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When the plot of your first novel partially hinges on anarchist overthrows funded by soap sales, and the narrative hook of your second work is the black box recorder of a jet moments away from slamming into the Australian outback, it stands to reason that your audience is going to be ready for anything. Which, to an author like Chuck Palahniuk, must sound like a challenge. Palahniuk's third identity crisis (that's "novel" to you), Invisible Monsters, more than ably responds to this call to arms. Set once again in an all-too-familiar modern wasteland where social disease and self-hatred can do more damage than any potboiler-fiction bad guy, the tale focuses particularly on a group of drag queens and fashion models trekking cross-country to find themselves, looking everywhere from the bottom of a vial of Demerol to the end of a shotgun barrel. It's a sort of Drugstore Cowboy-meets-Yentl affair, or a Hope-Crosby road movie with a skin graft and hormone-pill obsession, if you know what I mean.
Um, yeah. Anyway, the Hollywood vibe doesn't stop these comparisons. As with Fight Club and Survivor, the book is invested with a cinematic sweep, from the opening set piece, which takes off like a house afire (literally), to a host of filmic tics sprayed throughout the text: "Flash," "Jump back," "Jump way ahead," "Flash," "Flash," "Flash." You get the idea. It's as if Palahniuk didn't write the thing but yanked it directly out of the Cineplex of his mind's eye. Does it succeed? Mostly. Still working on measuring out the proper dosages of his many writerly talents (equal parts potent imagery, nihilistic coolspeak, and doped-out craziness), Palahniuk every now and then loosens his grip on the story line, which at points becomes as hard to decipher as your local pill addict's medicine cabinet. However Invisible Monsters works best on a roller-coaster level. You don't stop and count each slot on the track as you're going down the big hill. You throw up your hands and yell, "Whee!" --Bob Michaels
Book Description
She's a fashion model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden freeway "accident" leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she is transformed from the beautiful center of attention to an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you'll ever want to look.
Customer Reviews:
A twisting plot.......2007-10-10
This was the first Palahniuk book I read and is still my favorite. His clean, crisp style betrays his background as a newspaper reporter -- but it makes this and his other books quick, easy reads.
Most telling about "Invisible Monsters" is the way Palahniuk weaves together a myriad of details to form a cogent story that leads you guessing all the way to the end. The story starts in chaos, but slowly builds to order with plot twists that you'll never see coming (but in retrospect, you should have).
Amazing Novel.......2007-09-06
To explain 'Invisible Monsters' in one review is unbeliebly hard. You just need to read it to understand its importance in literature. It is well written, and I almost never put it down. Chuck Palahniuk writes novels in a way no other can. His novels change the way you think and live; Palahniuk is an important writer who needs to be acknowledged for his amazing works.
Wow.......2007-09-06
The story changes as much as fashion does in Vogue,
it keeps you thinking and wondering like only a Palahniuk novel can;
i want the say that this isn't the run of the mill Chuck book,
but i don't think there is such a thing as that,
this was the first book i was really disapointed to finish,
not because of how it ended or how the book was written,
but because i wanted to keep reading.
I highly recomend this book,
Best read yet........2007-08-26
I may be biased, but Chuck is absolutely my favorite. This book, by far is the best. A "true" sad, but funny story of living the past and wanting the future. I couldn't put the book down.
Excellent CD recording! Great book!.......2007-08-20
Finally! A successful writer who is consistently interesting, fresh, entertaining, AND thought provoking. Thank you Palahniuk for not losing quality after scoring a Hollywood deal (Fight Club)! Keep up the good work! Great characters, pace, editing.
And, as an extra plus, the CD recording is fantastic. The reader has a great voice and does an excellent interpretation of the text. FIVE STARS!
p.s. The young woman at the library check-out also gave this book five stars.
Average customer rating:
- The Frantastic voyage & the fran with 4 brains
- Franny K Steins Crate of Danger
- Clever and funny
- Franny K. Stein's Crate of Danger
- Armani, 7 years-old: I can't stop reading these Franny K. Stein books
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Franny K. Stein's Crate of Danger (Boxed Set): Lunch Walks Among Us; Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid; The Invisible Fran; The Fran That Time Forgot (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
Manufacturer: Aladdin
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Frantastic Voyage (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
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Mucho Monsters (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist Activity Book)
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Blueprints and Bloopers (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist Activity Book)
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The Fran with Four Brains (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
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Spooky Science (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist)
ASIN: 1416914021 |
Book Description
Franny K. Stein is not your average girl -- she's a mad scientist. She prefers poison ivy to daisies and piranha to goldfish, and when Franny jumps rope, she uses her pet snake.
Being a mad scientist is exciting, but it does have its drawbacks. From fending off giant monstrous fiends to getting a lab assistant to battling her own teenage self, Franny has her hands full! Join her on her first four wacky, weird, creepy adventures and find out why Franny is everyone's favorite mad scientist.
