Customer Reviews

Blind Panic

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

 

 

From bestselling veteran Graham Masterton comes an entertaining - if a bit sprawling - apocalyptic tale that once again pits the malevolent, ancient Algonquin medicine man Misquamacus against the hero of Masterton's first novel, ("The Manitou"), the fake psychic, amiable ne'er-do-well Harry Erskine. "Blind Panic" is obsessively readable and wildly fun, and as usual, Masterton's prose is solid and smooth.

A devastating plague has descended upon the people of the United States: sudden, unexplainable and incurable blindness. The resulting devastation is cataclysmic. Thousands of highway accidents and pileups, dozens of airliners crashing into cities and homes, followed by looting, violence, and fiery destruction. Military bases fall into confusion and disarray, and even the President of the United States falls blind, leaving one of the greatest nations on the planet open to attack from without.

Harry Erskine, fake psychic and good-natured scam artist is pulled into the fray when an old friend, (and would be lover, if life had run differently), Amelia Carlsson calls, desperate because her sister's family has fallen blind, also. Investigating the plague's cause, they discover through bits of testimony that the widespread blindness may have a supernatural cause. A séance summoning an old comrade from the Spirit World confirms their worst fears: Misquamacus, known also as He Who Went and Came Back, has struck against the living once again. He wants vengeance for all Native Americans, and he aims no less than to make modern Americans the next extinct race.

For the most part, Masterton handles multiple third-person narratives and Harry's first person perspective skillfully. Also highly enjoyable are his undeniably Lovecraftian tropes: He Who Went and Came Back, his service to the Great Old Ones, those locked away in time and space, and his medallion depicting the "writhing tentacles of the greatest Old One of them all". Best of all, the story is very readable and compelling, without any sacrifice to craft or character development, a fun story with substance, also.

I've read a few Masterton novels. He's usually entertaining, if not always making a lot of sense. This one was dreadful however. The premise sounded pretty interesting after reading the back cover but instead turns out to be a very badly executed and very boring story of vengeful native American spirits.

Characters are annoying and unrealistic. Dialogue is dreadful. Antagonists are not frightening.

The worst Masterton I have read and one of the worst novels I have ever read. I will be thinking very carefully before purchasing another Masterton book.

The entire United States is suddenly hit by a surge of mass blindness. No one is immune, not even the most powerful man in the country. Thousands upon thousands are killed when planes fall from the sky and cars plunge into one another. Masterton brings back characters from his first novel, The Manitou, including "psychic" Harry Erskine and Amelia Carlsson. After conducting a séance, they discover Misquamacus, a.k.a He Who Went and Came Back, an ancient Algonquin medicine man, has returned to seek vengeance for all the wrongs committed by "the white man." Masterton does an outstanding job with this apocalyptic tale. Although this isn't the first he writes about these characters, BLIND PANIC can serve as a stand-alone novel. The back story is sufficiently filled in without seeming to drag on. Highly recommended.

This here's an excellent and fun supernatural thriller. Shround Magazine's review hits the nail on the head. I've read a few Masterton books and I'd have to say this ones the best so far. Not necessary at all to have read the other books with the same characters. This works great as a stand alone novel. Masterton has written a ton of books and he's for sure a Master Craftsman that totally deserves a much large audience. Highly recommended.

If you've never read a "Manitou" book before, I think you will like this one.

If you've read the whole series up to this point, I think you will find it entertaining (and if you've made it this far, you must find Graham Masterton novels entertaining, as I do), but will also find the "Manitou" series getting tiresome.

********* SPOILER ALERT **********

Here we go again. Misquamacus is still angry. He finds a way to spread catastrophe across the U.S. for the third book in a row (in the first book it was just a hospital; in the second just a school bus and a small town). Harry Erskine is still surprised that Misquamacus found a way back. Amelia, who was dead in the first book, is still alive, as she was in the last few books. Singing Rock is still available as a spirit, but -- typically inconsistent Masterton -- Erskine needs help to call him back even though in the last book it took him a few minutes to call him up. (Singing Rock's feelings for Erskine are also inconsistent; in the second book, they are like best buds, but now Singing Rock seems to just be putting up with him.) There's some of the usual gore, but not the sex that is usually in a Masterton novel.

Another thing . . . Didn't Harry Erskine gain some vampire powers in the last book? Some superhuman strength? They didn't come up at all.

Oh, well. If you've read the prior "Manitou" books, you can basically predict what's going to happen. But there are engaging characters along the way, including a cool baby who can see spirits and predict plane crashes (although I really, really don't like references to 9/11 in novels I read for entertainment; still too fresh). Even when Masterton is not great, he's still fun.

The next book I'm reading is The Djinn, which is an early Graham Masterton novel featuring Harry Erskine but apparently NOT Misquamacus!

Blind Panic by Graham Masterton was an excellent read. Masterton fans won't be disappointed. This is the continuation of Misquamacas' attempts at vengence upon any non-native american for what was done to them in the past. It's up to Harry Erskine, and his allies to stop the wonder worker again. A brilliant use of one of Lovecraft's minor characters. Misquamacas' tales began with The Manitou, and continued in Revenge of the Manitou, Burial, and Manitou Blood. They don't need to be read, or read in order, to enjoy any of the other books. I also recommend Charnel House and Edgewise for more native american themed horror by Masterton.

Maybe it's because I bought this expecting something scary (it was in the horror section) but I was extremely disapointed. It reads just like any old disaster movie and even throws in the cliche of a Native American taking revenge for the crimes of settlers on people who weren't even born yet. Blah.