First Blood

by David Morrell

Book Overview

The award-winning novel that inspired the legendary Rambo film series starring Sylvester Stallone.

First came the man: a young wanderer in a fatigue coat and long hair. Then came the legend, as John Rambo sprang from the pages of First Blood to take his place in the American cultural landscape. This remarkable novel pits a young Vietnam veteran against a small-town cop who doesn't know whom he's dealing with -- or how far Rambo...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1538711362
• ISBN13: 9781538711361
• Release Date: October 2017
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

It’s a Work of Art

I have read this book at least 2 times a year. I can’t get over how he created a story with such excellent pacing. There is a reason why Stephen King used this book as part of his curriculum when he taught at the University or Maine. It’s simply an excellent story. You are rooting for Rambo in one chapter then hoping he gets caught in the next. The movie was good. This is better. 1,000 percent better. Read a sample online and see for yourself. Same talent as Thomas Harris.

Way different than the movie!

I always heard that the book was much different than the movie, but I figured it couldn’t be that much off. Boy was I wrong! I don’t want to spoil this one for you, but if you think the movie has spoiled this book, think again! Rambo in the book is much deadlier than the rambo in the movie! Morrell does a great job showing us the ptsd that John Rambo deals with and why he makes the decisions he makes. This book is action packed from start to finish and the ending was a total rollercoaster with a shocking ending.

First Blood better than any movie

Morrell became famous with this great novel. This book is nothing like the movies. In the movies Rambo is the clear cut hero while Will Teasle is the "Red Neck Sherriff" out to get someone who looks different. In the book there is not clear cut "good guy" or "bad guy." Both Rambo and Teasle are responsible for what happends. Both had a chance to let it go but don't. Rambo is going through a psychological hell in his mind when trying not to kill again but being forced to in his mind. Teasle who loses several close people in his life and is in the middle of a personal crisis at home. Both were heroes in different wars. Teasle was a hero in the Korean War while Rambo got the medal of honor for his work in Vietnam. This is a great psychological read. Both men think they are right and will not stop until the other is not breathing. Which one will win? Who is right and who is wrong? Also if you buy the book to read for the 1st time do NOT read the introduction if you don't want the ending spoiled.

Makes the movie look like a Disney film.

You know this is going to be very different from the movie when the first paragraph describes Rambo as "a skinny kid with a long beard." If the movie of First Blood had been a faithful adaptation we'd possibly have a film masterpiece of action and the philosophy of violence in the style of Akira Kurosawa instead of the symbol of 1980's jingoism that Rambo has become a household name for. This is one mean book that seems to have been written while Morrell was on an adrenaline high. Morrell forsakes the usual conventions of thriller novels by abandoning the typical romantic interest and even clearly defined heros and villains and leaves us with a story that is simpler but much more riveting. We have two characters, Rambo and Teasle, neither particularly "good guys" but not really "bad guys" either. One is a fat conservitive on the side of law and order and the other is a poor, grungy fellow who just wants to be left to his own business. Both of these characters are too prideful to give an inch and the result of their pride is massive bloodshed, could this be a parable to the Vietnam war? Maybe, but more importantly its a rough, tough, superbly intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of the seat from start to finish. By all means check it out.

Great Action

Possibly the best action/adventure book you'll find anywhere. It certainly is the best I've ever read. I was, and am, a fan of the movie with Stallone, and read the book back in 85, after Rambo II (groan) came out. How could I have known that the book would be so much better. As usual, the book always outdoes the movie. I've read it twice so far, and am beginning to feel it's almost time for number 3. I became a big Morrell fan after reading First Blood, having read about 10 of his books so far. I like his no-nonsense writing style and his fast-paced plotting, but none of his other books, in my opinion, have approached the great work he did on First Blood. Get Stallone out of your head and read the book.

First Blood is Heavy criticism on the Vietnam war

The novel "First Blood" by David Morrel may be wrongly interpreted as just an "action/adventure" thriller without a brain, but that's far from the truth. The book does contains some elements of the adventure genre, but it presents us with a much bigger vison of life than just that. It is about Intolerance and justice. John Rambo, a vagant war veteran, is mistreated by a bunch of redneck cops in a small town in the US. Submitted to humiliation and torture, and being traumatized by the months (years?) he spent under torture by the vietnamese, the ex-green beret and war hero loses control, explodes in fury and hatred and fights back, starting a killing spree. He hides in the woods, builds traps, he uses the elements of the nature against his pursuiters. The climax hits when both him and his enemies are thrown in the woods, his element, were they have to play by his rules, and the animal within each one of them takes control. Then, violence erupts. The novel is very real and down-to-earth. It is quite different from the movie. It is not heroic at all. It is about being different and being thrown aside, it is about the indiference, hate and coldness that the United States gave to their war veterans. It is about intolerance and fear. It is about how the government destroyed the sanity of some kids to build killing machines out of them, and sent those killing machines to southeast Asia to a war they could not understand, didn't want to and, mainly, didn't HAVE to. To kill better. It is about how, when those kids came back home confused and tortured by the atrocities they had seen/commited, their country threw them in the gutter, pretending that they weren't there. Disposable heroes. It is not at all about madly killing faceless enemies, big guns and, explosions, and giant-brested babes waiting to be rescued. It is not about making toys and animated series for kids. It is about reality. Forget the movie adaptations, forget the distorted, pleasent and idiotic vison that Hollywood wants the world to have. The real thing is here. Read it.