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The Enigma of Twilight Falls #1
The Green-Eyed Monster
Martin Smith and John bestselling authors with ordinary names and extraordinary minds.
Their words have power — to heal, to kill, to change the lives of their “characters” in shocking and unexpected ways. Famous for their uncanny similarity in both physical manner and literary voice, their childhood rivalry spins out of control into adulthood.
The death of one at the hands of the other brings to light their troubling past — and a mysterious presence, watching on from the shadows — an authorial entity with roots beyond our time or dimension; an entity with far-reaching designs.
The pen is truly mightier than the deadliest sword.
Their words have power — to heal, to kill, to change the lives of their “characters” in shocking and unexpected ways. Famous for their uncanny similarity in both physical manner and literary voice, their childhood rivalry spins out of control into adulthood.
The death of one at the hands of the other brings to light their troubling past — and a mysterious presence, watching on from the shadows — an authorial entity with roots beyond our time or dimension; an entity with far-reaching designs.
The pen is truly mightier than the deadliest sword.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2012
1 person is currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Mike Robinson
11 books69 followersAuthor of:
THE ENIGMA OF TWILIGHT FALLS TRILOGY:
"The Green-Eyed Monster"
"Negative Space"
"Waking Gods"
"Dreamshores: Monster Island"
"Skunk Ape Semester"
"The Atheist"
"The Prince of Earth"
"Too Much Dark Matter, Too Little Gray: A Collection of Weird Fiction"
----------------------------------------------
Screenwriter/Producer:
"Blood Corral" (feature)
"Chrysaline" (short)
THE ENIGMA OF TWILIGHT FALLS TRILOGY:
"The Green-Eyed Monster"
"Negative Space"
"Waking Gods"
"Dreamshores: Monster Island"
"Skunk Ape Semester"
"The Atheist"
"The Prince of Earth"
"Too Much Dark Matter, Too Little Gray: A Collection of Weird Fiction"
----------------------------------------------
Screenwriter/Producer:
"Blood Corral" (feature)
"Chrysaline" (short)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 5, 2020
this is one of those slipstream novels that crosses genres and undermines the reader at every turn, usually in a good way.
it is about two boys, born minutes apart under unusual circumstances. they grow up very physically close to each other, but they are odd kids, to say the least, and they neither interact with their peers nor with each other. and yet they can always be seen near each other, as though there is some force pushing them together while not manifesting itself in any real friendship, nor even in communication. and they pretty much hate each other, actually, developing this intense competitive spirit that shoots them to the top of the class, but singles them out as "that which is to be avoided."
they have a charisma, which makes people notice them, but not want to get too close. they can influence the behavior of people around them. they can predict the future, as they write stories for their classes which are precocious in a dangerous way. they know more than their years can account for, and they frequently refer to "grandfather" as the source of their knowledge. they are...not like other boys.
and they grow up and each becomes a writer with cult followings of their own, but their dark novels keep mirroring each other in titles and content, and the books seem to exert a singular influence over their readers. and their competitiveness; their combativeness, persists, until one of them kills the other.
this murder occurs in the first few pages, so i am not being a spoiler-fairy.
the rest of the book traces their beginnings, and the way that their existence and influence changes the lives of those around them, usually in a bloody, bloody way.
it is part detective-noir, as the crime is unraveled. it is part sci-fi, in its supernatural elements. it is part horror in its...horror. and it is part philosophical/metaphysical meditation in its driving force.
and it's good. maybe not as successful, to me, as The Man from Primrose Lane: A Novel, which is another book that smacks genre in the face in a sorta similar way, and maybe if i hadn't read that one before this, i would have liked this one more than i did. comparison is an unavoidable bitch.
the problem for me, was just that the boys, the men, remained ciphers. and i know that was intentional, obviously, but because the story is told through the eyes of people on their periphery, people whom they have influenced, their story is never completely told. they remain an enigmatic fascination to people around them without ever really being given their own story, just the story their existence wreaks on the lives of others. one of them does have a POV chapter, at the end but it is not as satisfying as the chapters of the other characters. there is a perfectly valid reason for this, but my lips are sealed.
it is a quick eerie read.
also:
come to my blog!
it is about two boys, born minutes apart under unusual circumstances. they grow up very physically close to each other, but they are odd kids, to say the least, and they neither interact with their peers nor with each other. and yet they can always be seen near each other, as though there is some force pushing them together while not manifesting itself in any real friendship, nor even in communication. and they pretty much hate each other, actually, developing this intense competitive spirit that shoots them to the top of the class, but singles them out as "that which is to be avoided."
they have a charisma, which makes people notice them, but not want to get too close. they can influence the behavior of people around them. they can predict the future, as they write stories for their classes which are precocious in a dangerous way. they know more than their years can account for, and they frequently refer to "grandfather" as the source of their knowledge. they are...not like other boys.
and they grow up and each becomes a writer with cult followings of their own, but their dark novels keep mirroring each other in titles and content, and the books seem to exert a singular influence over their readers. and their competitiveness; their combativeness, persists, until one of them kills the other.
this murder occurs in the first few pages, so i am not being a spoiler-fairy.
the rest of the book traces their beginnings, and the way that their existence and influence changes the lives of those around them, usually in a bloody, bloody way.
it is part detective-noir, as the crime is unraveled. it is part sci-fi, in its supernatural elements. it is part horror in its...horror. and it is part philosophical/metaphysical meditation in its driving force.
and it's good. maybe not as successful, to me, as The Man from Primrose Lane: A Novel, which is another book that smacks genre in the face in a sorta similar way, and maybe if i hadn't read that one before this, i would have liked this one more than i did. comparison is an unavoidable bitch.
the problem for me, was just that the boys, the men, remained ciphers. and i know that was intentional, obviously, but because the story is told through the eyes of people on their periphery, people whom they have influenced, their story is never completely told. they remain an enigmatic fascination to people around them without ever really being given their own story, just the story their existence wreaks on the lives of others. one of them does have a POV chapter, at the end but it is not as satisfying as the chapters of the other characters. there is a perfectly valid reason for this, but my lips are sealed.
it is a quick eerie read.
also:
come to my blog!
November 18, 2012
A Thriller that is flirting with an horror story, that surprises and gut-wrenching.
Through a police investigation that occurs after the death of one of the protagonists, the novel tells the story of two writers who know themselves from childhood and whose relationships are filled with strange and negative emotions: hate , jealousy, envy ... But what is disturbing is the captivating horror themes of their works that became Best sellers...
Themes of incredible violence that reveals a teeming imagination but strangely reflects some trivia occurred near these two authors throughout their lives.
The author walks you through flashbacks relating to different periods of the life of these two disturbing heroes. The reader discovers the childhood, adulthood, teenage years and even the strangeness of the moment when they come into the world.
Some mixed souvenirs that gives the impression of a huge mess and a greater scheme without ever revealing too many clues about the two authors.
To be noted, the beautiful writing skills of Mike Robinson who gives in the imagination and horror a very human aspect. One way to tell the story that piqued my interest and made me turn the pages eagerly.
Unusually dark, absorbing, intriguing and beautifully written! Great discovery!
Lucie
http://newbooksonmyselves.blogspot.fr...
Through a police investigation that occurs after the death of one of the protagonists, the novel tells the story of two writers who know themselves from childhood and whose relationships are filled with strange and negative emotions: hate , jealousy, envy ... But what is disturbing is the captivating horror themes of their works that became Best sellers...
Themes of incredible violence that reveals a teeming imagination but strangely reflects some trivia occurred near these two authors throughout their lives.
The author walks you through flashbacks relating to different periods of the life of these two disturbing heroes. The reader discovers the childhood, adulthood, teenage years and even the strangeness of the moment when they come into the world.
Some mixed souvenirs that gives the impression of a huge mess and a greater scheme without ever revealing too many clues about the two authors.
To be noted, the beautiful writing skills of Mike Robinson who gives in the imagination and horror a very human aspect. One way to tell the story that piqued my interest and made me turn the pages eagerly.
Unusually dark, absorbing, intriguing and beautifully written! Great discovery!
Lucie
http://newbooksonmyselves.blogspot.fr...
January 8, 2013
3.5 stars
Two baby boys, John Becker and Martin Smith, born at the exact same time, in the exact same hospital, on the night of a raging storm in Twilight Falls.
Both boys have high intelligence, a strong competitive nature, bear a physical resemblance to each other even though they are unrelated. They are considered an oddity, a mystery - both are always within range of one another, but never interact together or with any of their peers. They are loners and don't seem to notice or care.
Within the first few pages, Martin Smith has shot and killed John Becker. But why? Was it self defence or was it something more? This is the mystery that has to be unraveled.
Mrs. Anne Chatsworth is the boys first grade teacher and describes what her classroom was like that particular year. The roster of students turned out to be abnormially advanced in all subjects taught. Even students that previously struggled in certain areas appeared to be thriving. Sure, John and Martin were rather strange, but they were exceptionally smart, and very creative. Mrs. Chatsworth requested an interview with both sets of parents to discuss the anti-social behaviour and competitive nature of both, as well as inquire about this "grandfather" these boys so often mentioned. She felt that the boys might be more suited for a school devoted to gifted children and the parents after some hesitation agreed. Once John and Martin were transferred out of the school things began to change. The class was not doing so well as a whole. Grades were dropping, work became sloppier and Anne herself ended up committing the unthinkable.
Then we meet Harry Zwieg. Harry is a boy who enjoys video games and comics and doesn't have many friends. He joins the highschool newspaper and decides to write a series of compare and contrast articles about John and Martin. Everyone in the highschool knows of the boys...but noone really KNOWS the boys. They are still just as strange as they were in their younger years, and still a mystery to those around them. Things begin to happen for Harry during that year...good things at first. But that starts to change as Harry becomes more involved in the story of John and Martin. As John and Martin feverishly write an assignment in the library, Harry does the unthinkable.
