The Keep

Rating:
Summary: A cool re-imagining of the Vampire legend.
Review: The Keep revolves around a Nazi Officer and his men who are stationed in the Romanian Mountains, charged with setting up a base in an small abandoned Castle, the "Keep" of the book's title. When a greedy soldier disturbs some of the Keeps unorthodox architecture, and soldiers start dying, an elite SS troop is sent in to stop the killings. And things get worse....

A romanian folklore expert is brought in to decipher strange writing found at the scene of one of the murders, a frail old man who just happens to be Jewish....so you can imagine how he feels about keeping Nazis alive. Throw in the old man's daughter, a mysterious man carrying a mysterious package, and one of the nastiest monsters in horror novel history, and you've got all the ingredients for a "keeper" (HAHAHA...) of a book.

Does Wilson deliver? You betcha....Molosar is one of the nastiest pieces of work this vampire fan has ever encountered, and the way that Wilson explains the vampiric mythology of crucifixes and garlic and mirrors is nothing short of fascinating. I spent much of the book trying to puzzle out his many little riddles, such as why Molosar fears the Cross when Cuza wields it, but kills a Nazi who is holding a cross. Wilson deftly keeps the reader guessing, and in this day of saw-the-ending-coming -a mile-away books, that's something special. I'm looking forward to reading the second book of "The Adversary Cycle", The Tomb.

Rating:
Summary: "The Keep" is a keeper! :)
Review: Initially, I resisted reading this book because it featured Nazis. I've read too many books over the years where the author uses Nazis as villains because it's an easy out and he couldn't come up with a more original bad guy. Not so Paul Wilson! The Nazis are not only the victims in this story, but Wilson even manages the near impossible and we sympathize with them! How original it that!

*The Keep* is so richly detailed that it is a pleasure to read. Wilson skillfully draws you bit by bit into the story and before you know it, you're hooked! One sentence, "The horror had begun", sent chills down my spine!

The evil that is unintentionally unleashed is a fascinating unknown, and the good guys may not turn out to be as good as we originally thought. Who or what is killing the soldiers, one per night? There are no easy answers. I loved the ironic twist of the Nazi commander having to ask for the help of a Jewish scholar in order to save his men. A nice touch.

This is yet another one of those books that will keep you up all night to find out how it ends. I can't wait to read more of Wilson's novels! Two thumbs up for *The Keep*!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Horror
Review: The Keep is an outstanding and satisfying horror yarn. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre. Also to the reader from New Hamshire The Keep was made into a movie. Check out the film. It has a great cast.

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Summary: BEST BOOK I'VE READ THIS YEAR!
Review: I bought this book...ooh, I don't know...maybe two years ago, in some used bookstore, simply because the front cover said "A Novel Of Deep Horror". For two years (I guess) the book just sat there in my room, doing nothing. Then, on August 1 (a date that I will not soon forget), I began reading this (don't ask me how I came to do it--maybe fate?), and I was immediately hooked! The first couple of chapters of this masterpiece were horrifying, terrifying, and with just enough gore to please the standard horror audiences (me included), but not gross-out. The book takes place in 1941, in a place in the Transylvanian Alps called the Dinu Pass. In Dinu Pass is a small castle, or Keep, and it is here that the story occurs. The book starts off in the present, where Major Sturmbanfurer Kaempffer recieves a message from the Keep, saying, quite simply, "SOMETHING IS MURDERING MY MEN." Then the book takes a sort of flashback, where Captain Klaus Woermann of the German Army is assigned with a small league of his soldiers there to watch for any possible invasion by the Russians. Woermann has this sort of dread feeling the minute he crosses the threshold of the Keep and into its courtyard, but he cannot think why. And the whole book just goes on and on, and never lets up until the end. I recall one particular sentence in one of the first couple of chapters that is a real haunter: The horror has begun. These four words are what truely captivated me more than anything else. I will not begin to tell what this "horror" is, but I will only say, READ THIS BOOK. F. Paul Wilson is a uniquely talented writer, and he writes very clearly, with well-developed characters, great visual settings, and quite some scary scenes (let me tell you!). What is really unique about this book is the setting: 1941 in Romania, one of the few countries not totally taken over during this mighty war. As a matter of fact, there is not a single American in the book; in addition, I only recall seeing the word "America" in the last 40 or so pages, only once or twice. There is also something else unique: for a long time, the main character of the book is Klaus Woermann, and he his of the German Army--one of what once were the "bad guys." In this book, the reader learns of his internal hatred of Nazism, as well as how he only joined the war for the honor of prideful battles of justice. I rooted for him, believe it or not, and future readers might do so, too. F. Paul Wilson's character development was excruciatingly *real*. When minor characters died off in the book, they had a small introduction before this. This is much like the usual writing style of another author (James Herbert--nearly *all* his characters are like this), but this is a good thing--if there is no introduction or background to a character, their being killed off is as sad a moment as seeing those cardboard cutout characters from those old B-horror movies. We *need* some intro, and this is it. There are so many other things I would want to talk about from this book, but unless everyone in the entire world read--and enjoyed--this book, I cannot share them. This review was written not only to show my feelings for the book, but to interest other people in reading it. Therefore, I will leave all the wonderful--and horrible--surprises for newcomers to discover. This book will one day be a classic, along with other such terrors as The Shining, I Am Legend, and so many more. I have yet to see the movie, but many people hated it, and from what I've heard, it is more influenced by this book than based upon it. Whatever the movie is like, read this book first, if not instead. I guarantee readers of all sorts--horror, romance, science fiction, fantasy, the works--will enjoy it. Purchase and enjoy this book, people, and don't get too scared...

