Pandora's Game [Hardcover]

Christopher Andrews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

College students Neil Carpenter and Mark Hudson set out to create "The Triumvirate," a comic book about a vampire and a werewolf who resist their evil natures and hunt their own kind. When Neil learns hypnosis in his Psychology class, he proposes using it to enrich the characters, they could hypnotize themselves into thinking that they ARE the characters, then exchange interviews.

To test the idea, Neil assumes the identity of the vampire, the independently wealthy and deeply religious Alistaire Bachman. The Game begins...

...a Game that leads to whirlwind of confusion, murder, and impossibility.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Christopher Andrews writes like an author with much more experience ... I expect Andrews to become a fantastic author. -- Horror Novels Online Newsletter, March 2, 2000

About the Author

While attending the University of Oklahoma, Christopher Andrews completed two novels, the science-fiction "Refuge Among the Stars" (1989) and the psychological ghost story "The Blue Man" (1991), and a series of short stories, "Thirst," "Country Music," "Big Little Brother," "Suicide is Painless," "Justice," "Your Command Is My Wish," "Mistake," and "Game Reincarnate" (all 1991). From 1991 to 1992, he wrote film reviews for the Oklahoma Associated Press. In 1992, he co-created and wrote the premier issue of the comic book, "The Triumvirate." That same year, he sold his screenplay adaptation of his own "Thirst" to RF Video Productions.

In May of 1992, Christopher received a Bachelors Degree in Theatre and traveled to California to pursue a career in acting - and he continued to write. In 1994, he co-plotted, scripted, and edited the premier and two subsequent issues of the Derek Lipscomb comic book, "The Golden Scarab," for Sharp Eye Graphix. In 1995, he co-wrote the science-fiction feature-length screenplay, "Dream Parlor" with Jonathan Lawrence. And in 1998, he completed his third novel, "Pandora's Game," and starred in the "Dream Parlor" movie, currently making its rounds in the Film Festival circuit.

Today, Christopher is still editing movie reviews for the Oklahoma Associated Press. He is also at work on "Dream Parlor," the novelization of the screenplay, as well as two more novels, "Paranormals" and "Prince of Denmark," a novelization of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Timeless Entertainment is also considering a screen adaptation of "Pandora's Game" as its next film project.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738804843
• ISBN-13: 978-0738804842
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,892,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Andrews lives in California with his wife, Yvonne Isaak-Andrews, their beautiful daughter, Arianna, and their Pug, PJ. He is working on his next novels, and continues to work as an actor and screenwriter.

Excerpts from all of Christopher's novels can be found at www.ChristopherAndrews.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it in a stationary location., January 23, 2007

By 

Marcus Alexander Hart (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pandora's Game (Paperback)

While Christopher Andrews may be an exceptional writer and a master of storytelling, I have a bone to pick with him regarding "Pandora's Game."

The problem begins with the plot. Two friends--a writer and an artist--team up to create a comic book about a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie (who never walk into a bar). Far from being hackneyed genre stereotypes, these three horror icons have complex and often unexpected character traits that give them a strong emotional resonance.

The way these comic-book characters gain their rich history is through a series of hypnosis sessions, in which the writer and artist "become" the characters. This begins to split the novel's narrative into two alternate worlds: one being reality as we know it, and the other the reality of the characters. Before long these lines begin to blur into a psychological web of paranoia and delusion.

Both alternate worlds are so completely engrossing that I never wanted to leave one for the other. I would be so completely enveloped in a story from the vampire's history that I hated to go back to the present day. Then, twenty pages later, I'd be so involved in the present-day story that I didn't want to jump into the werewolf's back story. Ten pages later, I'd be so interested in that that I didn't want to move on again.

Rarely does a book come along that is so well written that I can't tolerate interruption. A book that's so well written that I can't tolerate it interrupting *itself* is unheard of. To maintain this level of complexity for twenty-one chapters is an incredible storytelling feat.

And that brings me to the aforementioned bone and the picking thereof. While reading "Pandora's Game" on the bus, I became so lost in the world that Christopher Andrews has created that I missed my stop. Never before has a book been so engrossing that it added a mile-long walk to my commute.

That said, I can't wait to see how far I'll have walk for the sequel.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily vivid...a honest, chilling novel well told., August 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pandora's Game (Paperback)

An impressive debut by Christopher Andrews. This dark, chilling tale of Alistaire Bachman, a wealthy, deeply religious vampire who is created by Neil Carpenter. Through hypnosis Neil assumes Alistaire's identity.

A simple game that takes a evil turn.

The scariest part of this horror tale is that it could be real. Too real.

Read "Pandora's Game" with the lights ON!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I agree with the rest of THEM!, October 17, 2005

By 

Book Reader 222 "John Howard" (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pandora's Game (Paperback)

I picked up a used copy of "Pandora's Game" on my recent book splurge, because the cover caught my eye and the synopsis sounded cool. Is "Pandora's Game" the best book I have ever read? Maybe not. But it IS an EXCELLENT book. I enjoyed it MORE than "The Howling," which, I believe, is now considered a classic horror novel. In fact, with the possible exception of "By the Light of the Moon" by Dean Koontz, I think it is my favorite of the books I've read recently.

Personally, I found "Pandora's Game" to be fresh and different. I liked the characters, especially the werewolf, and I thought the writing style was impressive, especially considering the two "worlds" that it covers. As far as I am concerned, the switching POV alone qualifies this book as "interesting;" it was different from just about any other book I have read, before college or recently. It also had a plot twist near the end that I did NOT see coming, which is always a plus for any novel.

I did feel that a few of the chapters in World #2 could have been combined, but I'm guessing they were broken up to stick with the back and forth elements of the overall story. I liked the first one in the restaurant, and once we started seeing the personal histories of Alastaire and Sean, World #2 got more interesting. I just thought the story of Alastaire and Sean meeting Trey could have been told all at once instead of in four chapters.

But other than that single complaint, I would have been tempted to give this book FIVE stars. I can tell you that I am adding "Paranormals" and "Dream Parlor" to my reading list.