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i_webb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.75
elkreil's review
5.0
Clue: It was a dark and stormy night Going into this, I had a faint feeling of dread. The book was either going to be so bad, it would ruin the movie for me, or so good, it would ruin the movie for me. This novelization nailed it. I don't think I've ever read a movie novelization that so perfectly captured the movie. Some of the humor didn't quite carry over; it's kind of hard to capture the visual aspect of Wadsworth's explanations at the end, but it did a decent job of it. I really only have the one complaint and that is the fourth ending; it was pretty awful. I'm actually glad it was left out of the movie because it was so over the top and cliche and the tone of it was just jarring compared to the other three.
notallbooks_mp's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So here’s the thing: this is a novelization of a movie. Typically these are TERRIBLE, and if you’ve seen the movie, they very rarely offer anything new or interesting. This one is a bit of an exception: Michael McDowell is a pretty great novelist (The Elementals) and an excellent screenwriter (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas) so even though this is almost (ALMOST) shot for scene a copy of the movie, it’s actually kind of fun to read. And if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know that there were three alternate endings—this book famously (and expensively) offers a fourth that is pretty charming. Would it be worth the amount of money most people are charging for a copy of the paperback? Definitely not. The new alternate ending is fun but the rest of the book doesn’t offer too much new. Now, if you happen to find a pdf online and you’re a big fan of the movie? That might be worth a read.
verkisto's review
3.0
Out of print and going for notoriously high prices on the secondary market, Clue is a book I've been wanting to read for a few years. I like the movie well enough, but the novelization was written by Michael McDowell! Boy howdy! Surely it would contain the kinds of subtlety and atmosphere that populate his original novels, right?
Well, sorta. There's a bit of subtlety at the beginning, when McDowell is introducing the characters and the setting, but once the story gets underway, it's pretty much a note-for-note retelling of the story of the movie (including the fourth ending). On the one hand, that's pretty good, since that's what you want out of a novelization; on the other hand, if the book is just a note-for-note retelling for the movie, what's the point in reading the book?
I did like seeing McDowell's sense of humor in the narrative, since it's not something I see in his other books. True, much of the humor of the dialogue and situations should be credited to the screenwriter, since that's what McDowell worked from, but there are bits and pieces in the descriptions that have to be McDowell's own voice, and they made me chuckle.
I'm glad I was able to get this through the library, since the after-market prices for this book are outrageous, and also because had I paid that much for the book, I would have been sorely disappointed at the book itself. It's worth it to read the fourth ending, but you can still find summaries online. If you can find it through interlibrary loan or other means, though, give it a read. Even mediocre McDowell is worth reading.
Well, sorta. There's a bit of subtlety at the beginning, when McDowell is introducing the characters and the setting, but once the story gets underway, it's pretty much a note-for-note retelling of the story of the movie (including the fourth ending). On the one hand, that's pretty good, since that's what you want out of a novelization; on the other hand, if the book is just a note-for-note retelling for the movie, what's the point in reading the book?
I did like seeing McDowell's sense of humor in the narrative, since it's not something I see in his other books. True, much of the humor of the dialogue and situations should be credited to the screenwriter, since that's what McDowell worked from, but there are bits and pieces in the descriptions that have to be McDowell's own voice, and they made me chuckle.
I'm glad I was able to get this through the library, since the after-market prices for this book are outrageous, and also because had I paid that much for the book, I would have been sorely disappointed at the book itself. It's worth it to read the fourth ending, but you can still find summaries online. If you can find it through interlibrary loan or other means, though, give it a read. Even mediocre McDowell is worth reading.
amdbarger's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
birdmanseven's review against another edition
4.0
Almost as fun as the movie! The real bonus was reading the alternate fourth ending that was cut from the film!
Listen in to hear about some of my favorite novelizations: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-136-all-the-books-the-novelization
Listen in to hear about some of my favorite novelizations: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-136-all-the-books-the-novelization
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