I found the book overall to be a very original story, one that took me by surprise and kept me reading until the end. In some places, I could feel the evil oozing out of the page, seeping between the words. It's creepy....very creepy. However, in other places, I found the explanation of it all to be confusing at first, and had to re-read several parts for it to sink in. The entire story is a dark tale and reminicent of an old "Twilight Zone" episode. I don't know if I'll ever look at a butterfly the same again.....
Definitely worth picking up if you enjoy a mystery noir! :)
*****received free from publisher in exchange for an honest review*****
Two baby boys, John Becker and Martin Smith, born at the exact same time, in the exact same hospital, on the night of a raging storm in Twilight Falls.
Both boys have high intelligence, a strong competitive nature, bear a physical resemblance to each other even though they are unrelated. They are considered an oddity, a mystery - both are always within range of one another, but never interact together or with any of their peers. They are loners and don't seem to notice or care.
Within the first few pages, Martin Smith has shot and killed John Becker. But why? Was it self defence or was it something more? This is the mystery that has to be unraveled.
Mrs. Anne Chatsworth is the boys first grade teacher and describes what her classroom was like that particular year. The roster of students turned out to be abnormially advanced in all subjects taught. Even students that previously struggled in certain areas appeared to be thriving. Sure, John and Martin were rather strange, but they were exceptionally smart, and very creative. Mrs. Chatsworth requested an interview with both sets of parents to discuss the anti-social behaviour and competitive nature of both, as well as inquire about this "grandfather" these boys so often mentioned. She felt that the boys might be more suited for a school devoted to gifted children and the parents after some hesitation agreed. Once John and Martin were transferred out of the school things began to change. The class was not doing so well as a whole. Grades were dropping, work became sloppier and Anne herself ended up committing the unthinkable.
Then we meet Harry Zwieg. Harry is a boy who enjoys video games and comics and doesn't have many friends. He joins the highschool newspaper and decides to write a series of compare and contrast articles about John and Martin. Everyone in the highschool knows of the boys...but noone really KNOWS the boys. They are still just as strange as they were in their younger years, and still a mystery to those around them. Things begin to happen for Harry during that year...good things at first. But that starts to change as Harry becomes more involved in the story of John and Martin. As John and Martin feverishly write an assignment in the library, Harry does the unthinkable.
I found the book overall to be a very original story, one that took me by surprise and kept me reading until the end. In some places, I could feel the evil oozing out of the page, seeping between the words. It's creepy....very creepy. However, in other places, I found the explanation of it all to be confusing at first, and had to re-read several parts for it to sink in. The entire story is a dark tale and reminicent of an old "Twilight Zone" episode. I don't know if I'll ever look at a butterfly the same again.....
Definitely worth picking up if you enjoy a mystery noir! :)
*****received free from publisher in exchange for an honest review*****
January 31, 2016
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Two best-selling authors, born minutes apart, only meters apart in the same hospital in a quiet northern Californian city, Twilight Falls. Although they never become friends, with each other or with some one else for that matter, they are creepily alike not only in mannerisms and appearance, also in the stories they write. This continues into adulthood, until one of them, right at the start of the novel, kills the other.
Although the story is more of a background on Martin Smith and John Becker than it is a murder mystery, it is told from the perspective of people from their periphery, a school teacher, a peer. It is obvious these people are influence by the two, although not really in a good way.
This is one of those stories that you're not able to catch in a single, or even two or three, genres. At times, I would even consider calling it paranormal or horror, due to all the creepiness that surrounds it. Then why only three stars, I hear you ask. Well, it is not something easily explained but I will give it a try. While I like experimental kind of books, I often find that they give up some parts of the story for the sake of style. I feel this sort of happened in this story. The 'original' murder mystery is perhaps 10% of the book, the rest is flashbacks and at the end it feels like there is a rush to close everything asap. During most of the book, Martin and John are almost not there at all. Their names are being dropped, but as they don't have a lot of contact with anyone really, it feels like they are not present at their own party. This made that I was not as invested in the story as I could have been, and sometimes I had to really tell myself to pick the book back up.
As The Green-Eyed Monster is part of a 'non-linear' trilogy about Twilight Falls, I'm continuing with the other books, Negative Space and Waking Gods.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Two best-selling authors, born minutes apart, only meters apart in the same hospital in a quiet northern Californian city, Twilight Falls. Although they never become friends, with each other or with some one else for that matter, they are creepily alike not only in mannerisms and appearance, also in the stories they write. This continues into adulthood, until one of them, right at the start of the novel, kills the other.
Although the story is more of a background on Martin Smith and John Becker than it is a murder mystery, it is told from the perspective of people from their periphery, a school teacher, a peer. It is obvious these people are influence by the two, although not really in a good way.
This is one of those stories that you're not able to catch in a single, or even two or three, genres. At times, I would even consider calling it paranormal or horror, due to all the creepiness that surrounds it. Then why only three stars, I hear you ask. Well, it is not something easily explained but I will give it a try. While I like experimental kind of books, I often find that they give up some parts of the story for the sake of style. I feel this sort of happened in this story. The 'original' murder mystery is perhaps 10% of the book, the rest is flashbacks and at the end it feels like there is a rush to close everything asap. During most of the book, Martin and John are almost not there at all. Their names are being dropped, but as they don't have a lot of contact with anyone really, it feels like they are not present at their own party. This made that I was not as invested in the story as I could have been, and sometimes I had to really tell myself to pick the book back up.
As The Green-Eyed Monster is part of a 'non-linear' trilogy about Twilight Falls, I'm continuing with the other books, Negative Space and Waking Gods.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
October 30, 2012
The synopsis lends toward a murder mystery, but this read is an intense philosophical, metaphysical mind melt. You may need a decoder and a dimensional phone booth to hop back and forth through the world building. There are several stories going on here and it takes a concerted effort to keep the characters and connections straight. This fits with chaos theory, and creates the effect I imagine the author wished to achieve. Just when you get into a set of characters, the story shifts and it takes the entire read to put how it all is connected (or not connected) together. There is a lot more going on metaphysically, theologically, ethically and scientifically in this book than just a murder. Although parts of the story are grounded, it does wane into the extreme abstract especially towards the end. Either readers will love it, or others will wish someone would hold their feet so they don't float into the ether. If you're willing to ride it out and accept what is told, then you can spend days and weeks contemplating the greater purpose of the structure and concept. If you're hoping for a murder mystery with a paranormal twist -- you will likely get frustrated by the philosophical babble. I absolutely appreciate the work and imagination of the novel. However, I found myself liking only the grounded, character developed portions of the story including Harry and Stephanie, but as soon as it would go to that 'other' place, I got bored and lost interest. Even though this idea of grandfather among other aspects are explained, it was so abstract that I didn't grasp or believe the reasoning. It become more of a 'talking-head' than an 'a-ha' moment for me.
December 26, 2012
This was an awesome crazy wild ride of a story. I absolutely loved the dynamics, the backstory of the boys, the interweaving of characters and the sheer "out-thereness" of the plot. 2 boys born on the same day, their lives like conjoined twins, have an influence on their neighbors and schoolmates that is deadly and diabolical. Mike Robinson is not afraid to push the limits of string theory, fringe science, alternative universe...what would you call it? Slipstream fiction, I suppose. I read this book in a day and it stuck with me like the aura of a migraine headache - just on the outside edge of my peripheral vision. Huge new fan of this writer. I would give 4.5 stars if I could, saving a 1/2 star because it's not a book I could recommend to just anyone - very particular, smart, readers only.
December 28, 2012
Mike Robinson’s latest release, The Green-Eyed Monster, is a compelling and unique work. I found the genre label especially attractive: literary horror. It seems like an oxymoron. Just to explore that unique title relationship, I absolutely had to read this book. I’m happy to say this story delivers what it promised. If you feel intrigued by the concept, I highly recommend you pick up this book.
January 23, 2016
READ FULL REVIEW
Reading the description of this book, I wanted it to be amazing. Reading the reviews about this book, I waited for it to blow my mind.
But it didn't.
Reading the description of this book, I wanted it to be amazing. Reading the reviews about this book, I waited for it to blow my mind.
But it didn't.
August 5, 2025
Why? Just...Why. What exactly is the focus of this book supposed to have been? Yes, I understood complete exposition dump of a twist ending I get what was fueling all of this. First off, a well executed twist wouldn't have had to be laid out like that. Second, you need to establish at least a feeling if not the threads to a point. Instead all I came away from this was some devise to justify writing supernatural small town horror one-shots.
This book's design is a mess from the very beginning. Is it supposed to be an internal battle between one author and another about what led them to this point? Is it supposed to be a murder mystery for the detective on site to work through? Is it supposed to be a profile of the authors' struggles and rivalry? Is it supposed to be a commentary about the power of pride when it comes to competition? None of these are properly delivered. The writers are used as the connecting element through these short stories but we never once ever get to know them.
By that I mean we never actually SEE this rivalry in play. we're just told they're similar and don't really like one another. That they have these same bizarre traits that manifest ever so slightly. But they never really compete! They're never set against each other. They're just allowed to coast side by side. So we never get to glimpse. And WHY are they competing? Even if they're just trying to be better, by what standard? what is their end goal? Is there some sort of marker or achievement?
Don't even get me started at the random pull from different cultures that have a few parallel themes that's just plopped down and set there instead of being developed which reeks of appropriation of near the worst sort. IF you aren't even going to do something unique with a practice of belief for creative sake and at the same time are just throwing it out with as little integration as the encyclopedia articles the student is drawing this information from, then what is the point of really bringing it up at all? it's just one more thing that failed to commit to anything.
I wish the author well, but I cannot fathom how this is the start of a series. This device cannot possibly be a compelling one for multiple volumes without a lot more work on what is supposed to be the motivating force.
