Customer Reviews

Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills

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

 

 

This is definitely a must-have for fans of the old "Suspense" radio series--in terms of raw information, it is absolutely definitive. But it really must also be said that this self-published book is so poorly written as to be difficult to read. Sentence fragments and comma splices abound ("Sad to say, 'Suspense' never made it to the airwaves in the fall, it was shelved for the next two years"). Awkwardness is everywhere: "There was no viewing audience since the show was broadcast from a small sound studio, plus the popularity of the program had not reached its peak." The author uses "its" and "it's" interchangably, and often incorrectly ("The show had lost much of it's prestige"). Incredibly, the word "Suspense" is even misspelled in the cover illustration.

"'Suspense': Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills" is essential as a research guide, and highly recommended as such. But anyone hoping for an enjoyable read should tread carefully here. Mr. Grams clearly needed a copy editor.

This review has two parts.

1. The information about each episode is invaluable.
2. The writing, proofreading, and editing are so poor this book is physically painful to read. It also has no index.

If all you want is a list of episodes with information about broadcast dates and casts, do a Google search for the various radio logs available for free on the web. If you want other information about the show wait for the second edition of this book. While waiting, hope and pray that it is edited by somebody who can write proper English. Otherwise, u wil hav truble reeding the furst edition becuz it is writtun bad.

First, this is an essential book for Suspense fans, with as much info as you could ever hope to find on the subject. It is, however, very clearly fan writing. The prose and binding are terrible. The grammar sets the teeth on edge (the misuse of its/it's being particularly annoying), and the structure is stream-of-consciousness free-association, drifting from one subject to the next and back again with nary a hint of transition. Even a labor of love often needs a midwife, and this author needed an editor badly. Hard reading, but full of info you will not find elsewhere. If you know and love Suspense enough to have read this far, then you really should buy it. It already helped me reorder my collection.

I'm an OTR (Old Time Radio) fan big time with more than 25,000 shows in my archives. I particularly like the remarkably succesful and excellent Suspense series which produced nearly a thousand shows in it's long stretch on the air. That's remarkable. Most of them are really scary and interesting and unexpected. The story behind Suspense is a fascinating one. However this particular book could have been written in a more professional style. It could have used a more interesting format and most of all it could have used some better writing. That said, I highly recommend it because it has information you just won't find anywere else and some of the backstage stories are fascinating.
-P

This is a great book. It provided lots of info on each show. The problem i have with the book is the quick reference table is incorrectly set-up. Making it not so quick. As a collector of Suspense and Old Time Radio, I use this offten. Also I would of liked an index of actors.

Martin Grams' book, Suspense, provides an oversight of the 20+ years of the radio (and later, TV}program, "Suspense." The program was for many years on radio, and later for a couple of years on television. It featured some of the best stars of movies and radio, in original stories and adaptations of famous writers' works. The book has a wealth of "backstage" type stories and anecdotes of both actors, writers, directors and producers. It would be enjoyed greatly by anyone who has any knowledge of and fondness for the program. However, it does have a very annoying drawback, for me. It appears to have had a complete lack of proofreading and is rife with grammatical errors, obvious typos and misspellings. I have never heard of the publisher, in some obscure tiny town in Kansas. Apparently they for some odd reason did never submit galley proofs to Mr. Grams for his approval before final publishing go ahead was given. If one can overlook this irritating problem, they will certainly enjoy the book.

I have a copy of this book for about a year now and I love it. I have found it to be tremendous help when cataloging my collection of Suspense episodes on cassette. It doesn't have an index which I wish it did, because it takes me a minute longer to find Cary Grant or Douglas Fairbanks on a particular Suspense episode by title, but that still works. What this book really did was encourage me to search out many other episodes that I didn't know existed and enjoyed those very much. The plots do not give away any surprise endings which I appreciate, and you will too. There are photos of the radio stars on Suspense, and covers of magazines and comic books. The TV log is pretty good, with most plots, but I can't seem to find anyone with Suspense TV episodes on video. I only wish fans of the show can help me. My book is already getting worn and I may have to order a second to keep in mint. I don't think I can say any better. The text is written in short paragraph form detailing episode by episode, which makes for easy reference. Not tons of thick paragraphs and much of what is in this book is quotations from actors. I recommend you buy a copy and learn more about Suspense. It has more information than meets the eye.

First of all, I want to say that I purchased a copy of Martin Grams' Suspense book a few weeks ago from Adventures in Cassettes and when I first flipped through the pages, (as one normally does with a newly purchased book,) I was impressed just to see how detailed the actual broadcasts were!

I am a Suspense fan and have been for years and years. I have been attempting to gather various copies of the broadcasts and have been unsuccessful in dating many of the titled episodes. The book helped me place dates with titles accordingly.

I have also been reading and gathering articles by various collectors about the series, and occassionally I learned a little trivia about the program. After reading the book (more than 400 pages thick!) I found that there was not one piece of trivia that was missing. The book absolutely covered everything.

For years people have been saying that there was going to be a book about the program and until I actually saw it, I never imagine! d it to be so comprehensive.

The Suspense book even covers all of the television episodes, with plot lines, comic books, movies, magazines and novels and awards! Unbelieveable!

Take it from me, regardless of what anyone says, buy a copy for yourself. The price is pretty low for what is all included in the book. If not, you will not know what you are missing.

Martin Grams, Jr.'s book on Suspense is an exceptional history on one of the greatest radio shows of all-time (it also covers the lesser known tv version).

It has nice anecdotes on the episodes and Grams does a wonderful job of logging the shows.

I would have liked to see an actor's index giving us an idea of who appeared on the show the most times, but apart from that minor detail, if you are a Suspense fan in particular and an old time radio fan in general, this book is a must-have.

SUSPENSE is one of the best radio programs. I have many in my collection. This book helped me date and catalog what I have in my collection. The history is fascinating. The episode guide could not be more detailed. None of the plots give away the twist endings. The book has chapters about the novels and mystery magazines and comic books. Absolutely fascinating. Every SUSPENSE fan should own a copy of this book. I am writing from a fan's perspective. With 450 pages you should already know how detailed this book is. Ignore nit-pickers. I am a fan and this is worth the money.