The Living One: A Gothic Thriller [Paperback]

Lewis Gannett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1994

This Lambda nominated thriller offers the story of a boy, caught in an unimaginably chilling nightmare--a world of magic, body theivery, killer dogs, ESP wars, and lusty, genre-defying sex--where he discovers the horrors--literally--of his ancestry and himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This overdone, genre-bending first novel about a rich kid imprisoned in his father's gothic estate sacrifices storytelling for special effects.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

After a ten-year estrangement, Malcolm Spoor wishes to spend a few months with his teenaged son Torrance and invites him to live at the estate he has purchased in New England. Malcolm's reason is bizarre: he claims that he is the victim of a family curse and that he will go insane and die before he reaches the age of 50. Good-natured Torrance thinks this is a ruse to gain sympathy; he agrees to the visit but soon suspects his father may be losing his mind. Torrance sees him spending most of his time locked away in his office, screaming and raging at people who never answer, and learns with horror and anger that Malcolm is using hidden cameras to record Torrance's every move. Something is indeed very wrong at the Spoor estate, but it is Torrance, not Malcolm, who is slated for death--or something even worse. Author Gannett quite effectively uses the device of telling the tale through the letters, diaries, and school assignments of several of the characters. A sometimes shocking, always intriguing first novel.
- A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Committee Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Plume (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452271347
• ISBN-13: 978-0452271340
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,818,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inexplicably amazing, April 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Living One: A Gothic Thriller (Paperback)

This book covers it all. It does a great job of developing each of the characters. Through Gannett's use of characters' notes, diaries, internal diologues, and their observations of eachother, each of them comes alive (metaphorically, of course).
The novel involves history (whether real or imagined); the paranormal; psychic animals; mystery; varying sexual identities and preferences and the issues that arise from them; varying age related/based perspectives and the feelings around old age as opposed to youth, and the longing for eternal life as opposed to the ability to just enjoy life; etc.
This was just a really good, well written novel. I could hardly put the book down. I've already rated it right up there with Anne Rice, and Kelley Armstrong.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting...., January 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Living One (Hardcover)

The Living One begins with the twisted history of a father and son conflict, of heirs and deceit and continues on with the struggle of the many witness to the strange happenings around one certain area. I recommend that you read on for yourself and find out the crimson world this story was based on. This was written in a style of a journal which consists of entries from the witnesses. At first, I was having a conflicting time determining wether this book is a work of fiction or nonfiction. And the conclusion, I will not reveal.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One that has stuck in my mind for years, May 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Living One: A Gothic Thriller (Paperback)

Being a new member to the internet world and an avid reader of mystery, one of the first things I did was go to amazon.com. Upon arriving at the site, I immediately began searching for the title "The Living One" in hopes of remembering the author's name. It has been about 3.5 years since I read this novel and I can't get it out of my mind and want to read more by Gannet. I have had no luck finding other books until now. Enjoy!!