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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read it in a stationary location., January 23, 2007
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.
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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
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!
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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
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.
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