Customer Reviews

The Stallion

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

 

 

The Stallion is fairly a new novel compared with others written by the Harold Robbins. Once again, Robbins has proved his genius skill as a story teller. The Stallion revolves around the guy Angelo Perino, who is gathers his life after being dumped by the company he worked for, and takes his revenge. Don't forget to add lots of sex, money, and luxuries that only Harold Robbins can imagine vividly. Though I read the so called prequel "The Betsy" after reading "The Stallion", you actually don't miss much of any storyline, so even if you have not read "The Betsy" it is ok to go ahead and read this book.

My all time favorite is "Dreams Die First" and "The Stallion" comes second. If you are a fan of Robbins (like me), then don't look any further, grab a copy and read it.

Harold Robbins' sequel to the lukewarm THE BETSY brings back Angelo Perino and the gang for yet another multitude romps in the hay as they all use one another for the benefit of money and power in the automobile business.

Robbins paint-by-the-numbers storyline doesn't miss a beat : lesbianism, sadomasochism, nymphomania, orgies, it's all there-- once again ! Yet, the author succeeds in making the story works. His auto industry's wheelings and dealings are a fun read, especially the making of the first electric car, the XB 000. One can't help but wonder when fiction stops and reality takes over. As for the characters, well, as we all know, Robbins is no Proust. His Angelo character is no different than his other characters in his 24 books. Macho, good looking, well-endow, a master in his field as well as in the bedroom...

Still, THE STALLION is a fun read. It is not one of Robbins best (NEVER LOVE A STRANGER,THE CARPETBAGGERS, THE LONELY LADY, 79 PARK AVENUE) and not his worst (THE DREAM MERCHANTS). It's more on the lukewarm side-- just like its prequel.

M. Boucher

Harold Robbins' sequel to the lukewarm THE BETSY brings back protagonist to the ladies Angelo Perino for yet another tale of use or be used, this time in the automobile business. The author's paint-by-the-numbers plot doesn't miss a beat in delivering comfort zone forte: lesbianism, sadomasochism, nymphomania, orgies, you name it you got it, again. His auto industry wheelings and dealings, however, do stand out, especially when writing about the evolution of the first electric car, the XB 000. A broader development of the subject definitely would have set a better tone for the novel, but, alas, Robbins chooses sexual predictability over substance. Ditto for his characterization. Nothing but carbon copy material for his Angelo: macho, good looking, well-endowed, a master in his field as well as in the bedroom... Still, THE STALLION is a fun time-waster when taken with a grain of salt. It may not be Robbins best (that would be most of his pre-80's releases), but it is entertaining nonetheless if expectations aren't set too high.-----Martin Boucher

The Stallion, is a beautiful piece of artwork, and anyone that disagrees obviously cannot appreciate on of the greatest men's work that ever lived. The Stallion rocks!!!

"The Betsy," one of Robbins early '70s potboilers, wasn't one of my favorites, but it delivered, weaving a fast-paced tale of corporate intrigue and family drama, with plenty of raunchy sex to satisfy my prurient interests. Its sequel, "The Stallion," published 25 years later, continues the saga of Bethlehem Motors, and it's a pretty entertaining read, even if it's not much of a novel. After some preliminary chapters that function much like the 30-second recap of a TV show's previous episode, "The Stallion" settles into its two primary narrative drives: former race car driver Angelo Perino's reluctant return to Bethlehem Motors to build a car that will save the company he resents, and Bethlehem Motors CEO (and grandson of the company founder) Loren Hardeman III's attempts to undermine Perino, simply because he hates him. Perino struggles to build the titular Stallion, fighting against corporate apathy and, in the case of Loren III, open hostility, but he's not so busy that he doesn't have time to bed Loren III's wife Roberta, who's got a fondness for S/M and Chesterfield cigarettes, or Loren's daughter Betsy, who's got a fondness for, well, pretty much everything save using birth control on a regular basis. Between sexually satisfying his boss's wife and daughter, Angelo also manages to bed Betsy's mother and her aunt, as well as father numerous children with his own wife Cindy (she shrugs off her husband's affairs, using them as a convenient excuse for her own dalliances). And even lesbians are powerless to resist Angelo's virile charms!

So, yes, "The Stallion" has a lot of sex. It's Harold Robbins, so there's no point complaining about it, and a bit disingenuous besides, considering it's those abundant sex scenes that are part of his books' appeal. (Don't try to deny it!) But it's not the copious amount of sex scenes that hurts "The Stallion"; it's Robbins' ham-fisted way of introducing them, choosing to thrust them (as it were) into chapters rather than allow his seductions to develop organically. There are times when "The Stallion" actually threatens to become, if not a good novel, at least a satisfying bit pulp fiction, but "The World's Greatest Storyteller" instead settles on being the World's Most Tired Pornographer.

Other observations:
* According to Robbins, when entering into an underhanded business arrangement with a member of the opposite sex, it is customary to seal the deal with a slap-happy roll in the hay.
* Robbins' characters usually have a fondness for whatever drug is popular at the time of writing (pot in the `70s, coke in the `80s), but with the exception of a little bit of pot smoking, the characters in "The Stallion" prefer indulging their libidos to altering their mental states.
* In "The Stallion," it's Europeans who are sexually repressed while in freedom-loving America boys parade around in Speedos ("displaying their proud bulges"), the girls cheerfully go topless, and no one is judged for their sexuality.

It's been recounted how Robbins would be locked in hotel rooms by his editors and not allowed to come out until he produced a certain number of manuscript pages. Given how some key plot points are introduced in "The Stallion" and then quickly dismissed (two murders with no consequences, a murder-for-hire plot that goes nowhere), it seems Harold was desperate to get out of that room. That said, "The Stallion" is hardly the worst book Robbins ever wrote. No, unfortunately his editors didn't see fit to lock him OUT of that hotel suite before he cranked out his next book, "Tycoon"...

This is really a great book. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it. I actually had not read, its precurser, The Betsy so was unfamiliar with the background information, charactors etc. This was not a problem as all things became obvious just by reading the book. It is not a hard book to understand. Its got all the hallmarks that make a Robbins a great and entertaining read. Reviewing The Stallion makes me want to read it again!

I had read other Harold Robbins books and this carries on in the same mode; uses sex to fill story gaps and the characters are not completely true to the originals in The Betsy.

After reading "The Carpetbaggers," I couldn't wait to get my hands on a few more books by this fun writer. "The Stallion," is another wonderful read.

I have read many of Robbins' books. Most were disgestible. This one isn't. The story line is thin as paper. In EVERY chapter, there is a sex scene, in some even more. And there are many chapters. If you know all the family members of the Hardeman dynasty -- each and everyone has sex with various other people. And Angelo Perino with most of them. I think 50% of all words is about sex, adultry, teen sex or intercourse. COM' ON!
The Betsy was a book about building cars. This books is about sex. Oh and some people are involved in the car industry.
This is something you see more often with establised writers. Once they're establised, they're writing down crap, just to fill the paper between the covers and make YOU buy the book.
Fortunately I bought this book at a flea market (...).

As a long time fan of Harold Robbins, I've read most of his more popular novels, but not The Betsy, which is the precursor to The Stallion. However, one not need have read the former to understand what is going on in the latter. The Stallion is vintage Harold Robbins, and IMO, one of his best stories. I couldnt help but wonder whether the XB electric car in the story was a case of art imitating life or vice versa. Whichever you choose, it was a fascinating insight into the world of sports cars.