Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Grand Entrance into the Genre, February 1, 2002
After finishing this book, I immediately added Mike Oliveri to my list of horror writers that need to be watched for future releases. Mike's passion for the genre is evident in this, his debut novel. Deadliest of the Species is the story of a man, Tim Wilder, who becomes trapped in a small mountain community known as Rapture. The women of the town hold a dark secret and it isn't long before Tim is caught up in their machinations. They steel his money, his car, his clothes, and then they murder his best friend. And that is just the beginning. Oliveri is strong on characterization, with believable motivations and subtle actions that cause his characters to get up off the page and talk to the reader. His plot never flags, right up to its dramatic conclusion, and he has the veteran's flair for making the reader suspend their disbelief and dive without hesitation into the tale he is spinning. Without a doubt, Deadliest of the Species is highly recommended!
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just Horror: Much in here for Mainstream audiences, May 3, 2002
Michael Oliveri's debut novel is more than just great entertainment, and it's more than just the winner of the prestigious Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association (First Novel category for 2001).In part, it's a study of socio-economic and gender subjugation--of what happens when an entire class of people is forced into the servitude of another, denied its basic civil liberties, and cowed into performing the most demeaning acts imaginable to ensure its survival. Sound familiar? A member of the National Organization for Women will read this book and say, "That's me." A member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will read this book and say, "That's me." But this isn't a novel about subjugated women or subjugated African-Americans. The genius in this story is in how it turns the tables: the raped gender is men--white men. And the dominant class is women. Anyway, that's one thing I got out of this book, and my point is that there's something in here for everyone. While horror lovers will admire it for all of its perfectly executed trappings of the genre, mainstream audiences will also have much to appreciate. Written by a new master of the craft of story telling, DEADLIEST OF THE SPECIES is a modern parable: a commentary on gender warfare, class warfare, the value of religion, and the importance of hope and loyalty in the face of deadly crisis.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Easily One Of The Top 5 Novels Of The Last 10 Years!!!, December 30, 2005
That may sound like a very profound statement, but I am dead serious when I say it. Maybe even the best novel in the last 10 years. Nothing comes to mind that tops it. King's Bag of Bones is up there. Laymon's Traveling Vampire Show as well. But those 2 aren't debuts. This one is! Usally, books with this much hype don't pan out to be much. Overhyping and all that goes with it. I've been a fan of Oliveri's for several years and now I'm one for life. I love his short stories. I went into this book a bit skeptical and came out astonished and marveled and its greatness. I also came away baffled. Not by the book's content mind you, but why they haven't reprinted this instant classic. It's beyond my logic. This book is damn good. It's also damn rare. Let's see you try to find one. If you search for awhile you'll probably be able to track down a ex-library copy for about $40.00 or so. The versions that were printed, I believe, are a limited HC, a trade HC, and a trade paperback. There was also like 2 or 3 copies of an ultra rare publisher's edition copy. The limited was a 300 copy print run and the trade HC I'm not sure, though most trade HC's ended up in libraries. The paperback's must have been rare as well. I haven't seen one of those in ages. I own the limited edition, which as you would expect is signed by Oliveri. Some of the trade HC's I've seen have been signed. All versions, from what I've heard, have a bunch of typos. This is the case with my copy, but it doesn't really affect the overall reading experience, because once you get in the Oliveri ride it goes full speed till the end and what a ride it is. I read somewhere, might of been Oliveri's website(mikeoliveri.com), where Mike would like to get this one back in print in a cleaned up version. This novel won the Bram Stoker award for best first novel in 2001 and I can see clearly why. I won't tell you what it's about and ruin anything in this amazing novel other than a man being stranded in a mountainside town full of women cut off from the outside world. Sounds like some place I'd like to find and be or so I thought until I read this amazing novel. You know what baffles me most of all? WHY DOESN'T MIKE HAVE MORE NOVELS IN PRINT??? THIS IS IT FOLKS. HIS ONLY NOVEL. WAKE UP PUBLISHERS!!! WHERE'S AN OLIVERI SHORT STORY COLLECTION AT AS WELL PUBLISHERS??? SIGN MIKE TO A 3 OR 4 BOOK DEAL AT LEAST. HE'S UP THERE WITH LAYMON AND LEE AND KING AND HE'S ONLY BEGUN! Another profound statement. You better believe it. Were Laymon, Lee, or King's first novels this good? Hell no! If publisher's will grab this guy he'll be the next big enchilada and you can quote me. Such originality. Masterful! Peeps, if you can track down a copy of this, buy it that second. Put your life savings on it. Do whatever. Even get a temporary job if you have to. If you're lazy and you can't afford it, steal it. If you don't want to risk prison sentence for stealing, ask Mike nicely and he might lone you a copy or sell you one. Then again, he tell you to get your own copy. That's what I'd do. It's that good. Bravo Mike! You deserve much acclaim for Deadliest of the Species. Like Mike's buddy Mr. Keene, he's going places. Big places! Track this one down and guard it with your life, because sometime in the near future everyone else is going to want it too. Then you can tell them what Mike told you. Get your own!
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