Let's Go Play at the Adams [Paperback]

Mendal W. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1980

A bondage-themed domestic horror novel.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam Books (August 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553141392
• ISBN-13: 978-0553141399
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,466,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate claustrophobe's nightmare novel., April 12, 2000

By 

Michael J. Edwards (Healesville, Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let's go play at the Adams', (Hardcover)

A young babysitter, Barbara, wakes up one morning to find that she's tied spreadeagled to her bed. The kids have complete control of her now, and free rein over the house, and there's no-one within half a mile to interfere - and their parents are not due back for a whole week. What might possibly happen within that week? Barbara is helpless, and fearful of what might be in store for her.

And that is only the beginning: there are many interesting things to try out on her, many interesting ways of tying her up; a week is a very long time... a mini-eternity....

This book is one of the most terrifying and claustrophobic novels I have ever read, and leaves you wrung out and shaking. For once, the cover blurb is no idle boast. ("A novel more terrifying than LORD OF THE FLIES & THE EXORCIST combined!" "A horror tale that will harrow you and haunt you long after you have finished it.")

This is the ultimate book about the effects - physical, mental, and emotional - of long-term, close confinement. It is the last word about what it is like to be tied up helplessly; after this, every other book I have read in which someone is bound is, with but one exception, shallow and unconvincing by comparison in its depiction of being bound. This novel should be read by any fiction writer who wishes to convincingly portray what it is like to be tied up for prolonged periods: the terror, the helplessness, the gibbering mind, the internal dialogues, the physical restlessness which itself torments. Just *reading* it makes you feel the agony of all this yourself. The challenge for authors would be to write about confinement just as well as this novel, but without copying it.

Perhaps the only comparable novel I know of is Stephen King's "Gerald's Game", probably the ultimate handcuff novel, which is, however, completely different - but just as effective.

It is regrettable that Mendal Johnson never published any novels other than this. This was his only novel - his only published one, at least - and at the time of his death in 1976 he was working on three other novels.

But writing of such searing, burning intensity lifts it above the commonplace and speaks of a substantial writing talent. It also leaves you wondering whether the author was simply writing a novel, or whether he was expressing something deep inside him that demanded expression, perhaps born of profound fears, or some personal experience.

The psychology of the vicious kids is chillingly portrayed, and Barbara's terror is heart-wrenching. Mendal Johnson should have had a meteoric rise in a career as a highly skilled writer of psychologically-oriented horror, yet he remains obscure. Possibly the darkness of his story prevented it from becoming more popular on the mass market. His meagre output, itself puzzling in the light of his great writing skill and perceptiveness, might have also counted against his becoming better-known.

It is interesting to observe that Steve Vance's horror novel "The Abyss" undoubtedly refers to Johnson's novel at great length (without resorting to plagiarism). Johnson's novel is mentioned in "The Abyss" as a novel some of Vance's characters had read, and this inspired the actions of some of them. However, "Let's Go Play at the Adams'" is not mentioned by name, just alluded to, and the author's first name is changed from Mendal to Martin, and his surname not mentioned at all. I can only presume this was for legal reasons, although there is no reason to think there would be legal problems anyway with simply alluding to another novel; but the plot referred to is so similar that it cannot be coincidence.

And it is interesting that, towards the end, Vance's novel includes a drug-induced vision one his characters has in which she actually visits Martin's (Mendal's) widow and learns more about him and the circumstances in which he died. However, although this information given by Vance about Martin roughly corresponds with Mendal Johnson's life with regard to time of death and the like, it should be noted that the detailed circumstances around Martin's death as described in "The Abyss" are fictional only, and do not correspond to any known facts about Mendal Johnson.

The details of Johnson's life and career still seem a little hazy, although my thanks go to Ray Girvan, Barry Schneebeli (who both reviewed the novel on this page), and Steve Vance for various pieces of information which helped me sketch out a few facts about Johnson here. If anyone who reads this review knows more about Johnson or his work, I'd love to hear from you.

It is interesting also that Barry Schneebeli has written a so-far unpublished sequel to this novel, called "Game's End", which explores the aftermath of the events related by Johnson.

--- NOTE: --- My second review of this book on this page is posted with Amazon's permission. My original review here, posted a year ago, unfortunately got damaged somewhere along the line, and when I wrote to Amazon about this, they suggested that it be removed, and that I repost it. Accordingly, I was glad to bring it up to date and to be able to answer some of the questions about Johnson that I posed in the original version.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chillingly effective and disturbing, June 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Let's Go Play at the Adams (Paperback)

Johnson relates an extremely disturbing view of human nature. He mingles perspectives of individual motivation and group psychology and chillingly portrays what could happen when individuals surrender themselves to a group. At the end of the book I felt immense sorrow, not only for Barbara, the innocent victim, but also for the author's view of the condition of humanity and his view of human motivation.

I finished this book emotionally wrung-out, shaking and wondering if all the good has gone out of the world. How did the children's game get so out of hand? I did not want the book to end where it did, the way it did. I wanted retribution for the evil, justice for the victim. At least a review of how the children turned out. For me, that would have made the book cleaner, neater and possibly not have left me feeling as I did.

I've failed to find any other books written by Johnson, which is a shame. In this book, he proves to be an excellent storyteller, a master of suspense and of manipulating the reader - never giving anything away too soon, always holding out the promise of hope, of rescue, of sanity. His ability to change perspective from the kids as a group, to the kids themselves and to their victim is very well done. The view of each character's thoughts and the way each action builds upon itself and leads to the next step, the next level of the children's game, is so well portrayed I wonder if Johnson had any background in psychology.

I gave this book the highest rating because it delivers on what it promises. But, in all honesty, I could never recommend it to a friend to read. If a suspense/horror book could be described as too effective in achieving its end, too convincing in its abiltiy to portray terror and too upsetting in its outcome, then Mendal Johnson has written that book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tense and nasty horror, November 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Let's Go Play at the Adams (Paperback)

It's difficult to describe the appeal of this book. It would be naive to deny that at some level, Johnson titillates by drawing heavily on the scenarios of bondage pornography. And yet he simultaneously undermines that titillation by deconstructing any fantasy elements in favour of the likely reality of the main character's growing discomfort and claustrophobia. The resultant impression is tense and highly unsettling. Further distanced from more lurid genres by Johnson's unsensational literate style, this detailed study of the character dynamics of collective evil is an under-rated classic of horror. (Mendal Johnson, incidentally, died in 1976 and never finished any other novels).