Crimson [Paperback]

Gord Rollo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

The citizens of the Canadian town of Davinsport, Ontario, are no strangers to fear. Evil has walked their streets before, leaving in its wake a legacy of murder, and mad-ness. No one likes to talk about it anymore, and most people have managed to convince themselves it never really happened, but secrecy and denial can only hide the truth for so long. Evil can wait forever. By 1967, what had happened was nothing more than a legend, a scary story told around roaring campfires. Four boyhood friends are about to discover the truth, but no one will believe them. Their parents think the boys?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This memorable debut, first published by Prime Books in 2002, reads like a clumsy but endearing homage to Stephen King. Four engaging boys from Dunville, Ontario, dub their 1977 club The Knights of the Round Room after finding a bomb shelter on Johnny Page's farm. In 1955 Jacob Harrison killed his family and hanged himself on that same spot, and Johnny's tumble into a well awakens a creature who has possessed what's left of Harrison's corpse. It confronts the boys and tempts one of them into evil. By 1986, the boys are 19 and the creature is rampaging again, framing Johnny's friend Peter for the Ripper Killer's 12-victim crime spree. The sometimes cartoonishly gory descriptions and awkward prose find their foundation in Rollo's skillful borrowings from horror's top writers. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Prime Books (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894815343
• ISBN-13: 978-1894815345
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,438,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fiction... not Art, February 23, 2009

By 

Chris Loeffler (Medford, Or United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crimson (Mass Market Paperback)

As a long time fan of horror, I found this book to be exceedingly average in every department. The narration itself is as plain and literal as can be... don't even bother looking for a higher meaning. No clever phrasing or play of words, no subtle allusions or ambiguity. Generic story with generic characters. It's not bad, but I look for something more than "competent" when I'm committing the time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars When you want something too much it often falls short, March 28, 2011

By 

TastyBabySyndrome "Matthew Lewis, author of M... ("Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Little Tendril Baseball Team, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimson (Mass Market Paperback)

As a big fan of Jigsaw Man, I expected something more than what I got. I read the back and fell for the comparison to the book It, however, and that got me going. I figured G. Rollo to be someone that might be a nice craftsman in that regard and, honestly, I wanted a new It because of the impact that book had. The delivery was anything but what I expected, and I think that made me a little bit frustrated as I forced myself to go on.

I've read a lot of horror and I know when I am bonding or when I am being forced to stomach a character. Topping that part off was also the length of the book itself, which came in at a little less than 300 pages. Considering the book it sought to try and be like was over three times that size, it is easy to see how characters might fall short and how the character could also fall somewhat short as well.

When the bok came out it seemed to have a lot to offer. It seems seductive still, sounding really nice but not really coming across like you would want it to. If you feel that you might find something in it and this is wrong, you can always sample a little piece of it and see what everyone else sees. That said, I am giving this 2/5 stars and I rarely do that. I simply recall what the author is capable of doing and, well, this is not a great or even modest showing.

Sad. Really sad.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, relentless stuff!, November 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Crimson (Paperback)

This is dark and relentless stuff, from someone who doesn't want to give you too much time to catch your breath. Author Gord Rollo is obviously someone knows and loves the horror genre, and that makes "Crimson" a lot of fun to read. Sure, it has some flaws (a first novel in the small press always does) but the author's intensity and wicked gleefulness more than compensate for them. For a macabre, Halloween-style kick in the butt, try "Crimson." It's a blast.