Customer Reviews

Sentinel

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

 

 

New York City, 1974: Allison Parker has had a difficult life, but things are really looking up for her. After presiding over her father's funeral, she returns to her life in the big apple to start anew. She has a handsome boyfriend who is a succesful lawyer, a growing career as a model, and she has just moved in to the perfect apartment in an old brownstone. But Allison soon finds that her life is being controlled by unseen forces. The brownstone seems to reside between two worlds; one of light and one of darkness. And an old blind priest who lives in the apartment above her holds a secret that will shatter her world and could unleash the forces of hell on to all of humanity... This is a classic horror novel. It was made into an exceptional movie years ago and it's been on my reading list for ages. I wasn't sure if it would stand the test of time, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is genuinely creepy and has real fear in it. Highly recommended for horror fans.

ROSEMARY'S BABY sparked a cycle of supernatural/Satanic movies & books into the 1970s, a cycle that gained second wind with THE EXORCIST.

THE SENTINEL was one of the better such films. The story of a New York model who moves into a brownstone apartment -- that turns out to be THE portal to Hell! The sentinel is the one who guards that portal, keeping the demons inside Hell and out of Earth. Unknown to the model, she is destined to be the next sentinel.

THE SENITINEL movie was released in 1976, written & produced by Jeffrey Konvitz. It was based on Konvitz's book, released in 1974.

Because Konvitz wrote the book, then the script (which he produced), it's to be expected that the movie follows the book closely. Even so, I was surprised at HOW CLOSELY the movie follows the book.

I've seen the film a half dozen or more times over the past 25 plus years. I only now read the book, expecting to gain deeper insight into the chracters and events, as can usually be found in books that precede the film. No such luck. 95% of the book is in the film. No great depth or insight is gained by reading the book. It's a good book, but with only a few extra scenes not in the film. And a few extended conversations.

But the main reason I read THE SENTINEL was because I only recently discovered that Konvitz wrote a sequel that was never filmed, THE GUARDIAN. So I thought reading the first book would prepare me for the second. I haven't read the second, so I don't know yet. I'll see.

If you loved the film and want to read the sequel, it may be worth your effort to read this first book. It's enjoyable, although lacking the depth of THE EXORCIST (a far better book than its film version).

I first read this book when I was a teenager, and now years later, I still find myself haunted by it. It sucks you in, and the end, is just wonderful...a very fitting ending to such a creepy book. I will never forget this book as long as I live.

I first read this book when it was published, just over thirty years ago. I also saw the film that was based upon the book and had enjoyed them both. I recently spotted this book among some old paperbacks that I had and, remembering that I had liked it, decided to read it again. Well, time has not been kind to this book, and I found myself wondering why I had liked it in the first place, as upon reading it again, I found it to be mediocre fare, at best.

The book has an intriguing plot line. In New York City, Allison Parker, a beautiful, emotionally fragile young model with a troubled past, is looking for an apartment. She simply does not wish to live with her boyfriend, Michael Farmer, a criminal defense attorney with secrets of his own. She finds the apartment of her dreams in an old brownstone, and the rent is too good to be true. So, Allison rents the apartment, much to her boyfriend's dismay.

When she moves in, the only other resident of which Allison is aware is Father Matthew Halliran, an elderly, blind Roman Catholic priest who rents the top floor apartment of the brownstone and silently sits staring out the window day in and day out. Shortly after moving in, she meets some of the other denizens of this brownstone, and suddenly Allison's life will never be the same.

This book suffers from one dimensional characters that are not particularly likable, as well as dialogue that needs work. Still, the book has an interesting plot that those who like to read supernatural thrillers may enjoy.

I was young when the movie came out & wanted to see it but missed out. So then I finally got around to reading the book & had some Very Good Frights. If you haven't seen the movie, I would suggest the book 1st. There's a few surprises or shocks.

Well written novel. I really enjoyed this story. Something I will enjoy getting out to reread from time after time to pick up what I didn't get before. Will keep in my library.

Originally I read this book about thirty years ago. This week, I re-read it. Why? Because it's one of my favorite thrillers. If you enjoy books with a religious twist and believe in heaven and hell, this is right up your alley. A grotesque blind priest sits by a door, watching, not allowing anyone by. A young model wonders: why? The creative tension mounts as Konvitz brings you to hell's gate. I don't want to give away the ending, so, suffice to say ... if you liked ROSEMARY'S BABY, THE EXORCIST, or apocalypse thrillers, you'll have one fine read. This book is NOT for scholarly individuals who expect perfect grammar and ten-letter words. If you're the average Joe or Jane and enjoy religious thrillers, buy a copy today. Don't forget to leave the lights on at night and make sure you don't let the demons out.

