Customer Reviews

Gremlins (An Avon Camelot book)

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Meet Gizmo the Mogwai. A cuddly little creaturer which comes with a list of three rules:

1) Keep him away from bright lights. They could kill him.

2) Keep him away from water. A single drop will bring you another Mogwai.

3) Don't feed him after midnight. A single bite will bring about a terror like no other...GREMLINS.

Author George Gipe turns a fun B-movie into a literary masterpiece of equal parts terror and laughs. This book contains much that the movie was missing. We learn the origins of the Mogwai and Gremlins. We hear conversations between the creatures. And we hear about past incidents of Gremlin escapades.

The best part of this novel is the start of the Gremlin invasion. We jump between reports being relayed to the local radio stations and the terrifying experiences of the hero's neighbors.

George Gipe only wrote three novelizations in his career: GREMLINS, EXPLORERS, and BACK TO THE FUTURE. All were excellent, but left you hungry for more of Gipe's work. Where did he go?

If you are lucky enough to find this book, by all means pick it up. You'll love it.

*spoilers included*

He did a superb job on BACK TO THE FUTURE, and he did just as well on GREMLINS. As he did in BTTF, here he takes us *inside* the characters, where he reveals more of their background, secrets, and ambitions. In particular, the origins of the Gremlins and the conversations between Gizmo and Stripe were excellent additions.

The only flaw is the same one that haunted the novelization of BTTF--it seems that Gipe was not given the final draft of the screenplay to work with. In the book, Mr. Futterman dies. In the actual movie, however, he was only seriously injured; the filmmakers apparently decided to spare him at the last moment. But this is a minor flaw that does not detract too much.

Recommended for GREMLINS fans, and anyone who wants to see how movie novelizations should be done!

"Gremlins" is one of my favorite movies, about a furry little creature (a Mogwai) named Gizmo who is adopted by a young man, Billy Peltzer. Billy's given three simple rules to abide by: don't expose it to sunlight (or else it will die), don't get it wet (or else it will multiply into more Mogwai--or Gremlins, depending on its current stage), and never feed it after midnight (or else it will metamorphosize into a killer Gremlin).

While I love the movie, I wasn't too pleased with this loose novelization of the film. The author seemed to want to write his own version of "Gremlins"; he barely stuck to the script--dropping, adding, and altering several scenes along the way. This is evident right from the beginning with the prologue--a quick but unimportant explanation of the Mogwai's origin as alien beings on the planet Enz. (Since when?)

The one good thing about this book, though, is the dozen or so color photos taken from the movie. The cute black-and-white illustrations of Gizmo and Spike at the beginning of each chapter are also a nice touch.

The intended audience for this book is apparently preteens, though it's appropriate for all ages. However, I'd recommend sticking with the movie instead.

I read the book and I was just amazed by how good it was. I really liked being able to know what Strip was saying to Gizmo and what they were thinking. If you liked the movie, you'll like the book more!

This book had a lot of stuff in it that wasn't included in the movie. The history of the Mogwai and Stripe's conversations with Gizmo, and Stripe's Christmas caroling episode were some of my favorites. This book was very informative about the species itself and was very enjoyable to read; even if you've seen the movie it's good, maybe even better if you have. The book does not seem to be funny by itself, but after seeing the film the scenes in the book turn funny in your mind. At least that's what happened to me.