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First Blood [Kindle Edition]

David Morrell
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (172 customer reviews)

Print List Price: $8.00
Kindle Price: $5.99
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Book Description



From New York Times bestselling author, David Morrell, comes a classic thriller that introduced the character of Rambo, one of the most iconic action heroes of the twentieth century.


Called “the father of the modern action novel,” FIRST BLOOD changed the genre. Although the book and the film adaptation have similarities, they are very different, especially its unexpected ending and its greater intensity.If you’ve only experienced the film, you’re in for a surprise.


Once they were soldiers. Rambo, the ragged kid whose presence in town is considered a threat. And Teasle, the Chief of Police of Madison, Kentucky. Both have been trained to kill: Rambo in Vietnam, Teasle in Korea. They learned different military tactics, different ways of death and survival in two different wars.


Now, without warning, they are enemies in a civilian combat that becomes a chase through the woods and mountains and caves above the town. As we follow them, we understand that once a man has been trained as a killer, perhaps he is changed forever.

Award-winning FIRST BLOOD was published in 1972, was translated into 26 languages, and has never been out of print. It was one of the first novels to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.


David’s novelizations for RAMBO (FIRST BLOOD PART II) and RAMBO III are available as e-books. They’re quite different from the films and include revealing introductions. See also David’s RAMBO AND ME: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY.





Critical reactions:


“A fine novel. . . . When Johnny comes marching home this time, watch out.”
The New York Times Sunday Book Review


“A first-rate thriller.”
Newsweek


“One of the finest chase novels you will ever read.”
Minneapolis Tribune


“A terrific thriller.”
Saturday Review


“One hell of a hard, fast novel.”
—John D. MacDonald


Editorial Reviews

Review

"I've been a Morrell fan for years -- and now more than ever".-- Dean Koontz on Double Image

Review

"* 'Fresh, inventive, gripping suspense. Morrell plays by his own rules and leaves you dazzled' - Dean Koontz * 'The most chilling story of a manhunt I have ever read' - Daily Express"

Product Details

  • File Size: 369 KB
  • Print Length: 256 pages
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0057AOWVG
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,766 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars First Blood better than any movie May 6, 2002
By Greg
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Morrell became famous with this great novel. This book is nothing like the movies. In the movies Rambo is the clear cut hero while Will Teasle is the "Red Neck Sherriff" out to get someone who looks different. In the book there is not clear cut "good guy" or "bad guy." Both Rambo and Teasle are responsible for what happends. Both had a chance to let it go but don't. Rambo is going through a psychological hell in his mind when trying not to kill again but being forced to in his mind. Teasle who loses several close people in his life and is in the middle of a personal crisis at home. Both were heroes in different wars. Teasle was a hero in the Korean War while Rambo got the medal of honor for his work in Vietnam. This is a great psychological read. Both men think they are right and will not stop until the other is not breathing. Which one will win? Who is right and who is wrong? Also if you buy the book to read for the 1st time do NOT read the introduction if you don't want the ending spoiled.
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59 of 65 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars First Blood, or how to Destroy a Small Town July 2, 2005
By Mr D.
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Verified Purchase
You are a war hero, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, finally back stateside and your welcome home has been dubious at best. Your mind is jumbled up and you don't know what you want to do so you start traveling around the country. You hitchhike or ride the bus when you can and walk otherwise. You camp out in the woods and live off the land as you are trained to do.

You are a law abiding citizen. You love your country, you fought for your country, and you've KILLED for your country. You are a trained killing machine, a weapon of mass destruction, sprung tight and ready to go off with provocation and provoke you they do. In town after town you have been rousted, not because of anything you've done but because of your scruffy appearance.

John Rambo is passing through Madison, Kentucky and decides to get a hamburger but as usual it's not that simple. Chief of Police, Wilfred Teasle has other ideas. He doesn't want any riffraff in his town so he picks the kid up and drives him to the edge of town, He wasn't particularly nasty about it, in fact he tried to be pleasant, determined but pleasant, but he wasn't so pleasant later when he found the kid in the local diner. He told the waitress to put the kid's order in a bag and hustled him back out of town. By now Teasle was very annoyed, so he went and parked on a side street and kept watch to make sure the kid did not walk back into town.