This book's design is a mess from the very beginning. Is it supposed to be an internal battle between one author and another about what led them to this point? Is it supposed to be a murder mystery for the detective on site to work through? Is it supposed to be a profile of the authors' struggles and rivalry? Is it supposed to be a commentary about the power of pride when it comes to competition? None of these are properly delivered. The writers are used as the connecting element through these short stories but we never once ever get to know them.
By that I mean we never actually SEE this rivalry in play. we're just told they're similar and don't really like one another. That they have these same bizarre traits that manifest ever so slightly. But they never really compete! They're never set against each other. They're just allowed to coast side by side. So we never get to glimpse. And WHY are they competing? Even if they're just trying to be better, by what standard? what is their end goal? Is there some sort of marker or achievement?
Don't even get me started at the random pull from different cultures that have a few parallel themes that's just plopped down and set there instead of being developed which reeks of appropriation of near the worst sort. IF you aren't even going to do something unique with a practice of belief for creative sake and at the same time are just throwing it out with as little integration as the encyclopedia articles the student is drawing this information from, then what is the point of really bringing it up at all? it's just one more thing that failed to commit to anything.
I wish the author well, but I cannot fathom how this is the start of a series. This device cannot possibly be a compelling one for multiple volumes without a lot more work on what is supposed to be the motivating force.
December 5, 2012
I enjoyed this book. It was engaging and full of gore, suspense and psychological terror. You can check out my full review here: http://madamewriterofwrongs.blogspot.... on December 5th 2012
It was 2AM exactly when I when I finally finished reading this novel and I immediately sat down to review it which may account for the rather… interesting flow of words on the page below.
“Green Eyed Monster” in its basic, one-sided roots, indirectly follows the lives of two boys turned bestselling authors, John Becker and Martin Smith, and their dark, mysterious influence on the lives of the people around them, beginning and ending with the death of one of the writers. Really, the entire book is a foreshadowing of last few pages of the cerebral rollercoaster that is this novel – as most novels are – this was just a little more obvious.
In my mind there are two basic elements of this work: the murder mystery – I can almost say ‘surface’ – aspect and the psychological paranormal aspect. In all honesty, the latter didn’t really appeal to me at all. It was well written; the psychological element had me sitting up in my seat, whispering incredulously to the pages, asking it to tell me its secrets – it was more the philosophical psychobabble of pages upon pages of explaining in no certain terms exactly what is going on that plucked me from the pages and settled me back into reality. For all I know, it was my own blindness that pulled me out but what I do know is that I hate being thrust out of a good book prematurely.
And it was a good book. I devoured every word on the page even if I had no idea what they meant because they created this lyrically beautiful piece of artwork that, if anything, I could appreciate. But more than that, the other element (murder mystery, surface tension) was completely and utterly captivating. Mike Robinson has created an incredible cast of insanely mad characters that just fascinated me from start to finish.
From the teacher who yearned so badly for her fictional son that she allowed the universe to guide the lives of her first grade class and repaid her debt by destroying her sanity in a pool of blood and a box of crayons.
To the high school kid who climbed and fell so many times from the social ladder that he simply knocked the ladder off its hinges with nothing but a fedora and the smothering scent of cigars and gun powder (though in my opinion, the entire being of Henry Zwieg was clichéd).
I guess I found the psychological aspect to be rather like lettuce in a salad: essential but rather bland without the extra ingredients.
I realize that it’s starting to sound like I wasn’t that fond of the book but I was. I was…trilled. That’s really the only word I can find to describe it. It was thrilling. I hung on the author’s every word; I just had trouble letting the two elements meld together into the complete story that it was.
The butterfly motif that runs through the entire story was mysterious and insane even with the explanation of why and the style of writing was just fantastic. As I said before it was very lyrically written, nothing had just its singular meaning and every word flowed and ebbed with each scene that was written on to the page. It also happened that as I amerced myself in this tale, I found myself caught with a case of foreign exchange syndrome in which you spend so much time with someone who has a rather thick accent that you start to mimic their accent in order to create a bond or simply to fit in with the person you’re speaking with.
As I was writing this review I caught myself giving in a little to the urge to add flowing prose and quickly set myself in a different direction to keep from overflowing this post with useless prose. I apologize if it still turned out that way.
Of all the things I’ve said so far this may be the strangest yet: I would love to see this as made into a movie. I’m serious. I know it’s become a sort of running joke about writers writing for the sake of the visual arts rather than the written word but I’m serious. Have you ever wanted to see something happen in real life just to confirm that your imagination isn’t completely wrong – or twisted, or whatever – that’s how I feel about this book. There are so many moments that are just so engrained in my mind’s eye that I need to see them played out before my real eyes so I can get them out – like a song that’s stuck in your head. And although there are some great, quotable lines in this book, it’s the images that are keeping me up at night, haunting me. And I can see it so clearly sometimes; like the image a girl and her eyes filled with this fear and resignation and confusion and desperation. And then the whole world takes a breath with her and everything is silent, so still – before she’s blown away in a horrifyingly bloody mess against the bedroom wall. Its images like that which leaves me desperate to get them out of my mind and place them firmly on the screen so I can dispel them from my imagination.
Until that day happens I shall simply have to leave you with the words written on this page and the encouragement to find a copy of this novel yourself. Mike Robinson has written a beautiful piece of work and I recommend it to thrill seekers with a strong stomach and an open mind (I love my gore but I know that’s not for everyone). Really this is a book that you just have to dive into. It’s not something you casually read.
It was 2AM exactly when I when I finally finished reading this novel and I immediately sat down to review it which may account for the rather… interesting flow of words on the page below.
“Green Eyed Monster” in its basic, one-sided roots, indirectly follows the lives of two boys turned bestselling authors, John Becker and Martin Smith, and their dark, mysterious influence on the lives of the people around them, beginning and ending with the death of one of the writers. Really, the entire book is a foreshadowing of last few pages of the cerebral rollercoaster that is this novel – as most novels are – this was just a little more obvious.
In my mind there are two basic elements of this work: the murder mystery – I can almost say ‘surface’ – aspect and the psychological paranormal aspect. In all honesty, the latter didn’t really appeal to me at all. It was well written; the psychological element had me sitting up in my seat, whispering incredulously to the pages, asking it to tell me its secrets – it was more the philosophical psychobabble of pages upon pages of explaining in no certain terms exactly what is going on that plucked me from the pages and settled me back into reality. For all I know, it was my own blindness that pulled me out but what I do know is that I hate being thrust out of a good book prematurely.
And it was a good book. I devoured every word on the page even if I had no idea what they meant because they created this lyrically beautiful piece of artwork that, if anything, I could appreciate. But more than that, the other element (murder mystery, surface tension) was completely and utterly captivating. Mike Robinson has created an incredible cast of insanely mad characters that just fascinated me from start to finish.
From the teacher who yearned so badly for her fictional son that she allowed the universe to guide the lives of her first grade class and repaid her debt by destroying her sanity in a pool of blood and a box of crayons.
To the high school kid who climbed and fell so many times from the social ladder that he simply knocked the ladder off its hinges with nothing but a fedora and the smothering scent of cigars and gun powder (though in my opinion, the entire being of Henry Zwieg was clichéd).
I guess I found the psychological aspect to be rather like lettuce in a salad: essential but rather bland without the extra ingredients.
I realize that it’s starting to sound like I wasn’t that fond of the book but I was. I was…trilled. That’s really the only word I can find to describe it. It was thrilling. I hung on the author’s every word; I just had trouble letting the two elements meld together into the complete story that it was.
The butterfly motif that runs through the entire story was mysterious and insane even with the explanation of why and the style of writing was just fantastic. As I said before it was very lyrically written, nothing had just its singular meaning and every word flowed and ebbed with each scene that was written on to the page. It also happened that as I amerced myself in this tale, I found myself caught with a case of foreign exchange syndrome in which you spend so much time with someone who has a rather thick accent that you start to mimic their accent in order to create a bond or simply to fit in with the person you’re speaking with.
As I was writing this review I caught myself giving in a little to the urge to add flowing prose and quickly set myself in a different direction to keep from overflowing this post with useless prose. I apologize if it still turned out that way.
Of all the things I’ve said so far this may be the strangest yet: I would love to see this as made into a movie. I’m serious. I know it’s become a sort of running joke about writers writing for the sake of the visual arts rather than the written word but I’m serious. Have you ever wanted to see something happen in real life just to confirm that your imagination isn’t completely wrong – or twisted, or whatever – that’s how I feel about this book. There are so many moments that are just so engrained in my mind’s eye that I need to see them played out before my real eyes so I can get them out – like a song that’s stuck in your head. And although there are some great, quotable lines in this book, it’s the images that are keeping me up at night, haunting me. And I can see it so clearly sometimes; like the image a girl and her eyes filled with this fear and resignation and confusion and desperation. And then the whole world takes a breath with her and everything is silent, so still – before she’s blown away in a horrifyingly bloody mess against the bedroom wall. Its images like that which leaves me desperate to get them out of my mind and place them firmly on the screen so I can dispel them from my imagination.
Until that day happens I shall simply have to leave you with the words written on this page and the encouragement to find a copy of this novel yourself. Mike Robinson has written a beautiful piece of work and I recommend it to thrill seekers with a strong stomach and an open mind (I love my gore but I know that’s not for everyone). Really this is a book that you just have to dive into. It’s not something you casually read.
May 10, 2019
Gem of an idea with a solid story surrounding chaos theory and the mystery surrounding two competing boys who seem to share the same soul. The story itself is told in an interesting and engaging fashion, leaving the reader guessing right up until the end. Robinson creates a lovely creepy atmosphere throughout.
Would read more in the series on the strength of Green Eyed Monster.
With thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the arc.