Rating:
Summary: The Keep
Review: I thought this book was fantastic. Great horror novel that kept me reading till wee hours of the morning. You could picture the castle and really picture the characters in your mind. F. Paul Wilson writes great horror novels, read the Tomb as well. The Keep would make an excellent movie. The character of Magda is a bit wishy washy with her sexual awakening, and Glenn seems like a supernatural hero but the vampire lore and Vlad the Impaler seems so real and scary. great book to read on an airplane, a real page turner!! enjoy

Rating:
Summary: Good start...bad ending...
Review: The Keep is important to the Third Reich. So when German soldiers stationed there start to die the SS is sent to investigate and DESTROY whatever enemy they find.
But what happens when the enemy is more powerful, more ruthless and even more sadistic than the Death Squads sent to fight it?
The story started out very strong, a mixture of horror, mystery and even a touch historical novel. The characters seemed real, the plot solid and the flow was smooth. The fears that Theodor Cuza develops about his religion and his faith, the interplay between Erich Kaempffer's naked greed and Klaus Woermann's military professionalism, only add to the reality of the setting.
But near the end the story started to get a little too wild, turning from a vampire/between a rock and a hard place/Lovecraft book into something more fitting of fantasy/Evil vs. Good/E.E."Doc" Smith book.

Rating:
Summary: The First Half Was Great. . .
Review: The second half on the other hand left much to be desired. This novel was much better when it was about the two German officers who had to work together but hated each other. One was a true army officer. He proved his valor in WWI and was able to keep his career in the army after the first great war. The other showed cowardess in the face of the enemy in WWI and later became a member of the SS. The one stands by the proud tradition of the German army, and hates what the Nazis represent. The other is a cruel man who revels in the pain of others. Watching these two work together and against each other at the same time was the best part of this book.

Once Magda and her father enter the novel, it takes a huge downward spiral. Magda is an awful character, and once she becomes the main character the book became a drag to read. I completely agree with the other reviewer who stated that her sexual awakening was not necessary. When she wasn't shaking up with the "hero" of the book, she was whining about her father's disease, or the Nazis, or how because of her father's disease she couldn't live a normal life. I really wanted to reach into the book and slap her.

I would pass on this book if I was you. Which is a shame because the first half gave this book such promise that was never followed through with.

Rating:
Summary: Eh.
Review: Without the love story, this would have been a really great creep fest. What a strong and gloomy beginning! But it seems to disintegrate about half-way though- like a vampire in sunlight. Color me one of the stinkers.

Rating:
Summary: Creepy Book...I've Read It Twice...
Review: There are very few books that I keep on my shelf to read more than once, but this is one of them. The setting is mesmerizing: a mysterious keep in Transylvania. Who built it and why? These questions haunt the German captain who stations his men there.

Set in WWII, the author does a great job of evoking the feelings of the time. The German captain has a disdain for the Nazi SS squad that comes to "rescue" the men who are being killed. It is a fascinating combination of a vampire creature and a true monster--the Nazi who is on his way to command a death camp.

The only let down is the female character and the love affair. The character is a lame stereotype. Worth a read, though, and part of a larger series (although it stands alone just fine).

Rating:
Summary: Who are these guys?
Review: I, Originally, read this book in the early 80s and immediately anoited F.Paul Wilson as one of my five favorite authors. I read everything he writes and I'm never dissappointed. Like any author, some of Wilson's work is better than others but I always thought 'The Keep' and 'The Tomb' were his crowning achievements. Most of his later work was derived from these two works.
So why are the more recent reviews trashing this masterpiece.
This is the 47th review. Of the first 28 reviews, there were 23-5 stars and 5-4 stars. Then in June of 2001 came the first 3 star which seemed to encourage a lowering of the reviews. last month, December, the roof caved in when three people gave 'The Keep' reviews of 4,1,3 and 1 star. The first 28 reviews were almost solid 5 star, the last 18 reviews have averaged 3.2 stars, almost two stars less. I find it curious that any piece of literature could have such a wide divergence of approval.
What happened? Perhaps, Dr. Wilson broke a mirror, thereby receiving 7 years bad luck. I doubt that for I would be trashing him as well. Maybe, a jealous writer is ghost writing less than stellar reviews. Possibly, the age old Evil presence has finally escaped the Keep and is seeking revenge on our author by possessing people to write negative reviews. I think not. What I think is that several reviewers thought they were reviewing a book by Danielle Steel.
The point is that this is a fine book. How anyone could give this a one or two star rating amazes me. Have they ever read a one star book? I have and I call them STINKERS. This book stands on it's own merits. Wes Craven and Dean Koontz probably wish they had written this book. The King (Steven King),I recall, has said he really enjoys Wilson's work and Repairman Jack (The Tomb) is his favorite character,by any author.
In summation, 36 people got it right, read their reviews, then buy the book but beware there are, I believe, 4 sequels ending with the absolutly horrifying Nightworld.