King Kong [Paperback]

Edgar Wallace (Author), Merian C. Cooper (Author), Delos W. Lovelace (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

King Kong remains one of the most enduring icons of American popular culture — a massively destructive but curiously sympathetic giant gorilla whose rampage through New York City suggests, on a psychological level, the re-emergence of repressed desire. This novelization captures the pathos, drama, and horror of this story of the beast who loved a human beauty. The action begins with the controversial expedition of Hollywood filmmaker Carl Denham to Skull Island as he pursues a mythical monster. Enticing Kong with beautiful starlet Ann Darrow, Denham manages to chain the beast and bring him to New York, where he escapes to terrorize an entire city while pursuing the woman he loves. Expanded from the original story by Merian Cooper and British mystery maven Edgar Wallace, this version features stunning illustrations of the ape and his adventures.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Underwood Books (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887424911
• ISBN-13: 978-1887424912
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,569,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kong History, December 2, 2005

By 

Kronos "Andrew" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King Kong (Paperback)

The previous reviewer was talking about another edition of this novel--one that she had checked out of the library several years back--NOT the book at hand. She's right that the story is a bit dusty, the writing clunky--but at the same time, it's a rip-snorting, page-turning adventure yarn about "the eighth wonder of the world." It's a look back at entertainment from another time (70 years back, actually), and though it may be a tad creaky (like the original SHADOW or DOC SAVAGE stories), it's still a lot of fun. We're not talking Literature here, but Lovelace did a good job of turning Merian Cooper's and Edgar Wallace's screenplay into an enjoyable romp of a book. Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland have done a great job of revising the story and smoothing out the rough spots in a book from another publisher (you can find it on Amazon, too), but the original still has a lot of charm and magic all its own. Skull Island is full of mystery and wonder and dinosaurs and heroes and a plucky heroine and one humungous gorilla: what more could a young reader ask for?

What sets this bargain-priced trade paper edition apart from other reprints is the outstanding full color art by Jon Foster, Frank Frazetta, Dave Stevens, and Ken Steacy. Four distinctly different artists contribute four unique interpretations of Kong. It's a keeper.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The original novel, October 16, 2008

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King Kong (Paperback)

A little known-fact about groundbreaking movies King Kong and Godzilla is that they were books first. Both followed the same advanced marketing strategy, and released novelizations based on the scripts a full year before the movies were released.

Published in 1932, "King Kong" was originally credited to creator Merian C. Cooper and partner Edgar Wallace, although it was later revealed that they had little to do with the novel. Cooper supplied the idea and screenplay while Wallace had actually died before being able to contribute anything, but still retains a credit. The true author, Delos Lovelace, was a friend of Cooper's and a minor writer who mainly scripted biographies and children's books.

Lovelace wrote a jungle adventure yarn in the classic pulp style. Working from Cooper's script, the book follows the intended film almost exactly, including the "lost scene" of the spider pit sequence with its styraccosaurus battle and various nasty monsters. The writing is quick and to the point, typical of era, and a lighting-fast read. The entire book can be read in a day or two. Lovelace keeps the action flowing and the blood pumping. Almost the entire book takes place on Skull Island, with the New York rampage taking up only the final chapter. The famous lines have been preserved from the film.

By no means is this a "classic" book, and if it wasn't for its connection to the famous film it would probably be lost to time. Lovelace was no Arthur Conan Doyle so it is unfair to compare "King Kong" to The Lost World. However, it is a lot of fun and every Kong fan should give this a read. I flew through it, not just because it is a short book but also because it was exciting and kept me turning the pages as fast as I could finish them.

When it comes to an old book like this, there are a lot of editions to choose from with cheap paperbacks in abundance. There hasn't really been an amazing edition of "King Kong" released, and that is too bad. Anthony Browne's King Kong is an illustrated edition intended as a children's book, although he denies Lovelace his credit. The book was updated and edited into a more "modern version" by Joe DeVito as Merian C. Cooper's King Kong. Some folks may like these, but I prefer to stick to the original even if it is a bit flawed. This version here by Underwood Books keeps the original text, and adds some fantastic illustrations by Jon Foster, Frank Frazetta, Dave Stevens and Ken Steacy. My only disappointment is that it is not a hardcover, because this is the kind of book I would like to display on my shelf. But that aside, of all currently available editions this is the one to buy.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Really, theres nothing worse than a boring adventure novel, November 27, 2005

By 

Melissa Wright (Texas, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: King Kong (Paperback)

I checked out the 1976 edition of this book about a year ago from the library. Ironic that it is coming out now because they are doing another Kong movie.

This doesn't surprize me, though, because the book is terse, slow, damn near impossible to read, and, ultimatiely, boring.

I love the original King Kong, but it seems that from the start, most of its tie-in and re-incarnations have been sup-par at best.

I recommend reading this for its historical interest - it is the ORIGINAL novelization - but the newer paper backs they are coming out with for the movie are probably much better.