Helpful Score: 13
A good read, with action that seldom lets up. I saw it as more of a thriller than a horror novel, there are some scary elements - but the psychology involved isn't realistic or frightening so much as designed to hit on a check list of cliches and cinematic pacing elements and settings. You've already seen or read just about everything there is to find in this book, except for the premise of urban exploration.
There is a jarring end to some beautiful build-up about 1/3rd of the way in - and the book never recovers from this shift, even when a positive shift happens a little further in.
In the end - I wish the author had more editorial help to repair his loose threads, incongruous plot elements, and realism.... but the book DOES deserve its good reputation as a page turner and thrill ride.
Think Psycho meets Romancing the Stone, at the hotel from The Shining (sans ghosts).
There is a jarring end to some beautiful build-up about 1/3rd of the way in - and the book never recovers from this shift, even when a positive shift happens a little further in.
In the end - I wish the author had more editorial help to repair his loose threads, incongruous plot elements, and realism.... but the book DOES deserve its good reputation as a page turner and thrill ride.
Think Psycho meets Romancing the Stone, at the hotel from The Shining (sans ghosts).
Helpful Score: 8
It typically takes me a while to read a book because I'm usually reading 2 or 3 at a time. I started reading Creepers and just about couldn't put it down. It was finished in 2 days. This is an amazing feat for me! The story is very engaging and had me hooked from the beginning. Lots of atmosphere, action, suspense, and surprises along the way make for a great read!
Helpful Score: 4
I have never read a book that held me from the first page--this book was so intense that at times I found myself holding my breath, and had to remind myself to breathe---SERIOUSLY! This book is action and suspense from the get go and this author knows how to write as he held that pace to the very end. I have since ordered ALL of this authors books and they too are just as great. I'm so happy to have found David Morrell---you will be too.
Helpful Score: 4
SCARY!!!! Couldn't put it down near the end. Wow!
Helpful Score: 4
I've read other books by David Morrell which were excellent so I ordered this one. I kept thinking it would surely get better, but halfway through it didn't, so I stopped reading. I felt like I was reading a Hardy Boys mystery. Adults stumble through an abandoned hotel looking for adventure. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers. This one isn't!!
Helpful Score: 3
Excellent thriller!!! One of the creepiest and tension-filled books I've read this year!!!
Helpful Score: 2
Great book. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. When I finally looked up, when I had finished, it was 3 a.m.
Helpful Score: 2
I'm not sure where I saw the recommendations for this book, but the premise appealed to me: urban explorers, guys who break into boarded up buildings to explore, not to steal things. So a group of these urban explorers plus a reporter gather to get into the Paragon Hotel, at one time a five-star hotel but now long past glory, scheduled to be torn down in a few days. At least a couple of these folks are not what they advertise themselves to be. At risk of putting in a spoiler, I'll say that the initial tone of the book was more in line of what I was expecting to read than what transpired later. After it shifted gears, so to speak, I put it down for a couple days but went back to it later. I had to make an effort to put forth my willing suspension of disbelief, but it moves pretty fast, has some scary moments and interesting twists. I won't keep it, but it was satisfying once I figured out what to expect.
Helpful Score: 2
Highly original thriller. Very atmospheric. I think you will find it to be a real page turner!
Helpful Score: 2
This book is a page turner. I could hardly put it down. A group of people start exploring an old hotel & find out all is not as it seems to be. This isn't a book for the faint of heart.
Helpful Score: 2
A slow starting turned fast paced book with a twisty plotabout a group exploring a supposedly abanded huge Deco Hotel in the shape of a pyramid. A good read.
Helpful Score: 2
This is one an amazing and very suspensful book. I highly recommend this book to all.
Helpful Score: 2
My first experience with this author. Really took a turn i was NOT expecting! fast paced and really a surprise of a plot.
Helpful Score: 2
This is an absolutely fantastic, page-turning novel of suspense. It has more twists than a Coney Island pretzel and you will not be able to put it down.
