Spider-Man [Kindle Edition]

Peter David (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-David has taken the screenplay and turned it into an entertaining, exciting novel. The famous character has been updated for the 21st century with high-tech weapons and gadgets, and genetically altered spiders. The story traces Peter Parker from his origins as a wimpy high school nerd to a New York City photographer by day and crime-fighting superhero by night. The usual characters are all well portrayed: Peter's longtime love Mary Jane, the gruff newspaper editor J. Jonah Jamesson, Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and, of course, Spidey's nemesis, the Green Goblin. Much of the book centers on the rivals and how they came to be what they are: one seeking redemption and the other revenge. With its snappy dialogue, fast pace, and jam-packed action sequences, the novel has the feel of a comic book, and it should be a hot item with teens.
James O. Cahill, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

It begins with an orphan named Peter Parker, raised by his beloved Aunt May and Uncle Ben in Queens, New York. A quiet student, he works diligently at his studies and pines for the beautiful Mary Jane Watson. But this ordinary teenage boy is about to have his life turned upside down, when he is bitten by a genetically altered spider. Suddenly, he finds himself possessed of spectacular powers. He is now and forever Spider-Man!

Follow Spider-Man’s action-packed journey, from his struggle to harness the extraordinary gifts that will prove to be both blessing and curse, to his fight to save innocent lives while the media tears him to pieces. It all leads up to his ultimate battle high above New York streets, against the death-dealing madman known as the Green Goblin. While the city watches helplessly and countless lives hang in the balance, Spider-Man confronts his archnemesis, and the Goblin puts Spider-Man’s vow to fight crime to the ultimate test . . .

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 385 KB
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (March 19, 2002)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FA64Q4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars But then, I'm biased, May 20, 2002

By 

Peter David (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Having actually *written* the book in question, this is more by way of an FYI than an actual review. I just wanted to give a heads up to the reviewer who listed all the scenes which he believed were deleted from the script and would have better served the film if they'd been in there. Of all the scenes he listed, the *only* one that was originally in the script was the Curt Connors scene. I conceived and wrote all the other scenes, all on my own. It's a common practice; scripts are only 120 pages long and simply much too short to be novel length. So novelizers always develop their own material to interweave it.

I have no idea if that changes anyone's opinion of the book one way or the other, but I just thought I'd make it clear that the "deleted scenes" were for the most part nothing of the sort.

PAD

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Web-Slingin' Wonderful!, April 16, 2002

By 

Bruce Rux (Aurora, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man (Mass Market Paperback)

If the movie's even half as good as the novelization - and with Sam Raimi directing, it oughta be terrific - we're in for a treat. And even if it isn't, it won't diminish this wonderfully written Spider-Man novel. Spidey's never really had a good incarnation outside of Marvel Comics - until now.

Purists may cry foul at the few changes made to the original character(s), but those changes only help to tell a more epic story in a more reasonable amount of time. Without stating any spoilers, the story of Spider-Man presented here covers the origins of Peter Parker's transformation into the friendly neighborhood webslinger, that of his arch-nemesis the Green Goblin, and of course his romance with Mary Jane.

Structurally, it resembles the dramatization of the first Batman movie, though stylistically it has a great deal more humor. Comic book fans will be delighted by the numerous in-joke references to other superhero characters, as well as phrases and lesser villains from Stan Lee, and the astute reader may catch some subtly placed jokes referring to the actors playing the roles in the movie.

But the most pleasant surprise about this version of Spider-Man is its maturity level. The character as originally written always suffered somewhat from too juvenile a mindset, which this Spider-Man does not. Peter Parker is a credibly modern young man of post-high school/pre-college age. Mary Jane, similarly, is a more realistically fleshed-out character, with recognizably real home problems and issues. The Green Goblin is not a mere sneering carnival spook-house caricature, but an inwardly tormented and unwisely desperate man who sets the wheels of his own destruction in motion. The very questions of heroism and villainy are dealt with not as clear-cut issues of black and white, but more as psychologically complex developments occurring largely by accident and partly by design, stemming from innate character strengths or flaws inherent in the individual. Responsibility for one's own actions, all random accidents of life notwithstanding, is at the story's core.

Even readers completely unfamiliar with Spider-Man will enjoy this book. I'm only sorry it's over. Hey - maybe they'll write some more! (Hint, hint.)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book sure to be a great movie, March 21, 2002

By 

Avery (Kirkland, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Friends said that I shouldn't have read this book because it would ruin my experience when I see the movie, but I said, "the heck with it." The fact of the matter is, if you knew Spider-Man from the comics and if you were like me checking Spidermanhype.com every so often then there wasn't much left to be ruined by it. I read the book not to spoil the experience (weren't any big plot twists or anything), I read it because I am a die hard Spider-Man fan. Sure the movie will make slight changes to the original characters and stories (as I found out in the book), but the movie will probably be different from the book as well (It was like that for X-Men. I read the book and saw the movie and I noticed there were some alterations between the movie and the book). I enjoyed the Spider-Man book immensely! I am looking forward to the visual portions of the movie that I read in the book. I find it easier to enjoy movie book adaptations when you read the book first then see the movie and not the other way around. If you read this far, then do yourself a favor, buy the book.