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hennershenners's review against another edition
1.0
I begged and begged my parents to let me read this book. and my father was not keen. After much pestering he relented. The book begins with Bates 'raping' a dead nun. I can still remember the scene. etched horribly into my brain. I took the book back to the shop; didn't sleep for a year and worse spoiled (and soiled) my sexual fantasies. but I guess I learnt a lesson? parents are often right/have your best interests at heart. and that books can be horrible too
padihamknitter's review against another edition
3.0
Obviously coming so late to this source material for the classic Hitchcock movie meant that the twisting. The politics already well known.
A short book but a fun read
A short book but a fun read
bexinthecity05's review against another edition
2.0
Wow - I'm not sure what to say about this book.
First of all it started out quite good (minus the dead nun stuff) and I actually quite liked the idea of Norman taking revenge on Sam and Lila Loomis and the movie set but then it quickly sloped into a shit show. There were more twists and turns that seemed to serve a 'Who-dunnit' kind of outfit rather than the psychological thriller that the first book was. I think the whole storyline of Santo was totally unneeded and had that not been in there and the final reveal was as it was it would have been a 3-star book for me. I don't get why it was needed to have so many twists. The first book relied on one major plot twist which is mirrored here in the last 10 or so pages (and rather well done I think - besides the sketchy motives) but I thought I was reading a book written by two authors at some points.
Robert Bloch does thriller better than he does Agatha Christie mystery in my opinion.
First of all it started out quite good (minus the dead nun stuff) and I actually quite liked the idea of Norman taking revenge on Sam and Lila Loomis and the movie set but then it quickly sloped into a shit show. There were more twists and turns that seemed to serve a 'Who-dunnit' kind of outfit rather than the psychological thriller that the first book was. I think the whole storyline of Santo was totally unneeded and had that not been in there and the final reveal was as it was it would have been a 3-star book for me. I don't get why it was needed to have so many twists. The first book relied on one major plot twist which is mirrored here in the last 10 or so pages (and rather well done I think - besides the sketchy motives) but I thought I was reading a book written by two authors at some points.
Robert Bloch does thriller better than he does Agatha Christie mystery in my opinion.
draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked the beginning, but it got kinda redundant as it went on. I was a little shocked by the ending though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, and Rape
Minor: Incest and Misogyny
theculturevulture's review against another edition
3.0
An absolute curio of a yarn. Written in the 80's with no connection to the film sequel, Norman is back in a big big way.
The first 100 pages follow Bates on a crazy tear which portray him as a weird combination of the Norman we know and love(?)with Michael Myers. From there the narrative switches to a Screamesque meta story of the production of a film based on the original Bates Motel murders. Things aren't going so smoothly with all the arsons, dead cats and beheadings but can this all be chalked up to Norman? We learn through the story of this film shoot that most people in Hollywood have only a tenuous grasp of reality. How unfair.
This was an enjoyable wild ride. Nothing quite equals the opening third of this book but I'm glad I tracked this down and am giddy about moving on to Psycho House next, the final book of Bloch's Psycho trilogy. Maybe I'll see you there.
The first 100 pages follow Bates on a crazy tear which portray him as a weird combination of the Norman we know and love(?)with Michael Myers. From there the narrative switches to a Screamesque meta story of the production of a film based on the original Bates Motel murders. Things aren't going so smoothly with all the arsons, dead cats and beheadings but can this all be chalked up to Norman? We learn through the story of this film shoot that most people in Hollywood have only a tenuous grasp of reality. How unfair.
This was an enjoyable wild ride. Nothing quite equals the opening third of this book but I'm glad I tracked this down and am giddy about moving on to Psycho House next, the final book of Bloch's Psycho trilogy. Maybe I'll see you there.
mickmickmickmick's review against another edition
This is the sequel to Bloch's original novel and it has nothing to do with the film Psycho II, which was released the next year.
The explanation normally given for that is that Bloch's novel critiqued Hollywood horror films and the producers of the movie did not want to make that movie. The suggestion is that they were offended by Bloch's satirization of them.
That might be the case.
But after reading this, I find it entirely believable that the movie people just didn't like this book simply because it was bad.
The narrative is split between a very standard and silly horror story and the meta satire of the second half.
I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that level of observation from this author so I was a little confused. I thought this would be a straightforward Norman-escapes-and-kills-again story. But once I got on board with the lofty premise, I could appreciate what Bloch was attempting.
Generally, the fault of this book is that the satire is neither sharp nor amusing.
His caricatures of Hollywood producers and performers were flat and repetitive. It was like reading an old Cracked magazine. His concern about the link between greed and violence is valid but he approaches it exclusively in cliche.
The book was too ambitious, I think. This type of thing is very tricky to pull off and I just don't think Bloch or the narrative world of Psycho are sturdy enough to effectively critique the expansive problems addressed here.
The explanation normally given for that is that Bloch's novel critiqued Hollywood horror films and the producers of the movie did not want to make that movie. The suggestion is that they were offended by Bloch's satirization of them.
That might be the case.
But after reading this, I find it entirely believable that the movie people just didn't like this book simply because it was bad.
The narrative is split between a very standard and silly horror story and the meta satire of the second half.
I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that level of observation from this author so I was a little confused. I thought this would be a straightforward Norman-escapes-and-kills-again story. But once I got on board with the lofty premise, I could appreciate what Bloch was attempting.
Generally, the fault of this book is that the satire is neither sharp nor amusing.
His caricatures of Hollywood producers and performers were flat and repetitive. It was like reading an old Cracked magazine. His concern about the link between greed and violence is valid but he approaches it exclusively in cliche.
The book was too ambitious, I think. This type of thing is very tricky to pull off and I just don't think Bloch or the narrative world of Psycho are sturdy enough to effectively critique the expansive problems addressed here.
danixbre's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
0.5
deb_o_rah's review against another edition
3.0
felt like two separate stories reaching blindly for some kind of connection to the characters, feeling and cleverness found in the first book.
vernittae's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Rape
Minor: Sexual assault