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Death's Door

Death's Door

List Price: $40.00
Your Price: $26.40
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The same, tired old formula
Review: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" right? Wrong. In Slade's case, the same old formula needs not just fixing, it needs a total revamp. Here's the same template the authors have used since the first book Headhunter - a child gets sexually warped during his or her formative years (usually an incident involving a parent), the pyschosis gets surpressed for years until for some unknown reason it gets triggered when the child becomes an adult, that person then becomes the prime killer or hooks up with some madman bent on an insane scheme that if successful, will garner immeasurable riches. Interspersed inside this template are boring history lessons that some readers might find interesting, but are usually forgotten once the lesson is over. Sounds familiar right? The same framework was used in Headhunter, Ghoul, Cutthroat and now Death's Door and loosely fits the others. Yes I admit I've read all the books but the last two (Hangman and Death's Door) were read more out of hope that the authors might come up with something new than with any real relish for the tales concerned. Like another reviewer here, I too found myself skimming the pages out of sheer frustration. And perhaps the most damning indictment was that I've stopped reading it altogether for three weeks because I've completely lost interest (I'm 40 pages from the end but don't really care how it ends).If the authors don't revamp their storytelling, I won't be the only one losing interest.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Killing Education
Review: After following the adventures of Mounty Robert DeClercq and his cohorts in Special X through some 10 reincarnations, I can proudly say that I have discovered something called Thriller Writer's Stress Syndrome (TWSS). It appears as a drive by a writer (or writers, in this case) to outdo previous volumes in a series in number of victims slaughtered, frequency of slaughters, or grossness of means. "Death's Door" certainly attempts to set a new standard for acreage of surgically ruined corpses. And for total number of psychotics between two covers. And for the most extensive number of side-bar lectures used to fatten a plot (more about this later).

What starts out as an investigation into the bloodthirsty theft of a rare mummy that spans two continents, turns into the discovery of a snuff film studio, which then turns into the unmasking of what could best be described as a medical mayhem club, which... You get the idea, every chapter of two the killings get worse and the killers get crazier. This time we also get a case of incessant cliffhangers. I cannot tell if it is deliberate, or accidental, but the book turns into an outrageous parody of the entire hack and slash genre. It is funny in a "you dropped the coffin on my foot" way.

It would be much more effective if the writers would interrupt the plot less often for a lecture on anything from paraphilia to which side of their brains Native Americans use to think. It is simply too much information - often distracting, and in the last case, more than a trifle offensive. The writer's who make up Slade have always been prone to excess, but the last few volumes have been less successful at walking the thin line between a thriller and an encyclopedia of the grotesque. This time the overload manages to distract from the intensity of the plot and reduce the impact of the crimes.

Despite all this, it is quite possible to like the underlying style despite its foibles. Especially if the reader has a taste for the ridiculous, which I admit I do. The Slade books can be an enjoyable way to fill a few hours of life's tedium. But don't expect the bone-jarring horror of the first few volumes in the series. This is mayhem a la mode.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Truly Awful
Review: From the constant interruption of clumsy and intrusive exposition, commentary, lectures, and ramblings that bring the pacing of this story to a crawl, to the large and forgettable cast of cookie-cutter characters, this book is a great example of some of the most common mistakes in bad fiction. The one I found most irrating was the authors' refusal to consistently refer to characters using the same name.

"Blah blah," said the Cree.
"Blah blah," said Chandler.
"Blah blah," said Mad Dog.
"Blah blah," said Ed.
"Blah blah," said Zinc.
"Blah blah," said the sergeant.
"Blah blah," said Ghost Rider.
"Blah blah," said Rabidowski.

Three different characters referred to in eight different ways on the same page. That's just bad writing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 'Death's Door' : Now That's More Like it!!!!
Review: I finished Michael Slade's 'Death's Door' the other night, and the read was well worth the wait and sleepless hours before finishing. All the favorites sleuths of 'Special X' are in attendance, either diectly or obliquely. With DeClerq ridin' herd through a string of grisly female mutilations and murders scattered over Vancouver and the islands between there and Washington State. Familiar hunting grounds for those who have followed the series for any length of time. The underlying theme throughout is beauty and youth and death. With a splendid Slade-ian twist involving a trio of extremely bent, buckled and distorted bad guys. Each more sick than the last. With 'The Director' pulling the strings of 'The Doctor' and 'The Undertaker'. Throw in a Mummy. A heavyweight Porn King whose stock and trade is Custom Made films for the more discerning patrons of Fluff and Snuff. Everything you ever wanted to know about Embalming. Ancient Egypt. The Fountain Of Youth. A serious fling between DeClerq and Dr. Gillian Macbeth. Plus several cliff hanging rescues with Ghost Keeper and 'Mad Dog'Rabidowski and you'll have just one HELL of a good time! Better than either 'Burnt Bones', 'Primal Scream', and 'Hangman'. Definitely on a par with 'Headhunter' and 'Ripper'.... Enjoy Sladists!!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Bulls-Eye Guaranteed Not To Snuff Your Interest!
Review: I you were to ask me a few days ago if I was interested in learning a little bid more about mummification, snuff films, torture, or Hollywood film trivia, I would have said "no, what?, no and no" (in that order). Throw in DeClercq, Slade's perennial mounted hero, into the mix plus the usual carnage that follows and, yes, maybe I'll take a chance on my fourth Slade whirlwind novel. I took the shot. It was a bulls-eye!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Good First Chapter...Not Much Else
Review: I've rarely ever been so disappointed by novel I purchased as I was by Michael Slade's (Father and Daughter team) Death's Door.