Would read more in the series on the strength of Green Eyed Monster.
With thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the arc.
March 20, 2013
Question: If a writer continually taps his keyboard in California, could it really cause an avalanche in the sitting-room of a London reader?
A seemingly odd question, perhaps, but not if you consider the focus of Mike Robinson's second book, to wit, "chaos theory" and the mysterious/sinister nature of cause and effect.
"Color heavily diluted. Non-existent. Sound, like snow, a physical unheard thing. Connecting everyone, entwining every skull, were channels of butterflies, flying in slow obedience back and forth, from one mind to another. Rivers of wings rippled through the human geography, nourishing life and sentience."
The Green-Eyed Monster, ostensibly horror, explores the complicated idea of the "butterfly effect", albeit in a very interesting and highly original way. The story centres on the sinister relationship between two best-selling writers, Martin Smith and John Becker (perhaps imagine Stephen King and Dean Koontz living side by side in an eerie condo?). Anyway, the narrative structure is somewhat complicated to describe, but thankfully not to read. To begin with, Becker is dead on page/screen one, the police arrive to find Smith with smoking gun in hand, and so the mystery is set to unfold. We quickly discover how Smith and Becker have become connected from birth, growing up together in the small town of Twilight Falls. The two are inexplicably inseparable and yet fierce and bitter rivals . The story then further unfolds from the varying perspectives of those whose lives interconnect with the two writers, first from the viewpoint of their school teacher and then a fellow high school pupil.
It's here, in first adopting the voice of the school teacher, Robinson not only seamlessly changes from third to first person, but rather deftly, and after only one or two paragraphs, has you right there, that is to say, picturing yourself alongside the teacher in her classroom from hell. Also worth noting is young Marty Smith's childhood story: The Big Brain. This is incredible writing. Robinson again changes gears effortlessly and offers something new, both simplified but deeply profound all at once, and, in a peculiar way, reminding me of the character Bruno in the The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, or, perhaps faint echoes of The Book Thief.
Of course, the horror of Stephen King is what's at the forefront of this work, that way of placing horror in the everyday and especially in the arena of childhood. And, sticking with my somewhat obvious comparison to King, in places The Green-Eyed Monster really reminded me of The Shining too. For certain, you'll be taken to some very weird, dark and chilling places as the two writers create words which float out into the world like causal but sinister butterflies, that is each word/butterfly having a knock on effect.
Come 9:56, the writings of John Becker and Martin Smith had grown into firestorms of language. Their wrists yelled pain. Their foreheads glistened with perspiration. They could not stop. They wrote and wrote and the library, the town, became a dapple of eternity. At 10:25, Harry placed his first knock on Max's door.
Anyway, you've perhaps already noticed, from the two extracts above, that Mike Robinson not only is a writer daring to tackle rather complicated ideas, but is also a rather fine writer at that. His prose both has a poetic sensibility that fittingly floats about your mind like a rich yet foreboding butterfly, but is also somewhat expedient with its grand approach, perhaps always underlined with an exacting and taut precision:
"Harris orbited the table, snapping pictures. The coroner, a soft-eyed young doctor named Greene with a manner as cold and metallic as the table propping her subject, surveyed the body curiously, scalpel in hand."
"Physical life is nothing but diseased membrane grown around divine tissue, tissue heavily impaired and diluted by anatomical limitations."
"Looming over the body, Smith laughed. The bullet had dug a maroon tunnel through Becker's skull. Smith had an absurd urge to peer inside as if it were some kind of organic peep-hole."
In addition there's a real depth of philosophical exploration too, an ace card that gives Robinson's work a literary prowess, not always present in a lot of out and out horror. Literary Horror would assuredly be a more exacting way to describe this tome because every page is full of insight matched only by the high standard of his writing, and with all sincerity I can't help but think that in the fullness of time Mike Robinson's work will/should sit alongside the major authors of the genre: King, Koontz, Becker, Smith... and Robinson.
Question: If a writer continually taps his keyboard in California, could it really cause an avalanche in the sitting-room of a London reader?
Answer: Yes, an avalanche of the senses, because The Green-Eyed Monster is a triumph of a story, burying said reader in the macabre and chilling recesses of an already accomplished writer's dark imagination.
NB: This review also appears on The Indie Pedant website, a home for indie writers.
A seemingly odd question, perhaps, but not if you consider the focus of Mike Robinson's second book, to wit, "chaos theory" and the mysterious/sinister nature of cause and effect.
"Color heavily diluted. Non-existent. Sound, like snow, a physical unheard thing. Connecting everyone, entwining every skull, were channels of butterflies, flying in slow obedience back and forth, from one mind to another. Rivers of wings rippled through the human geography, nourishing life and sentience."
The Green-Eyed Monster, ostensibly horror, explores the complicated idea of the "butterfly effect", albeit in a very interesting and highly original way. The story centres on the sinister relationship between two best-selling writers, Martin Smith and John Becker (perhaps imagine Stephen King and Dean Koontz living side by side in an eerie condo?). Anyway, the narrative structure is somewhat complicated to describe, but thankfully not to read. To begin with, Becker is dead on page/screen one, the police arrive to find Smith with smoking gun in hand, and so the mystery is set to unfold. We quickly discover how Smith and Becker have become connected from birth, growing up together in the small town of Twilight Falls. The two are inexplicably inseparable and yet fierce and bitter rivals . The story then further unfolds from the varying perspectives of those whose lives interconnect with the two writers, first from the viewpoint of their school teacher and then a fellow high school pupil.
It's here, in first adopting the voice of the school teacher, Robinson not only seamlessly changes from third to first person, but rather deftly, and after only one or two paragraphs, has you right there, that is to say, picturing yourself alongside the teacher in her classroom from hell. Also worth noting is young Marty Smith's childhood story: The Big Brain. This is incredible writing. Robinson again changes gears effortlessly and offers something new, both simplified but deeply profound all at once, and, in a peculiar way, reminding me of the character Bruno in the The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, or, perhaps faint echoes of The Book Thief.
Of course, the horror of Stephen King is what's at the forefront of this work, that way of placing horror in the everyday and especially in the arena of childhood. And, sticking with my somewhat obvious comparison to King, in places The Green-Eyed Monster really reminded me of The Shining too. For certain, you'll be taken to some very weird, dark and chilling places as the two writers create words which float out into the world like causal but sinister butterflies, that is each word/butterfly having a knock on effect.
Come 9:56, the writings of John Becker and Martin Smith had grown into firestorms of language. Their wrists yelled pain. Their foreheads glistened with perspiration. They could not stop. They wrote and wrote and the library, the town, became a dapple of eternity. At 10:25, Harry placed his first knock on Max's door.
Anyway, you've perhaps already noticed, from the two extracts above, that Mike Robinson not only is a writer daring to tackle rather complicated ideas, but is also a rather fine writer at that. His prose both has a poetic sensibility that fittingly floats about your mind like a rich yet foreboding butterfly, but is also somewhat expedient with its grand approach, perhaps always underlined with an exacting and taut precision:
"Harris orbited the table, snapping pictures. The coroner, a soft-eyed young doctor named Greene with a manner as cold and metallic as the table propping her subject, surveyed the body curiously, scalpel in hand."
"Physical life is nothing but diseased membrane grown around divine tissue, tissue heavily impaired and diluted by anatomical limitations."
"Looming over the body, Smith laughed. The bullet had dug a maroon tunnel through Becker's skull. Smith had an absurd urge to peer inside as if it were some kind of organic peep-hole."
In addition there's a real depth of philosophical exploration too, an ace card that gives Robinson's work a literary prowess, not always present in a lot of out and out horror. Literary Horror would assuredly be a more exacting way to describe this tome because every page is full of insight matched only by the high standard of his writing, and with all sincerity I can't help but think that in the fullness of time Mike Robinson's work will/should sit alongside the major authors of the genre: King, Koontz, Becker, Smith... and Robinson.
Question: If a writer continually taps his keyboard in California, could it really cause an avalanche in the sitting-room of a London reader?
Answer: Yes, an avalanche of the senses, because The Green-Eyed Monster is a triumph of a story, burying said reader in the macabre and chilling recesses of an already accomplished writer's dark imagination.
NB: This review also appears on The Indie Pedant website, a home for indie writers.
December 4, 2023
I feel like there's a deeper message here, regarding taking things for granted, using power unwisely, etc etc. 🙃
This was a really good read. I'm going after the second book in the series now!
This was a really good read. I'm going after the second book in the series now!
June 6, 2025
Boring.
June 7, 2025
Audio book - not fond of the narrator. Storyline was ok but kind of disjointed. Have the other 2 in the series but not sure I'll bother to listen.
July 15, 2025
Shades of HP Lovecraft but a bit flat. The grandfather and butterflies seemed a bit dated.
July 16, 2025
⭐️⭐️1/2
January 11, 2013
"It is a green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." - William Shakespeare, Othello
"The Green-Eyed Monster" is not a murder mystery in the usual sense, but it does touch upon the mystery of why human beings kill one another in the first place: anger, revenge, insecurity, fear - jealousy. In this regard, I suppose, the entirety of human history is a murder mystery. This psychological thriller looks at the mysterious driving force behind the evil that befalls two men.
"There was a day in mid-April, 1971, when the sky over the Northern Californian town of Twilight Falls was deathly ill..." the author tells us, and then describes the simultaneous birth of the two boys, each born in silence with a blue butterfly lodged in his throat. The butterflies take flight, the baby boys are healthy, and miracles commence... People who have been depressed and suicidal begin to recover; a boy who has been lost in the violent storm is found alive and well. Later in grade school, students who share a classroom with the boys, Martin Smith and John Decker, seem to improve in their studies, gain strength and confidence in their lives. But not all remains idyllic in Twilight Falls.
