Rating: Summary: TOO LONG FOR ME. Review: Straub got a little to long winded and the ending could have been better. But I still liked the story and the style. Three and a half stars is what I give Mr.X. If you like supernatural thrillers with 'good vs evil' plots than I got a novel for you! THE FIST OF GOD, by A.T. Nicholas. Phenomenal storyline and characters. I could not put it down for two days. I'm not kidding.
Rating: Summary: Good read, not great. Review: This summer I was looking forward to the arrival of two books. HANNIBAL and MR. X. Needless to say, HANNIBAL was a major dissapointment, and after HELLFIRE CLUB I was a little nervous about Mr. Straub's latest opus. Since GHOST STORY is probably my all time favorite book I read MR. X. I was not dissapointed. While it is not as good as GHOST STORY, it was a hundred times better than HELLFIRE CLUB. Give it a shot. It will not dissapoint.
Rating: Summary: Never Again! Review: This book confirms my earlier opinion that Peter Straub is a one-hit wonder. "Ghost Story" was the only book he ever wrote that I really liked. "Mr. X" had so much promise in the beginning, but Straub failed to deliver the goods. The Lovecraft connection was obvious right away to anyone who is familiar with that great author of his time. All in all, I felt too many loose ends were left dangling.
Rating: Summary: This really should be rated at four and a half stars Review: Wow! This certainly was an interesting read. Mr. Straub again had me turning pages and missing sleep. As usual, I had to turn pages backwards to pick up things that I had glossed over, not realizing their importance later on. I love a densely-packed multi-layered plot, such as in this book. The literary jokes were nice too, even though I have never read any Lovecraft. Sometimes though I had trouble figuring out what was going on, and who was related to whom (thus only four and a half stars).Sometimes it got a little too deep. I will have to reread it soon. This latest book reminded me of Straub's earlier books, such as his break-out _Ghost Story_ and also _Shadowland_. These books got me hooked on Peter Straub. I am glad to see he is returning to his strong suit. I will recommend this book to anyone who likes stay up late turning pages.
Rating: Summary: He can and has done much better Review: Stop all the bitchin' at each other. So there's disagreement about this book-that's why they make chocolate and vanilla, Chill out. The book was decidedly mediocre (in my opinion), and those who called for editing are correct (in my opinion). There is nothing wrong with long narrative or description if well done and crucial to the plot. The problem here is that much of the book is neither.
Rating: Summary: Straub writes a Lovecraft novel for the nineties. Review: If you enjoy H.P. Lovecraft's stories, you'll love this contemporary tale of dark family secrets, ancient evil, and spooky old towns. This is not a short book and doesn't have gore on every page but it really grips you. Straub creates just the right mood for this book. The ending has a wonderful sense of inevitability. Be prepared to stay up to 2:00 a.m. to finish it.
Rating: Summary: Self-important & pretentious Review: It pains me to say anything bad about a Peter Straub book. I have been a fan for nearly 20 years. Koko still rates as one of my all time favorite reads, bar none. Mystery & The Throat were sorely disappointing, but Hellfire Club promised a return to form. A return to the horror genre by my favorite author...well, what more could I ask for? Much, in retrospect. Mr X contains more ponderous, pretentious prose than any Straub novel to date. Descriptions of places, persons, and situations drag on ad nauseum. Even the names of characters are distractingly silly. Do yourself a favor, skip this palid, self- important attempt at a modern addition to Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, and read the original.
Rating: Summary: Very well done Review: After "The Hellfire Club", I couldn't see how Peter Straub could write another bad book, that one was the worst. I was right. This plot is intricate and slow, yet satisfying. The writing is exellent, although there isn't a lot of horror. But writing is not just good because of horror, but because of how well it's written! (DUH!) Great book, definitely should be read.
Rating: Summary: Peter Straub misses the mark with this one. Review: I have enjoyed Peter Straub's books for years, especially The Throat and Mystery. Mr.X is not in their league. It is too slowly paced and way too long. The conclusion concerning Ned and Robert is not well crafted. The Lovecraftian themes miss the mark and the horror aspects just aren't there. Every author has a stinker of book now and then, and Peter Straub has his.
Rating: Summary: Reminiscent of Straub at his best--Ending loses gas Review: I really enjoyed _Mr. X_, which at times brought to mind the old Peter Straub, writer of such classics as _Shadowland_ and _Ghost Story_. The book wasn't really all that horrific, but had its moments and, other than an unnecessarily drawn-out ending, wherein the entire plot is recounted step-by-step (in case you missed anything) and a conclusion which was less than satisfying (what really happened to Ned and Robert?), this receives a strong recommendation from me.
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