Psycho II [Paperback]

Robert Bloch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

You remember Norman Bates - the shy motel manager with the fatal mother fixation. Now, years after his bout of butchery that horrified the world, Norman is at large again, breaking free from the psycho war, cutting a shocking swath of blood all the way to Hollywood - where, so it happens, they are making a movie about Norman's life and crimes. A movie that suddenly and terrifyingly becomes a lot like real life...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Perhaps the finest psychological horror writer... and never in finer form."-Stephen King

About the Author

Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a horror, suspense, and science fiction writer and screenwriter, best known for the novel PSYCHO. Altogether, Bloch wrote over 220 stories collected in over two dozen collections, two dozen novels, screenplays for a dozen movies and three Star Trek episodes. His many awards included one Nebula Award, two Hugos, three World Fantasy Awards (including Lifetime Achievement), and five Bram Stoker Awards.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: I Books (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743474724
• ISBN-13: 978-0743474726
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,744,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A first? The movie is better than the book!, October 26, 2005

By 

The Curmudgeon "Your life lacks purpose - my ... (Latveria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psycho II (Paperback)

How about that? Usually you watch a movie and go, "nyah.. the book was better." And, oddly, Psycho is that rare breed where both the first movie and the second are better than the books. Of course, the original Psycho is a good story, and the movie is a flawless masterpiece. But this is something different altogether - now we can say "yeah, the movie's pretty excellent actually. But the book? Gah - what the Hell was Bloch thinking?!"

Trust me, this is one time you'll be glad Bloch didn't get a say in the making of the movie (the story is 100% different). Whereas the movie has Norman going back to the motel and taking up where he left off, in this there's an (admittedly ahead of its time) idea of the original story of Psycho being made into a movie, (eat yer heart out Scream 2). But instead of making Norman, like, a PART of the story, they turn the whole book into some stupid who-dunnit filled with boring characters and really stupid plot devices. And the ending will have you throwing the book straight out the window.

I really wanted to like this, because I've enjoyed the entire Psycho movie series (even the fairly naff fourth part). But Bloch succeeds in taking Norman Bates and completely ruining him. Thankfully this book has been largely ignored, because it really doesn't deserve to be part of the Bates' legacy.

Stick with the movies.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good sequel, but it's no masterpiece like the original., October 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Psycho II (Paperback)

This sequel is quite diffrent from the original. Actually, it's nothing like the original. There's a surprise ending, but that's pretty much where the similarities (besides Norman) of the original end. Norman Bates' character is greatly alterted. He is no longer the tender, lovable character of the original. He's, in fact, quite unlikable. A cold-blooded killer, unlike the original, where his killings where not his own, so to speak (mother is gone in this one). He's your average slaughteror, a Jason type character you could say. This turned me off to the book a little, but besides that, this book is ALMOST as good as the original. The surprise ending is better than the first's, in my opinion, and the story is quite intresting. But if your looking for a better Psycho sequel, I'd suggest Psycho House.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, September 1, 2003

By 

Sammi Alsaqer (Tulsa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psycho II (Hardcover)

This sequel to Psycho starts off quite strongly with Norman Bates escaping from the Mental Hospital and leaving a horrible body count in his wake and ambiguity over whether he survived his escape or died in a mysterious fire. The Police think he is dead, but Norman's doctor thinks he's alive and on his way to Hollywood to kill the cast and crew of a movie based on his life and crimes.
Sadly after the first 100 pages or so, The story sags badly. Norman Bated disappears from the book (Whether or not he appears at the end is part of the mystery), and the reader must wade through 150 pages of dull story about the cast and crew of the film deciding whether to make the movie or cancel for fear of Norman coming to kill them. This segment of the book is devoid of suspense and could have really been trimmed down. Also, many of the characters spout long anti-violence speeches and criticisms of the cruelty and hypocrisy of Hollywood life, and the glorification of violence in gory 1980's splatter films. These detours stick out like a sore thumb, and do nothing to further the plot.

This book warrants *** due to the great first part of the book, but the good ending doesn't justify the sagging middle. I hope Psycho House, the final installment in the trilogy, is better than this.