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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars probably morrells best,
5 Nov 2003
most people have seen the film, but those who think film and book are exactly the same are very much mistaken. Morrell gives John.J.Rambo much more depth.The foreword gives an insight into the creation of Rambo. It doesn't take long for you to get engrossed but once you do it just keeps on going. I found it hard to put down and definitely rates as one of my favourites. I've read most of David Morrells books and this is probably his best.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS HOW IT ALL BEGAN WITH JOHN RAMBO,
11 Mar 2002
By A Customer
Over the past couple of years, I've watched the original movie and its sequels a number of times. They're a great series of action pics and they helped to make Sly Stallone a superstar. Recently, I've read the novel FIRST BLOOD (1972) which triggered off this whole Rambo saga and it turned out to be an intense, gripping and provocative thriller about an escalating battle between two war veterans on opposite sides of the law. Neither of them is a hero or a villain, although Sheriff Teasle did hassle Rambo a bit too much and Rambo eventually resorted to killing some cops and civilians. The book focuses on what is going on inside the minds of both Rambo and Teasle as their rivalry progresses and in the end, they both turn out to be ordinary, vulnerable human beings, destroyed by war, emotionally and physically. In comparison to the book, the 1982 movie pales. It is a very good film, but a lot of elements are left out from the novel, such as Rambo killing his chasers, the final frantic gunfight between Rambo and Teasle and Teasle's relationship with Orval and his estranged wife. Understandably, this was so that the film could be shorter and appeal to a wider audience ( after all, Stallone needed a box office hit away from the ROCKY series ). Apparently, in the mid 70s, there were plans back then to translate FIRST BLOOD into a movie. An ideal Rambo would probably have been someone like Kris Kristofferson and maybe Joe Don Baker could have played Teasle.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a great book,
24 April 2000
By A Customer
People reading this book having seen the films will be surprised that to find that's it's as much about Teasle as Rambo - during the course of the manhunt, we're given an insight into Teasle's past as a Korean war veteran and how it contrasts with Rambo's experiences in Vietnam. Teasle initially shows contempt for Rambo, but gradually begins to understand him. A exciting, intelligent book. And the ending is far better than the film...
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