- Paperback: 496 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; paperback / softback edition (20 Mar 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002259559
- ISBN-13: 978-0002259552
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,501,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Ned Dunstan's shadow has always been up-front:"You won't even be able to go out by yourself at night for another six or seven years. When do we have our first cigarette? Our first drink? When do we get to have actual sex?...I want darkness, I want night". "Without me, you can't get them at all", replies Ned. Coming home years later Ned begins to uncover the strange history of Edgerton, and the even stranger secrets of his bizarre family. Meanwhile Mr X, bad novelist, crimelord, seducer, serial-killer, self-appointed harbinger of the apocalypse of HP Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror, plans one very special murder before bringing the Cuthulu mythos to earth. Witty, shocking, beautifully written and completely absorbing, Mr X is an intricately plotted puzzle-box of sex, death, music, teleportation, and eccentric aunts.
With a large red X on the jet black cover the marketing department are targeting X Files fans and Peter Straub's book is certainly inventively weird enough to appeal to followers of foxy scullyduggery; the author penned such modern horror classics as Ghost Story and Shadowland while the FBI duo were still in grade school. There is a subtle homage to Stephen King's The Dark Half--the two writers collaborated on The Talisman--while aficionados of Christopher Priest's ingenious contortions of reality, particularly The Prestige, will be intrigued by this mystery. If you are looking for page-turning horror novel that's not afraid to have some post-modern fun stretching its genre to the limits, vote for Mr X. --Gary S. Dalkin
Review
‘In any genre, a world-class author.’
CLIVE BARKER
‘Peter Straub is a fine storyteller.’
Washington Post
‘Straub is a master at creating an otherworldly type of fiction. It has earned him a fierce following.’
New York Daily News
‘No one is better than Straub at having whole communities rocked by the forces of wickedness.’
Observer
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Peter Straub has had me hooked since I first read Ghost Story in 1979. Since then he has moved seamlessly from horror to paranormal crime, to straight crime and now what goes around has finally come back around - a supernatural tale.
Mr X is vintage Straub; characters so artfully constructed that you can feel their emotions; locations so graphically depicted you can not only SEE them, but actually SENSE their dark mood. The central character, enigmatic Ned Dunstan, who has a more than mysterious past, feels drawn back to his mother's home town. Here he becomes caught up in plots and sub-plots with various shadowy parties all with their own very hidden agenda. Lurking behind the entire story is a strange and increasingly imminent supernatural menace.
As always Straub occassionally gives his hapless reader a few small pices of the jigsaw, but doesn't show you the picture of what it should look like until the very end - leaving you breathless and with more nagging questions than the answers he has given you - "what if...", "how about...","why did...".
Mr X is a hugely welcome return by Straub to the supernatural genre and is a terrific read. If you liked Ghost Story, Shadowland and Floating Dragon - you'll LOVE this.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first novel by Straub I have read. It will not be the last. If you like your horror understated and compelling, and enjoy good writing and a well-crafted plot, this is for you. Some poignant moments - characters are well-drawn, dialogue is outstanding. An excellent tale which has an oddly believable quality to it, and one which keeps you guessing to the last. Spooky.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Peter Straub remains the closest you get to Stephen King, however Straub does excell in an edge for an eerier atmoshere ! Mr X has a creepy dark element througout. Straubs literary style of first person , description and sleek metaphors and similies spot on. The story made up with poweful flashbacks as Ned Dunston returns as a grown man from New York to his small town backwater birthplace Edgerton. to his mother Star's deathbed. Eerie horrific details and experiences of his families existence and heritage are unfolded!Straub remains in peak form as he merges fantasy, paranormal, detective crime and horror. Mr X's 1999 Bram Stoker award Ihave mixed feelings about as I've read better Straub novels.
I found Mr X qute a challenging read and quite confusing, with to many characters, to many plots and sub plots. Also at over 600pages some what lengthy, yet Straubs talent for compulsion shone through for me to complete it. If you are looking for a slightly bizarre angle to your horror give Mr X a chance. However do look out for other Straub books as Mr X isn't the easiest read.
I found Mr X qute a challenging read and quite confusing, with to many characters, to many plots and sub plots. Also at over 600pages some what lengthy, yet Straubs talent for compulsion shone through for me to complete it. If you are looking for a slightly bizarre angle to your horror give Mr X a chance. However do look out for other Straub books as Mr X isn't the easiest read.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Worth a look
This book is many things, part labyrinthian murder mystery,part horror story which evokes the ghost of H. Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2008 by Mark P
Doesn't live up to its promise
Reading the synopsis to this book, you get very excited and await a chilling horror story. It even helps that the author is endorsed by none other than his writing colleague,... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2003 by S. Mazumder
AVOID!
I did not enjoy a single bit of this book. It's really REALLY bad!
The characters are flawed, unbelievable and annoying. Read more
The characters are flawed, unbelievable and annoying. Read more
Published on 26 July 2002
for people who like a good read
This is the first novel by Straub I have read. It will not be the last. If you like your horror understated and compelling, and enjoy good writing and a well-crafted plot, this is... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2001
Books and Family: Tree shoots straight north
Peter Straub's book had great potential for a truly disturbing take on the paranormal and infrastructure of family. Set in Edgerton, Ill. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2001
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
