THE FAN by Bob Randall Review by Robg.

The 1977 novel for THE FAN written by Bob Randell came highly recommended to me by a friend and after literally devouring it in two short sittings, I can proudly say this is one of my all time favorite books now. (It would’ve been one sitting had I not initially started reading the book so late at night.)

The story revolves around former movie star Sally Ross, who’s about to begin a new career on Broadway in New York. The original and unique thing about this novel is the way the story is told. It’s all presented to us in a series of letters, mostly between Sally and several key people in her life, such as her secretary/ assistant of 6 years/ best friend Belle Goldman, her ex-husband/ still close friend Jake Burman and of course Douglas Breen, the fan.

By reading Sally’s letters to and from the various people in her life, it very easily opens up to us, the reader the world around her. It’s very simple to get drawn into her close friendships and relationships simply by reading her letters and imagining these people’s personalities from their words. You can see how they relate to Sally’s life. Occasionally, a fan letter from Douglas slips in and at first they’re unalarming. Usually simple requests such as asking for an autographed picture. But slowly, as the letters become more frequent and the replies come less-frequently, Douglas begins to get very angry and more threatening. It’s in this unconventional way that we are drawn into this story, and wondering what is going to happen next. The main intrigue comes by making us be the voyeurist to the intertwining story of these people’s lives. Each letter is a further step back into who each person is, and in someone like Doug’s case, what he’s capable of. The further along the book gets, the more creepier the words and actions of Douglas become. It gets to the point where Doug begins to do things to the people close to Sally, just to prove he can. Eventually the police get involved, but the interesting thing about the book is the time it’s set in. (It’s the late 70’s.) These are all hard letters. It’s not like today, the age of the internet and email. So, at the beginning of the book, for example, Douglas Breen signs his full name and gives his address with each unthreatening letter he sends along. It’s very easy to see how he’s just another fan letter among the pile. But as he gets closer and his obsession starts to become more violent, he leaves out that essential information, thinking that Sally truly loves him and doesn’t want to give away his identity to the police. If only his original letters weren’t thrown out, it’d make the task of catching this nut easier! But alas, that’s what makes this book so suspenseful. And you WILL be in suspense, right until the very end. (Which resolves itself in an unexpected yet totally satisfactory way.)

I’ve heard that there was a movie version made out of this, but I’d find it rather difficult to see a proper adaptation of this story, especially considering the unique format of the book. I seriously give this one my strongest recommendation.

THE FAN is the fastest read I’ve ever read, and will keep you enthralled from the first letter to the very last. –Robg.

Buy it on Amazon.com!

Posted by RobG at 03:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Review by Robg.

If your familiar with Batman history and you look at Christopher Nolan’s film, BATMAN BEGINS, you should be able to spot several source references that screenwriter David Goyer drew upon to tell the origin story of Bruce Wayne and his journey to becoming the batman. Portions of the movie’s story come from Batman’s first appearance in Detective Comics No. 27. Bruce Wayne’s fear of bats, falling down the cave and beginning his training can be traced back to the story “The Man Who Falls” from a Secret Origins trade paperback. While of course, Frank Miller’s legendary Batman: Year One introduced the characters of Jim Gordon before he was commissioner, his corrupt partner on the force Flass and mob boss Carmine Falcone. So, now with THE DARK KNIGHT fast approaching, one has to wonder what sources they’ll pull from for the sequel.

I’ve heard so much about Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s storyarc titled THE LONG HALLOWEEN, but never got the chance to read it until now. Carmine Falcone returns for this noir-type crime mystery, and I’m willing to bet the portion of this story involving Harvey Dent and his eventual transformation into villain Two-Face will most likely come from this book.

After Frank Miller wrapped up Year One, the Falcone character was never really used again. (At least to the best of my knowledge) So Loeb and Sale took this opportunity to resolve Falcone’s story, create Dent’s descent into a villain and perhaps fill in more of the missing blanks from Batman’s early years becoming the world’s greatest detective.

In THE LONG HALLOWEEN, Lieutenant Gordon, District Attorney Harvey Dent and the Batman make a vow to do whatever it takes to finally take down Falcone and his crime family, within reason to the law, of course. Both Dent and Gordon are so determined in their common goal that their work is consuming them, often leaving their personal lives in jeopardy and leaving little time for their families. Suddenly, a new villain calling himself “Holiday” is murdering members of Falcone’s family on each passing holiday. The trio try to put the pieces together to figure out who’s instigating what could become a mob war. Is it the recently incarcerated Calander Man? Or crime boss and Falcone rival Sal Maroni? Or is it Harvey Dent, so obsessed with bringing down Falcone that he’s now crossing the line of justice?

A complete psychopath like The Joker refuses to allow there to be 2 maniacs terrorizing Gotham. And slowly but surely, Falcone gets desperate and begins helping arrange the escape of several other of Gotham’s notorious villains such as Scarecrow and The Mad Hatter. Appearances by Catwoman, The Riddler and Solumn Grundy are here too.

The interesting thing is that the story is broken up into 13 chapters (or issues as it was released) and the time period covers the span of one full year – from one Halloween to the next, hence the long Halloween. I wouldn’t classify this as one of the best Batman stories ever told, but it really was both a fascinating and interesting read, and I devoured it in one sitting. The highpoint of the book is of course finally getting to know the character of Harvey Dent before he became Two-Face. He’s truly a determined character and it makes it all the more tragic the destiny we watch unfold here. (Look for his campaign poster slogan to show up in the new movie too - "I believe in Harvey Dent") Also, I like the “escalation” debate that’s hinted at in the closing scene of BATMAN BEGINS. Could these bizarre and outrageous new villains in fact be inspired by the batman’s presence?

If you’re a BATMAN fan and curious to see where a lot of the upcoming sequel might come from, then I strongly recommend picking up this book! –Robg.