Their first-grade teacher, who later falls prey to their influence in a very negative way, describes the first time she meets the two boys, who arrive in her classroom late on the first day of school:
***
They were attired in collared flannel shirts that inexplicably aged them beyond their tender years. One wore blue, the other red. Their backpacks were slung over their left shoulders, their faces were chalky white and their eyes absorbed the world through muscular prescription lenses. Given their similarity I thought they might be related; half-siblings, perhaps.
The two boys stared at me.
"What are your names?" I asked.
"JoMarny," they answered simultaneously. Somehow they appeared unaware of one another's presence.
***
Scientific research indicates that thousands of individual bees forming a hive, like ants forming a colony, behave as a single organism, in the way that a Quaking Aspen forest covering hundreds of acres is merely a single organism: one root with thousands of shoots. Could the minds of individuals similarly be of one mind, like a forest of Quaking Aspen? Might individuals share the same thoughts and ideas, invent new things simultaneously on opposite sides of the globe, create similar works of art without the aid of verbal communication?
It's probably easier for us to believe that aspen trees are shoots of the same organism; but ants? Bees? Humans? They all move around. How could they be connected to the same "roots"? This concept requires an understanding that historically the Western World has been taught to dismiss, and when faced with it, most of us still fail to see: that there is a psychic and physical connection between us that defies detection of the human eye.
In "The Green Eyed Monster", we discover that a force "like the force that keeps magnets from touching one another" is also the force that keeps the boys together, in the form of a mysterious Grandfather who is common to them both, an old man who tells the survivor, Martin Smith:
"Both you and Becker were one higher consciousness, shared by two human bodies and savagely imprisoned by human tendencies and emotions."
Aye, there's the rub: those human tendencies and emotions.
While his first book "Skunk Ape Semester" was in the ilk of "The X-Files", Mike Robinson's enthralling new novel is definitely a nightmare that could have seeped from the empty darkness of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" -- a twisted tale of two boys who seem to share nearly identical thoughts, as revealed through their literary expression even in grade school, who grow up to be famous authors, living in each other's shadow while loathing one another. Their animosity eventually leads to the death of one.
Enter Detective Richard Porter, a fan of their writing, who must untangle the circumstances of the death, while weighing reports of other readers: a woman in Kansas who tried to sue the authors because she says she suffered some sort of psychotic episode while reading one of their books, or a teenager in Wisconsin who stabbed his girlfriend thinking she was some sort of evil character from a Becker or Smith novel.
This novel is as good as any you're going to find, a page-turner, an electron burner. I read this book in one sitting and decided to write this review. Now, I'm going to go back and read the book again, just to enjoy every nuance of Mike Robinson's excellent writing
"The Green-Eyed Monster" is not a murder mystery in the usual sense, but it does touch upon the mystery of why human beings kill one another in the first place: anger, revenge, insecurity, fear - jealousy. In this regard, I suppose, the entirety of human history is a murder mystery. This psychological thriller looks at the mysterious driving force behind the evil that befalls two men.
"There was a day in mid-April, 1971, when the sky over the Northern Californian town of Twilight Falls was deathly ill..." the author tells us, and then describes the simultaneous birth of the two boys, each born in silence with a blue butterfly lodged in his throat. The butterflies take flight, the baby boys are healthy, and miracles commence... People who have been depressed and suicidal begin to recover; a boy who has been lost in the violent storm is found alive and well. Later in grade school, students who share a classroom with the boys, Martin Smith and John Decker, seem to improve in their studies, gain strength and confidence in their lives. But not all remains idyllic in Twilight Falls.
Their first-grade teacher, who later falls prey to their influence in a very negative way, describes the first time she meets the two boys, who arrive in her classroom late on the first day of school:
***
They were attired in collared flannel shirts that inexplicably aged them beyond their tender years. One wore blue, the other red. Their backpacks were slung over their left shoulders, their faces were chalky white and their eyes absorbed the world through muscular prescription lenses. Given their similarity I thought they might be related; half-siblings, perhaps.
The two boys stared at me.
"What are your names?" I asked.
"JoMarny," they answered simultaneously. Somehow they appeared unaware of one another's presence.
***
Scientific research indicates that thousands of individual bees forming a hive, like ants forming a colony, behave as a single organism, in the way that a Quaking Aspen forest covering hundreds of acres is merely a single organism: one root with thousands of shoots. Could the minds of individuals similarly be of one mind, like a forest of Quaking Aspen? Might individuals share the same thoughts and ideas, invent new things simultaneously on opposite sides of the globe, create similar works of art without the aid of verbal communication?
It's probably easier for us to believe that aspen trees are shoots of the same organism; but ants? Bees? Humans? They all move around. How could they be connected to the same "roots"? This concept requires an understanding that historically the Western World has been taught to dismiss, and when faced with it, most of us still fail to see: that there is a psychic and physical connection between us that defies detection of the human eye.
In "The Green Eyed Monster", we discover that a force "like the force that keeps magnets from touching one another" is also the force that keeps the boys together, in the form of a mysterious Grandfather who is common to them both, an old man who tells the survivor, Martin Smith:
"Both you and Becker were one higher consciousness, shared by two human bodies and savagely imprisoned by human tendencies and emotions."
Aye, there's the rub: those human tendencies and emotions.
While his first book "Skunk Ape Semester" was in the ilk of "The X-Files", Mike Robinson's enthralling new novel is definitely a nightmare that could have seeped from the empty darkness of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" -- a twisted tale of two boys who seem to share nearly identical thoughts, as revealed through their literary expression even in grade school, who grow up to be famous authors, living in each other's shadow while loathing one another. Their animosity eventually leads to the death of one.
Enter Detective Richard Porter, a fan of their writing, who must untangle the circumstances of the death, while weighing reports of other readers: a woman in Kansas who tried to sue the authors because she says she suffered some sort of psychotic episode while reading one of their books, or a teenager in Wisconsin who stabbed his girlfriend thinking she was some sort of evil character from a Becker or Smith novel.
This novel is as good as any you're going to find, a page-turner, an electron burner. I read this book in one sitting and decided to write this review. Now, I'm going to go back and read the book again, just to enjoy every nuance of Mike Robinson's excellent writing
December 21, 2018
Robinson mixes evidence of supernatural influence with clearly mundane motivations to build an unnerving tale of horror.
John Becker and Martin Smith have been almost images of each other since birth: born on the same day in the same town, a town where they have lived their entire lives, each has become a best-selling novelist, novels that almost—but not quite—seem plagiarised from each other. There is only one noticeable difference: despite their nigh indistinguishable successes, acquaintances note Becker seems jealous of Smith in a way Smith is not jealous of him. So, when Smith shoots Becker and claims self-defence, it seems an open-and-shut case; until the police notice anomalies, anomalies that hint at a deeper link between the two novelists and between several tragedies that have occurred in the town over the last decades.
With most of the action happening in an almost claustrophobic small US town, frequent extended flashbacks to earlier events, and use of dramatic irony to provide the reader hints of a hidden malevolence that the characters cannot see, this novel is likely to appeal to fans of Stephen King (a similarity that Robinson hangs a lantern on by having someone comment that certain events could have been inspired by King). However, the pacing feels faster than King and the reveals are less teasing, potentially avoiding the sense of slowly dancing around the topic that some readers experience with King.
While the book is about the lives of Becker and Smith from their birth to shortly after Becker’s death at the hands of Smith, the majority of the story is told from the point of view of others intersecting with one or both of them through the years. This provides the reader with evidence that some inhuman force exists while denying them the confirmation of the two novelists’ thoughts and intentions needed to know whether they are aware of this force and, if so, whether they are trying to serve or oppose it.
The motif of two almost-identical characters who seem to be both repelled by and attracted to the other, one of whom kills the other, further enhances this feeling of possible conflict and uncertainty as to which side is winning, a feeling Robinson maintains by placing the scene in which Smith kills Becker toward the end of the book.
In parallel with questions over which, if either, of Becker and Smith is in the right, the exact nature of the hidden force itself remains debatable for much of the book. The events that appear to stem from its intervention are certainly illegal, but the subjectivity of each narrator’s viewpoint leaves it unclear whether that intervention incites the worst aspects of events or merely facilitates a resolution that is tainted by the perceptions and flaws of humans.
Hence, echoing one of the common refrains imputed to Becker and Smith’s novels, this is a story that raises the question whether real evil is flashy and obvious, or banal and unnoticed.
The various narrator characters are skilfully crafted. Each is a sympathetic character who undergoes both successes and reversals and reacts plausibly to them, before facing a choice between a horrible tolerance and a satisfying resistance for which their past seems to have left only one answer. And yet each of them is also a unique character with unique motivations, leaving the reader with the potential dilemma of excusing a spree killer or condemning a betrayed innocent.
Robinson’s supporting cast are similarly complex yet coherent, providing a diverse range of characters united by a common hint of underlying stresses.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking horror that mixes the mundanity of human flaws with subtle supernatural evil.
I received a free copy from the publisher with a request for a fair review.
John Becker and Martin Smith have been almost images of each other since birth: born on the same day in the same town, a town where they have lived their entire lives, each has become a best-selling novelist, novels that almost—but not quite—seem plagiarised from each other. There is only one noticeable difference: despite their nigh indistinguishable successes, acquaintances note Becker seems jealous of Smith in a way Smith is not jealous of him. So, when Smith shoots Becker and claims self-defence, it seems an open-and-shut case; until the police notice anomalies, anomalies that hint at a deeper link between the two novelists and between several tragedies that have occurred in the town over the last decades.
With most of the action happening in an almost claustrophobic small US town, frequent extended flashbacks to earlier events, and use of dramatic irony to provide the reader hints of a hidden malevolence that the characters cannot see, this novel is likely to appeal to fans of Stephen King (a similarity that Robinson hangs a lantern on by having someone comment that certain events could have been inspired by King). However, the pacing feels faster than King and the reveals are less teasing, potentially avoiding the sense of slowly dancing around the topic that some readers experience with King.