Books in this set include:
Lunch Walks Among Us
Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid
The Invisible Fran
The Fran That Time Forgot
Customer Reviews:
The Frantastic voyage & the fran with 4 brains.......2007-09-22
My boys are 4 and 6 and they loves these. My 6 yr old can read them with no problem but they like for me to read to them both and we got The Fran with Four Brains just yesterday and they had me read the entire book to them last night. They are excited about the fact that i have ordered them this boxed set, and when it comes I am sure we will be reading them till we have read them all. I hope the author starts more in this series of books so they can continue to have a Great series that they enjoy that pulls u right in.
Franny K Steins Crate of Danger.......2007-01-09
My four year old son loves all the Franny books! Franny shows kids that it is okay to be different, that science can be lots of fun and that most "scary" things really aren't. My only complaint is that my son is constantly doing mad scientist experiments. We have test tubes filled with interesting items all over the house, just waiting to see what happens. Not high literature, but a lot of fun.
Clever and funny.......2006-09-08
My 6-year old son loves the franny stories. I thought he might have trouble relating to the girl, but he is very much into science and so he had no problems being pulled in to Franny's adventures. She dabbles in science, while still learning what it means to be a kid.
Franny K. Stein's Crate of Danger.......2006-02-02
My 9 year old son LOVES these books. He is a struggling reader, and would rather learn science than language arts. Because these books have to do with science experiments, he eats them up. He's on the 4th book now and I did not tell him to read last night, and caught him reading it on his own and almost done with it. It's exciting for me as a parent and reader to see him find a series that can hold his interest while he becomes a better reader.
Armani, 7 years-old: I can't stop reading these Franny K. Stein books.......2005-10-01
I love these books because they are great chapter books. They are funny because Franny is the coolest mad scientist, to be a girl.
I will read Franny K. Stein for the rest of my life.
Armani
Customer Reviews:
Greatest Book.......2006-06-15
Have you ever seen your food disappear without you eating it? Well this happened to Sammy in this book. This book is about how a boy named Sammy notices weird things are going on around his house. No one wants to believe him. Sammy doesn't know who or what it is until he meets it and becomes its friend. Read this book and find out what happens to Sammy and his so called NEW FRIEND.
I love this book because it made me want to read more. When it came to the end of the story I wanted to know more. It left me wondering what would happen next. I recommend it to those who like mystery books or books about monsters. When you read this book you will be surprised to see all the monsterous things that occur!
One of a kind from R.L.Stine's gooesbumps series.......2005-07-02
This book is certainly one of a kind.
Another great book by R.L.Stine, and this is one of my favorite books. Whether you like science fiction or not, you will still like this book if you're goosebumps/R.L.Stine fan.
Sammy Jacob is into ghosts and science fiction. Not exactly the smartest hobby- at least not if you ask Sammy's parents. They're research scientists and they only believe in REAL science.
But now Sammy's met someone who's totally unreal. He's hanging out in Sammy's room. And eating his cereal at breakfast. Sammy's got to find a way to get rid of his new "friend" Only problem is... Sammy's new friend is invisible! (From the back of the book)
The reason why I like this book so much has to be the ending. I mean, the storyline is great. But the ending is very twisted, funny, and for me, cool. I often wonder how R.L.Stine gets his ideas.
To people who don't like Goosebumps because its not scary. What do you expect? It's for 7 - 12 year old kids, meaning not very frightening but a mysterious ending. Goosebumps is a mystery book in a sort way, because every time you read goosebumps series, you wonder how the storyline is going to be connected to the ending. I started to read goosebumps at the age of 8, and never once did I thought goosebumps was scary. (I read almost every book of the Original Goosebumps Series). But I still love goosebumps, and R.L.Stine is the authour that made me wanting to be an authour. So the bottom line is, don't read goosebumps if you want chill on your back. If you want a chill, I'd say watch the movie "The Grudge". LOL!
Anyways, this book gets 5 star for great storyline, ok characterism, and some-what cool ending. =)
pretty good............2005-02-15
this book is pretty good but its all about science fiction...
im not saying i don't like this book i mean i really enjoyed it . so buy this book!!!!!
An ok goosebumps book.......2004-03-17
This book was good but it wasn't scary. There is a surprising twist at the end but I won't give it away.
VERY FUNNY SOMEWHAT CORNY NOT THE SLIGHTEST BIT SCARY FOR ME.......2002-10-18
This book was pretty funny but for a goosebumps book it should have been scarier. as far as nine year olds go,they would probably like it alot,but if they are real goosebumps fans like i am then they will probably notice it is a bit too funny and a little less scary. i say for a seven year old this probably wouldent be scary let alone a nine year old. this wasent one of stine's best horror books!
