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Clash Of The Titans

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Clash of the Titans (A Futura book) Foster, Alan Dean

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 1981

40 people are currently reading
1122 people want to read

About the author

Alan Dean Foster

498 books2,032 followers
Bestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.

Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.

Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
Profile Image for Craig.
6,333 reviews181 followers
September 16, 2021
This is a novelization of the original version of the film from 1981. (I've never seen the remake, but enjoyed this one.) The amazingly prolific Foster incorporated a good understanding and knowledge of classic Greek myths into his adaptation, which served as a fine introduction of them to young or readers new to them. It's a well written story, and a fun and engaging read.
Profile Image for Leo ..
Author 14 books413 followers
April 13, 2018
What a cracking story. I really enjoyed the original film With Lawrence Olivier as Zues. Thought the remake was rubbish. Oh! Well, just like sometimes the old epic films will never be beaten...the same goes for this book. No film will match it.🐯👍
Profile Image for Ming Wei.
Author 20 books288 followers
August 31, 2023
This book entertained me from start to finish and not many books do that. The author does an exceptional job at making the story interesting and surprising. The story is very imaginative and enjoyable and that is all you want in a book. I cannot think of any faults. Maybe shorter chapters might improve the reading experience for the reader, but that is not really important. The book is well written, the story line is easy to follow. I really enjoyed it. My favorite book of 2023
Profile Image for John.
1,458 reviews36 followers
May 10, 2015
CLASH OF THE TITANS is a movie that time has rendered completely unwatchable. I was curious whether a book-version might still hold up...
It kinda-sorta does. Alan Dean Foster puts more craft into it than one would expect from a movie tie-in, and it's a nice introduction to Greek mythology, but there's no getting away from the cheesiness of the script, especially when it comes to that damn mechanical owl. I would have been a lot better off reading this as a kid.
Profile Image for J SC.
6 reviews4 followers
January 17, 2015
It is book that has a lot of action and it was an easy read. Really smooth the pages travel as fast as Periseu. It reinvents a the interaction between the Greek gods without going too far. I reccommend it, for a while travelling book.
3,198 reviews26 followers
January 22, 2018
A tongue in cheek novel about an age old mystery which becomes an off the wall movie attended by many.
Profile Image for J.
293 reviews9 followers
June 9, 2014
Alan Dean Foster repeatedly demonstrated an ability to translate iconic films into novels of at least equivalent quality. This book is one such example.

The story of Perseus is known the world over and this telling is such as depicted in the film of the same name. It captures the mysticism of mythological stories in an innocent fashion which presupposes that readers will not question certain aspects of the story-tellers perspective.

Odd enough in the way the people act and speak using common conventional English rhetoric and colloquial phrases splashed with some "Ancient Greek" spice. The ideals of man, woman, and love are all fairly archaic here. Men are either strong warriors or withered old writers and peddlers. Women are either beautiful royalty, the subject of admiration and desire, or they are servants. The heroes are all beautiful spectacles, blessed with strength of body and mind. The villains are all ugly and monstrous. True love recognized at first glance and then won not by courtship or romantic gestures, but through battle and a display of physical dominance over other suitors.

It's an innocent and naive approach to story-telling. Best-suited for younger readers who have not yet developed the capacity to navigate the blurred lines of right and wrong and weigh the balance between morals, ethics, and justice.

Still the story holds value. Both in its depiction of a mythology and in the way it endeavors to show that greed, anger, and revenge are ugly emotions that scar and ruin men. After all, these are some of the very messages that the Greek tales were meant to deliver and even delivered in the fashion they were intended. The finale carries a message that takes a stab at being profound for those that choose to take it as such.
7 reviews3 followers
February 24, 2013
How many times can something that is dead kill?

This story was written by Alan Dean Foster about the ancient Greek myth of Perseus. The book begins with Perseus' mother being executed by sea, Perseus' grandfather put him and his mother into a coffin and nailed them in, then he and a group of soldiers. After being thrust into the sea, Poseidon guides the coffin to the island of Seriphos where there was a small settlement that lived on the island. Only Perseus survived the trip to the island, but he was raised to be the strongest and the best fisherman on the entire island. Once he was told of the outside world and how he arrived on the island, he set sail for Joppa where he met the princess Andromeda who was cursed to visit Calibos every night. Perseus was hired by the queen to follow her one night and slay Calibos. Then Perseus sets off on a quest to continue to slay the greatest monster that the world had ever seen.

