- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0446691909
- ISBN-13: 978-0446691901
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 12.7 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,074,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Totem
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First Sentence
A solitary rider on a ridge. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
A solitary rider on a ridge. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Regular readers of David Morrell expect a crisp writing style, brisk pacing, and above all, relentless action. Morrell delivers once again with The Totem, but this time there are elements of the classic horror story mixed in with the thrills.
The residents of Potters Field, Wyoming, have fallen under the attack of wild animals that kill on sight, mutilating their prey. They hunt in packs, and their shadowed forms can be glimpsed running through the night forests, howling at the moon. Police Chief Nathan Slaughter soon discovers that these feral beasts are not animals at all, but the townspeople themselves. A new virus is loose in Potters Field, not entirely unlike rabies, that gives control back to a previously dormant area of the brain, in effect transforming men and women into the primal creature mankind was hundred of thousands of years ago.
Morrell's writing is as clean and tense as always, yet the book does not live up to its horror billing. Action dominates, and while the author's take on the origins of the werewolf mythology serves to deepen the theme of the book, the horror elements are only a faint undercurrent in what is essentially an action/adventure tale.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Anyone who has read any of David Morrell's novels will certainly appreciate this one. The tale evolves as an intelligent, thriller and action story with a little pinch of horror thrown in. His imagery is some of the best in this genre. The only author, in my opinion, who even comes close is Trevanian. Picture an isolated valley that comes alive at night with bizarre happenings, that culminate in an amazing hunt for creatures with human like intelligence--you will not want to put it down! I read the book a long time ago, and to this day still have vivid recollections. Enjoy
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
25 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
High adventure, low horror
23 Mar 1998
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Regular readers of David Morrell expect a crisp writing style, brisk pacing, and above all, relentless action. Morrell delivers once again with The Totem, but this time there are elements of the classic horror story mixed in with the thrills.
The residents of Potters Field, Wyoming, have fallen under the attack of wild animals that kill on sight, mutilating their prey. They hunt in packs, and their shadowed forms can be glimpsed running through the night forests, howling at the moon. Police Chief Nathan Slaughter soon discovers that these feral beasts are not animals at all, but the townspeople themselves. A new virus is loose in Potters Field, not entirely unlike rabies, that gives control back to a previously dormant area of the brain, in effect transforming men and women into the primal creature mankind was hundred of thousands of years ago.
Morrell's writing is as clean and tense as always, yet the book does not live up to its horror billing. Action dominates, and while the author's take on the origins of the werewolf mythology serves to deepen the theme of the book, the horror elements are only a faint undercurrent in what is essentially an action/adventure tale.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
More than meets the eye
9 Jan 2005
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In this, a re-issue of David Morrell's fourth novel (1979), the author, as stated in his introduction "experimented with a variety of formats, all linked by action"(xi) in his early career, from historical novels to action-chase novels, and to this one, in the horror genre. The first version of this story was apparently much different from what Morrell originally intended, edited down to what was thought appealing to readers in the 1970s: "half as long, twice as fast" (xiv). In reading this version, I cannot imagine the action being faster: as with all Morrell books I have previously read, the action comes fast and furious from the beginning, and this novel is no exception. You can see all the Morrell trademarks in this early work: a good protagonist (a sheriff with the great name of `Slaughter'); several antagonists (especially the town's mayor, Parsons); a mystery - in this case, something is mutilating animals and eventually people, with horrifying results for the town of Potter's Field, Wyoming; and a huge climax with Slaughter committing a gruesome, but heroic, act. There's also a theme of moral responsibility: several characters are faced with a choice of doing the right thing or doing nothing, and that adds another dimension to the action. Morrell also uses parallel imagery between the angry townspeople and the `hippies' who are blamed for the evils visited upon the town. Even the name of the town lends itself to the action, since a `potter's field' was where the poor and nameless were buried; there's some symbolism there! The hippy aspect of the story dates it a little bit - a modern audience born in the 1980s probably wouldn't understand the social divisions of 1970, but that historical reference is explained enough to give a younger reader the general picture.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Great mix of action and horror
14 Sep 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have been a great fan of David Morrell for many years. The first two novels I read were The Fifth Profession and Brotherhood of the Rose. Obviously I enjoy his action works. I have never read horror novels before this so this book intrigued me. I found it excellent. Morrell combines his classic high adventure style with incredibly descriptive knowledge of the fear that can be produced by dark and lonely wilderness areas. As a hunter and outdoorsman, I know that tight feeling in your throat when camped in a strange forest and you hear movement and see shadows but just are not sure what made them. I found this novel very exciting. Just do not read it at night while camping.
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