Buy it on Amazon.com!

Posted by RobG at 03:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

BRUCE CAMPBELL: IF CHINS COULD KILL/MAKE LOVE THE BRUCE CAMPBELL WAY

By Bruce Campbell - Review by Scott Lefebvre

I borrowed ‘If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor’ and ‘Make Love!* The Bruce Campbell Way’ from Josh and Dolores Gravel, respectively.

I read them in chronological order, one after the other in quick succession.

Not that I was trying to burn through them both to do a double review.

Bruce Campbell has an enjoyably readable writing style that makes getting through his books great fun and when I finished the first I immediately began the second.

The author’s writing style doesn’t change much between books, but they are definitely different.

As far as ‘If Chins Could Kill’, allow me to begin by putting forth that this is not the only Hollywood autobiography that I’ve read.   But it may have been one of the most-entertaining.

The book follows Bruce Campbell’s life story from his youth, through his Super-8 movie days in college with Sam Raimi, ending with Campbell’s impressive but short-lived career(s) in syndicated television shows, specifically those of the ‘action’ genre, both in front of and behind the camera.

It’s possible that readers who are completely unfamiliar with Bruce Campbell would enjoy this book as an insider’s perspective on the hard work and perseverance needed to find work and perpetuate a career as an actor.

I’ll never know, not having that objectivity, because I am an avid fan of the Evil Dead trilogy of films, and am always pleased to notice Bruce in a cameo in the films of Sam Raimi and other directors.   I did experience some unfamiliarity, because unlike some readers of this book who rabidly celebrate Campbell’s entire career, I haven’t seen a single episode of Brisco County Jr. or Hercules or Xena.   I guess I just missed all of those years of television for some reason.   But at least I had heard of the shows and had a general idea of what they were about, so I wasn’t that disoriented.

The chapters relating to the Evil Dead films are thorough and fulfilling and could have a life of their own if published as one of those prestige format books which deal with a specific film or series of films like ‘Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left: The Making of a Cult Classic’ by David A. Szulkin or ‘Making Friday The 13th: The Legend Of Camp Blood’ by David Grove.   There are either archival photographs or humorous graphics on literally every other page which really helped me to visualize the events that he was describing, and no doubt also helped to pad the length of the book, but Campbell is not the first or only author to indulge in this kind of illustrated text format.

Some of the humor is a little forced, but I get the sense that this is reflective of the author’s broad sense of humor.   It’s almost expected that Campbell will go for the wry, sarcastic, or in the author’s own words, the “cheese-ball” approach when the opportunity presents itself.   At least he’s consistent.   Fans should know Campbell’s approach when they pick up the book, and would probably be disappointed by anything else.   In a way it’s almost the author’s way of being sincere without giving too much away.


‘Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way’ is a different creature altogether, although it reads much the same way as Campbell’s first book.

‘Make Love!’ is a novel which details the comical misadventures of Bruce Campbell as a supporting actor in an A picture.   Campbell’s familiarity with the inner workings of movie-making allows him to create a believable fictional film.   So much so that I initially thought that Campbell was writing a genuine or thinly veiled novel relating anecdotes from his actual experiences, intermixing it with exaggerated farcical episodes.   I don’t follow Campbell’s career as avidly as his more devoted fans, so it’s possible that he had worked on a film called “Let’s Make Love!” which had been shelved for whatever reason.

As the novel progressed, even the most gullible of readers would discern that there’s just no way that anything so absurd could happen surrounding a production.   That’s saying a lot considering the misadventures which have crippled many an ill-fortuned film in the throes of production.

Campbell’s more outlandish fictional scenarios read a lot like the “Dirk Gently” books by author Douglas Adams.   ‘Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency’ & ‘The Long-Dark Tea-Time of the Soul’.   For those that are unfamiliar with the Dirk Gently books, Douglas Adams also wrote the ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ series, and the comparison is meant favorably.   Readers who enjoy one author will most likely enjoy the other.

I must admit that as far as thinly veiled exposes of the behind the scenes machinations of the Hollywood set, my favorite novel is still Charles Bukowski’s ‘Hollywood’, mostly because it does the inverse of what Campbell does in his book.   Bukowski used real events as the base for his novel, then changed the names so that they are different, but recognizable if one knows a little about the history of the film ‘Barfly’, which was supposed to be a pseudo-autobiographical film about Bukowski, but grew to be inconsistently over-dramatic and larger than life.

Campbell, instead, uses actual names from the entertainment industry and constructs his humorous novel around these personalities, but it seems that Campbell’s use of celebrities serves the same function as casting recognizable names in a movie.   The studio hopes that more people will go see a movie starring actors they recognize, and Campbell, seems to have assembled a cast of characters but often-times seems to get lost in his narrative, going for broad comical outlandishness to patch in the holes in the story.   It’s not an unforgivable fault, but it gives the book a pace like driving on alternating sections of asphalt and dirt.   When it’s smooth, it’s very smooth, but when it’s rough the difference is jarring.

That being said, both books were eminently enjoyable with different qualities to attract readers.   Although, in my opinion, Bruce’s strength is in his wryly comical reactions to actual events, and this comparative strength makes his first book the more enjoyable of the two.

Having borrowed these books, am I going to go out and buy my own copies?   No.

Am I pleased that I took the time to read them?   Yes.

If you’re a big fan of Bruce Campbell’s persona and can’t find these books at your local library, they may well be worth seeking out and acquiring, which is easy enough since both are readily available through any of the many online book sales sites.

Contact Scott at: Scott_Lefebvre@hotmail.com

Buy IF CHINS COULD KILL on Amazon.com!

Buy MAKE LOVE THE BRUCE CAMPBELL on Amazon.com!

 

Posted by RobG at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)