Creepers [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

David Morrell (Author), Patrick Lawlor (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2005

On a cold October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the Jersey shore and begin preparations to break into the Paragon Hotel. Built in the glory days of Asbury Park by a reclusive millionaire, the magnificent structure - which foreshadowed the beauties of art deco architecture - is now boarded up and marked for demolition. The five people are “creepers,” the slang term for urban explorers: city archeologists with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings and their dying secrets. On this evening, they are joined by a reporter who wants to profile them - anonymously, as this is highly illegal activity - for a New York Times article. Frank Balenger, a sandy-haired, broad-shouldered reporter with a decided air of mystery about him, isn’t looking for just a story, however. And after the group enters the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, it becomes clear that he will get much more than he bargained for. Danger, terror, and death await the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Paragon Hotel, built in the heyday of Asbury Park, NJ, is now rundown and abandoned, like much of the city itself. But it's no ordinary relic-the hotel's former owner was a rich eccentric, making it an ideal location for urban explorers ("creepers") to investigate. One group of creepers finds more danger than they bargain for. Morrell's writing is tight and suspenseful as always, and his attempt to tell a secular haunted house story works extraordinarily well. Lawlor narrates with clear, precise diction, and adeptly alters his voice to give life to the different characters, but his tone and style are all wrong for the book. Where the novel is creepy and atmospheric, Lawlor's narration is over-the-top and cartoonish-it's too much Scooby-Doo and not enough The Haunting. The overall production values are very good; the sound effects used during walkie-talkie communication are a nice touch. But this audiobook cannot overcome Lawlor's terrible miscasting, which rendered an otherwise fine horror novel into a campy mess.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Frank Balenger is a New York Times reporter doing a Sunday magazine profile on urban explorers, better known as creepers. It's an illegal activity but a very popular one, in which adventure seekers invade crumbling old structures in search of thrills and perhaps a glimpse of the past. Frank joins a team of four as they prepare to enter the long-shuttered and mysterious Paragon Hotel. They surreptitiously enter as darkness envelops the city, planning to emerge before dawn none the worse for wear. At least that's the plan. Initially they encounter the expected assortment of crumbling furniture, magazines, and rats, but soon they realize they are not alone, and their counterparts are not friendly people. It turns out that Frank's group has a hidden agenda involving treasure, and their rivals are after the same loot. Throw in an even more unfriendly kidnapper and his captor, and you have a nightmare in the making. Veteran thriller writer Morrell gleefully and shamelessly cherry picks from several genres (crime, horror, adventure, western) and blends them into a violent, claustrophobic nightmare. There's the survive-the-night-in-a-haunted-house plot starring a Norman Bates villain; there's a Treasure of the Sierra Madre cast that would rather die than give up the loot; and there's a version of the classic western in which the outlaws and the homesteaders join forces to battle the Indians. An unabashedly entertaining thriller that has blockbuster movie written all over it. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597374660
• ISBN-13: 978-1597374668
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something's In The Dark!, September 10, 2005

By 

Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creepers (Hardcover)

Frank Balenger claims to be a journalist interested in the urban art of "creepers", people who break-and-enter into old, abandoned buildings to see what they can see. Operating under the same constraints as professional cavers and with much of the same equipment, "creepers" invade an abandoned structure with the intent of taking pictures and leaving only footprints to mark their passage. Only the building Frank and his five new collegues invade is the Paragon Hotel, a luxury experience designed and built by a hemophiliac trapped within his own world that wanted to experience as much of the outside world as he could. Frank's lie about being a journalist is only the first of several that fall apart during the eight hours of hell and horror waiting for the "creepers".

David Morrell is known around the world for creating the character John Rambo. Author of over 30 novels, several of them feature or television movies, Morrell used to be an English professor that turned professional thriller writer. Many claim with his creation of Rambo that he invented the modern male action adventure novel. He writes from experience, from the literary field as well as hands-on training in hostage negotiation, evasive driving, firearms, and combat maneuvers.

