Lori [Paperback]

Robert Bloch (Author), Ben Templesmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

After graduating from college, Lori returns home only to lose her parents in a fire. In the wake of this tragedy, unusual events begin to unfold, starting with the discovery of a girl named Priscilla Fairmount in an old high school yearbook who looks just like Lori. But the yearbook is from before Lori was born! Now, suspected by the police for being involved in the fire, Lori begins a descent into madness, convinced that her "twin," Priscilla, is attempting to take over her mind... unaware of the brutal role she herself may be playing in the events which now shape her fate. From Robert Bloch, the master of American horror, Lori is a cerebral and terrifying read.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: IDW Publishing (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600105211
• ISBN-13: 978-1600105210
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,343,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Templesmith is a New York Times best selling artist and writer most widely known for his work in the comic book industry where he has received multiple nominations for the International Horror Guild Awards as well as the industry's top prize, the Eisner Award. He also won a Spike TV Scream Award.

As a creator, his most notable works have been 30 Days of Night (which spawned a major motion picture) and Fell. His other projects include the critically acclaimed serial Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, as well as Welcome to Hoxford, and Singularity 7, all of which he also wrote.

He has also worked on the Star Wars, Doctor Who, GI Joe, Army of Darkness, Silent Hill and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer properties and produces art and design for music bands, dvds, toys, and film concept work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The old master still had it..., March 22, 2010

By 

Rory Coker (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lori (Paperback)

Here's a reprint of one of Robert Bloch's last novels. It is very readable, and moves rapidly, with a high level of suspense maintained throughout. It also contains quite a bit of forced humor, most of which doesn't work. The plot made almost no sense to me, and the motivations of many of the key characters are absolutely incomprehensible. Just to give two examples: (1) Two opposing "psychic" forces act, one to prevent, one to support fortune teller Nadia Hope in her frantic effort to deliver a college yearbook to the main character, Lori. It makes for a suspenseful few pages, but makes no sense at all in terms of what we learn later about what's going on. (2) Lori's psychiatrist's behavior toward her makes almost no sense at any point in the novel in terms of what he apparently hopes to accomplish with her, as revealed toward the novel's end. Lori herself is quite annoying and it is a bit difficult to care too much what her ultimate fate might be. Indeed, Bloch leaves her ultimate fate completely up in the air... we never hear from her again after a certain crucial moment.

There's no hint in this trade paperback edition, riddled with misprints, that the novel has been published before... 1988, hardback, 1990 paperback.

I think that a final rewrite by Bloch might have helped quite a bit, but it's an enjoyable read, and will keep almost any reader on the edge of his or her seat to the very last page. Bloch's career as a fictioneer goes all the way back to the heroic era of H. P. Lovecraft, and Bloch changed effectively with the times, while maintaining his mission to keep readers scared!