Clark Kent to Superman - it's the most famous quick change act in the galaxy. But now something's changing Superman. Suddenly the Force for Good is acting strangely - taking the tilt out of the Tower of Pisa, blowing out the Olympic torch, sky-writing off-color graffiti. Is this behavior modification the symptom of bigger trouble? You bet it is! Superman is up against a sophisticated enemy smarter than man - a computer evilly programmed to put one man in charge of the world...
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More About the Author
William Kotzwinkle is a celebrated satirist in the US as well as being author of several favourite books, including ET the Extra-Terrestrial and of course, the New York Times listed bestselling Walter the Farting Dog. He lives on an island off the east coast of America.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Superman III: The Novelization (Yep, It's Better than the Movie!),
By Hound Dog (Boise, ID, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Superman III (Paperback)
In the summer of 1983, as you may know, the lackluster film "Superman III" starring Christopher Reeve as the legendary Man of Steel and Richard Pryor as bumbling computer genius Gus Gorman signaled the premature end of the mighty "Superman" movie franchise. Considering the mostly horrendous script, it is particularly telling that neither Reeve nor Pryor scored another box office hit after this film crashed at movie theaters. Yet, on the off-chance that you should come across author William Kotzwinkle's novelization of "Superman III, it proves to be an amusingly ironic and pleasant surprise.
The framework of the finalized film is all here (unfortunately, I suppose), but Kotzwinkle does a mighty fine job enhancing and adding significant details to the scenes between the movie scenes. Case in point: utilizing a cynical point-of-view, Kotzwinkle makes it abundantly clear that Clark Kent-Superman is getting burnt out on super-heroics and ordinary human life, which makes his susceptibility to tar-flavored kryptonite (and a newly discovered evil side) far more plausible. But what makes Kotzwinkle's writing so much fun is the multiple points-of-view or thought balloons he can express for Clark, Superman, Gus, Lana, Ross Webster, or even Brad by making them seem wonderfully real and, yes, delightfully cynical. An example would be Gus standing next to chilly Vera during his first meeting with the Websters to conjure up their first major scheme, and why he veers away from her "because her breath could bring down a B-52." Or sensing that Webster is toying with the idea of sending him back to prison for embezzlement, a sweating Gus could "already taste the special flavor of those prison beans." Or, after the reunion dance sequence, heavily inebriated ex-quarterback Brad goes out to the football field to relive old glories by "throwing a long one and then threw up." One can tell Kotzwinkle's point-of-view just by the brief line about yet another frustrated motorist (over the long gas station lines) storming into a greasy diner for a plate of "rock hard doughnuts" and some god-awful coffee that could be used as oil in your car. Or how rescued plant workers (in all their infinite gratitude) are already contemplating lawsuits going down Superman's makeshift emergency slide to escape a major chemical fire. In the right frame of mind, the book offers some fun chuckles and even a few laugh out loud moments. I can't really say that Kotzwinkle's inspired cynicism would have worked in the film, but its polish works extremely well in a book, despite such weak source material. If you can ever find this book, it is well worth a read, even just to visualize Christopher Reeve suiting up once more as the definitive Superman. Rating: 8/10 (for ages 14 and up).
5.0 out of 5 stars
The novel version of 'Superman III' has me flying high again!,
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This review is from: Superman III (Paperback)
I purchased my very first copy of this novel when I was only 9 years old, during the summer of 1983, when the movie 'Superman III' was in theaters. One thing I've noticed about the novel versions of movies, they often include a lot of 'background' or 'filler' information that is often not included in the movie. Such is the case with this novel. Nice photographic insert in the middle of the book, too. In order to replace the long misplaced copy of this novel that I bought back in 1983, I bought this new copy - and I'm only glad I did! I have no regrets about having bought it!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Super Reader,
By Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Superman III (Paperback)
This is more like an episode of the sixties Batman. Superman throughout this is distracted and distant, exacerbated when he gets a small dose of green kryptonite which turns him into a wanker.
Gus Gorman, Ross the Boss and his sister are pretty ludicrous. For 158 pages, this book has ellipsis overload, and Kotzwinkle looks like he is deliberately throwing in a lot of bizarre, bad lines because he was annoyed.
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