Average customer rating:
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Goosebumps Boxed Set, Books 5 - 8: The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Let's Get Invisible!, Night of the Living Dummy, and The Girl Who Cried Monster
R. L. Stine
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
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Goosebumps Boxed Set, Books 21 - 24: Go Eat Worms!, Ghost Beach, Return of the Mummy, and Phantom of the Auditorium
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Stay Out of the Basement (Goosebumps Series)
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Goosebumps: Be Careful What You Wish For... (Goosebumps)
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Goosebumps Boxed Set, Books 37 - 40: The Headless Ghost, The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, How I Got My Shrunken Head, and Night of the Living Dummy III
ASIN: 0590668854 |
Customer Reviews:
goosebumps.......2004-07-02
good stories, hat the hand very creepy so i give 5staars than the dead house got blood. and then alot of people die in this house and the blood made me want to vomit and the pitcur eis a skelton anhd thhen become a gholst like the there is a ghost in my photo book, very interesting and then the piture die and the tub full of monster blood, so yucky. i read it 400 times. tihionk inside the basement got ghost inside and then green hand, maybe it is a plant. amybe someone kill the house and then got blood and then cheese, why must die, maybe they are ghoost insiude the photo, lopoks scary and interestiong. and then the mionster open the door
and then scare people and then kill people and then got blood, then it is haunted and got blood
Book Description
The Invisible Detective's young protégés are on their most dangerous case yet:A mad scientist is creating an army of mutant soldiers.Worse, their adult friend Charlie is mixed up with the soldiers. Can the gang stop the soldiers and save Charlie before it's too late?
Meanwhile, in the present day, Arthur Drake discovers that his classmate Sarah runs the invisible-detective.com website and she lives in the same haunted house where the scientist made the ghost soldiers back in 1936. Now Arthur must not only discover his connection to the mysterious crimefighter, but Sarah's, too.
Another exciting installment in the Invisible Detective series, Ghost Soldiers is filled with the same high-concept action and humor that made Double Life and Shadow Beast favorites of mystery readers everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
They were some ghostly little soldiers, in the heart of Britannia.......2006-06-11
Does the name Justin Richards mean anything to you? Yes? No? If not, it's not for the author's lack of trying. Richards has thrown multiple books of varying age and interest across the Atlantic Ocean in the hopes of gaining some kind of a foothold on the American middle reader market. And after all, he's already, apparently, conquered the world of "Dr. Who" paperback fiction. Until recently, though, I hadn't much of an idea of who this vibrant British authorial star was. Then I saw the cover of "The Invisible Detective: Ghost Soldiers". Let it never be said that even the most staid and steadfast children's librarians aren't wowed from time to time by pretty covers. Made to look similar to old paperback dime novels (with pulpy designs to boot), Penguin Putnam has republished this popular English series with exceeding care. And while I would not advise doing as I did and reading this, the third chapter in the series, before reading books 1 & 2, it will make for an engaging follow-up to the first titles in the series.
There are two heroes in this book, and as luck would have it they have the same name. Today, in the present, there is a boy named Arthur who once stumbled across the casebook of someone called The Invisible Detective. Turns out, the casebook was once his grandfather's and through it Arthur is able to solve current mysteries by using the book as his guide. The second boy is named Art. Art is Arthur's grandfather, but his story takes place in the late 1930s. Together with three other kids, Art is The Invisible Detective: A sleuth so mysterious that no one ever sees him (probably because he's an adolescent foursome and all). In this book, the third case involving this somewhat modernized Basil Street Irregulars, the crew are battling skull-faced creatures wearing soldier's uniforms. There's an insidious plot afoot to use normal civilians in grotesque deforming experiments. And worst of all, it looks as if the kids' friend Charlie, a peer of the realm, is involved in the shadier side of this business.
As I mentioned earlier, do not attempt to read this book before you read any others in the series. For one thing, you'll spend half the book trying to figure out the difference between present day Arthur and his late 1930s grandfather Art. Now to my mind, Richards is at his strongest when he's working in the realm of science fiction rather than fantasy. The horrific nature of the ghost soldiers really grips the reader by the throat. But the Arthur-is-psychically-linked-to-his-granddad moments, as well as a mystical stone and a time traveling clock... well they just distract from what I would consider the real action. I should mention, by the way, that when it comes to the openings of his books, Richards is unparalleled. Recently, I happened to pick up a copy of his YA novel, "The Death Collector", and it had the finest first sentence I've read in a long long time. In the case of "Ghost Soldiers", Richards eschews easy first sentences for the far more difficult first sense of rising horror. It makes for a wonderful opening.