The novel is a slam-bang adrenaline rush to the finish line that knocks the reader for a loop every time the plot seems clear. With simple, cutting prose, Morrell introduces readers to the urban art of "creeping", a mysterious millionaire who built a hotel to satisfy his own cravings, and more twists and turns in character relationships than a toboggan ride down an Olympic run. The information comes quickly and sparsely, just sips that go down when needed and never interfere with the ticking clock the author sets up in the first chapter.

Unfortunately, some of the other reviews give too much away. This is simply one of those novels impossible to talk too much about without spoiling so much.

CREEPERS is a white-knuckled adventure of a read. Easily understandable, engrossing, and ennervating, CREEPERS is not written for the reader who simply wants to while away a few minutes there. The plot, the characters, and the breakneck action will nail a reader to a chair until the ride is over and the last surprise is out of the box.

69 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Morrell at the top of his game, August 16, 2005

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creepers (Hardcover)

As you get older, it's reassuring to note that your favorite writers are maintaining the high standards that attracted you to their work in the first place. Writers who fall into this category, folks like Elmore Leonard, Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake, continue to produce quality work book after book, story after story. Another member of this elite club is David Morrell, who, with the publication of Creepers, shows that he still has what it takes to satisfy even the most demanding thriller reader.

Morrell's latest chronicles eight hours in the lives of five "creepers", urban explorers who break into abandoned or condemned buildings to experience their historical and architectural delights first hand. This particular group, comprised of Professor Robert Conklin, high school teacher Vincent Vanelli, graduate students Rick and Cora Magill, and reporter Frank Balenger, has chosen the Paragon Hotel in Asbury Park as a target, accessing it via a series of underground tunnels. Once inside, the situation deteriorates rapidly as the group discovers the Paragon is not the abandoned building they thought it was. The perils presented by others in the building, and by the decayed hotel itself, place them all in mortal danger. Before the night is through, some inside the Paragon will discover hidden depths of courage and resourcefulness; some will be revealed as liars and imposters; some will die.

Morrell does an excellent job of accounting for almost every second of the eight hours of his story, as, in fact, it will take most readers about that long to read it. The immediacy of the book is one of its greatest strengths--readers quickly start to feel as if they are looking over the shoulders of the team, almost like a sixth member. Besides its immediacy and intimacy, the book is packed with surprising twists and turns, as the group is forced to think on its feet, reacting to the numerous threats they encounter. And it's not only the dilapidated hotel that yields surprises, as several of Morrell's well-drawn cast of characters harbor their own secrets.

It's difficult to pin any particular label on Creepers. At heart a thriller, it also can be categorized as a gothic, horror, or even a time travel novel. It's not cliché to say that Morrell gives readers one hell of a ride, as it's a perfect description of the feeling this book gives you--exciting, captivating and suspenseful, you'll no doubt find yourself thinking Creepers would easily lend itself to a variety of adaptations, whether it be as an action film, a video game, or virtual reality park attraction. Suffice it to say that the man who has alternately been dubbed the "father of all modern action novels" and "the mild mannered professor with the bloody minded visions" has once again proven his considerable mettle, delivering yet another book sure to satisfy loyal fans and win him some new ones as well.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Creep Away From This Book, November 16, 2006

By 

Jon Khoury "The Cranky Critic" (Westchester NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creepers (Mass Market Paperback)

You walk up to the paperback rack, you see a book in paper from an author you've enjoyed, you see a title that catches your interest, a cover that bodes thrills and mystery and maybe a touch of horror, you read the back synopsis, nodding your head like, "I think this sounds REALLY good." You tuck it under your arm while breaking out your Barnes and Noble discount card, looking forward to getting into your comfy chair at home and being engulfed by a great story.

Finally, you arrive at your reading destination and enter the world of Creepers. 40 pages, "Ok, I'm with ya'." 80 pages, "Alright Dave let's get going now." 120 pages, "I don't think I can read another word of this." 160 pages, "I'm out 8 bucks and couldn't care less about any of these people." You shake your head, boot up your computer, head to Amazon and hope you can find something that's actually worth your time. Frankly, this book might qualify as a young adult mystery, but even there, if Creepers were the only option, I'd go buy a new video game for my kids.