions Av Ludlow experiences, as if you were in his shoes. Anyone who has had a beloved pet taken away from them and violently killed by a ruthless, sadistic person, will surely be able to empathize with Av's situation--and feel like standing up and cheering for him! This is the first book I've read by Jack Ketchum. I plan to read more of his works because I was so impressed. Don't hesitate to pick up this book and read it if you get the chance. You won't be sorry! :-)
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