Before leaving the book store I had read the first chapter of the novel and was intrigued by the theft of the Mummy. And I when I read the back of the book I thought it held the possibility of maybe being a real page turner. However, as I've already said I was gravely disappointed by it.

This book seemed to be more like a cheesey action film in print, with parts of a term paper on Egyptology thrown in for good measure inbetween. True, I have never read any other Slade works, and I know that Death's door is just a part in a series of novels dealing with the same character(s), so maybe I am lacking some necessary insight, but this is definitely a novel that sadly disappointed me.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Pretty much the same as the others in the series
Review: If you like the others this will be pretty much the same.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: very gory thriller
Review: Lord and Lady Ridding in England had a bit of a financial setback so he arranges to have his mummy Sleeping Beauty sold to the highest bidder. Before that can happen, Stopwatch, a master criminal hired to steal the mummy, puts his plan in motion to get it in his hands. Six guards die but the mummy in the coffin is safe and on a plane to Richmond Columbia where it is picked up by an albino looking man known as the Undertaker.

The Undertaker kills two custom officials and takes the mummy to its new owner, The Director. Sleeping Beauty is perfectly preserved, flesh and body parts are as new today as when the mummy was alive years ago. The Director thinks that Sleeping Beauty, with the help of the Doctor, can help him unlock the secrets of aging and the patients they chose to experiment on don't have any say in the matter. It will be up to Chief Superintendent Robert De Clerq and his team to get some answers before even more bodies are found.

This is a very gory tale detailing cruel acts done to people by psychopaths who love different kinds of torture. Do not read this book on a full stomach or if you easily turn squeamish especially if you can't handle the ugly results of torture. DEATH'S DOOR is a fascinating excursion into the sick and psychopathic mind and the audience will feel sorry for the police who have to deal with this trash as the novel makes Norman Bates look like a choirboy.

Harriet Klausner

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I HEAR YOU KNOCKIN
Review: Michael Slade has given us some incredibly innovative and thrilling thrillers over the past years, and I am one of his biggest fans. However, "Death's Door" is a disappointment. Why? For one, Slade has gone a little overboard with the gore in this one. This book is almost sadistic in the way it presents the tortures of the many victims. Unlike his other books, it seems as though the violence, carnage and explicit sex is piled on for gratuitous reasons. By no means prudish, I feel this over use harms the book's many interesting plot twists. Once again, Slade has done a tremendous amount of research on everything from the ancient Egyptians to the pyschological examination of Alfred Hitchcock's films. Some of our favorite characters are back: DeClerq, Nick Craven, Zinc Chandler, Mad Dog, George the Cree Indian; Gill McBeth; Jenna Bond, and even a nasty villain from a previous book. It's hard to keep up with some of the information given, but it moves the plot along, and as usual, Slade's men go through hell to "get their man."
A major concern of mine was the fact that there were a couple of major plot faux pas: 1. Who was the Undertaker? We were never given his identity, nor were we rewarded with knowing his outcome. 2. Halfway through the back, it is intimated that the Undertaker "takes out" David Denning and we're led to believe he was shot. However, later on, Dr. Denning reappears. The Director (the head villain) intimates that the Dr. Denning was given plastic surgery to make him look different, but as who???
Slade usually doesn't have such gaps in his plot, so this adds to the disappointment.
A good book, but not as good as it could and should have been. RECOMMENDED FOR SLADE'S FANS, WITH RESERVATIONS

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Top Notch Thriller
Review: Michael Slade just keeps getting better and better. Can't wait for the next installment in the fight between DeClercq and arch villian, Mephisto. It is bloody and sadistic, but that is the nature of the villian -- someone who knows no restrait in his desire for the ultimate pleasure and we don't know yet what that is. You can see Mephisto going deeper and deeper into evil and DeClercq and crew doing their best to stop him. Couldn't put down and rates five stars (I normally don't give more than four).


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