Valentine

"Valentine" is a suprisingly stylish, well-written thriller that far surpasses any of Savage's other work. While "Precipice" and "Scavenger" were good novels of supense and terror, this 1997 masterpiece is one of the most enjoyable, riveting of its kind made in the late 1990s.Jillian Talbot is a mystery novelist who has finally cashed in on her hard work and has become a true success. She has an excellent boyfriend and best friend and she feels as if life could get no better. When she returns home from work one night, she discovers a Valentine's Day card in her home, only to realize that it is an eerie threat towards her survival. As the threats become more venomous, sincere, and close to home, Jillian must run not only from a killer, but the soul of a man she crushed with a college prank.Savage's antagonist, Victor Dimorta, is a first-rate evil killer, using his excessive charm and wit to bed women who are close to Jillian, only to kill them using the earth's essential elements (such as fire, wind, and water). As Dimorta gets closer and closer to Jillian, the novel unravels at a thunderous, hair-raising pace that magic-carpets to a wonderfully demonic finish. Beautifully sculptured story with just enough humor and wit, but overall a hauntingly exceptional read that will go down as a truly under-rated work of suspense.

I was wathcing TV and saw a comercial for an upcomming movie called "Valentine." I knew by the ad that it was going to be another "slasher flic" following in the footsteps of the Scream movies, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Urban Legends. In Valentine, the killer is after four girls that did something horrible to him in middle school on Valentines Day. He waits a good seven years before inacting his plan of revenge and dons a Cupid mask, calling himeself Valentine, and sets out to scare the hell out of, and then kill, each of the four girls that offended him long ago. Each girl now has a love interest and each man could possibly be the killer. Anyone who has seen any of the films mentioned above will know that this formula and style of horror movie is getting very old and overdone. I decided to pick up the book even though I'd never even known of the author before. I like to read books before they become movies to see the differences. The Valentine movie does not come out until February 2nd but I can tell you right now, the movie will stink and fail like so many other slasher films have, but the book is much better and well worth a read. In the novel, there is no Cupid mask and there is only one lead female with one male love interest. Not four females and four males like in the movie. When the book starts up (don't worry, I won't spoil a thing) the killer, still named Valentine, has already killed three of the four girls on his list. We spend the intire novel watching the last girl try to survive. Another difference is that the offence that the girls inflict on the Valentine character happens in College, not in middle school. In no way was the novel I read anything close to a slasher movie aimed at twentysomethings and teenages, as most of todays horror movies are. I guess my poit is this: if your thinking about reading this book then do, you will enjoy it and it will scare you. If you see the film and are as dissapoited as I'm sure I will be, read the book anyway because I guarentee, as with most novel to screen adaptations, the book is far more mature and intertianing that the watered down version of the film due out early February. -E.E.D. (17 years old)

When four girlfriends play a horrible practical joke on a young man on Valentine's Day, they don't realize the pain and murder that will be afflicted upon them in years to comeThe victim of the joke goes crazy...killing his family. While serving his prison term, with his hatred of the girls building up every day, he plans his revenge.A new face, and a new name will give the opportunity to enact his revenge, thus begins the tormenting game of VALENTINE!"Valentine" is EXCELLENT; the kind of thriller that will have you UP ALL NIGHT reading, and then telling all your friends about it the next day.I read this book many years ago and decided to read it again(since it is being made into a movie), and it is still as suspenseful as the first time I read it.Tom Savage has written several books, all of them really good, but none as good as this one! Every chapter contains a cliffhanger, and the ENDING...what a shocking ending. A MUST read!!!Nick Gonnella

I definitely could not put this book down. It truly contained all the elements of a first-rate thriller! And the surprise ending -- WOW! Unlike many so-called psychological thrillers out there on the book market today, this one had an ending that was completely satisifying and commensurate with the level and build-up of suspense preceding it. Unfortunately it seems that many novels in the thriller genre today are admmitedly suspenseful, but invariably lead to a disappointing conclusion. This one does not disappoint! It is well worth the time to read it, and I assure you it won't take long to read because of the intense level of suspense. It will keep you up way into the wee hours ... but make sure you keep ALL the lights on!

I read constantly, so I've read many, many books. This book was possibly the best one ever. I'm usually good at figuring out the plot, but this one had me stumped right up until the end. I gave this book to my daughter and have'nt seen it since! It went throught her whole dorm. Tom Savage has written a masterpiece with this one.Tell all your friends and if you haven't read it yet, run to a bookstore or the library.