The Town

Rating:
Summary: The Town has its Ups and Down..towns.
Review: The Town is basically entertaining and not hard to get through, (except perhaps for the beginning). The gore gets a little overdone where Little could have used more meaningful actions instead. I like the plot, a secluded mining town has to deal with a killer monster that was created a generation ago. The old townsfolk remember the secret of why this evil was created and therefore hold the key to its demise. Although I felt the book was slightly lacking in depth (especially the beginning), the ending did come through and for me it saved the book. I will try another of his books, perhaps he was just getting warmed up with The Town.

Rating:
Summary: Another great book by Little
Review: One of the most clever and literate writers working today, Bentley Little here seamlessly weaves elements of several recognizeable horror archetypes with a truly unique ethnic milieu. As always, he creates characters we care about and horrific images that are subtle and hardcore. A great book by a great writer

Rating:
Summary: The Town
Review: This is the first book I have read by Bentley Little. There are some similarities with other horror books I have read, such as "The Shining" by King. (I guess this is why King bestows flattery upon Little.) However, I did find a couple of the scences intersting: the growing navel and the lucid thoughts during the rampage of Gregory. There was some jumping between the characters through the novel, but I just took this as a way of adding to the reader's perception of the confusion the town was experiencing. After this book, I would probably read another book by Little. The story read fairly well (there were several small errors and then the last name of the main characters was spelled two different ways). However, these small things do add up, which can distract the reader the author's work. In the end, what I found most interesting in the book was the Molokan cultural information that was a major component. This was my first exposure to this culture and was intrigued by it.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely read better
Review: I'm a fan of horror, no doubt about it. Just about anything remotely creepy, even when tinged with humor or silliness gets my attention. It's only when something ends up being silly, while not origially intended to be, is my faith in the genre shaken.

"The Town" is the first book I've read by Little, and though it is entertaining throughout its first 200 odd pages, it slowly becomes silly and seemingly hurredly summed up.

My gripes: 1) Little throws in characters from literally no where (where the hell did that Mormon shooting spree come from in the last 30 pages?) and then either drops them out of the story, or slaughters them 5 pages after he introduces them. It tends to not make me really care about what happens to them anyway, which leads to my second gripe. 2) The main characters tended to not gain my support. Gregory is a jerk, Julia is a snob, Babunya is overly religious/superstitious, Sasha is a brat, and the other two kids are just OK. Adam ended up a fully rounded character and I gained some respect for Julia and Babunya, but by page 250, I was looking forward to seeing some of these people get eaten, or whatever. Put them out of my misery.

I see great writing in some areas, and the descriptive passages (what there are of them) are nicely done. But some analogies clunked big time with me (i.e. "Like an alcoholic, she took it one step at a time.") Blah.

I will read more of Little's work. I don't dismiss an author with his growing reputation lightly. Even King, Rice, McCammon, Koontz and Straub have their stinkers.

Unfortunately, that is what "The Town" is in my book. A stinker.

My opinion, take it for what you will.

Rating:
Summary: Has anyone read The Shining?
Review: I'm not calling this is a rip-off, but, looking at the bare bones of the plot, there are enough similarities to make me feel as if I have read this book before, which explains why it took me 2 weeks to read it. I always had that been-there-done-that feeling while reading it. As another reviewer said earlier, there were quite a few interesting possible side tracks that the book could have taken, and which I was actually anticipating, but none were ever really explored. The feeling I got from reading this book was that the author had a vision he wanted to achieve, but ran up against a publishing deadline and had to end the book one way or the other. That is the only way that I can explain such a run-of-the-mill novel from a writer with such an incredibly fertile imagination. No offense to an author who has given me a great deal of pleasure in the past, but I found this effort to be cookie-cutter writing at best. I was going to give the boook 3 stars, but I have taken one away because I have liked his previous books so much.

Rating:
Summary: T..H.. E..TOWN/slow start, great finish
Review: The beginning was so slow that I almost gave up on the book. I am glad I didn't. Although it did not contain much Native American lore as some reviewers suggested, I've learned more lore from children stories. As the evil in the town becomes more active, the excitement builds to a great ending that pretty much makes up for the extremely slow start.