David Morrell (yes, the same dude who wrote the Rambo novels) has gone above and beyond the call for "Creepers", crafting a read that will leave you completely senseless come its end; you think you have this thing figured out -- and then something happens to destroy your convictions. Then, when you rebuild those convictions and say "Now I know exactly what's going on!", Mr. Morrell proves that you don't have any idea -- two more times.
Amid these revelations is an environment that the author paints with such haunting clarity that you will begin to feel the place, to smell it and taste it...
I'd love to say more about the book, but I would be giving the entire novel away; however, I can tell you this:
Forget that sinking pit in your stomach you've had since I mentioned the fact that he wrote the Rambo books. Forget it because this book is a crowning achievement. This is a superb work of suspense, of horror, of mystery.
Honestly, this book is so good that it's a travesty it's even on PBS.
David Morrell (yes, the same dude who wrote the Rambo novels) has gone above and beyond the call for "Creepers", crafting a read that will leave you completely senseless come its end; you think you have this thing figured out -- and then something happens to destroy your convictions. Then, when you rebuild those convictions and say "Now I know exactly what's going on!", Mr. Morrell proves that you don't have any idea -- two more times.
Amid these revelations is an environment that the author paints with such haunting clarity that you will begin to feel the place, to smell it and taste it...
I'd love to say more about the book, but I would be giving the entire novel away; however, I can tell you this:
Forget that sinking pit in your stomach you've had since I mentioned the fact that he wrote the Rambo books. Forget it because this book is a crowning achievement. This is a superb work of suspense, of horror, of mystery.
Honestly, this book is so good that it's a travesty it's even on PBS.
Helpful Score: 1
This was the first book I ever read from author David Morrell. I have to say it had me captivated through the whole book. Even though I knew it was fiction, some part of me wished that there was truly a Paragon Hotel that was once a part of the Asbury Park area that history could be searched. The way David Morrell built up the history of the hotel and its eccentric owner all the way to the climactic ending, was pure genius! I have read various accounts of the "urban explorers" stories. They are the people who explore abandoned buildings even though they know it's illegal and very dangerous just to get a sense of the history of these buildings.
David Morrell managed to do one thing that no other author has done to this date: to get me to finish reading his book in a week! If you are a fan of thrillers, constant action, suspense at every turn, then this book is for you!
David Morrell managed to do one thing that no other author has done to this date: to get me to finish reading his book in a week! If you are a fan of thrillers, constant action, suspense at every turn, then this book is for you!
Helpful Score: 1
Not my one of my favorite Morrell book but it was a fun one! Five people break into and then creep around an old hotel, first to explore and then unveiling other notorious purposes. If you like the Child/Preston books, you'll like this one!
Helpful Score: 1
A bit strange but otherwise a pretty good book
Helpful Score: 1
This was quite exciting! And certainly as creepy as the title suggested! The subject of urban exploration was unique and very interesting. This certainly would make a great movie, in my opinion. The plot had many twists and turns, make it just an adventurous book to read!
Helpful Score: 1
Fast paced, very interesting read.
Helpful Score: 1
definitely "creepy" really really really good!
Helpful Score: 1
Intriguing read about people who illegally explore abandoned buildings in big cities. Murder starts right off the bat as they explore this one. A real page turner. Written by the same author as Rambo, First Blood. Pretty good beach book.
Helpful Score: 1
From Inside cover:"Its been years since Ive read a thriller as good as CREEPERS. Crack this novel and its like an alien abducion of your brain - forget resuming your normal life until its finished. Mark my words: this will be a classic" Douglas Preston
I couldnt agree more with the praise this book recived. LOVED it! Was a great book about urban explorers which are a group of people who explore abandoned buildings. Very different story not at all the same old same old. I couldnt put it down I took this book everywherwe with me during the whole 2 days it took me to read it!
I couldnt agree more with the praise this book recived. LOVED it! Was a great book about urban explorers which are a group of people who explore abandoned buildings. Very different story not at all the same old same old. I couldnt put it down I took this book everywherwe with me during the whole 2 days it took me to read it!
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book...it wasn't life changing, but it was refreshing after ready the same old, same old for so long.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this book it was not one of those that i just could not live without but this book read fast and kept me entertained.