This was an excellently written book with an exhilarating plot. Foster describes scenes and actions fluently and with great detail, he does so while doing a great job of showing rather than telling with a great attempt at convincing the reader that this is not fictional. Though there is practically no way to completely make the reader think the same things as the author wants him to think, Foster does a nice job in attempting to do this. He fluently expresses what he wants the reader to know without telling the reader what it is he wants them to know. All in all, this was a great book, and i would recommend it for anyone who has time and wants to read a good book.
Profile Image for Andy.
325 reviews30 followers
July 7, 2016
I'm a big fan of the 1981 movie and I enjoyed this novelization too.

It zips along at a fair pace, with plenty of action, just like the movie. I did notice a few slight deviations in some sequences from the movie, but they were very slight and you'd probably only notice them if you've seen the film a few times. Of course some scenes were also padded out with a little bit more exposition, adding a bit more depth, which all adds to the experience as novelizations do.

If you love the original 'Clash Of The Titans' movie then you'll probably enjoy this too. A good read from Alan Dean Foster, who knows a thing or two about movie novelizations.
Profile Image for Luna.
966 reviews42 followers
December 21, 2010
As far as movie novelisations go, this is one of the better ones. Alan Dean Foster has clearly gone and tried to make it a separate book on its own, and it works. I haven't seen the film (the 1981 version, nor the 2010 remake), but I did enjoy the book for what it is. Sure, some of the areas are sketchy, and a little over the top, but that's mythology, and that happens with novelisation. But it's still an enjoyable, albeit cheesy at times, read.
Profile Image for Gracy.
54 reviews
October 9, 2015
This was a lovely little book - very quick read, and told in an only slightly modernized Greek mythology style. Followed the legend as passed down through the centuries, but has a nice level of added ancillary characters and extra action description to make it an enjoyable little novel. I was looking for something light after a few days spent buried in Kant, and this was exactly that - not too long, but not too short that you're left with questions. A good ol' fashioned myth put into novel form. Would recommend for anyone who likes that sort of thing.
Profile Image for James.
10 reviews4 followers
July 9, 2010
It's a great, classic story. Way better than the updated movie, because there's meaningful dialogue. But the original movie, in my opinion, actually does a better job because the images are not that vivid in the book. When Perseus stabs Calibos, I had to re-read that passage a few times to really understand what happened.

Overall, I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, entertaining read.
Profile Image for Jude.
27 reviews7 followers
June 27, 2013
Personally, I truly fancied this novel. I believe that is due to its simplicity and straight forward plot. I have seen the films and recognize the story, however actually reading it was the final close for me. It's definitely a fast read, and the way it is written keeps you pulled in. Very simple book, great story line and just a radical legend story in general!
Profile Image for Gehad Mohamed Adel.
9 reviews9 followers
February 19, 2013
I was being charmed by such story!! wow ! I liked it as I am in love with these kinds of stories.I believe it is an epic of struggle:the struggle of mankind against anyone or anything that threatens his own will.It is the beginning of a new word,a new feeling "Enough"! I really liked the way the hero "Perseus" acts a combination of a half-god /half-human person,really it is amazing!
Profile Image for Stuart.
483 reviews19 followers
March 4, 2010
An enjoyable, fast read. Greek mythology light, but a reminder of just how well paced, inventive and reverant the original screenplay was. Well-written for a movie tie in, a definite sugary snack for the serious mythology hound or appreciator.
Profile Image for Steven Cassidy.
6 reviews3 followers
Read
June 30, 2010
In the days before DVDs and videos if you wanted to have a record of a film you'd buy the tie-in book. For my tubereading I dug out my old motheaten copy of thirty years ago. It was still a good read.Ah, the dont make 'em like this anymore
Profile Image for Diane Nospraka.
270 reviews7 followers
May 2, 2013
I read it when I was 12 years old and I really liked it since I was a fan of Greek mythology. This was the script for the movie with the same name. I recommend it for teenagers. This version is much better than the newest.
53 reviews2 followers
June 12, 2015
Solid adventure story, a little light on characterization, but then again - so was the movie it was based on.

Still, it was a fun read and I found that I liked the internal monologue pf the various characters. I will now have to go back and see the film to see how it matches up.
Profile Image for Dirk McCall.
17 reviews7 followers
December 28, 2007
Better than sord and sorcery...a Hollywood version of Greek Mythology! I read this one with great interest! Other worlds beyond the one binding me were opened.
Profile Image for Bonobro.
10 reviews1 follower
October 20, 2008
I have a soft spot for pulp mythology, thanks to my sister's long influence.
Profile Image for Kevin.
487 reviews2 followers
January 7, 2011
So much better than the movie. Just proof that Foster can take any lame idea and make it readable.
Profile Image for Jason.
54 reviews8 followers
March 11, 2012
In this book Perseus was the main character. He was the son of Zeus. He challenged the Devil's and faced the Titans.
6 reviews4 followers
September 2, 2012
7th grade class assign I liked Greek Mythology
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews

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