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Tunnelvision
CHANNEL 1: The evening news - the police have just received a videotape of a man being hacked to pieces. See it now... — CHANNEL 2: A detective pores over the evidence, focusing on the smallest detail, shutting out everything else, even the evil that is coming for him... — CHANNEL 3: A young man's television speaks to him...the dead have their own talk show. Through the static of his insanity, Jesus tells him what he must do...
What do you see when your vision narrows to a single point? What do you miss? In an ordinary American city a swirling dance of death and depravity unfolds around you.
A neglected young prodigy glimpses it.
A cop, struggling with his own unspeakable legacy, tries to pinpoint the cause.
And somewhere, a killer's head teems with lurid images that fill his days and possess his nights. He has discovered the power and glory of tunnelvision - and found just how real living hell can get...
What do you see when your vision narrows to a single point? What do you miss? In an ordinary American city a swirling dance of death and depravity unfolds around you.
A neglected young prodigy glimpses it.
A cop, struggling with his own unspeakable legacy, tries to pinpoint the cause.
And somewhere, a killer's head teems with lurid images that fill his days and possess his nights. He has discovered the power and glory of tunnelvision - and found just how real living hell can get...
430 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 5, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 28, 2017
TUNNELVISION: 25th Anniversary Edition, by R. Patrick Gates. Originally published in October 1991, the "Anniversary Edition" has been published by Bloodshot Books. There was a great central plot line in this book, and several other good "sub-plots". However, I couldn't help but feel that a few of those minor plots could have been omitted altogether, since they really didn't shed any light on--or even connect in a meaningful way to--the main plot.
We have a man, Wilbur Clayton, who was brutally abused by his "Mary-not-mother" and her boyfriend throughout his life. The only one that ever helped him, or even believed him, was his Grandmother--a woman obsessed with Jesus and television evangelists. The depictions of these past events were truly horrifying and stomach churning, particularly since they began when Wilbur was barely a toddler.
When murders start accumulating that tie into some of Wilbur's early tortures, a former detective (with past demons of his own), Bill Gage, is brought back to the force. Added to the mix of characters is Ivy, a young boy who takes great pains to hide his true intelligence from the world.
I have to admit that it was very difficult for me to get into this one in the beginning. All of the scenes and information that were brought up initially, didn't make any sense until closer to 20% in. By that point, I had started to understand what was happening and was able to follow along. There were a lot of "good" scenes where I devoured every word, and yet quite a few that I really didn't feel needed to be included at all--they just seemed like extra filler in a story that simply didn't need it.
Overall, I personally liked the main idea of the story, and several key characters with their backstories. If the beginning had been less "jumbled", with a more straightforward introduction, and some of the "extra" scenes cut out entirely, I could see this as a much faster paced novel. As it was, I did lose interest during some of those moments, and feel that a more "condensed" format would have worked better in keeping up the tension in this novel.
Still, the general idea worked well, and most of the issues fit together nicely in the end.
We have a man, Wilbur Clayton, who was brutally abused by his "Mary-not-mother" and her boyfriend throughout his life. The only one that ever helped him, or even believed him, was his Grandmother--a woman obsessed with Jesus and television evangelists. The depictions of these past events were truly horrifying and stomach churning, particularly since they began when Wilbur was barely a toddler.
When murders start accumulating that tie into some of Wilbur's early tortures, a former detective (with past demons of his own), Bill Gage, is brought back to the force. Added to the mix of characters is Ivy, a young boy who takes great pains to hide his true intelligence from the world.
I have to admit that it was very difficult for me to get into this one in the beginning. All of the scenes and information that were brought up initially, didn't make any sense until closer to 20% in. By that point, I had started to understand what was happening and was able to follow along. There were a lot of "good" scenes where I devoured every word, and yet quite a few that I really didn't feel needed to be included at all--they just seemed like extra filler in a story that simply didn't need it.
Overall, I personally liked the main idea of the story, and several key characters with their backstories. If the beginning had been less "jumbled", with a more straightforward introduction, and some of the "extra" scenes cut out entirely, I could see this as a much faster paced novel. As it was, I did lose interest during some of those moments, and feel that a more "condensed" format would have worked better in keeping up the tension in this novel.
Still, the general idea worked well, and most of the issues fit together nicely in the end.
February 28, 2017
TUNNELVISION: 25th Anniversary Edition, by R. Patrick Gates. Originally published in October 1991, the "Anniversary Edition" has been published by Bloodshot Books. There was a great central plot line in this book, and several other good "sub-plots". However, I couldn't help but feel that a few of those minor plots could have been omitted altogether, since they really didn't shed any light on--or even connect in a meaningful way to--the main plot.
We have a man, Wilbur Clayton, who was brutally abused by his "Mary-not-mother" and her boyfriend throughout his life. The only one that ever helped him, or even believed him, was his Grandmother--a woman obsessed with Jesus and television evangelists. The depictions of these past events were truly horrifying and stomach churning, particularly since they began when Wilbur was barely a toddler.