While the book is about the lives of Becker and Smith from their birth to shortly after Becker’s death at the hands of Smith, the majority of the story is told from the point of view of others intersecting with one or both of them through the years. This provides the reader with evidence that some inhuman force exists while denying them the confirmation of the two novelists’ thoughts and intentions needed to know whether they are aware of this force and, if so, whether they are trying to serve or oppose it.
The motif of two almost-identical characters who seem to be both repelled by and attracted to the other, one of whom kills the other, further enhances this feeling of possible conflict and uncertainty as to which side is winning, a feeling Robinson maintains by placing the scene in which Smith kills Becker toward the end of the book.
In parallel with questions over which, if either, of Becker and Smith is in the right, the exact nature of the hidden force itself remains debatable for much of the book. The events that appear to stem from its intervention are certainly illegal, but the subjectivity of each narrator’s viewpoint leaves it unclear whether that intervention incites the worst aspects of events or merely facilitates a resolution that is tainted by the perceptions and flaws of humans.
Hence, echoing one of the common refrains imputed to Becker and Smith’s novels, this is a story that raises the question whether real evil is flashy and obvious, or banal and unnoticed.
The various narrator characters are skilfully crafted. Each is a sympathetic character who undergoes both successes and reversals and reacts plausibly to them, before facing a choice between a horrible tolerance and a satisfying resistance for which their past seems to have left only one answer. And yet each of them is also a unique character with unique motivations, leaving the reader with the potential dilemma of excusing a spree killer or condemning a betrayed innocent.
Robinson’s supporting cast are similarly complex yet coherent, providing a diverse range of characters united by a common hint of underlying stresses.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking horror that mixes the mundanity of human flaws with subtle supernatural evil.
I received a free copy from the publisher with a request for a fair review.
January 23, 2013
I don’t pretend to totally understand chaos theory: butterflies flapping their wings on the other side of the world seem distant and, if I’m honest, rather insignificant to me. Jealousy and envy - that I get. Who hasn’t been a little envious when their friend got the boy, the job, the promotion…?
Mike Robinson skillfully blends chaos with jealousy and supernatural horror in The Green-eyed Monster, a book filled with characters as eerie and strange as anything thought up by King or Koontz.
James Becker and Martin Smith are writers so alike they are almost the same person. They were born at virtually the same time in virtually the same place and echo each other’s lives from school onwards. But the boys are deadly rivals, each trying to outdo the other at every opportunity.
The book opens with the death of Becker at the hands of Smith. How the two men got into this situation is then told in flashback, through the eyes of the people with whom they connect - if connect is what you can call it. The boys never talk to anyone else, they never have friends, girlfriends or join clubs.Yet their classmates cannot think of one without the other. They are inseparable in the minds of all who know of them.
Their story is told through the eyes of their first teacher, a classmate in high school and the cop who arrests Smith for Becker’s murder. This device works perfectly, allowing Robinson to show us how the pair influence those around them whilst maintaining the ‘otherness’ of the boys themselves. And through their writing, their influence is most definitely evil and sinister.
Robinson’s writing is exquisite. He weaves poetry from the dreadful things he sees and describes beauty in the evil resulting from the words of Becker and Smith. The voices of the narrators are believable and consistent and the story drew me in so much I was turning the pages long after bedtime.
But - and it pains me that there is a but - in the final few chapters it seems that the author lost his way. Remember how amazing The Matrix was? And then how exasperated you felt when Neo spent so much time discussing metaphysical philosophy with the Architect? As with the end of this book, I was left feeling let down, confused and a little bit angry. When Smith eventually meets ‘Grandfather’, an amorphous character who has circled and influenced both men from childhood, the story seems to go off on a totally different direction. Like God addressing Adam, Grandfather takes over the end of the book with a long monologue on creation, philosophy, good and evil. And it was, for this reader, just a little boring and irrelevant.
If I were to rate the first 90% of the book it would earn an easy 5*. With the disappointing end, I’d have to take it down to 4*.
In summary, Mike Robinson is a writer I’d love to read again and The Green-eyed Monster is still a brilliant, atmospheric and tense read, even with the disappointing end.
Mike Robinson skillfully blends chaos with jealousy and supernatural horror in The Green-eyed Monster, a book filled with characters as eerie and strange as anything thought up by King or Koontz.
James Becker and Martin Smith are writers so alike they are almost the same person. They were born at virtually the same time in virtually the same place and echo each other’s lives from school onwards. But the boys are deadly rivals, each trying to outdo the other at every opportunity.
The book opens with the death of Becker at the hands of Smith. How the two men got into this situation is then told in flashback, through the eyes of the people with whom they connect - if connect is what you can call it. The boys never talk to anyone else, they never have friends, girlfriends or join clubs.Yet their classmates cannot think of one without the other. They are inseparable in the minds of all who know of them.
Their story is told through the eyes of their first teacher, a classmate in high school and the cop who arrests Smith for Becker’s murder. This device works perfectly, allowing Robinson to show us how the pair influence those around them whilst maintaining the ‘otherness’ of the boys themselves. And through their writing, their influence is most definitely evil and sinister.
Robinson’s writing is exquisite. He weaves poetry from the dreadful things he sees and describes beauty in the evil resulting from the words of Becker and Smith. The voices of the narrators are believable and consistent and the story drew me in so much I was turning the pages long after bedtime.
But - and it pains me that there is a but - in the final few chapters it seems that the author lost his way. Remember how amazing The Matrix was? And then how exasperated you felt when Neo spent so much time discussing metaphysical philosophy with the Architect? As with the end of this book, I was left feeling let down, confused and a little bit angry. When Smith eventually meets ‘Grandfather’, an amorphous character who has circled and influenced both men from childhood, the story seems to go off on a totally different direction. Like God addressing Adam, Grandfather takes over the end of the book with a long monologue on creation, philosophy, good and evil. And it was, for this reader, just a little boring and irrelevant.
If I were to rate the first 90% of the book it would earn an easy 5*. With the disappointing end, I’d have to take it down to 4*.
In summary, Mike Robinson is a writer I’d love to read again and The Green-eyed Monster is still a brilliant, atmospheric and tense read, even with the disappointing end.
July 14, 2013
Martin Smith and John Becker were born on the same day, at the same time, at the same hospital. They are strong, competitive, mysterious, highly intelligent, and don’t seem to care or notice anything that goes on around them. They are always near each other but they never seem to interact with each other. They both end up as bestselling authors whose works almost mirror each other.
The story opens right after John Becker has been shot and killed by Martin Smith. In searching for the reason for the shooting we are taken on a journey through the lives of these two men from their birth through the eyes of others.
The first is from the viewpoint of their first grade teacher, Mrs. Chatsworth. She tells of how advanced the students are compared to the other classes she has taught. Even the students whose pasts indicate struggles in certain areas excel in her class, in this year. Mrs. Chatsworth calls both John and Martin’s parents in to discuss with them the boys’ behavior with each other and the fact that she sees the boys as gifted and suggests that their parents enroll them in a school that is geared for students who excel like John and Martin. She also inquires about a ‘grandfather’ he boys often mention. After the winter break when school resumes and John and Martin are no longer in class things change. The students are no longer excelling where they were before, and Mrs. Chatsworth does something unthinkable herself.
The second viewpoint comes when they are seniors in high school from a classmate, Harry Zwieg, who is a junior at the time. Harry is captivated by them and decides to write an article for the school newspaper about them. Harry is a quiet boy with almost no friends. He becomes more distracted, angrier and at the end of the school year does something just as unthinkable as what Mrs. Chatsworth did when they were in first grade.
As we get to the conclusion of their story we finally get a glimpse of why John and Michal are the way they are and what happened that caused John to kill Martin.
This story was unique and intense in some places. I found this book tumultuous at times. I found it to be an interesting concept to tell the story was told from the viewpoints of others but I also found it was hard to follow in places because of that. I would have liked to have read it from John and Martins viewpoint to get more insight into their heads. I found it hard to connect with some of the supporting characters.
Overall the book is thrilling, suspenseful, intriguing and creepy at times. If you are looking for a dark and suspenseful read, then this book will fill that need.
*I was given this book for an honest review but the opinions are my own and didn’t affect my rating.*
The story opens right after John Becker has been shot and killed by Martin Smith. In searching for the reason for the shooting we are taken on a journey through the lives of these two men from their birth through the eyes of others.
The first is from the viewpoint of their first grade teacher, Mrs. Chatsworth. She tells of how advanced the students are compared to the other classes she has taught. Even the students whose pasts indicate struggles in certain areas excel in her class, in this year. Mrs. Chatsworth calls both John and Martin’s parents in to discuss with them the boys’ behavior with each other and the fact that she sees the boys as gifted and suggests that their parents enroll them in a school that is geared for students who excel like John and Martin. She also inquires about a ‘grandfather’ he boys often mention. After the winter break when school resumes and John and Martin are no longer in class things change. The students are no longer excelling where they were before, and Mrs. Chatsworth does something unthinkable herself.
The second viewpoint comes when they are seniors in high school from a classmate, Harry Zwieg, who is a junior at the time. Harry is captivated by them and decides to write an article for the school newspaper about them. Harry is a quiet boy with almost no friends. He becomes more distracted, angrier and at the end of the school year does something just as unthinkable as what Mrs. Chatsworth did when they were in first grade.
As we get to the conclusion of their story we finally get a glimpse of why John and Michal are the way they are and what happened that caused John to kill Martin.
This story was unique and intense in some places. I found this book tumultuous at times. I found it to be an interesting concept to tell the story was told from the viewpoints of others but I also found it was hard to follow in places because of that. I would have liked to have read it from John and Martins viewpoint to get more insight into their heads. I found it hard to connect with some of the supporting characters.
