Customer Reviews

Billy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was in high school when I came across this book, just browsing through a NYC public library when I picked it up, out of coincidence. Bottom line - reading this book was an emotionally harrowing experience for me. It is a vivid account of a twelve year old boy who is adbucted from what is supposed to be the safest place in the world - his own bed, a couple doors down from his parents' bedroom. From there, the story takes the reader through a horrendous ordeal of the aftermath of this abduction and what happens to the child. Whitley Strieber tells this tale from multiple points of view. You get the boy, who is living through the worst, most traumatizing nightmare of his life. There's also the mother, experiencing the agony and pain of her only son - missing, possibly even dead, a mother who's only wish is to have him at her side. Then, there's Barton Royal, the darkest character to ever cross the world of fiction, a diabolical child murderer who has an attraction for young boys, someone who wants to make his perverse dreams a reality when he abducts young Billy. This book is not only a tale of suspense. It is a tale that puts things in a frightening real - life perspective. It is a sign that we must truly be aware of children's surroundings. We must make sure that what happened in this book will remain fictional, that it will never, ever become a real - life story. Billy, the book, was engaging from word one. It's a powerful tale with clear prose, a tale that makes the agony, the fear, and the monstrous perversion feel real. That's how powerful the book is. It will truly move anyone who reads it. I recommend it with the highest praise.

Barton Royal, a clown in an L.A. bookstore, is obsessed with young boys. He wants to be their father, he even fantasizes how much they will love being together. In an arcade, he spots Billy Neary with a group of friends. Unfortunately, Billy doesn't pay too much attention, even when Barton offers him more money for the games. He finds out where Billy lives and abducts him. It's a disturbing book because it can happen and I'm sure that it does. For any suspense/thriller fans, this book is not to be missed.

A serial predator (obviously based on real life clown/serial killer John Wayne Gacy) breaks into little Billy's room in the dead of night and abducts him. The queasy similiarities to several recent child abductions makes rereading this book even more disturbing. Every parent's worst nightmare is played out here without a single pulled punch and the result is one of the most disturbing 'horror' novels in recent memory. Recommended for the strong of heart.

I was not AMAZED by the book but it was an overall good book. Billy was a very smart child. He tried his best to manipulate Barton. Although it took a lot out of him he was very brave in this story. The only problem I had was the last 60 pages or so. The story just got weird. Then at the very last chapter Billy wanted to go somewhere (I don't want to give anything away) and I just thought as a parent that was a little to weird. Overall a pretty good book.

Streiber is a very clever and well-polished writer, and I have enjoyed his horror novels for a long time. Billy was one of his books that I never got around to reading at the time of publication.

Unlike his other work, the horror does not have a supernatural theme. The plot has more in common with a mystery or thriller, but Streiber's natural feel for the horror genre lifts Barton from a criminal to a monster.

The book is surprisingly realistic at times, almost to the point of sacrificing pace. I found the material compelling, but somehow not as well structured as some of Streiber's other books.

Three and a half stars. Be aware, the book is very violent and deals with an extremely disturbing theme. It is not suitable for younger readers.

This may well be the most chilling and disturbing book you ever did read. It is a masterpiece from the first to the very last page. Horrific because it does not use ghost and goblins, but people having to deal with events that are so close to reality you just can't be dissapointed.One of my favourite books, not for the faint-hearted a must for horror lovers.

I was in high school when I read this book. It was a surprise pick I made at a public library in NYC, just through browsing and reading book jackets. Bottom line, when I read this book, I was emotionally gripped by this grim tale of a 12 year old boy who was kidnapped by a monstrous, homicidal pedophile in what was supposed to be the safest place in the world - in his own bed, a couple doors down from his parents' bedroom. This story goes on to describe this child's horrendous ordeal through several points of view. Here you get to see the child living his darkest, most traumatizing fears. You also see the agony and pain of a mother who yearns to have her only son returned to her side. Finally, you are introduced to the darkest side of humanity ever to come across the world of fiction, a child murderer who goes by the name of Barton Royal. This tale is so VIVID that it all feels real - the pain, the fear, the monstrous perversion. A must - read, especially for parents. This is not just a tale of suspense. It is also a tale that shows that children are not 100% safe, that we must truly be careful of their surroundings and that we must watch out for them so that the tragic events that happened in this book never, ever become reality. I give the author the highest praise. The writing is clear and to say that the story is very engaging is an understatement. It was good from the first word on. I agonized right along with the main character, Billy. That's how real and powerful this story is. To whoever reads this - mark my words, this book will truly move you. That's how vivid and powerful the story is. The best read of a lifetime - and that is NOT an overstatement.

Like another person who reviewed this book, I also picked it up by accident in a bookstore when I was a teenager. There was really no reason why I should have picked it up. The unassuming cover (I have the hardcover) didn't grab me, the title was quite basic and I had never heard of the author. Perhaps it was Whitley Streiber's lack of detail that grabbed me. Whatever it was, once I picked it up, the book soon became a part of who I was.

I have a bachelor's degree in English Literature, and yet throughout my years of study of all the "masters" in the art, at the end of the day I count "Billy" as my favorite of them all.

As a writer, Strieber does a magnificent job of detailing the innocuous with poetic precision. I can relate to the way in which when great tragedy comes, it's the unrelated details that seem to stand out. "What oft was thought but ne're so well expressed," would be the best way of describing it.

The story itself is more gripping than almost any movie I've ever seen. The only other book that gave me a similar feeling of traction was Stephen King's "Misery," but King's book is much more verbose (and not necessarily for the better, as not much of it contributed to the story but worked more as a vehicle for his own thoughts on the process of writing). The rubber hits the road on page one and keeps on going until the back cover.

This book is violent, unsettling and touches my dark side in a way no other book has been able to. If you have seen the movie "The Dark Knight," you might agree with me that the Joker's performace was the best part in the movie and when he was offscreen you were waiting anxiously for the next time you could join his world. In the same way, Strieber's portrayal of Barton "Fat" Royal is so fascinating, well thought out and articulated that it makes Billy's sections look flat in comparison. Ultimately both interpretations compliment each other (alongside the family's). These characters are fleshed out so fleshed out you feel as if they could be real people somewhere.

Out of print, but not out of my heart, "Billy" will continue to be a book that I look forward to reading as I grow older in order to compare my personal interpretations of Strieber's world.

A must read.

More than just the story of a child abduction, this disturbing novel takes an unsettlingly close look at the twisted mind of the abductor, a man who works as a clown in a bookstore in between crimes. Barton Royal is one of the most frightening and bizarre villians in the annals of fiction. Highly recommended for all but the faint of heart.

More than just the story of a child abduction, this disturbing novel takes an unsettlingly close look at the twisted mind of the abductor, a man who works as a clown, entertaining small children in a bookstore between crimes. Barton Royal is one of the most frightening and bizarre villians in the annals of fiction. Highly recommended for all but the faint of heart.