Tengu

by Graham Masterton

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 052348061X
• ISBN13: 9780523480619
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 380 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Masterton did it again. A masterwork if ever there'll be one

Just finished this book this afternoon and I just HAD to write a review, it was that good.I won't go into the plotdetails, other than that most of the reviewers before me (in my opinion) had this pretty well down as a horror/ thriller kind of book, although I don't think of this as a mystery. The cover and backblurb already gave away too much of the plot for that!I agree with Jimmy Lay that Masterton is an absolute hero to those reading or aspiring to be writers of horror. His books are always clever thought of and usually involve somekind of legend or myth (is this case the TENGU of the title, a Japanese demon) and a band of less than perfect people who have to confront and/ or defeat this evil.I myself am a real gorehound and Masterton never disappoints in that department. Before you go thinking that I'm somekind of sick individual let me just explain that I not only read horror to be scared, but also to be thrilled, downright shocked, and sometimes even revolted. In my opinion horror serves somekind of deep need (fantasy?) in that the things that happen to the characters in these books will never happen to the one who's reading it (we can hope) and that he, or she can safely return to their normal life after been finished with it.Back to the novel. TENGU the novels' most chilling scene is by far the opening. It had me hooked from the beginning and made meread 80 pages of this book in one sitting. It's extremely nasty, shocking and gory (I know, that's precisely the way I want it) and completely blows you away. It's kinda on par with the opening of his later, most sadistis novel MASTER OF LIES.The rest of the book isn't anyless though, and don't you go thinking there's a happy ending in store for you. It all ads up to a brilliant novel.I highly recommend this, and all of Masterton's other works by the way. Thank God I haven't read them all and still have a few copies stashed away for special occasions!

A KILLER HORROR THRILLER!

When a Japanese businessman uses ancient mythology to bring a demon back to life, all hell breaks loose in this riveting horror novel that you won't want to put down. Graham Masterton does what he does best here - uncompromising gore and sex scenes, an unpredictable plot, strong characters who may seem larger than life but make his stories more entertaining and an explosive climax! The plot here - the Jap villains use mythology to wreak revenge on America for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An original twist and a brilliant, attention-grabbing intro! THE BEST OF MASTERTON. And to think I've been reading crap like TOM CLANCY'S NET FARCE, if technothrillers have got that bad then I'm returning to horror for a bit.

What An Ending

I've read almost all of Masterton's books and love his originality, storytelling, unpredictability, and (I have to admit) the very graphic, creative gore. There is always at least one gore scene in his books that will make you think, "well, I don't think anyone's ever thought of something that horrible yet". This book has of course the violence and gore but it is not what I remember it for. I remember it for the opening scene, in which it says right off the bat (so I am not spoiling anything here) that the character he is introducing has 10 minutes to live. I read this something like 10 years ago and still remember his description of how the woman is sitting around, doing mundane things like reading the paper, totally unaware that the clock is ticking and she is wasting her precious last few minutes of life, unbeknownst to her. I also cannot forget the ending (which I will NOT spoil). If you've read it, you know why, it's totally bold, shocking, and unforgetable. I read the last page over and over, because I couldn't beleive what had happened, and also because I was so impressed with the writing. Definitely one of Masterton's best, along with Prince of Lies, Mirror, Feast, and Famine (the last two were masterpieces, in my opinion). Especially worth tracking down if you're a Masterton fan.

an excellent combination of horror and history

Graham Masterton has done it again. He is hands down the best horror writer i have found yet. I think you can tell just how much I liked this book by looking at my Email addres