Rating:
Summary: great book - writing flows
Review: this guy is great! little is pumping out books that are fun to read, full of surprises and easy on the brain; just a lot of scary supernatural stuff! I actually got the heebies with this one, which is rare for me. Only one note: more details! I would love to see more details...more description, more background on the characters. Still a must-read for anyone who likes this genre! Little is starting to kick king's behind.

Rating:
Summary: Flimsy Premise
Review: I have read most of Bentley Little's books, and up til now have maintained a high level of admiration for his somewhat unusual plots and his writing style. But this latest book _The Town_ just doesn't seem to measure up to _The Store_ or _The Ignored_.. I found the premise here to be flimsy at best, and the whole notion of a benevolent house spirit gone rogue just doesn't make for a very convincing story line. I think he might've given us a little more background on the Molokans for one thing, and all the red herrings (the sinister nature of the mine, the Native American angle, the disturbing activities of Adam and his fantasies etc.) didn't add to the suspense. Plus, the time lines didn't add up: if Babunya remembered the time "shortly after WWI" when the townsfolk burned Russiantown, that would make her around ninety years old instead of seventy-four.

In short, while I am still a great Bentley Little fan, this book disappointed me. There was nothing new or intriguing or startling in this book. In fact a lot of it sort of reminded me of a luke-warm, rehashed telling of "The Shining". Hopefully his next one'll be on a par with his earlier works.

Rating:
Summary: Good solid horror!
Review: I devoured this one in one sitting. Little strikes again with a pulse-pounding thriller set in the small Arizona town of McGuane. The Tomasov family hits the lottery, pulls up big-city stakes and returns to the hometown of the father, Gregory. But like every good horror thriller, the family fails to heed the warnings of the elderly wise woman, Babunya (the Tomasov matriarch). What could go wrong if the family failed to invite the Owner of the House? Gregory and his wife, Julia, shrug this off as another of Babunya's silly superstitions. Unfortunately for everyone, when the Tomasov's arrive, the town becomes more and more crazy. Bizarre deaths, strange sightings, and more than one thing that goes bump in the night plague the citizens. (Wait till you see what Gregory's friend, Odd, has waiting for him at home.) Throughout is an undercurrent of mistrust for anyone who is considered different; the Tomasov's are Molokans, a Russian religious and social community, and this group has historically been scapegoated within the larger McGuane community. Several themes are at work here: our natural distrust of change and difference, faith, evil, revenge, and on and on. I found myself alternating between cheering for and booing various characters; as each faces the evil let loose in the town, he/she begins to change. All I can say is, don't get too attached to some of these characters!

I've now read 6 of Little's novels. I've liked each one for different reasons. However, I've often gotten to the end of his novels thinking "Big build-up, let-down of a climax." I'm happy to report that THE TOWN delivers all the way to the end. It's a fun read (with very disturbing issues), it's a quick read, and some of the everyday objects turned into the macabre were enough to give me goosebumps! I recommend this one to anyone who likes good, chilling horror. After this, you might want to check out THE IGNORED by Little.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen King fans are going to love this book
Review: The Thomas's are living the American dream. They are Milokans, break away members of the Russian Orthodox Church who moved to the States for religious and cultural freedom. They worked hard to make a new life for themselves and their families. Gregory Tomasov lives in a Milokan community in California when he wins big in the state lottery. He quits his job; sells his home, and moves his wife and three children (Sasha, Teo, and Adam) to McGuane, Arizona because he wants them to grow up in a healthy environment where the old values still apply.

The expedition starts out as an escape into rural suburbia, but turns into hell for the family and townsfolk. The home that Gregory bought harbors evil memories of a man killing his wife and three children before committing suicide. The arrival of the Tomasov clan signals the onset of strange behavior by the local residents and supernatural happenings. Malicious deaths and destruction follow. Only one person understands the malevolent events and how to stop them, but she prefers to not pay the price that evil demands.

Bentley Little's writing is so colorful and creative, readers will wonder when they entered THE TOWN, and like the Hotel California, find it seemingly impossible to leave. Fans, who enjoy a creepy, frightening horror novel, will definitely relish this work. Mr. Little is a giant who stands along side King, Koontz, and Barker because he can make the audience believe the impossible.

Harriet Klausner