Richards also likes to work in significant moments in history alongside his more fantastical imaginings. For example, if you know your history and realize early on that the Crystal Palace burned to the ground in 1936 then you may not find yourself too surprised when the first wisps of smoke begin to curl upwards. I also liked how the fact that English policemen don't carry guns makes for an excellent excuse not to tell the police of the ghost soldier army being formed. As one of the kids points out, without guns the policemen would just get slaughtered.
There were some gaps in the plot, unfortunately. For example, a wino is killed early on in the book but we never learn exactly why. His death is important enough to spur The Invisible Detective to action, but not so important that his story is ever concluded to anyone's satisfaction. Also, the fact that present day Arthur cannot remember any of his grandfather's cases until he faces a similar case in his own life... well that's just the ultimate in authorial plot convenience, now isn't it?
Look, the book's fun, no question. Nobody's ever going to contest that. And as horror paperbacks go, this one has everything from gigantic shoot-em-up sequences, close shaves, multiple escapes, and even a spot of betrayal here and there. It has its flaws and weaknesses but it's also a rousing good read and a wonderful mystery series for those kids who don't want to resign themselves to "Chasing Vermeer" and its ilk. More amusing than it deserves to be, and drawn from writer of great cleverness. Great cleverness, indeed.
Book Description
Who is the Invisible Detective? To the people of London, 1936, he's a shadowy crimefighter whose face has never been seen. Truth is, he's the creation of four extraordinary kids who solve mysteries in his name. And neither an army of murderous zombie mannequins nor a subterranean monster can stop the Invisible Detective once the kids are on the case.
Meanwhile, in present day, fourteen-year-old Arthur Drake finds the casebook of the Invisible Detective in a strange old antique store. Stranger still, the casebook is in his own handwriting. With a little help from his grandfather, Arthur not only uncovers his link to the Invisible Detective, but soon finds himself plunged into mysteries of his own.
Filled with spine-tingling suspense and a good dose of humor, The Invisible Detective is a fun new series that will leave mystery fans hungry for more.
Customer Reviews:
A Quick, Satisfying Read for Fans of Mystery or Creepy Suspense.......2006-07-20
Shadow Beast is the second book in Justin Richards' Invisible Detective series (after Double Life). These are quick mysteries featuring the alternating viewpoints of Arthur Drake, living in modern-day London, and Art, living in 1930's London. Most of the story concerns Art, head of a group of young detectives called the Cannoniers who, together, comprise the mysterious Invisible Detective. They're much like Sherlock Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars, only without Holmes to guide them. They do have Art's Dad, a Scotland Yard detective, and another older mentor, Charlie, to help them out from time to time. And people believe that they work for Brandon Lake, the non-existent Invisible Detective.
In this installment, Art and the other Cannoniers (Meg, Jonny, and Flinch) are asked by a stranger, Mr. Fredericks, to help search for his missing cat, Tiger. It quickly becomes clear that Mr. Fredericks is hiding something, especially after Tiger turns up torn apart. Rumors start to surface regarding other dead cats, and sightings of a mysterious, rat-like beast in the sewer drains. Meanwhile, in the modern world, Arthur and his grandfather are also on the trail of a mysterious beast, one that has resurfaced in London. Both stories feature plenty of creepy Gothic horror scenes, with rats that over-run a house, a disappearing grandfather, and mysterious creatures roaming about in slimy sewers. A good half of the story takes place below ground. Of course there are opportunities for bravery and cleverness on the part of Arthur and the Cannoniers, too.
I didn't find this book quite so compelling as the first book in the series, because some of the mystery has gone out of the alternating viewpoints. In the first book the relationship between Arthur and Art is unclear (are they the same person, traveling through time? They have the same handwriting, and live in the same house, and both have cops for fathers). In the second book, we know that Art is Arthur's grandfather and namesake. However, there are still interesting time slips, in which Art sees images of things from Arthur's world, and vice versa. Unraveling these mysteries will keep me coming back for more.
This is a very quick read, and the alternating viewpoints should keep reluctant readers turning the pages. I think that these books will especially appeal to fans of John Bellairs books (The House with a Clock in its Walls, etc.), as well as to kids who have outgrown the Goosebumps books. The kids in both storylines are plucky and appealing, with the homeless girl Flinch a particularly sympathetic character. I recommend this series for middle grade fans of mystery or creepy suspense.
This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on July 19th, 2006.
Average customer rating:
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Monstruos Invisibles/ Invisible Monsters (Equipo Tigre)
Thomas Brezina
Manufacturer: S & M Books
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 8434856409 |
Books:
- Jasmine
- Judge & Jury
- Just Like That
- Labyrinth
- Lost Girls
- Lost in the Forest
- Magic Tree House Boxed Set 2, Books 5-8: Night of the Ninjas, Afternoon on the Amazon, Sunset of the Sabertooth, and Midnight on the Moon
- March: A Novel
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Message in a Bottle
Books Index
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