V for Vendetta [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2006

Imagine a Britain stripped of democracy: a world of the not-too-distant future, in which freedom was not lost, but surrendered willingly to a totalitarian regime that rose to power by exploiting people's worst fears and most damning weaknesses. This is the setting for the parable of Evey, a young woman who is saved from death by a masked vigilante calling himself only V. Beguiling and dangerous, V ignites the fuse of revolution when he detonates two London landmarks and seizes the government-controlled airwaves, urging his fellow citizens to wake up and shed the blanket of tyranny and oppression in which they have permitted themselves to be cloaked. While those in power take steps to neutralise the threat, the police pursue the mystery of V, unaware of the terrible truth that awaits them at the end of the trail. It is Evey, however, who, with V as her untrustworthy guide, sets out on the most painful path of all: a journey of deception, and self-discovery, deconstruction and re-creation, vindication and vengeance.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416516999
• ISBN-13: 978-1416516996
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not to be confused with Alan Moore's work, March 21, 2006

By 

Keith Vaglienti (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: V for Vendetta (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm always a bit suspicious when someone releases a novelization of a movie based on a novel or, in this case, a graphic novel. After all, one would expect that the original work upon which the movie was based would suffice. My suspicions of this novelization were heightened by the cover which proclaims "an uncompromising vision of the future from the creators of The Matrix trilogy" and "a novelization by Steve Moore based on the screenplay written by the Wachowski brothers". Admittedly Alan Moore doesn't want his name associated in any way with the movie but these two statements create the impression that "V For Vendetta" is entirely the creation of the Wachowski brothers.

Once you get into the book...well let's just say its done nothing to change my opinion of novelizations of movies based on novels. If you want to read "V For Vendetta" do yourself a big favor and get Alan Moore's graphic novel instead of this novelization.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This will tide you over..., March 28, 2006

By 

Annaleise Ferreira "Acolyte of Cthulhu" (Marina, California ,United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: V for Vendetta (Mass Market Paperback)

...Until the DVD comes out.

I was pleasantly suprised to find that the author of this novelization is fond of the original graphic novel enough to incorporate elements that were absent in the film. He tones down V's emotional side and enhances the sequences such as the Larkhill flashback and Evey's incarceration with lots of background information that got left out.

I love the movie but I was disapointed with some of the changes made. This novel is a great combination of the two and is very evocatively written besides.

The only thing that loses a star is that it follows the script of the movie nearly to a word. Usually novelizations are based on earlier versions of the script and so they contain extra scenes and such, but this one doesn't. If you're really attached to the script this is a good thing, but I was sort of hoping for a new spin on things.

I'd still highly recommend it, though.

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars V for Verisimilitude, March 27, 2006

By 

Seachranaiche (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: V for Vendetta (Mass Market Paperback)

I have not read the graphic novel so will not get into a debate of format. I can only say that I thought the film was brilliant; a 1984ish parable updated for the ominous times in which we live today. I think people need to be reminded that the fight and sacrifice for freedom is not something that a previous generation did for us, but something we have to do for ourselves day by day. The abdication of that fight, in reality and in the fictional England of "V for Vendetta", will always lead to deprivation and despair; chaos and violence.

Now about the book...

...Novelizations based upon films are justifiably viewed with skepticism; however, Steve Moore did right by the film and wrote an engrossing novel as well. Fans of the film will be relieved to know that the dialog in the novel is verbatim the same dialog as in the film, with all of those excellent Shakespeare soliloquies coming through intact. It was worth reading the novel just to have those passages near to hand. As some art forms can only be properly portrayed in film, so too, depths of character and backstory can only be properly portrayed in print. The novel provides just a little more exposition than was possible in the film; a little more insight into V and Evey and Finch, et al. Steve Moore's novelization can stand alone as an excellent work of political fiction.