Overall the book is thrilling, suspenseful, intriguing and creepy at times. If you are looking for a dark and suspenseful read, then this book will fill that need.
*I was given this book for an honest review but the opinions are my own and didn’t affect my rating.*
December 12, 2012
This review can be found on my blog: http://susreviews.blogspot.com/2012/1...
Synopsis: Two men have almost identical lives. Born the same day, at the same time, in the same town but to different parents. They are both best-selling authors. They live next door to one another as adults. You'd think they'd be friends. You'd be wrong.
When one of them is murdered in self-defense by the other, an investigation begins. In a series of flashbacks from their youth, some from first person accounts, some from 3rd person stories, we learn all about these two men and their malevolent "grandfather" and the butterflies that announce his presence. He influences their lives (although he only exists to them) and through their writing, he is able to manipulate innocent people into killing. You see, he has a bigger plan and they are just his tools. Because in the end, everything must die to become one again.
My thoughts: This book was marketed as a mystery, but to me it wasn't one. It was a thriller. It was psychological. It was uncomfortable at times. The only "mystery" was who was the grandfather and what was his purpose, which we do learn at the end. The writing is very well done and bravo to the author in pointing out how infrequently we end a sentence with "me" instead of "I". But back to the plot. The flashbacks are so well done and yet disturbing because they don't have happy endings. You get to care about the people who "star" in the flashbacks (it is not the two men, but people in their lives) but you know it's going to end badly for them and you almost don't want to read it. Like when you're watching a horror movie and you want to yell at the character not to open the door that the murderer is standing behind.
Over and over we are told that the men are almost identical, even though they don't look alike. Well, I have to say that after reading the book, I still can't tell them apart. Which one died? They were too similar. I just don't know. But I guess that was the point.
If you're looking for something different, something a little creepy in a psychological way, check it out. Again, it's written well and it definitely kept me turning the pages. It just made me long for a nice Happily Ever After, but hey, you can't always have one.
Thanks for Curiosity Quills Press for giving me a copy of this for review.
Synopsis: Two men have almost identical lives. Born the same day, at the same time, in the same town but to different parents. They are both best-selling authors. They live next door to one another as adults. You'd think they'd be friends. You'd be wrong.
When one of them is murdered in self-defense by the other, an investigation begins. In a series of flashbacks from their youth, some from first person accounts, some from 3rd person stories, we learn all about these two men and their malevolent "grandfather" and the butterflies that announce his presence. He influences their lives (although he only exists to them) and through their writing, he is able to manipulate innocent people into killing. You see, he has a bigger plan and they are just his tools. Because in the end, everything must die to become one again.
My thoughts: This book was marketed as a mystery, but to me it wasn't one. It was a thriller. It was psychological. It was uncomfortable at times. The only "mystery" was who was the grandfather and what was his purpose, which we do learn at the end. The writing is very well done and bravo to the author in pointing out how infrequently we end a sentence with "me" instead of "I". But back to the plot. The flashbacks are so well done and yet disturbing because they don't have happy endings. You get to care about the people who "star" in the flashbacks (it is not the two men, but people in their lives) but you know it's going to end badly for them and you almost don't want to read it. Like when you're watching a horror movie and you want to yell at the character not to open the door that the murderer is standing behind.
Over and over we are told that the men are almost identical, even though they don't look alike. Well, I have to say that after reading the book, I still can't tell them apart. Which one died? They were too similar. I just don't know. But I guess that was the point.
If you're looking for something different, something a little creepy in a psychological way, check it out. Again, it's written well and it definitely kept me turning the pages. It just made me long for a nice Happily Ever After, but hey, you can't always have one.
Thanks for Curiosity Quills Press for giving me a copy of this for review.
January 31, 2016
Since I'm not a very big fan of horror, I rarely read books that creep me out. Well, apart from Andrew Van Wey, who's first book Forsaken kept me up all night (in a good way!), who is so good you should check out his books along with this. This book is so scary that I stopped reading it once it got dark.
The Green Eyed Monster revolves around two incredibly talented writers. The book jumps between the present and their childhood/past, slowly unveiling the sinister force behind their talent. The two writers were born on the same day, went to the same school, wrote similar but different works, and had an imaginary grandfather. This is already a little scary, but add in stories (from various points of view) of how people who come in contact with them and their works end up destroying other people and you'll find yourself blasting loud cheery music while knocking on a friend's door to beg for company.
I think this is one of the rare stories where I say it's not about the characters but the plot. And atmosphere. This is a scary book (I was going to say delightfully scary, but that makes it sound like a children's horror movie somehow) and you should read it if you want to scare yourself off the path of being a writer.
But then again, if you read it and continue writing, then you'll know that your need to write is stronger than any mental force that can appear.
The only thing that I was unhappy about was the ending. For some reason, when the force that drove them finally appeared, he wasn't as scary as I imagined. Perhaps it was because I disagreed with his history of time and assessment of the universe (thank you rational part of me), but I think it's because the scare of the unknown grandfather figure (with butterfly metaphor) was so well-written that anything else would have felt anti-climatic.
Perhaps, this is a book you'll buy and read almost to the end. Then, you can sleep in your bed with an open ending. Then again, you might get nightmares (or dreams, depending on how much you like horror).
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
First posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
The Green Eyed Monster revolves around two incredibly talented writers. The book jumps between the present and their childhood/past, slowly unveiling the sinister force behind their talent. The two writers were born on the same day, went to the same school, wrote similar but different works, and had an imaginary grandfather. This is already a little scary, but add in stories (from various points of view) of how people who come in contact with them and their works end up destroying other people and you'll find yourself blasting loud cheery music while knocking on a friend's door to beg for company.
I think this is one of the rare stories where I say it's not about the characters but the plot. And atmosphere. This is a scary book (I was going to say delightfully scary, but that makes it sound like a children's horror movie somehow) and you should read it if you want to scare yourself off the path of being a writer.
But then again, if you read it and continue writing, then you'll know that your need to write is stronger than any mental force that can appear.
The only thing that I was unhappy about was the ending. For some reason, when the force that drove them finally appeared, he wasn't as scary as I imagined. Perhaps it was because I disagreed with his history of time and assessment of the universe (thank you rational part of me), but I think it's because the scare of the unknown grandfather figure (with butterfly metaphor) was so well-written that anything else would have felt anti-climatic.
Perhaps, this is a book you'll buy and read almost to the end. Then, you can sleep in your bed with an open ending. Then again, you might get nightmares (or dreams, depending on how much you like horror).
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
First posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
September 8, 2019
I really liked the basic idea of this, and I even liked the concept behind how the book was organized, but in the end, this really didn't work for me.
One of my biggest stumbling blocks is our "main" characters. They aren't present throughout the novel. Some of that is probably due to the way the story is told primarily through the eyes of those around them, but Martin and John are known for being charismatic and hard-to-ignore in-story and yet it is remarkably easy to forget that they are supposed to be the center of things while reading. They somehow feel like one of the least interesting parts of the story. People talk about them, and it is suggested they are causing some things, but it is rarely seen at any point and it's hard to care much about the ramifications of the opening scene of the novel when it is so hard to care about these two men.
Now I get to stumble around trying to come up with words to explain something I almost never talk about in books, curiously enough: language. As far as I am concerned, if I am not actively highlighting it on my Kindle and adding notes remarking on how ridiculous I find it, the language is fine.
There were lots of notes here.
Things just did not ring true in places. The metaphors were overwrought and didn't hit the ideas clearly, the dialogue varied between "serviceable" and "nobody says that and nobody should say that," and I just kept getting pulled out of the story to wince at something I had just read. It is not the worst I've ever read, certainly, but it is one of the few times my immersion has been so constantly broken because it wasn't always awkward, but when it was, it was really awkward.
The book stumbles a bit at figuring out what it wants to be. The genre is fluid, which does keep the reader guessing and wanting to get to the end, but also means quite a few things seem to come out of nowhere. If I had been more attached to the characters or the world, it probably would have been either very annoying or really fun, but without that connection I was left faintly bemused by the whole thing.
One of my biggest stumbling blocks is our "main" characters. They aren't present throughout the novel. Some of that is probably due to the way the story is told primarily through the eyes of those around them, but Martin and John are known for being charismatic and hard-to-ignore in-story and yet it is remarkably easy to forget that they are supposed to be the center of things while reading. They somehow feel like one of the least interesting parts of the story. People talk about them, and it is suggested they are causing some things, but it is rarely seen at any point and it's hard to care much about the ramifications of the opening scene of the novel when it is so hard to care about these two men.
Now I get to stumble around trying to come up with words to explain something I almost never talk about in books, curiously enough: language. As far as I am concerned, if I am not actively highlighting it on my Kindle and adding notes remarking on how ridiculous I find it, the language is fine.
There were lots of notes here.
Things just did not ring true in places. The metaphors were overwrought and didn't hit the ideas clearly, the dialogue varied between "serviceable" and "nobody says that and nobody should say that," and I just kept getting pulled out of the story to wince at something I had just read. It is not the worst I've ever read, certainly, but it is one of the few times my immersion has been so constantly broken because it wasn't always awkward, but when it was, it was really awkward.
The book stumbles a bit at figuring out what it wants to be. The genre is fluid, which does keep the reader guessing and wanting to get to the end, but also means quite a few things seem to come out of nowhere. If I had been more attached to the characters or the world, it probably would have been either very annoying or really fun, but without that connection I was left faintly bemused by the whole thing.
March 10, 2013
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book on Netgalley from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Mike Robinson was born in Los Angeles. He has always aspired a career in writing. Besides writing he loves everything extraterrestrial. To make some extra money he he works as a professional manuscript editor.