When a high priced fashion model with a tortured past chooses to move into a too good to be true New York City brownstone apartment building, rather than her shady lawyer boyfriend's, she uncovers a haunting, a conspiracy, and a soul numbing terror. Part of the innumerable flood of demonic thrillers churned up in the wake of the success of The Exorcist, Jeffrey Konvitz's The Sentinel, despite being saddled with a less than effective film adaptation, remains one of the very best of the genre and is worth seeking out.

Pretty good, somewhat forgotten '70's horror gem. It starts with a troubled model who gets a deal on an apartment in an old brownstone that is too good to be true.

The other tenants are nice enough, if a little eccentric. And what is the deal with the old, blind priest that never leaves his attic apartment?

Before long she's hearing strange noises and seeing things. heavy footsteps pace back and forth all night long in the apartment above hers.

A little digging by her lawyer fiance reveals there's more to her neighbors than meets the eye. It turns out the brownstone is actually owned by... well, you'll have to read the book to find out.

The Sentinel is a cross between a haunted house story and the religious shockers that were so popular back in the disco era. Very, very well done. Atmospheric and spooky.

Followed up by The Guardian which I don't remember so well, but I do remember it was a step down from this one.

The Sentinel was also adapted pretty faithfully as a movie. If the story sounds good, but you don't feel like investing the time in the book, check it out.

Alison, a beautiful model, back in NY after presiding over her hated father's funeral, finds that she's losing her grip on reality. Unfortunately, this occurs while she moves into a tony, if very weird NY brownstone. Her boyfriend Michael is no help - he's a lawyer (who can never let nybody forget it). Worse, both Alison and Michael have long been suspected in the mysterious death of Michael's wife. Alison's predicament soon comes to encompass her way-out neighbors, a curmudgeonly sort of guy who can never remember what decade he's living in, a pair of unsightly lesbians, various other twisted sorts, and a blind old priest who occupies the top floor. And when those prove not problematic enough, an NYPD detective with an axe to grind on Michael's neck refuses to go away (there's bad blood between them from Michael's days as an ADA, though he seems confined to nailing Michael for his first wife's death). Alison suffers blinding headaches and horrible visions, forcing her to confront something horrible from her past.

I had to confront something horrible from my past as well...this book, which had an elaborate inner cover showing a horde of the damned (confirmed to be such by their soulless dead eyes) suffering the torments of hell. I also thought that it had to be horrifying because they made a movie out of it. Years later I managed to find a used copy of the book (under suspicious circumstances: I bought it from some guy selling books on the streets of lower manhattan, and it was his last copy!) Imagine my shock when, from the first chapter, it became clear that this was the most overhyped and under-thrilling novel ever published. Just about 30 years old, I can hope that Mr. Konvitz has learnt a thing about writing, or has come up with a plot that's more than just an extended novella, or can develop characters who are more sympathetic, believable or can simply do something...anything. Instead, the plot behind "The Sentinel" is paper thin, burdened by pedestrian prose that never work up a decent chill, and populated by idiotic characbters who can't think for themselves, don't sound like real people, never become worth anybody's attention (they don't have to become likeable, but they're not even interesting) and don't even do anything. There is a lot of talking, but dialog isn't this book's strength, with Alison and Michael using overly wordy sentences. Then there's the detective - imagine every dated NYPD detective stereotype you've seen on TV since you were seven, the cigar, the flunky junior assistant and especially that pseudo-hard boiled attitude that says "I'm gonna nail you for your wife's murder if I have to go over the comissioner's head!" Through all the problems that keep this book from becoming the shocking novel it promises to be, we learn that there's something very weird about the apartment, that perhaps it's the middle point between our world and a more unpleasant place, and that only the blind priest keeps the one from invading the other. The problem is that neither world is very well defined (and given what NY was becoming, just which side of that door was it on?) and more to the point, we never learn why things are the way they are (why must the chosen Sentinel fit the bill as described here? Why is this brownstone the middle-ground between our world and the next? and who's doing the choosing here?) "The Sentinel" fit a mini-genre of urban horror of the late 60's and early 70's - "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Excorcist" come to mind. If you're looking for genuine chills, try "The Search for Jsoeph Tulley" a gem I'd never heard of until I stumbled on it, and also "The Pear-Shaped Man" by George R.R. Martin, but otherwise guard yourself against "The Sentinel".