Customer Reviews

Rambo: First Blood, Part II

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rambo:First Blood II was based on the screenplay by Slyvester Stallone and James Cameron. So David Morrell didn't have that much to work with. The plot is predictable. The CIA believes that they have located American POW's alive in Vietnam and dispatches Rambo to locate and bring back intelligance so the a team can be sent in. This was a very familar plot in the 1980's, in books, movies and even tv shows. The best of them is Mission:MIA by JC Pollack. This is a distant second. Of course, Rambo can't complete his mission and winds up rescuing the POW's by himself. Of course the CIA can't be trusted and of course he will take on most of the North Vietnamese Army single handedly. Even with all those flaws, Morrell's rapid fire action sequences and purposefully choppy writing style draw the reader in. It's the lesser of his works, lacking the intensity of his horror and the complexity of his espionage novels. This is an action addict's version of a cheesy romance novel- a guilty pleasure you hate to admit to.

even though rambo died in the first book, he lived in the movie, leaving it open for sequals. david morrell wrote a follow up book in an attempt to make the series his again, and make it the way he wanted it. although if it went the way he wanted it, rambo would be dead and there would be no crappy sequals. but thats what happens when you sell a masterpeice like 'first blood' to hollywood....

The most dangerous man in the world is back in this novel (and Movie) and this time it's for his country! Co-written by David Morrell (FIRST BLOOD), he intended for Rambo to die in the first book, but Sylvester Stallone liked the character so much that he and James Cameron brought Rambo back for a sequel.

John Rambo is in a Kentucky prison for the bloody one-man war against small town Sherif Teasle. Colonel Trautman offers Rambo's signed release if he agrees to take on what would be a suicide mission for most men. His first objective--penetrate the remembered jungles of Hell (Vietnam), and find the missing Americans who are still being tortured there. His second objective--DON'T rescue them. Only bring back photos. DON'T engage the enemy. DON'T get revenge. For Rambo, the first part is tough. The second, impossible.

But Rambo does agree to the conditions. He goes to Vietnam only to be abandoned by his only means of getting out of Vietnam, who have left on the orders of the Commanding officer Murdock to leave him there to be killed.

But remember, this is Rambo. A killing machine trained by the best to survive in the worst conditions. He decides that if Murdock will back out of his side of the deal, he's going to do the same. Forget taking pictures of the P.O.W. camps. Rambo's going to become a one-man army once again, and is going in to save them....and then he's going after Murdock for abandoning him.

I'm surprised that no on has reviewed this book. It's very good. The plot is good, the action is nice and logical, the book is funny and the character's are very developed. Rambo is much more human than in the movie, although he isn't quite as arrogant as he is in "First Blood". If you find a copy of this, you should buy it. It makes the movie even better, since we see what the caracter's are thinking. However, David made a few mistakes on the weapons. SPOILERS.
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Rambo didn't use an M60, he used an M60E3.
The M134 chaingun wasn't called "Puff, the magic dragon". The AC-47 gunship, which didn't even have a M134, was called Puff the Magic Dragon.

Rambo 2 is the startling account of one of the true icons of our culture and his struggle against corruption in the military, the ghosts of his painful past and his longing for true love. The writing here is some of the finest prose written in this century. The words flow effortlessly and carry the reader through every breathtaking moment. Morrell is a genius and this novel should be taught in every college literature program. Morell's writing can be complex at times but several readings will be rewarded with enlightenment and life-changing affirmations. The film is also a masterpiece and Stallone's acting is stellar (why he wasn't nominated for best actor is beyond me) but read the book first! Do not deprive yourself. Read Rambo 2!

This is a book which takes constant re-reading and reading within context: that is, pick one theme, and read the entire book in search of all Morrell has to say about that theme. This book is completely indispensible to anyone wishing to deal in post-modern philosophy and existentialism: it is a secular philosopher's bible. Dealing in systematic brilliance throughout the experience of life, Morrell delves into psychology and theological ideas while remaining true to his own purely atheistic and philosophical roots.

Dense? Sure... but illuminating examples help to describe the deep thought, almost as parables in the Synoptic Gospels. The crag in the rock, the meeting at the cafe, all these verbal illustrations work into the text very well. Personally, I love the sections on the anguish of man when faced with the facticity of his own freedom. The dualism expressed by Morrell is a theme in philosophy which I usually don't enjoy (like any good post-Hegelian, I enjoy synthesizing opposites), he is able to pull it off with ease and magnificence. Though it is not as eloquent as the existentialism expressed by Albert Camus, it is every bit as enlightening and valuable.

Most people object to its density because they are used to the existential wanderings of the modern novel - Camus' The Stranger, or Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment - but this is the philosophical reflection of the situation of man expressed by such work. Morrell states early on that he is not performing an objective analysis of humankind, but rather a biased and understandably nuanced description of ontology from the perspective of the modern man.

Brilliant and exciting, Rambo : First Blood Part II is an essential part of anyone philosopher's bookshelf!

I havent read the book yet but i have a question. WARNING SPOILER TO FIRST BOOK

didn't rambo get killed in the first book? if so how is there a sequel?

So if you read book one, Rambo dies, but now, play a fanfare.. he is alive again, maybe he has the same shower as Bobby ewing from the TV show dallas.
They dont explain it,so you have to forget book one, but then, he goes over old turf from book one.
A money making book, that abuses the intelligence of the readers. But its worth too stars.

Somehow, Rambo is still alive. Resurrection pills? Anyway, he is in the slammer, and gets the 'go and do something really dangerous for us' choice, and decides to do it. He has some friends in Vietnman he would like to rescue, after all.

Again he gets shafted, but he is Rambo, and his name didn't become a catchphrase for nothing.