Monster Rally
Book Summary Information
Editor: S. Michael WilsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-12-15
ISBN: 1439215197
Number of pages: 232
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Book Reviews of Monster Rally
Book Review: Amateurish and Poorly Done
Summary: 1 Stars
This is not a good book, folks. The terrible layout, the mistakes, the insipid writing style all point to the self-indulgent world of self-publication. Which should not be surprising, given that the authors have all written for various amateur 'zines in the past. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is here, since it translates into a basic lack of quality control. First, the number of spelling and grammar errors contained within this book is ridiculous. Mr. Wilson, I don't know if anybody's told you, but part of the job of editing a book is to read it through and check for mistakes like this. We see "shear" terror and "peaked" interest, and more than a couple of purely non-grammatical utterances (p. 69: "Anne to tell the others in the circle that Lockwood is the killer.").
That would be disappointing, but excusable, if the authors were saying anything worth reading. But here, as in a high school book report, plot synopsis reigns supreme. Pages and pages are wasted simply rehashing the stories of dozens of films, with little to no analysis or even evaluation. True, there is some interpretation in the chapter on Ken Russell's "Lair of the White Worm" -- but after reading it, you'll wish there hadn't been. It's that torturous.
Which brings me to the style of the writing: amateurish, unfocused, and irrelevant. There are passages in which an author trashes a movie in one sentence (say, "Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child"), then turns around in the next sentence to praise it. The authors seldom miss a chance to make a "funny" comment in passing, but the results are completely sophomoric and inappropriate. Take this gem from p. 76, talking about "Samson vs. the Vampire Women": "In a dank dungeon, half-naked, buffed, Latin men are chained to stone walls waiting to be drained by a sexy Vampire Queen (who looks more capable of corrupting the morals of a donkey at a Tijuana sex show)." What is this? Did somebody involved actually think this was acceptable?
And then of course there is the subject matter chosen for individual chapters. In a book which promises "a creepy collection of critiques celebrating cinematic creatures," etc., one would expect to find lots of material on movies, right? Instead we are confronted by not one, but two chapters discussing the reality of UFOs, completely divorced from the context of cinema. The "critiques" boasted of on the front cover include the vital question of how movie depictions of Yetis stack up against real Yetis. Because, as we all know, cheap horror and exploitation films are always interested in faithful documentation of their topics. And I'm not even going to go into the fact that the authors apparently expect the reader to accept the "reality" of the Abominable Snowman without a fight.
There are a few good bits, however. The chapter on Paul Blaisdell's monster-making career was highly interesting and well-done, mostly because David Jacobs, the author of this section, refrains from the excesses found almost everywhere else in this volume, actually does his research, and seems to have run the spell-checker before submitting the piece for publication. There are a few other bright spots (Jacobs' essay on the newspaper prophet Criswell is another hidden treasure), but they come so few and far between that the overall impression is that you can find most of this material presented to better effect in other books.
Entertainment Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Killer Insects!
Monster RallyBookSurge Publishing; Published: 2008-12-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.99
Thripzby Robert Farley
CreateSpace; Published: 2008-07-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
SquirmSCARDINO,DON; Release date: 2003-08-26; DVD
Best price: $2.29
Price in other shops:
Hellstrom's Hiveby Frank Herbert
Tor Books; Published: 2007-04-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.88
Price in other shops:
The Hellstrom ChronicleRCA Columbia; VHS Tape; VHS Video
The SwarmWarner Brothers; Release date: 2002-08-06; DVD
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops:
The Hephaestus Plagueby Thomas Page
Trashface Books; Published: 2008-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
BugDILLMAN,BRADFORD; Release date: 2004-09-14; DVD
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
Invasion Of The Bee Girls (1973)Release date: 2007-11-12; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Phase IVby Barry Malzberg
Pocket Books; Published: 1973-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Let The Right One InMAGNOLIA FILMS; Release date: 2009-03-10; DVD
Best price: $8.76
Price in other shops:
The Book of Lists: Horror: An All-New Collection Featuring Stephen King, Eli Roth, Ray Bradbury, and More, with an Introduction by Gahan Wilsonby Amy Wallace, Del Howison, Scott Bradley
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2008-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Humbug (2 Volume Set)by Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Jaffee, Arnold Roth
Fantagraphics Books; Published: 2008-08-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $36.99
Price in other shops:
Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature TerrorPermuted Press; Published: 2009-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
Vampira The MovieAlpha Video; Release date: 2007-08-28; DVD
Best price: $7.45
Price in other shops:
American ScaryCINEMA LIBRE; Release date: 2009-02-17; DVD
Best price: $12.27
Price in other shops:
Hammer Glamourby Marcus Hearn
Titan Books; Published: 2009-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.37
Price in other shops:
Hammer Films- A Life In Pictures: The Visual Story of Hammer Filmsby Wayne Kinsey
Tomahawk Press; Published: 2009-02-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $32.91
Price in other shops:
Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horrorby Michael Mallory
Universe; Published: 2009-09-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $26.39
Price in other shops:
Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics (The Walking Dead / Frankenstein 1970 / You'll Find Out / Zombies on Broadway)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $18.87
Price in other shops: