Valentine

Rating:
Summary: Tom Savage--Valentine: A Novel
Review: "Valentine" is a suprisingly stylish, well-written thriller that far surpasses any of Savage's other work. While "Precipice" and "Scavenger" were good novels of supense and terror, this 1997 masterpiece is one of the most enjoyable, riveting of its kind made in the late 1990s.

Jillian Talbot is a mystery novelist who has finally cashed in on her hard work and has become a true success. She has an excellent boyfriend and best friend and she feels as if life could get no better. When she returns home from work one night, she discovers a Valentine's Day card in her home, only to realize that it is an eerie threat towards her survival. As the threats become more venomous, sincere, and close to home, Jillian must run not only from a killer, but the soul of a man she crushed with a college prank.

Savage's antagonist, Victor Dimorta, is a first-rate evil killer, using his excessive charm and wit to bed women who are close to Jillian, only to kill them using the earth's essential elements (such as fire, wind, and water). As Dimorta gets closer and closer to Jillian, the novel unravels at a thunderous, hair-raising pace that magic-carpets to a wonderfully demonic finish. Beautifully sculptured story with just enough humor and wit, but overall a hauntingly exceptional read that will go down as a truly under-rated work of suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Tom Savage--Valentine
Review: "Valentine" is one of those modern miracles that well never be fully appreciated and will certainly never be the stepping stone such as "Carrie" was for King and "Watchers" was for Koontz. Savage presents his audience with nothing too special, just a successful suspense novelist named Jillian Talbot, who has everything going for her: a beautiful home in Greenwich Village, a handsome lover, a boostering career, and...a stalker. She receives letters and threats from a mysterious man called "Valentine", who wants to avenge his misfortunes from the past. Jillian has to figure out who this madman is, why he is after her, and how she can save her own life. Savage takes the reader through an absolutely riveting roller-coaster ride full of scares, humor, and flat-out, hair-on-your-back tingling suspense. With only his second novel, Savage has created his own stepping stone into a prestigious group of horror/suspense novelists: those who not only create surprising, stylish novels, but create eerie characters similar to people that we encounter in our everyday lives--and that makes all readers' skin crawl.

Rating:
Summary: Tom Savage--Valentine: A Novel
Review: "Valentine" is a suprisingly stylish, well-written thriller that far surpasses any of Savage's other work. While "Precipice" and "Scavenger" were good novels of supense and terror, this 1997 masterpiece is one of the most enjoyable, riveting of its kind made in the late 1990s.

Jillian Talbot is a mystery novelist who has finally cashed in on her hard work and has become a true success. She has an excellent boyfriend and best friend and she feels as if life could get no better. When she returns home from work one night, she discovers a Valentine's Day card in her home, only to realize that it is an eerie threat towards her survival. As the threats become more venomous, sincere, and close to home, Jillian must run not only from a killer, but the soul of a man she crushed with a college prank.

Savage's antagonist, Victor Dimorta, is a first-rate evil killer, using his excessive charm and wit to bed women who are close to Jillian, only to kill them using the earth's essential elements (such as fire, wind, and water). As Dimorta gets closer and closer to Jillian, the novel unravels at a thunderous, hair-raising pace that magic-carpets to a wonderfully demonic finish. Beautifully sculptured story with just enough humor and wit, but overall a hauntingly exceptional read that will go down as a truly under-rated work of suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother with the movie.....
Review: . . . which is saying something, isn't it? Savage knows how to plot a story that keeps you on your toes. There is only a real "twist" at the end of the story that I genuinely didn't see coming & since I'm a fairly intelligent guy, I was a little disappointed with myself. :)

If you're looking for a quick read that will get you through a four hour flight, this is a perfect candidate. Not too much deep thinking, not too gory for the most part, and good at keeping your attention.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic read!
Review: I saw the movie first because I'm a huge horror movie fan. Although the film appealed to me (since it had an 80's horror movie feel to it), the book was much more absorbing. Unlike the movie, the characters, though rich and successful, drew upon my sympathy effectively. The many twists and turns pulled me into the story and the ending, well, as for those very few people who said they saw it coming a mile away... I DIDN'T. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the "twist" was going to be. I was pleased and VERY entertained, and I'm feel sorry for Mr. Savage for the movie studios taking his wonderfully-written story and turning it into an exercise of Hollywood cliches. Kudos to you, Mr. Savage! I went out and bought "Scavenger" today... can't wait to sit down in a cozy corner and plow through it!

Rating:
Summary: Not nearly as good as I expected it to be
Review: I was disappointed in this book. It got such great reviews from critics and readers alike that I thought for sure I had stumbled on a winner. To bad for me that the book was slow and that the ending just reeked. I also never felt as if the main character were in any real danger from Valentine.

Rating:
Summary: The Book vs. Movie
Review: Is the book better than the movie? It is all matter of opinion: Teenagers say the movie (starring David Boreanz and Denise Richards);Adults would probebly say the novel (by Tom Savage). The movie involves five grown-up women who are stalked by a former male student they scorned years ago. He goes around with a knife and a cupid mask. The movie involves harsh murders, and about who dies next. The book, however, does not have any of this. The book:Jillian, a successful author of murder mystery novels (of all things), and starts receiving threatening valentines from an ex-student she and her friends had pulled a nasty prank on years ago in college. There is no cupid mask, although there is a knife in it once. The book takes place after the other girls involved in the prank are dead, although Savage takes one chapter per victim to show what happened to them. The names aren't the same either. I don't suggest reading the book first, or vice versa, because they are so different apart, and they don't help people be aware of what the other is like.

Rating:
Summary: Love Hurts
Review: Tom Savages "Valentine" is one of his best books I've read. I couldn't put it down. The book kept getting better and better after each chapter. It is full of terror and suspense, but best of all it's full of mystery. This bone-chilling novel with a terrifying twist is about a women named Jill who is the author of several murder books. Now a mysterious Valentine is sending her deadly gifts thats making her live in fright. Victor is her bloody Valentine. After Jill and some of her friends in collage tormented him and played a prank, Victor has grown with anger and is getting his vengeance by murder. He has gotten the other girls, but now his final victim is Jill. Could she survive the terror.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Thriller from start to finish
Review: Valentine is a great and creepy thriller that really grabs you hard and never lets go. A taunt and suspenseful joy ride that not only delivers in spades but will live you breathless after its over. Tom Savage weaves a tale of vengeance; deceit and horror that will not only floor you but also keep you awake at night for sometime to come. If you were not affected at all by this book after you read it, then you don't have a pulse.

One of the best thrillers I have read in a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!!
Review: When I saw the movie "Valentine" and I heard that it was based upon a novel by Tom savage, I wanted to read the book. I bought it from chapters the next day and I started reading it.

Thank God, I did. Valentine is an excellent page-turner filled with twists. I thought the book is very suspenseful and I recommend it to all teens and adults... It's a book you want to read :)