Helpful Score: 1
On a cold October night, five people gather in a run down motel on the Jersey shore and prepare to break into the Paragon Hotel. The once magnificanet structure is now boarded up and marked for demolition. They are "creepers", urban explorers with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings. Reported Frank Balenger joins them to profile this highly illegal activity for the New York Times. Soon after they enter the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, he gets more than he bargained for. Danger, fear, and death await the creepers in a place revaged by time and redolent of evil. This book kept me on edge and reading from the very beginning- very well written, EXCELLENT choice if you want to read a creepy story.
Helpful Score: 1
Breaking into an abandoned building, they get more than they had bargained for. Each person has an agenda unknown to the others. Different from any other read.
Helpful Score: 1
The book is a fast read but with details throught through. Fast action and high suspence.
Helpful Score: 1
Those who explore abandoned buildings are known as creepers. Enter - view - and leave no changes are their motto. A group enters an old hotel and the rules go awry!
I thought that this book was going to be more of a horror type book and scary. It is in no way scary, but it is still a good book and a action packed serial killer type of thriller. The action was constant, the characters were interesting, and the reading was fast paced and enjoyable.
Helpful Score: 1
Very suspenseful, creepy, and good!
"Creepers" was not what I expected, but it is a really great book. David Morrell, the creator of Rambo, is considered by many to be the father of the adventure/thriller genre and this book is one of his best.
Morrell's tragic childhood and life seem to tint his writing with a hard reality that grabs you by the throat and drags you into the story.
A group of urban explorers enter an abandoned and mysterious luxury hotel scheduled for demolition. They encounter a group of thugs and an insane serial killer and former tenent. Two of the group have an ulterior motive, the thugs are motivated by greed, and the serial killer has a prisoner.
As the hotel begins to disentigrate around them, a life and death battle rages between the three parties and few live to tell the tale.
The action is non stop, the characters are easy to identify with, the plot is twisted and the parameters of the battle are constantly changing. I liked "Creepers" so much I have already ordered the second book featuring the same lead character.
I readily reccomend "Creepers" to any fan of this type of book.
Morrell's tragic childhood and life seem to tint his writing with a hard reality that grabs you by the throat and drags you into the story.
A group of urban explorers enter an abandoned and mysterious luxury hotel scheduled for demolition. They encounter a group of thugs and an insane serial killer and former tenent. Two of the group have an ulterior motive, the thugs are motivated by greed, and the serial killer has a prisoner.
As the hotel begins to disentigrate around them, a life and death battle rages between the three parties and few live to tell the tale.
The action is non stop, the characters are easy to identify with, the plot is twisted and the parameters of the battle are constantly changing. I liked "Creepers" so much I have already ordered the second book featuring the same lead character.
I readily reccomend "Creepers" to any fan of this type of book.
This was a new concept to me and I loved the story. "Creepers" are urban explorers who investigate abandoned buildings and their secrets. This group of creepers join together to investigate an abandoned hotel, owned by a very excentric hemopiliac who built the hotel with dozens of hidden passageways so that he could live his life safely by watching others live their lives. Although the group is to explore without altering the site, it soon becomes evident that they are in mortal danger and must do anything they can to survive. The story is a real page turner, moving quickly with losts of suspense.
Gripping beginning to end--can't put down until finished!
Awesome book. It's creepy and thrilling at the same time. I will never enter an abandoned house that has been boarded up. You never know what you will find.
Good read. Quite suspenseful makes you feel as if you are there with the creepers in the old building.
Excellent story about a world I didn't even know existed out there. D. Morrell is a writer that can make you believe he's lived it and knows the ins and outs. Creepers are people who explore old, abandoned buildings, much as treasure hunters explore old ships. This however allows you into that world along with twisted people that can be in any world. For writing, I give 5 stars. I gave an overall 4 1/2 because some of it was a little too graphic for me. But if that's what you like, this book has it.
Creeping inside an historic building before the wrecking ball destroys it forever. Is Frank Balenger all he seems to be? The thrill of investigating history the way it was. As the gang creeps through the building, who else is there? The twist and turns are not only in the building, but in the story. History and the building come alive. A great thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down for necessary things like food, sleep or bathroom breaks. The ending was a total surprise. The author of Rambo brings us another hit.
