Rating: Summary: This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Review: Having read and loved the original Rosemary's Baby, I began the sequel with great trepidation (sequels rarely live up to the original). I finished Son of Rosemary, and, sadly, it was worse than even I could have anticipated. The plot is pradictable; the dialogue uninspired; the characters one-dimensional. To those who have read Rosemary's Baby and have anxiously awaited a sequel, I say use your imagination and compose one of your own. Levin has really let his readers down on this one.
Rating: Summary: Not Meant for the Typical Reader Review: The reason most of you think the ending of this book is "hackneyed" is because you don't understand it. Think about it: the book could easily have ended before the very last segment. Why is that segmant there? To make a point. But if you don't understand the point it makes, then the ENTIRE subtext of the book was lost on you. I've posted reviews mentioning this subtext here before. The book is not a typical sequel, is not meant to be similar to the original novel, and has an agenda that is too subtle, apparently, for the typical reader to pick up on. If you really didn't like this book, it means you really didn't understand it.
Rating: Summary: Has Ira Levin lost his magic touch? Review: The Ira Levin books, all six of them, are astonishing, gripping reads delivered in cool razor-sharp prose which gradually tightens the reader's attention right up to - in all cases - a knockout twist. Suddenly, he writes a seventh book, and it seems the magic is sadly lost. The premise is ripe with possibility - the Antichrist born in 'Rosemary's Baby' grows up and fulfills his legacy - but it was always going to be tough, trying to build on the disturbing ambiguity of that novel's conclusion. This sequel is bereft of the trademark wit which Levin usually enjoys slipping into his story like icy daggers, and short of a nifty little skit involving an elaborate murder at a department store, the plot meanders along inconsequently towards a risible, hackneyed resolution which just looks drab and appalling alongside his other brilliant breathless conclusions, and leaves the reader feeling cheated. Levin Lovers everywhere will be enormously disappointed.
Rating: Summary: The ending was an easy way out Review: I found the original more believable. This was more social satire. Andy's following should have been smaller and Roesmary's suspicions greater. I kept putting the book down thinking to myself, "It should be titled 'The Further Misadventures of the Village Idiot'." The ending was an easy-way out that requires a minimal amount of imagination. There are times when one can get away with this kind of ending. I have seen it done very well on television several times, but I expect more from a book than I do from my television. It takes me a longer amount of time to read a boom than it does to watch a TV show or a movie. So I expect a little more substance. I did enjoy this book though. But it was NO classic wheras the original was.
Rating: Summary: Possibly the worst book I've read.... Review: Astonishingly bad....there were even sentences that were unintelligible. The characters were flat, the dialogue awkward. The ending was utterly bogus. I could tell that the book was a loser from the start but read on in perverse hope. My perserverance was NOT rewarded.
Rating: Summary: This book is Horror-able! Review: As with all sequells, this is a huge disapointment.I may be less intelligent having read this book. The premise is hard to buy. The original book had a great potential for a sequel- one that is not realized here. The end is not at all satisfing. The mysterious anagram that supposedly will tie every thing together is a crushing disapointment(I spent an hour on a scrabble board working it out). Now thats scary!
Rating: Summary: Sometimes sequels are better left unsaid. Review: The author tries......but just doesn't cut it. First of all, Rosemary awakens from a 27 year coma to find her son a world famous "leader" of sorts, and when she confronts him with his past, he gives her a two second explanation of how he has totally ignored his Satanic upbringing and is now working for the good of mankind and she readily accepts this. It gets worse from there. As the reader is swept along in an entirely unreal environment, the atmosphere becomes more and more predictable. Though Ira Levin offered a nice twist at the end, it flopped miserably and reminded me very much of the Wizard of Oz. The characters in the story don't even behave as humans would given their circumstances, and often the dialogue is disjointed and thoughts come out of nowhere. My best advice - if you must read this book, borrow it, don't waste your money.
Rating: Summary: Should've been names, "Rosemary's Stillborn" Review: Although occasionally witty, most of the dialogue is cheesy, the plot paper thin and the pacing uninspired. I had to read the ending three times in shock, horror and disbelief at the sloppy, amateurish way a previously accomplished writer chose to end this yawner. Maybe I 'm in the minority but the book felt as if it were a first draft, a scattergun regurgitation of ideas, outlines, characters and witty snippets of conversation.Shame on the editor (if there was one).
Rating: Summary: Yes, it's a downer Review: A cautionary tale: I brashly ignored the other negative reviews and bought the book anyway. Imagine my shock when the reviews turned out to be correct. The ending IS indeed spectacularly silly (reminiscent of the movie DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, but worse). There are a few nice waspish observations in here (like "Her mascara looked like it wouldn't make it through dinner" to describe a distraught woman, and "What's-his-nom" to refer to a previously introduced Frenchman. But there's no real suspense or credibility in the whole enterprise. I've now read all seven of Levin's novels. This ranks the lowest. Read A KISS BEFORE DYING, THE STEPFORD WIVES and of course ROSEMARY'S BABY instead. Trust me on this one!
Rating: Summary: Tepid setup leading to incredibly sophmoric punchline Review: I could tell from the first paragraph that this tome was a loser-but i let it live in the john for a few days-it lived down to my worst expectations-after 100 pages- nothing happens!the worst part is he alomost hooks u with an anagram-that he never reveals the answer to! (i solved it with a web anagram solver-for those unfortunates who waded thru this poorly written dreck "roasted mules" means "somersaults" The amazing thing is the solution has absolutely nothin to do with the story-a fouler red herring I have never followed!Avoid at all costs
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