Rating: 
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: For many years I have searched booklists and bookstores, searching for that new supernatural novel by Straub. Finally - it has arrived, and it was worth the wait. With out giving too much away, I applaud the way Straub describes the main character and his family, without the usual generalizations and prejudices that you usually find. This was a good read, and after getting to the end, all I could hope for was a Mr. X II. I just wanted to keep reading! Thank you Mr. Straub for your wonderful portrayal of the main character and his aunts and uncle. I only hope more authors will take your lead and do the same.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: Mr. X has the characters, the twists, and the biting irony that have all made Straub one of the best in the genre. The characters are wonderful (the aunts are howlingly funny), and Straub's rich language paints vivid pictures of this odd little town. Straub finally returns to the supernatural, and the novel is filled with magic, paranormal experiences, time travel, greed and revenge. Only Straub could have me feeling pity for the villain by the end of this one!
Rating:
Summary: More than just a cut above.
Review: This is not Ghost Story, arguably the best horror novel ever written. But it is a refreshing return to supernatural fiction for Straub and that alone is worth the price of admission. The material here this time around is dense and densely presented. It's slow-going sometimes; this one is no lean and mean compulsive page-turner. But the story unravels toward its secret center as do all of his works and the destination is a memorable one. This is a fine piece of work. Not the best from this man, but far above his lesser works and in an entirely different league from those who would compete. This is a baroque tale, a chinese puzzlebox, and brevity is simply not a part of the gothic architecture found here. But if you are in the right sort of restless mood to enter this dark and twisted palace of the mind, you've come to the right place. Kookie Kutter Koontz this man is not. Compelling characters, dialogue that frequently rings uncomfortably true and a mind-twisting denouement, Mr. X is for the die-hard fan more than any newcomer, but its rewards are plenty for any who enter and stay until the spell is done.
Rating: 
Summary: Mr. X entertains
Review: I liked the way the mysteries in this book slowly unravel, loved the eccentric family of the main character, and enjoyed the way he grew into his heritage. I was intrigued by the "dark" twin, Robert, and enjoyed the way the author left his fate uncertain at the end. I also particularly enjoyed the gap between the perception and reality of the title character, Mr. X, who thinks he is a demonic demigod, and turns out to be something somewhat less than that. What I didn't enjoy were the long, rambling chapters from Mr. X's viewpoint, which frankly bored me, and the way some mysteries were brought up and then dropped(why are some of the people Mr. X chases long-lost Dunstans? What is the cause of the Knacker?). A fun ride and left me with lots to think about, but I think his previous books, especially Mystery, were more skilled.
Rating: 
Summary: X-crutiating !
Review: I have never not finished a book in my life until i had the misfortune of attemtpting to reach the end of MR X. I never made it. If you must read this, i advise a notebook so you can write down the names of characters and who they are, i guarantee that you will be lost. MR X is Xtremely convoluted and Xasperating. Stay away from this stinker..... How in the world did this ever get published ? Mr Straub, WHY ?
Rating: 
Summary: Cthulhu lives!
Review: Whoa, what have we here? Another expedition with Peter Straub through the tiny sidestreets and byways of a vivid, imaginary town, in pursuit of something evil and strange. In these days when every two-bit serial killer thinks he, she, or it is the Antichrist, it's downright refreshing to find one who is the emissary of Lovecraft's Elder Gods. Mr. X has a problem, though: long ago he sired a son, whose destiny is to destroy him unless he can be killed in time. Little Ned Dunstan, meeting his relatives as an adult, realizes that psychic powers and kleptomania run in his family. On each birthday he is tormented by visions of the awful Mr. X, killing as he searches for his son. Is the shadowy Other who stalks Ned his father, or something else entirely? In real life answers seldom come neatly wrapped, and Straub can be quite realistic (for a guy who names characters things like 'Piney Woods' and 'Minor Keyes'). It's not all a stroll in the park for poor Mr. X either. He has his doubts, his dark nights of the soul: what if there IS no Cthulhu? Maybe Lovecraft was just a writer. Ned must try to understand the weird powers that are his family heritage if he is to survive having them turned aganst him. Like Edgerton, the book is dark, complicated, twisty and winding, and filled with surprising secrets. It's a good book; more so if you've read enough Lovecraft to compare the Dunstans with the Whateleys. Straub's often compared to Stephen King because of their collaboration, but I find him darker and less hopeful than King.
Rating:
Summary: STRUGGLING
Review: I am on page 404 and I am determind to finish this book if it kills me. I think that it probably will.
Rating: 
Summary: Just could not keep interested!
Review: Mr. X has been a disappointment. I was looking forward to spending some time engrossed in a multi plotted, richly characterized book, but found it boring and hard to keep track of characters. Most of the time I was a bit lost and as a result never had the drive to pick up the book to continue reading. I did get through it but just because I am anxious to move to another book. This book had unrealized potential.
Rating:
Summary: I'm very disappointed
Review: Peter Straub is my favorite author I hate saying anything bad about him. I went to the bookstore like most other Straub fans every week to see if Mr. X arrived. Told everyone I came across about it. The first day it came out I called people to read to them a little of the first couple of Chapters. But that was the only thing I liked about this book was the first one third. After that it was to long, to many names to keep track of, and just boring. Peter is a great writer but sometimes I think he tries to impress us with it to much. It's like you have to be an English professor to understand his true meaning of what he is writing. Well I don't understand.
Rating:
Summary: not recommended
Review: If it will help anyone decide: I did NOT like Ghost Story, Koko, Mrs. God. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED The Hellfire Club, Mystery, The Throat, Shadowland. I did NOT like this one. It just wasn't interesting. It never took off. I couldn't finished.
|
