Rating: Summary: Psycho the book compared to the movie. Review: In another review of this book someone said that this book was exactly like the movie. It is not. Not to say it is any better or worse. Any fans of Psycho the movie should read the book. It gives many insights into the true nature of Norman Bates' frame of mind. It is also more involved in the relationship between Sam and Marian. I personally liked the movie better because it is easier to think of Norman Bates as being good-looking (as in the movie) than fat (as in the book). I also think there are more and better quotes in the movie. It is very interesting seeing the psychological comparisons between the two. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: Summary: Thriller and Horror Readers will Love It Review: Is a must read book for any thriller, horror lover. If you haven't yet read this book, I totally recommend it!!!!!
Rating: Summary: overrated Review: it is certainly not my fault this is considered a classic. horror. thriller. not great, but good, either way. simple plot. superficial descriptions. don't really believe some of the characters. the turn of events are sort of...kitchy? the really great thing here are the story about the mother.
Rating: Summary: A classic chiller Review: It's true, what Hitch said: everything in the movie is already here, in Bloch's novel. There are no surprises to find out reading the book. But it is effective by itself, and through his barroque prose, Bloch builds an ominous mood, unescapable.So what are you waiting for? Buy it now!
Rating: Summary: I saw the movie first read the book second Review: Like my title says and I thought the movie was better,mostly because I expected what Norman Bates looked like on screen and in the book,he's totally different.A 40 year old short balding drinker and in the movie we know what he looked like and I couldn't feel sorry for the character in the book when I felt so sorry for Norman in the movie.Other then that,the book is pretty good,it's good to read alone on a scary night.Even though I give this book a so-so review,recommend reading it
Rating: Summary: Excellent.... even compared to the classic movie!!!!!! Review: Many critics say it can't live up to the movie, but isn't it obvious that without this book the movie wouldn't even exist? I will concede that the movie is ten times more suspenseful but look at the title: PSYCHO. What makes this story is the psyche of poor Norman Bates. One gets glimpses of this in the movie but the novel really helps one delve into the dark caverns of Norman's tortured mind. Without the novel one can not properly understand Norman.
Rating: Summary: Third Rate Pulp Trash Review: My recently-purchased copy of Robert Bloch's PSYCHO features a cover photograph of Janet Leigh screaming and a quote from film director Alfred Hitchcock: "PSYCHO all came from Robert Bloch's novel." Not surprisingly, however, no mention is made of the fact that Hitchcock considered the novel third-rate pulp trash. And that, unfortunately, is exactly what this novel is. First published in 1959, the Bloch novel is everything you would expect from a bad 1950s pulp writer: it is lurid without being shocking, the characters are superficial, and the whole thing is somewhat less frightening than a baloney sandwich. True, the story and characters that Hitchcock would so successfully elaborate upon are all here--but if you're expecting something more in-depth than the film you are out of luck. The famous shower scene is all of four short paragraphs; the murder on the stairs gets even less attention; and it isn't until the final chapters that the novel builds up any steam at all. The problem isn't so much the story--certainly Hitchcock's version proves that much--as it is Bloch's style. Or, more specifically, Bloch's lack of it, for he has none. And his characters are even less interesting than his prose, so it should come as no surprise that Hitchcock did not invite Bloch to work on the film. It is a bit unusual to find a film that equals the book on which it is based; it is rarer still to find a film that bests it. But that is precisely the case here, and quite frankly the spill-over audience from the film is probably the only reason this novel remains in print. Diehard fans of the film like myself can probably motivate themselves to read it through to the end, but even I regretted the time wasted on it. Give it a miss. --GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--
Rating: Summary: nice bit of pulp history Review: No movie could ever be accurate to the original story, because movies are a visual medium and can never fully get inside a character's head the way books can. And who would want an annoying voice over narration explaining a character's motives on screen? The novel is certainly more brutal than the film and the Sam Loomis character is given more to do, even offering the final answers to Norman's whacked pysche. The house and the motel seem to be the stars of the movie, but the book is more Norman, and truly makes you see the world from his screwed up perspective. A definite must read for anyone who likes the slasher/killer genre or anyone just wanting to see what the great motion picture was based on. Probably one of the best horror novels of the 20th century, you can toss this off in a day or two, depending on your time schedule.
Rating: Summary: PSYCHO! No comparism between the movie and book! Review: Now we all know Robert Bloch wrote the book a while before Alfred Hitchcock made the famous movie but even so, the book hardly compares to the movie. First of all, like many other reviews stated, it moves lightning fast and it gets really hard to keep up with the plot. Second, the death of Mary (not Marion) Crane is in one sentence ("And so was her head") in the version I read. I was very dissapointed. I was looking for a long, detailed, and bloody end to Mary that was in some part "similar" to the death in the movie. Unfortunatly, that's not what it was. Robert Bloch's "Psycho" is no match for the excitment of the movie Alfred Hitchcock created, is definitly not one of the best books i've ever read, and, plus, it is very different from the very different from the movie, so you might be dissapointed Nevertheless, though, if you want a fast-paced thriller with lots of action, Robert Bloch's "Psycho" is for you!
Rating: Summary: Good idea, but not good writing... Review: OK! I read PSYCHO after I saw the remake & the original movies. I thought this book would be soooo good since I have been hearing it is better than the movie. So when the new printing of PSYCHO by Robert Bloch came out, I bought, read it, and was very dissapointed. This is a great idea for a novel, but Robert Bloch just doesn't write well in my opinion. I think this book was written in 1959, so maybe that is the reason for the poor writing. I am a HUGE fan of King and Koontz and I thought Bloch would be just as good, but to me if you haven't seen the movie at some parts it is kind of hard to understand because Robert Bloch doesn't give enough detail (like at the end).
|