The Manitou

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Summary: A Heady concoction of Myth, Magic, Fantasy, and Reality !
Review: An amazing blend of Myth,Magic,Fantasy,Reality all mixed into a potent story. I could not keep this book down until i was through with it .. Any mystery/horror/thriller fan should not miss this book. The story is totally believable hence unmissable ... The movie version should be worth a look !

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Summary: Scary and creepy.
Review: As his first book this was pretty good. The fact that something is growing in you is downright sickening, but Masterton always finds a way to make it worth your time to read it. The movie is strange but the book is better. I recommened this book to all horror fans. Be careful, it is a little disturbing at times.

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Summary: Masterton's first set the template for all to come.
Review: Graham Masterton's first horror novel introduced not only a pretty memorable monster (and hysterically funny film adaptation), but also the template plot off all of Masterton's tales to follow.

"A series of increasingly paranormal events leads a character (here one Harry Eskrine) to discover that an elder god (here one evil Medicine Man) is about to return and take over/destroy the world. As time runs out a team of sorts (here a well meaning doctor and a contemporary Medicine Man) is formed to try and stop the beast's return, but they are late getting to the pass and our hero (Harry) must do personal battle with the hellish entity to save the world."

It's a formula that works beautifully, no matter which elder god monster Masterton decides to pull from the shadows of fictional legend. That Masterton has a sense of humor about all this hogwash is a bonus, making The Manitou (and others) both scary AND funny. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Spine chilling!
Review: I read this book over 20 years ago. It is one of the most frightening books I have ever read. Graham Masterton's writing puts you there, at the scene when the Manitou is born. I read the book in one night and could not put it down.

Unfortunately the movie with Tony Curtis could not compare to the book. If the movie would have had big budget money behind it like many of Stephen King's movies, I think the movie could surpass many of the thrillers of today.

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Summary: MANITOU: Get into the Spirit of things
Review: The first Masterton HORROR genre novel I read was CHARNEL HOUSE, so I had a masterpiece as the standard. When I quickly got to THE MANITOU, I loved the supernatural thrills, and the spine-tingling power of Masterton's work.The key thing to know about Masterton's style is that he is down to earth and follows a first person narrative technique which totally takes you there. Masterton has absolutely no other peer. He acquints you with each character, and every situation is finely detailed. With this in mind, when he goes to such lengths, Masterton makes for the best and most powerful scares this side of Clive Barker, except that Masterton is very accessible. He is clearly not out to impress with how many words he can churn out, not how many technical flips he can do, masterton Achieves his power by stright forward high quality scares in a simple yet non-condescending manner.

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Summary: Selling the Preposterous
Review: This is Masterton's first, and still one of his best. Masterton has an absolute gift for selling the preposterous, and making it entirely believable. He does so through dialogue and characterization, and I've never seen anyone do it better.

Karen Tandy visits her old boyfriend Harry Erskine, occult mavin and low-budget tarot reader to wealthy old ladies, because of a unique problem she's developed - a tumor on her neck, which to all intents and purposes appears to be a fetus. The doctors seem unable to remove it, and Harry starts experiencing paranormal disturbances after Karen comes to him for help. He, and a few initially skeptical doctors, reluctantly come to the conclusion that Karen Tandy is harboring the fetus of a powerful centuries-old medicine man about to be reborn - whose birth would first claim the life of Karen, and after, the entire white race, with his vengeful sorcery. What's modern science to do, against such a supernatural adversary? Why, fight fire with fire, of course - get another medicine man.

It's absolutely amazing that this piece works, but it's really great. Masterton never cracks a smile (until the very end), playing the situation up for real and sucking you into it so you believe it. The characters are fabulous, especially Karen, Harry - who appeared in the semi-sequel, The Djinn - and John Singing Rock, the rival medicine man to the rescue.

Masterton's stories almost always end on a lighter note, with the deliberate inclusion of a solution that is almost a joke, but the technique works because he's cluing his audience in to the fact that he realizes how silly it all is - he just wanted to show you he could make you believe it - and the concluding laughter he provokes is welcome and sympathetic, not denigrating the finely written novel at all.

The all-star movie made from this book in the late-'70s is worth a look. It's a faithful adaptation, though it doesn't work quite as well as the book due to some severe special effects deficits and a crummy musical score.

Rating:
Summary: Selling the Preposterous
Review: This is Masterton's first, and still one of his best. Masterton has an absolute gift for selling the preposterous, and making it entirely believable. He does so through dialogue and characterization, and I've never seen anyone do it better.

Karen Tandy visits her old boyfriend Harry Erskine, occult mavin and low-budget tarot reader to wealthy old ladies, because of a unique problem she's developed - a tumor on her neck, which to all intents and purposes appears to be a fetus. The doctors seem unable to remove it, and Harry starts experiencing paranormal disturbances after Karen comes to him for help. He, and a few initially skeptical doctors, reluctantly come to the conclusion that Karen Tandy is harboring the fetus of a powerful centuries-old medicine man about to be reborn - whose birth would first claim the life of Karen, and after, the entire white race, with his vengeful sorcery. What's modern science to do, against such a supernatural adversary? Why, fight fire with fire, of course - get another medicine man.

It's absolutely amazing that this piece works, but it's really great. Masterton never cracks a smile (until the very end), playing the situation up for real and sucking you into it so you believe it. The characters are fabulous, especially Karen, Harry - who appeared in the semi-sequel, The Djinn - and John Singing Rock, the rival medicine man to the rescue.

Masterton's stories almost always end on a lighter note, with the deliberate inclusion of a solution that is almost a joke, but the technique works because he's cluing his audience in to the fact that he realizes how silly it all is - he just wanted to show you he could make you believe it - and the concluding laughter he provokes is welcome and sympathetic, not denigrating the finely written novel at all.

The all-star movie made from this book in the late-'70s is worth a look. It's a faithful adaptation, though it doesn't work quite as well as the book due to some severe special effects deficits and a crummy musical score.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Touted as a suspense novel with intriquing twists at the end, this book was a complete dissappointent on both counts. By the end I found myself glad the book hadn't been any longer and thereby wasted even more of my time.

The book starts off with cheesy, forced dialog between paper-thin characters. Even the word pictures that are drawn leave one with a forced, sixth-grade writing style feeling. Rather than eloquent displays of linguistic ability, we are left with crude attempts at adjective usage that leave you wanting something better. Unfortunately, the something better never shows up.

The story itself is, of course, quite contrived. Trying to marry the modern with the ancient mystical just didn't work in this book and came off looking ridiculous rather than eerie.

I will say that Mr. Masterson did spin a very believable web about various facets of American Indian mystic beliefs. He either did very good research and presented a lot of great facts to which to attach his story, or he did an even better job of creating an entire mystic menagerie in which to tell this tale. Unfortunately, the story around it just didn't work.

I reserve my 1-star ratings for books that are completely horrible on all counts, or pass off outrageous lies as complete truth. This book did have a good mystic system on which to base the story, so for that has avoided my lowest rating. 2-stars, but I'd recommend spending your time with a good novel rather than this.

Rating:
Summary: great story
Review: Well this story or book i had to read now.\ When the indian god was being reborn on the back of this woman that really was excelent. I read this when i was 14. and i couldn't wait for the revenge of the manitou. which was cool.