I really enjoyed this book--A little different type of mystery but very good.
Quick read.. action packed with lots of twists.
This turned out to be a great read.It is about people who explore old abandoned hotels and the creepy things they find in them.
I read Morrell's sequel to this book, SCAVENGER, a couple of years ago and remember that for me it was only mildly entertaining. I was also kind of mixed about CREEPERS. I thought the concept of the novel was very interesting; about a group of people who search through old buildings as a kind of modern-day explorer or archaeologist. This activity is considered illegal because the people who do it trespass on private property and may get injured during their activities. In the novel, the group sets out to explore an old abandoned hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The hotel was built by an eccentric millionaire in the early twentieth century who was afflicted by hemophilia (the bleeding disease) which made him isolated because any injury could cause incontrollable bleeding and death. He built the hotel in the style of a Mayan pyramid with a penthouse at the top where he lived and spied on the hotel guests. This was all a very good setup for the novel and kept me turning the pages. But then the group encounters some other intruders who want to get all they can from the abandoned building and don't care who they injure or kill in doing so. But that's not all! There is also another presence in the building that seems to be following them and is also a serial killer. But who is he and why is he in the hotel?
As I've said, I thought the premise of this novel was very good and had a lot of potential. But then it sort of devolved into a bloody thriller/horror story that was way too coincidental and far-fetched. I would recommend the first part of the novel but I struggled with the last half and overall just a very mild recommendation. However, I have read some of Morrell's other novels and for the most part would highly recommend them. I especially enjoyed his Thomas De Quincey trilogy among others.
As I've said, I thought the premise of this novel was very good and had a lot of potential. But then it sort of devolved into a bloody thriller/horror story that was way too coincidental and far-fetched. I would recommend the first part of the novel but I struggled with the last half and overall just a very mild recommendation. However, I have read some of Morrell's other novels and for the most part would highly recommend them. I especially enjoyed his Thomas De Quincey trilogy among others.
Excellent story about a group of people who explore abandoned buildings...scary!
Atmospheric and a lot of fun. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Morell's works.
One of those books you will find hard to put down.
A thriller written by the guy who wrote Rambo: First Blood. (Which I never even knew was a book before it was a movie!)
Creepers is inspired by the actual urban adventurers who like to explore abandoned or forbidden modern ruins. Of course, here, the adventures are jazzed up considerably to make it a thriller. A professor, his students and a reporter sneak into an abandoned hotel on the Jersey Shore. The hotel was built by an eccentric recluse who liked to spy on his guests - but little do they know where that eccentricity would lead. And it is their bad luck to be followed into the building by some violent thugs.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It has some very effective and believable horrific elements. However, the aforementioned 'violent thugs' were both completely unnecessary, plot-wise, and completely unbelievable as characters. They added a layer to the plot that detracted from the main 'revelation' of the story.
Creepers is inspired by the actual urban adventurers who like to explore abandoned or forbidden modern ruins. Of course, here, the adventures are jazzed up considerably to make it a thriller. A professor, his students and a reporter sneak into an abandoned hotel on the Jersey Shore. The hotel was built by an eccentric recluse who liked to spy on his guests - but little do they know where that eccentricity would lead. And it is their bad luck to be followed into the building by some violent thugs.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It has some very effective and believable horrific elements. However, the aforementioned 'violent thugs' were both completely unnecessary, plot-wise, and completely unbelievable as characters. They added a layer to the plot that detracted from the main 'revelation' of the story.
Not your typical David Morrell book. Definitely different!!
Loved it. Thought it was great
This book hooked me from page 1. The story didn't go where I expected but it made it all the better reading because of that. I've never read Morrell before this book but look forward to reading more.
A great read!! Once I started, I stayed up two days to finish it. Creepy.
A great read!
Extremely readable thriller about exploring old vacant houses. Many twists, unexpected ending.
A quick read--starts with great potential, weakens as it goes along, but still entertaining.
creepy book about creepers
"Chilling and hypnotically readable" Stephen King
This is a really good book, it is about urban explorers, who go into a hotel built in the 1900s, and the mysteries of the past patrons.
