e-Book Sweetman Curve download

This is the third "thriller" I've read by Graham Masterton, which means that it involves some conspiracy, with violence and sex along the way, but nothing supernatural like his horror novels. It's over the top, a bit dated, but still fun.

******* SPOILER ALERT *********

There's some kind of conspiracy afoot that is leading people to be murdered, seemingly at random, but a few characters -- with incredible (yes, incredible) intuition -- see some kind of connection. In Famine, it was the nation's food that was the target; in Chaos Theory (Severn House Large Print), it was world peace. Here, it's the nation's political process -- specifically, the 1980 presidential election.

Halfway through the book, you know that there's something called the "Sweetman Curve" that connects the victims, but it's not made clear what it is. Even when it is finally revealed what it is, it's not clear how such a thing could be possible, and why a politician would rely on it so fully so as to have apolitical people murdered all over the country just because statisically they influence the votes of people who know them. But that's the premise. And, to borrow a term from Hitchcock, it's kind of a "McGuffin". It doesn't matter what the Sweetman Curve is; its purpose is to bring the characters together, cause some violence, and create the sexual scenarios.

Ah, yes. The sex. Not as graphic as it is in some Masterton novels, but somehow more dated and inappropriate here. There are three scenes that qualify as rape or sexual assault, and, in two of the three, the victim either invites the rapist to finish or starts to wonder if she's not into it. The latter is girl-on-girl, inviting the idea that, if you expose a heterosexual woman to sex with a woman, she's bound to like it even if it's forced on her, right? It's all very 1970s and dated, and made me think of a cartoon I saw in a book back then called "Coffee, Tea or Me?" in which an airline stewardess with torn clothes asks another something like: "Is it still rape if it was against my will but I enjoyed it?" That cartoon would likely not be printed with today's sensibilities, and I wonder if the sex scenes in this novel would get past the editor if this novel came out today.

Also dated: At one point, a car collision results in an explosion at a crucial moment. Why did the car actually explode? Maybe because it's the 1970s, and, in 1970s action movies, cars explode upon impact (making us think back then that cars always explode upon impact, which they don't!), and, since this novel is kind of a 1970s movie in print, the car has to explode.

Another point that is weak in this novel is how stubborn the characters are about going to the authorities with what they know.

I'm being critical, but, nonetheless, the novel is fun, and not boring in the least. It's not even close to being one of my favorite Masterton novels, but it's certainly not my least favorite.

This is the third "thriller" I've read by Graham Masterton, which means that it involves some conspiracy, with violence and sex along the way, but nothing supernatural like his horror novels. It's over the top, a bit dated, but still fun.

******* SPOILER ALERT *********

There's some kind of conspiracy afoot that is leading people to be murdered, seemingly at random, but a few characters -- with incredible (yes, incredible) intuition -- see some kind of connection. In Famine, it was the nation's food that was the target; in Chaos Theory (Severn House Large Print), it was world peace. Here, it's the nation's political process -- specifically, the 1980 presidential election.

Halfway through the book, you know that there's something called the "Sweetman Curve" that connects the victims, but it's not made clear what it is. Even when it is finally revealed what it is, it's not clear how such a thing could be possible, and why a politician would rely on it so fully so as to have apolitical people murdered all over the country just because statisically they influence the votes of people who know them. But that's the premise. And, to borrow a term from Hitchcock, it's kind of a "McGuffin". It doesn't matter what the Sweetman Curve is; its purpose is to bring the characters together, cause some violence, and create the sexual scenarios.

Ah, yes. The sex. Not as graphic as it is in some Masterton novels, but somehow more dated and inappropriate here. There are three scenes that qualify as rape or sexual assault, and, in two of the three, the victim either invites the rapist to finish or starts to wonder if she's not into it. The latter is girl-on-girl, inviting the idea that, if you expose a heterosexual woman to sex with a woman, she's bound to like it even if it's forced on her, right? It's all very 1970s and dated, and made me think of a cartoon I saw in a book back then called "Coffee, Tea or Me?" in which an airline stewardess with torn clothes asks another something like: "Is it still rape if it was against my will but I enjoyed it?" That cartoon would likely not be printed with today's sensibilities, and I wonder if the sex scenes in this novel would get past the editor if this novel came out today.

Also dated: At one point, a car collision results in an explosion at a crucial moment. Why did the car actually explode? Maybe because it's the 1970s, and, in 1970s action movies, cars explode upon impact (making us think back then that cars always explode upon impact, which they don't!), and, since this novel is kind of a 1970s movie in print, the car has to explode.

Another point that is weak in this novel is how stubborn the characters are about going to the authorities with what they know.

I'm being critical, but, nonetheless, the novel is fun, and not boring in the least. It's not even close to being one of my favorite Masterton novels, but it's certainly not my least favorite.

This novel was published in 1979 and is a neat time capsule of the period in respect to politics of the time and the significant rise of gun related violence that occurred during the decade. The novel is primarily set on the West coast of California, which is quite relevant to the storyline. The main character of the novel is John Cullen who upon investigating what outwardly appears to be the motiveless killing of his father, discovers that he may have stumbled on a sinister conspiracy. Involved are a power hungry Presidential candidate, emotionless hitmen, an ageing movie actress and most pivotally a scientist who has developed a thesis which can be applied to population demographics to predict events as contrasting as the purchasing of detergents to electoral voting preferences; The Sweetman Curve. This sounds a little vague, probably because it is never fully explained in the novel which is a little disappointing. However foremost the novel is an action thriller and it meets that criteria. There are liberal doses of sex which were a little repetitive. All up, I enjoyed this novel. It isn't a classic by any means, but if it were to be filmed (and I think it could be), it would make a solid TV Movie, not a Hollywood Blockbuster.

Awesome read

I give 5 stars as long as the item is in great condition or the condition expexcted anyway and as long as it shows up like it should. I'd buy again.