From New York Times bestselling author, David Morrell, comes a classic thriller that introduced the character of Rambo, one of the most iconic action heroes of the twentieth century. Rambo, whose first name is not specified in the novel, was given the first name "John" for the film as a reference to the song " When Johnny Comes Marching Home". [9] Okay, why did I read it then? Because the original First Blood movie was filmed in my hometown, Hope British Columbia, and it seemed like a novel choice (no pun intended…). The first movie was really good (the sequels were totally meh and definitely Hollywood cash grabs; I won’t get too into it here but I feel the first movie more appealed to the psychological where the second appealed to the raging hormones of gun and action loving man-childs lol).

Most noteworthy is that the character of Sherriff Teasle, portrayed in the film by actor Brian Dennehy, is much more important in the book than in the film, every other chapter is from his perspective, and Morrell uses Teasle as a foil, or simply a juxtaposition with Rambo, as Teasle was also a veteran, a decorated Marine who saw action in the Korean War. Some may see this as a father-son metaphor, but I saw it more of older and younger brother. As for the writing, I liked it. I think Morrell struggles a bit with grammar. I'm not sure if that's intentional or not, but there are a lot of missing commas here if that kind of things bothers you. He might have been trying to go for some sort of tone (giving him the benefit of the doubt here). In the author’s forward, he discusses his motivations for writing the book and what he wanted to achieve by creating these two characters and what they represented in American culture. The forward in my copy of the book was written years after the movie and I would strongly urge readers to avoid reading it until after completing the novel itself. Major spoilers are included, even the ending, which is far different from the movie. John Skow of Time described the book as " carnography", though he remarked that the technical aspects of it are done well. [6]No spoilers here, but the end is veeerrryyy different, and I'm not sure which one I like the most. I feel for Rambo in both scenarios, and I love that end scene monolog he was with his old unit commander in the movie. But in the book...dang...it's just... I've said enough. Movie-Rambo is a quiet, mumbling depressed veteran who is hassled by evil, asshole cops who firehose him, beat him, and taunt him. In the book the cops, while stupid and a little critical of Rambo's long hair, are just doing their job. They don't beat him, he gets a shower instead of a firehose, Teasle gives Rambo two chances to get out of town. He allows Rambo to buy a hamburger, unlike in the movie. There's no hatred or sadism toward Rambo on Teasle's part until Rambo starts gutting his partner.

It's been (probably) a couple decades since I last read First Blood. It's showing it's age a little more now. Still not a bad read, but it's really nothing more than a glorified chase story. A product of it's time. Make no mistake about it there were many folks in the early seventies who were nervous about the returning veterans. Many truly believed that we were going to have warfare erupt ,on a large scale, within the United States and the vets were going to be at the forefront. I suppose it seemed inevitable. The country was already experiencing social upheaval and violence thanks to the anti-war movement and the civil rights movement.Now the vets were returning home and they weren't being treated very well. Americans knew this and they were worried.It's almost as if they thought that John Rambo and his fictional counterparts were the retribution that they deserved. Of course I'm probably being melodramatic. David Morrell published his novel First Blood in 1972, as a response to the Vietnam War and was inspired by some of his students returning from the war. The author’s work began in 1968. David Morrell (born April 24, 1943) is a Canadian-American author whose debut 1972 novel First Blood, later adapted as the 1982 film of the same name, went on to spawn the successful Rambo franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. [1] He has written 28 novels, and his work has been translated into 30 languages. [2] He also wrote the 2007–2008 Captain America comic book miniseries The Chosen. Now. I want to point out something important here, something I think Morrell does here that works and that I think he did not have to do. Teasle is not a bad guy. Morrell was presented with the 2009 ThrillerMaster Award from the ITW. [8] Bibliography [ edit ] Rambo series [ edit ]First off I don’t usually read action thriller type stories because they typically personify ex military geniuses or washed up cops battling their own ego’s… wow I just summed up the whole book… lol. So it begins. But it all could have been avoided SO EASILY. If Teasle had half a brain cell, this could have been halted about 11 times. Also, Rambo could have chosen to move on about 11 times. But he didn't. He's very stubborn. He has some idea about 'proving' that he 'can't be pushed' and of course it ends very badly for everyone. It's gritty, it's gross. It reminds me in a way of Joe Abercrombie's writing. Like Abercrombie, Morrell can't seem to miss the opportunity to make something gross or disgusting. He relishes it. He never describes stuff with any kind of neutral or positive adjectives. Coffee is 'sour' or 'bitter.' Adenaline 'squirts' into someones stomach. Diarrhea is discussed more than once. The world is a bitter, hateful, disgusting place. Same as Abercrombie, although Abercrombie's writing skillz are a bit better than Morrell's IMO.