For his part the kid (Rambo) had reached his limit. If someone was going to push him, he was going to push back. He was determined to go back and confront the Chief and make him back down but of course Teasle had other ideas. He arrested the kid, took him to jail, hosed him down and started to give him a haircut and a shave.

Now, Rambo was an escaped POW.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Intense, fast paced action/adventure!! December 26, 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A personal war between two American military heroes is about to break out in the hills of rural Kentucky. David Morrell delivers a solid, intense, action/adventure. Morrell digs deep into the characters of John Rambo, a Vietnam veteran pushed to the edge by Wilfred Teasle, a Korean war veteran and now chief of police of Madison, Kentucky. Col. Sam Trautman joins the life and death struggle through the woods, hills, and caves as the body count rises. Make no mistake; this is a very different story from the film version starring Sly Stallone. A great fast read. Very entertaining with some great chase sequences and awesome ending.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Action May 7, 1998
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Possibly the best action/adventure book you'll find anywhere. It certainly is the best I've ever read. I was, and am, a fan of the movie with Stallone, and read the book back in 85, after Rambo II (groan) came out. How could I have known that the book would be so much better. As usual, the book always outdoes the movie. I've read it twice so far, and am beginning to feel it's almost time for number 3. I became a big Morrell fan after reading First Blood, having read about 10 of his books so far. I like his no-nonsense writing style and his fast-paced plotting, but none of his other books, in my opinion, have approached the great work he did on First Blood. Get Stallone out of your head and read the book.
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars First Blood is Heavy criticism on the Vietnam war April 19, 1998
Format:Hardcover
The novel "First Blood" by David Morrel may be wrongly interpreted as just an "action/adventure" thriller without a brain, but that's far from the truth. The book does contains some elements of the adventure genre, but it presents us with a much bigger vison of life than just that. It is about Intolerance and justice.
John Rambo, a vagant war veteran, is mistreated by a bunch of redneck cops in a small town in the US. Submitted to humiliation and torture, and being traumatized by the months (years?) he spent under torture by the vietnamese, the ex-green beret and war hero loses control, explodes in fury and hatred and fights back, starting a killing spree.
He hides in the woods, builds traps, he uses the elements of the nature against his pursuiters.
The climax hits when both him and his enemies are thrown in the woods, his element, were they have to play by his rules, and the animal within each one of them takes control.
Then, violence erupts.
The novel is very real and down-to-earth. It is quite different from the movie. It is not heroic at all. It is about being different and being thrown aside, it is about the indiference, hate and coldness that the United States gave to their war veterans. It is about intolerance and fear. It is about how the government destroyed the sanity of some kids to build killing machines out of them, and sent those killing machines to southeast Asia to a war they could not understand, didn't want to and, mainly, didn't HAVE to. To kill better.
It is about how, when those kids came back home confused and tortured by the atrocities they had seen/commited, their country threw them in the gutter, pretending that they weren't there. Disposable heroes.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars masterful
This story was incredible. Thrilling, gripping and impossible to put down. As enthralling and intense as "Johnny got his gun". Grotesque and beautiful at the same time. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Josh Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping read 40+ years after first publication
I couldn't put this book down. I grew up, graduated high school, married and started a family during the Vietnam War. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Naomi Mattingly Compton
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
The book is so much better then the movie!
Published 24 days ago by Michael W.
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed the book
Enjoyed the book. Saw the movie when I was a kid and the book is much better. David Morrell is a good writer, but the story slows down a about 75% through. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jim
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the money
I wanted to read this book for years and kept putting it off, and after finally sitting down and reading it, was worth the wait. I couldn't put it down once i started it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mark Taillon
5.0 out of 5 stars First blood best book
This book was awesome because it told so much about the main character which I think was Rambo THIS BOOK WAS AWSOME!!
Published 2 months ago by Dan Burgess
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Awesome movie. ..better book!!!
Published 2 months ago by Robert Sugden
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book. I saw the movie over 30 years ...
Nice book. I saw the movie over 30 years ago and always meant to get to it... Finally, and glad i did. This is the psychologically scarred soul that Rambo really was... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Boldene
4.0 out of 5 stars Shockingly good!
Action packed! Page turner. Shockingly good!
Published 2 months ago by Brad Ashlock
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
If you enjoyed the film, this book is worth reading.
Published 2 months ago by Trey Howard
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