Customer Reviews

Spider-man: Carnage in New York (Marvel Comics)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay first of all you should only really read this book if your a spiderman fan, but i suppose if you're lookin for something new and you don't know if you want to read this i would still reccomend it, but if you are not that interested, don't bother because even though i loved it, i love pretty much anything with spiderman so if you aren't a big fan i suppose you can pass it up. it gives an in depth descripton and out look on carnage one of my favorite two villians (the other being venom, both have the alien symbioent "costumes"). it's actually quite gruesome at least when carnage is the focus of the writing so if you don't much like violence in literature, i wouldn't ever read anything with carnage in it. i also reccomend Goblin's Revenge the novel that takes place right after this one, which is also a book by Dean Wesley Smith, possibly my favorite author, who does a lot of work on Marvel character novels. so if you are a big fan, get this book.

I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. I saw the movie and I'm begging my dad to take me again. I got into Spider-Man about a year ago. Around that time I was just looking around on this sight when I saw this book. I bought it immediately... and I loved it! It was a definite page-turner. This book has comic book-like drawings at the beginings of every chapter(highly detailed).
It is not like that Venom book. It gives great accounts of the fights between Spidey and Carnage. Unfortunately, this book is rather disturbing. For example, Carnage criticized someone then brutally slaughtered him. A few pages later, Spider-Man finds the remains of one of Carnage's victims draped over a balcony and then has to save a woman Carnage threw over it.
Do me a favor. Buy this book(Hope I didn't spoil it too much for you!)

This was a wonderful addition to any SM novel collection. It had a wonderful way of demonstrating Carnage's ruthless killing sprees. (The penthouse scene was good!)

This is just another decent read (in my opinion, Spider-Man never really got a fair shake as the others with these novels). This book isn't bad, but it isn't great either. The story is pretty decent (I never go into spoilers), but you can tell it wasn't written by TRUE novel authors. It feels shallow and incomplete, much like it was written by a high scool student for a writing assignment. HOWEVER, it is somewhat entertaining, not to mention you could finish it in a day EASILY if you have the time. Carnage is a decent villian, evenif he is a carbon-copy of every stereotypical serial killer you see in the movies and on TV. ....

Although I spent most of my ten-plus years in comic collecting immersed in the X-Men family, I knew about Spider-Man long before that. As Marvel's most prominent creation, he was something that I always counted on for a good read, if not consistent and regular collecting. In particular, I enjoyed the Amazing Spider-Man series under David Michelinie and Mark Bagley, which I think is absolutely spectacular.

Furthermore, having recently read and enjoyed Venom's Wrath, by Dean Wesley Smith, I knew that this author was one to watch. So, after seeing the spiffy cover painting by Julie Bell, and noticing the co-author credits for both Michelinie and Smith, I figured that this would be a sure shot, and well worth my time and money.

I wasn't entirely wrong, but I wasn't entirely happy, just the same.

I think Michelinie is a fantastic writer, but his is a style that is suited more to the visual medium of a comic book. He works best when Bagley is interpreting his writing into dynamic and creative art, but in the relatively sterile world of the novel, he doesn't have quite that same impact. As I read Carnage in New York, I was unhappy with the pacing and the mechanics of the story.

I think Michelinie deserves blame for the mechanics. For one, Smith's solo novel shows none of the overly dramatic sentence construction. For another, Michelinie is clearly used to shorter dialogue in comic books, and would naturally have trouble here. Regardless of whose fault it is, the writing suffers from "drama by repetition," as I call it. Basically, the same concept is stated differently in successive sentences to hit home the message. For example, I saw a lot of:

"He'd been so focused that he'd forgotten the woman who raised him. "Forgot she needed his help today more than any other day in her life. "And he had failed her. "Now he didn't even want to face her."

I can't stand something that obvious. That cliché also ruins the classic story of Uncle Ben's death by being too over-the-top. It's not that I was even watching for this kind of writing, but it struck me in the face because it's hard to miss and hard to enjoy.

Moreover, the pacing also has some problems. In the novel, Carnage is brought to New York to find a 'cure' for him (first, why would they extradite him instead of exporting the scientists to the Vault? It's not as if the equipment they use isn't portable, since they move it into the testing ground). Naturally, he escapes (and the fact that the guards blow his cage apart by accident is intolerably dumb), but only after HALF of the novel is over. That means that Spider-Man wraps the whole thing up in 122 pages. That's way too long of an exposition and way too short of a resolution. Again, I think Michelinie is too used to writing shorter stories.

I wouldn't say the story itself was bad, but it really felt compressed. It didn't have the same intensity or urgency of the Maximum Carnage crossover in the comic books (which I felt was really well done). I would recommend purchasing a different novel if you're looking for something engaging. This is filler for the Spider-Man completist, and unnecessary for the passing fan.

In his spectacular novel, Spidey finds himself going head-on with Cletus Kasady, a.k.a. Carnage. Carnage has gotten a hold of a strange vial filled with liquid that can make you insane with one drop! It's a perfect way for Carnage to wreak havok and Spidey has to stop him. And he has to save Aunt May from losing her house! Can our man do it all? Read it and you find you'll love it as much as I did!

This book is awesome. Lots of action, intrigue, and human emotions brought out in Spider-Man's attempt to overcome his deadliest foe. First, a mad dash for a serum that could destroy the country. Carnage brought to New York to neutralize his powers. It's excellent the way the two tie into each other as Spidey attempts to keep New York from becoming a slaughterhouse. Excellent book; if you like this book, DEFINATELY pick up "Goblin's Revenge", the sequel.

This book seemed to go on forever, but that was okay. I am a great fan of spiderman, and I didn't have an idea of what to rate this. The only thing I had on my mind was a five star. I didn't know what Carnage was, but I knew the villain's name. It's all in the title. The more the villains are destructive, the better. And the more the heros are heros, the fun goes on and on. Novels are better for you than comics.

A very well written book. The characters were believable. Spidey has his hands full with Carnage. Carnage is actually a super-villain in many respects. All he cares about is chaos. He kills without a thought. Not your normal villain looking for riches or world domination. Being a serial murderer makes the character a bit edgier. More of a challenge for Spider-Man in my opinion. The ending is a little soft. The question begs asking though, "why didn't Spidey take care of the serum himself?"

I thought this book was great because the plot and the way the book was written was great. If you like action then this is the book for you will not be disapointed.