Review
After reading this book I am left with a very strong feeling of chaos. I was hoping for a very strong story about two authors who's lives got entangled so badly that they end up killing each other for one reason or another. The story did start at that point where the body is found and is supposed to travel back in time and see where the hate between these two authors is coming from. What happens next is that you are taken back to the moment the authors where born. After this you get the story of their first day at school seen from the eyes of their teacher. This part of the story does touch them but I felt it was more about the teacher and her motives. Next you get the story from Harry a student in their high school who has an interest in the two boys for an article in the newspaper but that is just a side line in his own story.
I got the feeling to read a few short stories surrounding the authors more than the real story of the authors. I would have liked it better if it was seen from their point of view I think.
The style also made that I found the story hard to follow. I really had to take out all other distractions from my environment to be able to keep up with the story. The combination of these two things made that I did not really connect with the story.
I do think that people that do not mind different point of views and fast paced stories can actually like this very paranormal story in a close-knit community. So do not let the fact that my brain cannot handle it keep you from picking it up if it sounds interesting to you.
Author
Mike Robinson was born in Los Angeles. He has always aspired a career in writing. Besides writing he loves everything extraterrestrial. To make some extra money he he works as a professional manuscript editor.
Review
After reading this book I am left with a very strong feeling of chaos. I was hoping for a very strong story about two authors who's lives got entangled so badly that they end up killing each other for one reason or another. The story did start at that point where the body is found and is supposed to travel back in time and see where the hate between these two authors is coming from. What happens next is that you are taken back to the moment the authors where born. After this you get the story of their first day at school seen from the eyes of their teacher. This part of the story does touch them but I felt it was more about the teacher and her motives. Next you get the story from Harry a student in their high school who has an interest in the two boys for an article in the newspaper but that is just a side line in his own story.
I got the feeling to read a few short stories surrounding the authors more than the real story of the authors. I would have liked it better if it was seen from their point of view I think.
The style also made that I found the story hard to follow. I really had to take out all other distractions from my environment to be able to keep up with the story. The combination of these two things made that I did not really connect with the story.
I do think that people that do not mind different point of views and fast paced stories can actually like this very paranormal story in a close-knit community. So do not let the fact that my brain cannot handle it keep you from picking it up if it sounds interesting to you.
July 17, 2013
Review: When you read a title called, “The Green Eyed Monster”, you mostly think of jealously. This should be about people being jealous of one another. Instead it’s about all the evil in the world and why people die. It’s a yin/yang book.
What a yin/yang book it is. This is a book to me, that you, the reader should take it chapter by chapter. One chapter has so much information to digest that, me, the reader has to stop and think about what just happened in that chapter. I thought I would not ever get to the end of the book.
Don’t get me wrong, the book is an excellent read, even for having only ten chapters but there was a lot to digest and this book also reads like a mystery novel. The ones where you learn about the murder at the beginning of the book and the rest of the book you’re working through all the evidence to find out who did the murder and why.This book is like that, just in a hard to analyze fashion that even at the end when you know who did it and why, you’re still scratching your head in confusion.
I know I sound like I’m downing the book and as you read this wondering why I put four stars with this review.
Even with all the head scratching I did, I loved the story parts. It flowed without any seams showing and the characters were detailed so well I could find them in my own town.
This book is one that I have found one in a million that I have read. I would put it five stars but I just cannot get over the title. I know that sounds triable, but that is the way I am.
I gave this book four stars.
I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
What a yin/yang book it is. This is a book to me, that you, the reader should take it chapter by chapter. One chapter has so much information to digest that, me, the reader has to stop and think about what just happened in that chapter. I thought I would not ever get to the end of the book.
Don’t get me wrong, the book is an excellent read, even for having only ten chapters but there was a lot to digest and this book also reads like a mystery novel. The ones where you learn about the murder at the beginning of the book and the rest of the book you’re working through all the evidence to find out who did the murder and why.This book is like that, just in a hard to analyze fashion that even at the end when you know who did it and why, you’re still scratching your head in confusion.
I know I sound like I’m downing the book and as you read this wondering why I put four stars with this review.
Even with all the head scratching I did, I loved the story parts. It flowed without any seams showing and the characters were detailed so well I could find them in my own town.
This book is one that I have found one in a million that I have read. I would put it five stars but I just cannot get over the title. I know that sounds triable, but that is the way I am.
I gave this book four stars.
I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 17, 2013
Martin Smith and John Becker are accomplished authors with an extraordinary talent. Born on the same day, same time, and same town; the boys grew up together rivals at heart, but one thing they shared was 'Grandfather'. The small town of Twilight Falls is not ready for what the two budding authors will bring.
Author Mike Robinson, weaves a tale that spans several genres. It's an engrossing tale that begins with the investigation into a murder. Flashbacks are used well to describe the childhood of Smith and Becker. Mr. Robinson's writing and use of dialog are perfect as are the characters. Where "The Green-Eyed Monster" falls short for me is the 'Grandfather' entity.
It(or he) is brought up multiple times and then never talked about in depth. While the boys special bond is unique and the focus of the story, you can't bring up this entity(from which the boys are tied to) and not give the readers some insight on what it is and etc.
I'm not saying it's a terrible story(It's not.), but in the end I felt a bit underwhelmed with the ending and lack of explanation of 'Grandfather'.
I'll be sure to check out the author's other works in the future.
Author Mike Robinson, weaves a tale that spans several genres. It's an engrossing tale that begins with the investigation into a murder. Flashbacks are used well to describe the childhood of Smith and Becker. Mr. Robinson's writing and use of dialog are perfect as are the characters. Where "The Green-Eyed Monster" falls short for me is the 'Grandfather' entity.
It(or he) is brought up multiple times and then never talked about in depth. While the boys special bond is unique and the focus of the story, you can't bring up this entity(from which the boys are tied to) and not give the readers some insight on what it is and etc.
I'm not saying it's a terrible story(It's not.), but in the end I felt a bit underwhelmed with the ending and lack of explanation of 'Grandfather'.
I'll be sure to check out the author's other works in the future.
August 30, 2015
I've been thinking a lot lately about the nature of creation, specifically in regards to what authors do for a living. This book couldn't have fallen into my lap at a better time.
It discusses the power authors have to shape the world around them, and what kinds of things might be pulling the strings of those authors. What happens when someone with that kind of power uses it for 'evil'?
The characters are fascinating, and the way Becker and Smith affect the people around them even more so. I found the beginning of the book a little weird, but from there it picks up and takes off so spectacularly, and everything gets wrapped up so well, that I had a hard time putting it down.
If you're looking for something metaphysically challenging, or you're like me and feel that writing is the most powerful form of art and expression available to humanity... I think you'll really enjoy this story.
It discusses the power authors have to shape the world around them, and what kinds of things might be pulling the strings of those authors. What happens when someone with that kind of power uses it for 'evil'?
The characters are fascinating, and the way Becker and Smith affect the people around them even more so. I found the beginning of the book a little weird, but from there it picks up and takes off so spectacularly, and everything gets wrapped up so well, that I had a hard time putting it down.
If you're looking for something metaphysically challenging, or you're like me and feel that writing is the most powerful form of art and expression available to humanity... I think you'll really enjoy this story.
May 26, 2014
"I like the dark, I like the chaos, because that's what the universe is" -John Becker
Creatively written and very original! I finished this book in less than 24hours because it was such an engaging read. I had originally thought it would be a mystery novel, but ended up being more of a thriller/horror. Two authors, both amazing and strikingly similar harbor a lifelong jealousy and hatred for one another that eventually leads to an inevitable stand off and a death. The majority of the book dives into their past, revealing the horror that trailed behind these two boys wherever they went.
John Becker is killed by his rival Martin Smith, and unraveling the mystery of whether it was self defense or a jealous rage proves difficult, and by the end Smith comes to a realization that he may just have made a grave mistake. Disturbing and completely mind blowing, I wasn't even sure I understood all that had happened once I finished, a must read for any thriller/horror/mystery lover!
Creatively written and very original! I finished this book in less than 24hours because it was such an engaging read. I had originally thought it would be a mystery novel, but ended up being more of a thriller/horror. Two authors, both amazing and strikingly similar harbor a lifelong jealousy and hatred for one another that eventually leads to an inevitable stand off and a death. The majority of the book dives into their past, revealing the horror that trailed behind these two boys wherever they went.
John Becker is killed by his rival Martin Smith, and unraveling the mystery of whether it was self defense or a jealous rage proves difficult, and by the end Smith comes to a realization that he may just have made a grave mistake. Disturbing and completely mind blowing, I wasn't even sure I understood all that had happened once I finished, a must read for any thriller/horror/mystery lover!
June 15, 2013
Although Green Eyed Monster is not the type of book I would normally read, it held my interest and I enjoyed the story.
It delves into areas of evil with a supernatural concept, invlving butterflies and the dark forces, of what I presume is the devil.
The story ventures in the human psyche, exploring the reasons for the choices humans make at the different crossroads in their lives, giving an explanation as to why a certain pathway is chosen, questioning fate.
The Green Eyed Monster starts with a scene involving a murder, investigation which leads into introducing the various characters involved in the story, divulging how their lives are entwined and directed by manipulation of a dark force, which is working behind the scenes.
The Green Eyed Monster by Mike Robinson, is well written and holds the attention of it's reader through to the end.
It delves into areas of evil with a supernatural concept, invlving butterflies and the dark forces, of what I presume is the devil.
The story ventures in the human psyche, exploring the reasons for the choices humans make at the different crossroads in their lives, giving an explanation as to why a certain pathway is chosen, questioning fate.
The Green Eyed Monster starts with a scene involving a murder, investigation which leads into introducing the various characters involved in the story, divulging how their lives are entwined and directed by manipulation of a dark force, which is working behind the scenes.
The Green Eyed Monster by Mike Robinson, is well written and holds the attention of it's reader through to the end.
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