Rating: 
Summary: From Scary to Silly in 400 pages
Review: I'm not a horror fan, but I thought this book had a neat premise, so I bought it. I'm not sorry I did, but the premise started to fall flat as I kept saying to myself, "There's nobody they can call about these occurrences, even anonymously?" And the ending was over the top. Why would anyone who'd been through what Barry had been through with these people go into that house, especially after that creepy annual meeting?Anyway, I can't say I'm sorry I read it, but it could have been better.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: As someone who lives in a gated community in New Mexico not unlikethe one in this book, I thought this book was wonderful and right on target. Contrary to what some other reviewers have said, the characters DID NOT behave unrealistically. I thought their reactions were the ones I would have had. and I really liked the fact that the author kept them in the gated neighborhood not by any supernatural force but by the mundane reality of finances. As for the deformed man, "Stumpy," who seems to have annoyed a lot of people, we have a cranky blind man who lives in a shack just down the road from us. He might be crazy, screams at passing cars, and since he seems to be home all the time I don't think he has a job. What am I supposed to do? Tell the police to remove him? Try to get him committed to a mental hospital? No, we all let him be. Just like the characters in here do with "Stumpy."
As for the "silly" ending, I don't think it was silly at all. I agree with the PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY review and think it was intense and memorable. I also liked the fact that the association didn't turn out to be a group of monsters terrorizing the residents. They were a creation of the residents, their id. This was a brilliant book.
Rating:
Summary: At What Price Security?
Review: Barry and Maureen move into Bonita Vista, a gated community.
Like all other gated communities, this one has its regulations.
But in this one the regulations, the fine print, run amuck. Bentley Little's tale, The Association, is a timely reminder of how precious, and how easily lost, our dearest treasures like free speech, individualism, and choice can be
when we casually trade them off one by one for an illusive sense of security entrusted to the determinations of others. If The Store frightened you, The Association will keep you up all night pondering the true meaning, and necessity, of eternal vigilance.
Rating: 
Summary: Incomprehensible
Review: It's stunning to me that this book even got as many stars as it did. The characters are so stupid that I kept hoping that they'd get killed. They were far too accepting of all the weirdness in the town, especially Stumpy, to the point where I kept wondering if the author assumed that I was as stupid as they were. I did finish the book, though, so maybe there's something to that theory. I should have put it down right after their first meeting with the ol' Stumpster. If you have a choice, avoid this book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Bentley Little is the best horror author working today, and it baffles me why publishers who give big advances to writers of derivative dreck like MEG allow Mr. Little to languish in obscurity. THE ASSOCIATION is the best book I've read all year, with raves from both King and Koontz, yet it's almost impossible to find in a bookstore. In this novel, Barry and Maureen Welch move to a small Utah town and buy a home in an exclusive gated community. There they learn about the dark side of democracy as they are first annoyed by and then terrorized by the restrictive rules of their homeowners' association. Funny, scary and all too real, this is one great novel. Although I won't go into detail here, let me also say that some of the criticism leveled at this book by other readers seems to stem from the fact that those readers DID NOT UNDERSTAND SIMPLE PLOT POINTS!
Rating: 
Summary: Bentley Little is back in the game
Review: Bentley Little has finally captured the style of writing he had with Dominion. A riveting story that I could not put down. I started reading Bentley Little as a filler while I was waiting for Anne Rice's new book to come out and started with Dominion and I have not missed a novel of his since. While I found all of Bentley Little's novels entertaining and among the best I have ever read until now I hadn't found a novel that matched Dominion. Lastly to those of you who found it odd to accept the idea of "STUMPY" keep in mind the mental mindf**k that the characters in The Association had gone through at the point that "STUMPY" was introduced to us. You too, would accept it as normal in a place like Bonita Vista at that point in time. Congratulations Bently Little on another great novel.
Rating:
Summary: CHILDISH AND UNREALISTIC - NOT EVEN DESERVING OF A 1/2 STAR!
Review: As I read the back cover of this book, the story seemed to have a lot of potential. However, it was not long before the potential fizzled out to mundane nonsense. The book lacked substance, the characters were not well developed and the ending - well, let's not even go there! As for "Stumpy", well, wherever the character belonged, it was not here. He seemed to be a lost soul desperately looking for a plot and, unfortunately for the book, landed here. In brief summary, the book failed to deliver the suspense it initially appeared to contain, the writing style was, in parts, close to rambling and the dialogue of the characters was just too stinted to be realistic. Only robots with limited speech patterns could possibly carry on such an unnatural conversation. This is the first book I have read by this author and, sorry to say, the last. I tried desperately to find something good to say about the book...I am still thinking!
Rating: 
Summary: good idea....bad execution
Review: Like many of the others, I was intriqued by the premise of this book, and found it hard to put down. About half way through though I started feeling really disappointed and letdown. These people just behave so stupidly! And like the others, the stumpy character is where it started to fall apart for me.....why did noone find it odd that a man withno arms and legs, wearing only a diaper could be content to live in the wild? Furthermore, how could he eat? How could he even put the damn diaper on! I don't think I will bother with another of his books...no dean koontz or King, that is for sure!
Rating:
Summary: A ride all the way through till the end.
Review: This book by bently little a suspense filled ride with discomforting situations and erotic events. The end though was dissapointing leaving you with questions and as everyone puts it "silly" ending. Pick it up you will enjoy. Maybe the ending better than I did.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst books I've ever read
Review: I can't believe that Stephen King really said "You must read this book" . . . it was, without a doubt, the worst book I've ever read -- and I've read a lot. The characters are shallow and their conversations are not natural. I agree with an earlier reviewer who complained that the characters are too casual about what they see and hear -- I would add they are way too gullible. I found it inconceivable that someone would see the character "Stumpy" and alow themselves to be convinced that he's just a quirky guy who lives in the woods and is truly happy and content living that way. I also think there were too many gratuitous sexual references in the book. Truly, how did the scene with Anita and Barry move the story forward? I think it was just a way for the author to try and shock his audience. I, too, bought this book because, as members of an Residents' Association I thought it was a clever idea. Well, that's all it was -- a clever idea that never went anywhere.
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