World Famous Comics: The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels
The Kolchak Papers: The Original Novels
By: Jeff Rice Publisher: Moonstone Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Moonstone Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 272 Publication Date: November 21, 2007
Product Description: In 1972, Jeff Rice's novel The Night Stalker introduced Carl Kolchak to the world. This spine-tingling novel of supernatural terror became an instant bestseller and served as the basis for the film of the same name, starring Darren McGavin and adapted by legendary Twilight Zone screenwriter Richard Matheson. After The Night Stalker became the one of the highest rated television movies of all time, a sequel, The Night Strangler, was released the following year to great acclaim. Now, after more than three decades out of print, Kolchak's creator Jeff Rice has released the original novels which sparked a television phenomenon! At last, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler are together in one volume...
A must for Kolchak fans! With a bit of imagination, this book reads like an "extended edition" of the original Kolchak made-for-TV movies. Fans, like myself, will delight in the all-too-human characterization of Carl -- far less altruistic than Darren McGavin's portrayal -- and the added story depth that there just isn't room for in a 90-minute movie-of-the-week.
My only complaint is the typos. In some parts of the book, they're as frequent as one per page. I know that it's not rare for a book to have a typo or two, but whoever was the copy editor on this one needs to be demoted to coffee-boy.
Kolchak is back (Yay!), and he can't proof read (Doh!)! This edition combines the two early short novels by Jeff Rice, the "Night Stalker" and the "Night Strangler". The book is a worthy read and quite entertaining, even though it may tend to veer off a little too far to describe what Kolchak has for dinner or his cover-up gripes (a common theme for our hero). That being said, the story of a vampire in 1970 Las Vegas is filled with mood and puts the reader firmly in the time and place of Kolchak's journal, and the action is well written and well paced. Moonstone books have carved a great niche by reviving great pulpy characters from the past such as the Spider, the Phantom and Carl Kolchak,and their library is worth checking out. My two main complaints about this edition though, are the abundance of typos throughout the book as well as the cover design and finish, which are good but do not match the other Kolchak collections by the same publisher, so this edition will not look as good next to it's cousins on your bookshelf.
good but needs an editor I enjoyed the contrast between the grittier novels and the "network standards" version in the series. This Kolchak is fully hard-boiled.
Kolchak and the Editor
Moonstone Books have done a great service to Kolchak fans. The original novels, Night Stalker and Night Strangler, are presented to modern fans as companion pieces to the Moonstone comic line.
They are not perfect, with slightly more than average typographical errors. For modern readers, used to spell check, many of the mis-spellings would slip by. More mature readers will catch them however.
Story-wise, Kolchak is at his best on the streets, investigating the paranormal crimes he fist so well. After reading this, it is clear why Kolchak still has a following today. If you like this, give the comics a try!
Jeff Rice's creation will never die.
Tim Lasiuta
www.moonstonebooks.com
Needed a proofreader As soon as I heard that the Kolchak novels were back in print I ordered them. I have been a Nightstalker and Kolchak fan since I was a kid and enjoyed both of these novels, but I could only give this edition three stars because of so many typos. It looks like nobody proofread it before it was published. They must have used a spellcheck on it because the mistakes were spelled correctly, they were just the wrong word, or a word was left out. The mistakes were very distracting and I would catch myself looking for the next mistake instead of just enjoying the book. I don't know if I will be willing to buy another book published by Moonstone.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