I remember watching this movie when I was in about the seventh grade. My household was super religious so we didn't get to watch movies like this at home. One of my teachers at school actually brought in his copy for us to watch one day. I was glued to my seat. Rambo was the shiznit. Called “the father of the modern action novel,” FIRST BLOOD changed the genre. Although the book and the film adaptation have similarities, they are very different, especially its unexpected ending and its greater intensity. If you’ve only experienced the film, you’re in for a surprise.Rambo finally tells them he was in the army. Because they want to cut his hair and shave him, and they come after him with razors. Rambo doesn't like razors after being tortured in Vietnam. He thinks telling them he was in the army is very weak of himself. He holds himself up to these very high standards of 'masculinity.' What? That's not why you're doing this? Admit you wanted all this to happen. You 'asked' for it – so you could show him what you knew, surprise him when he found you were the wrong guy to try and handle. You 'like' this" First Blood wasn't even the first of the genre when it was published. Already there had been at least two movies Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (1971) and Targets(1968) in which veterans were shown as being dangerous and very deadly.But this book has survived and gone on to become a modern classic. Dit boek is prima, maar niets voor mij. Ik vond het gebrek aan vrouwen in dit boek zorgwekkend en de schrijfwijze was 'testosteron-schrijven' (de manier waarop werd beschreven hoe het ging donderen toen Teasle zijn geweer pakte), ook is vrijwel het hele boek in Amerikaanse spreektaal geschreven. Dit boek gaat, samengevat, over twee mannen die elkander achtervolgen. Rambo, een getraumatiseerde oorlogsveteraan, komt net terug uit Vietnam. Hij wordt zonder duidelijke reden opgepakt, door Teasle, ook een getraumatiseerde oorlogsveteraan (uit Korea). When it comes right down to it I found myself wondering what I was supposed to think about the characters and the plot. Am I supposed to feel that the whole situation is just one giant screw up and throw my hands up in disgust? A thinly veiled analogy about the waste of war in general and the stupidity of the Vietnam War specifically?

So Rambo goes off into the woods, like he's some type of Hansel and fends off National Guardsman and police officers and civilians that are probably so loaded that they don't even really know what end of the rifle is supposed to be pointed away from them. The body count really starts to soar at this point. Oh, I should tell you that my name is Captain Sam Trautman, and I've been hired to hunt Rambo. For the most part, I'm happy watching these yokels get off-ed by one of the best. But there is only so much carnage that I'll allow, so when the sheriff and Rambo exchange some thoughts in the form of lead, hitting each other in the process, I felt I owed it to my employers to kill Rambo myself. Granted, I used a shotgun and shot him in the head, but that's what you're supposed to do when a wild dog is on the loose. I tried to tell the sheriff, but it seems he has an important appointment in Valhalla that he can't be late for. The novel is told from both main characters’ points of view, alternating chapters for the most part and offering us plenty of insight into their thoughts, motivations, and personal history. Rambo is clearly suffering from what today we call PTSD. The sheriff is a former decorated soldier from the Korean War and a competent sheriff. When these two clash, it’s unclear who will have the upper hand: the highly trained Green Beret with all of his skills or the sheriff who can bring to bear a vast array of government resources to hunt down his prey. Here again, the movie greatly differs. Here, Rambo is not a near-super-powered being but rather, an entirely human character who gets hurt, bleeds, and suffers tremendously. The violence is far greater than in the movie. Sometimes it's brutal and sometimes it’s almost a simple off-hand comment about another good friend being gunned down but it always drives the narrative as well as the two characters. Morrell, David (2002). "Audio Commentary". First Blood: Special Edition (DVD). Artisan Home Entertainment. Event occurs at 4:20. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know that the movie "First Blood" was based on this book. So when my friend 11811 (Eleven) reviewed this book I put in a request for it immediately. Most readers are likely coming to this novel after having seen the Sylvester Stallone “Rambo” movie many years previously. That’s certainly the case for me. While movies are always different from their source material, that is especially true in this case. Yes, we still have the basic former Green Beret fighting solo as an underdog against an army of forces against him. He’s been pushed around and told to get out-of-town even though he’s done nothing wrong other than have long hair and a beard. It’s hard for anybody to be bullied like that. But whereas the movie focused on a single hero character, the novel offers two: Rambo (no first name given in the book) and Wilfred Teasle, the local sheriff. Whether or not either one is a hero is open to debate.

When I initially watched First Blood, I don't think I really understood what it was about until the wonderful monologue at the end, but in the book it was apparent throughout the text that Rambo was a broken man. A man who literally brought the war home with him. Morrell is the co-president of the International Thriller Writers organization. [2] Personal life [ edit ] Three things about 'First Blood' surprised me. It's a little over fifty years old but it doesn't feel dated or old-fashioned. It feels more modern than a few 1980s horror classics I've read. It doesn't read like a debut novel. It's written with confidence, it takes a few risks with form and the people in it feel real. It is very different from the movie. I know this shouldn't be much of a surprise - movie adaptations are like that - but the differences are extreme and profound. Almost nothing that pulled me into the book found its way into the movie. On the other hand, I think the ending of the book wasn't its strongest point and wouldn't have satisfied a cinema audience. It's a pretty fair chase story with some skillfully written action sequences. A good strong debut novel by a young writer. Morrell would go on to to write stronger novels, but John Rambo is his creation and this is the book where Rambo first appeared. Even at the age of forty-two it's a good beach read. Helps to be a little older though. I believe many readers under thirty might find it boring and/or unoriginal. It definitely helps to be old enough to at least remember the aftermath of Vietnam.