When murders start accumulating that tie into some of Wilbur's early tortures, a former detective (with past demons of his own), Bill Gage, is brought back to the force. Added to the mix of characters is Ivy, a young boy who takes great pains to hide his true intelligence from the world.
I have to admit that it was very difficult for me to get into this one in the beginning. All of the scenes and information that were brought up initially, didn't make any sense until closer to 20% in. By that point, I had started to understand what was happening and was able to follow along. There were a lot of "good" scenes where I devoured every word, and yet quite a few that I really didn't feel needed to be included at all--they just seemed like extra filler in a story that simply didn't need it.
Overall, I personally liked the main idea of the story, and several key characters with their backstories. If the beginning had been less "jumbled", with a more straightforward introduction, and some of the "extra" scenes cut out entirely, I could see this as a much faster paced novel. As it was, I did lose interest during some of those moments, and feel that a more "condensed" format would have worked better in keeping up the tension in this novel.
Still, the general idea worked well, and most of the issues fit together nicely in the end.
We have a man, Wilbur Clayton, who was brutally abused by his "Mary-not-mother" and her boyfriend throughout his life. The only one that ever helped him, or even believed him, was his Grandmother--a woman obsessed with Jesus and television evangelists. The depictions of these past events were truly horrifying and stomach churning, particularly since they began when Wilbur was barely a toddler.
When murders start accumulating that tie into some of Wilbur's early tortures, a former detective (with past demons of his own), Bill Gage, is brought back to the force. Added to the mix of characters is Ivy, a young boy who takes great pains to hide his true intelligence from the world.
I have to admit that it was very difficult for me to get into this one in the beginning. All of the scenes and information that were brought up initially, didn't make any sense until closer to 20% in. By that point, I had started to understand what was happening and was able to follow along. There were a lot of "good" scenes where I devoured every word, and yet quite a few that I really didn't feel needed to be included at all--they just seemed like extra filler in a story that simply didn't need it.
Overall, I personally liked the main idea of the story, and several key characters with their backstories. If the beginning had been less "jumbled", with a more straightforward introduction, and some of the "extra" scenes cut out entirely, I could see this as a much faster paced novel. As it was, I did lose interest during some of those moments, and feel that a more "condensed" format would have worked better in keeping up the tension in this novel.
Still, the general idea worked well, and most of the issues fit together nicely in the end.
March 26, 2024
This book was fire in not going to lie. This is the first on my Dell abyss journey but there are a couple of things I want to tell you. 1. it is jam packed full of trigger warnings. this is not splatterpunk, splatterpunk takes things too far in my opinion but what i read here could be one of the originators, pushing the boundarIes. it touches on subjects that I refuse talk about, as anything containing child abuse is not something I would ever read knowingly. but once I got through those tough chapters it was only heading in one direction, a standard thriller. the story tunnelvision is about a serial killer with child abuse in his past, a split personality and a trademark. His trademark is creating snuff videos for each of the victims. These snuff videos lead detective bill gage down path that brings danger to his front door.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2018
I'm up to book ten in the Abyss books, which means I'm about a quarter of the way through the entire line, and I was surprised to find that Tunnelvision is a pretty solid story. Maybe I had lowered my expectations after reading the Dee and Reed books, but Gates does a good job of telling a serial killer/police procedural story. The title comes from the gimmick he uses to define the killer, which is how he sees the world from the perspective of someone watching television. He's created his own network of shows based on his own twisted upbringing and his current endeavors.
The story is a little tell-y, so the characters don't spring from the page, but he does well enough with his pacing and plot to keep the story moving along. Tunnelvision isn't the kind of book to wind up on any underrated or hidden gem lists, but it holds together well enough to keep the reader interested. I just can't see anyone thinking much of the book after finishing it.
I feel like I'm damning the book with faint praise, but while Gates' prose skills are solid, the story isn't that memorable. I've read the book before, over twenty years ago, but I didn't remember any of the details from the book. Given some of the other dreck that exists in the Abyss line, it stands above those books, but it doesn't reach the heights that Koja or Tem brought to the line.
Fortunate Musical Connection: "Innervision" by System of a Down
The story is a little tell-y, so the characters don't spring from the page, but he does well enough with his pacing and plot to keep the story moving along. Tunnelvision isn't the kind of book to wind up on any underrated or hidden gem lists, but it holds together well enough to keep the reader interested. I just can't see anyone thinking much of the book after finishing it.
I feel like I'm damning the book with faint praise, but while Gates' prose skills are solid, the story isn't that memorable. I've read the book before, over twenty years ago, but I didn't remember any of the details from the book. Given some of the other dreck that exists in the Abyss line, it stands above those books, but it doesn't reach the heights that Koja or Tem brought to the line.
Fortunate Musical Connection: "Innervision" by System of a Down
March 8, 2017
I received a copy of this book as part of the Tunnelvision publicity tour for review purposes. This is in no way reflected in my opinion of this novel. I did not receive any form of compensation for my review.
To call Tunnelvision disturbing would be accurate but wouldn't begin to cover the depravity and horror found within these pages. The abuse suffered by Wilbur Clayton as a child is stomach-churningly brutal, and thankfully only revealed in snippets. He couldn't help but grow up into a twisted serial killer. Bill Gage is a recovering alcoholic and an ex-cop with demons of his own. Ivy, my favorite character, a clever and imaginative 12 year old boy dealing with the death of his father and a group of bullies. When I started reading this book I had a hard time getting into it. The character's story lines felt very separated, like I was reading three books instead of one, but then around a quarter of the way through the book they started to come together. By the time I was halfway through I didn't want to put it down. While this isn't my favorite book by R. Patrick Gates (FYI that would be The Prison), it's definitely worth a read. Full of tension and visceral horror that will lurk in your memory long after the last page is read. A solid 4 star read.
To call Tunnelvision disturbing would be accurate but wouldn't begin to cover the depravity and horror found within these pages. The abuse suffered by Wilbur Clayton as a child is stomach-churningly brutal, and thankfully only revealed in snippets. He couldn't help but grow up into a twisted serial killer. Bill Gage is a recovering alcoholic and an ex-cop with demons of his own. Ivy, my favorite character, a clever and imaginative 12 year old boy dealing with the death of his father and a group of bullies. When I started reading this book I had a hard time getting into it. The character's story lines felt very separated, like I was reading three books instead of one, but then around a quarter of the way through the book they started to come together. By the time I was halfway through I didn't want to put it down. While this isn't my favorite book by R. Patrick Gates (FYI that would be The Prison), it's definitely worth a read. Full of tension and visceral horror that will lurk in your memory long after the last page is read. A solid 4 star read.
March 4, 2015
About half way through this early Gates novel, I was like - I'm pretty much done with the 'ol serial killer tale. The detective, with past demons of his own, the killer that was abused as a child....
The only one I cared about was Ivy, the book reading intelligent 12 year old, that befriended an elderly neighbor, who introduced him to James Bond....and he turns into playing Bond and spying on his strange neighbor.
The only one I cared about was Ivy, the book reading intelligent 12 year old, that befriended an elderly neighbor, who introduced him to James Bond....and he turns into playing Bond and spying on his strange neighbor.
July 25, 2013
This book came out around the time that "Silence of the Lambs" was released. Very well written with a creepy and disturbed antagonist. The well drawn characters prevented this one from becoming a throw away in an oversaturated genre. Recommended for those interested in both crime fiction and psychological thrillers.
June 6, 2008
This was no at all what I expected it to be! It was a good story, tho. Very gruesome, but definately kept my interest. I had difficulties getting "into" the story in the beginning, but once I did, it kept my attention to the last page.
February 10, 2015
Tragically overlooked horror/crime novel. One of the best Abyss titles.
March 27, 2018
I have read this book at least 3 times in my life. It reminds me (and don't laugh) of American Werewolf in London. It gives a peek into the mind of a sick and depraved individual. While you feel sympathetic for the the pain this character had to endure to survive, it was his survival that created a monster. I thought it was a fantastic book and I'd read it again!!
Want to read
July 21, 2011Stephen King endorsed the entire Dell Abyss Horror line. Here is his blurb:
"Thank you for introducing me to the remarkable line of novels currently being issued under Dell's Abyss imprint. I have given a great many blurbs over the last twelve years or so, but this one marks two firsts: first unsolicited blurb (I called you) and the first time I have blurbed a whole line of books. In terms of quality, production, and plain old story-telling reliability (that's the bottom line, isn't it), Dell's new line is amazingly satisfying...a rare and wonderful bargain for readers. I hope to be looking into the Abyss for a long time to come."
"Thank you for introducing me to the remarkable line of novels currently being issued under Dell's Abyss imprint. I have given a great many blurbs over the last twelve years or so, but this one marks two firsts: first unsolicited blurb (I called you) and the first time I have blurbed a whole line of books. In terms of quality, production, and plain old story-telling reliability (that's the bottom line, isn't it), Dell's new line is amazingly satisfying...a rare and wonderful bargain for readers. I hope to be looking into the Abyss for a long time to come."
March 14, 2015
An EXCELLENT book! Love the style it is written in, ingenious! Having grown up in Fitchburg, it was easy to picture every scene in the book. I have read nearly all of his books, Tunnelvision being my favorite, which is why I have read it several times and look forward to reading it again.
November 12, 2010
My first Gates' book, made me a fan. More of a detective story than a horror novel. Very good read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews