From the Bookshelf of Action/Adventure Aficionados…

Rambo: First Blood, Part II

David Morrell,

James Cameron

Discussion: Books

Why we're reading this: No spoiler here if you have not read First Blood. But, the author explains why things happended. Whatever…more
[close] No spoiler here if you have not read First Blood. But, the author explains why things happended. Whatever, this is still a darn good action thriller that fills in tons of extra detail that the movie just glosses over or leaves out. If you are a Rambo junkie (and who isn't?) then you need to check this out.

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What Members Thought

Nov 13, 2019 Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson rated it liked it

Shelves: military, pulp, action, fiction-adventure, movie-tie-in, adventure, political, war, tragedy, thriller

3.2/5

Rambo: First Blood, Part II is infamous in its insane stature as an icon in American 80's pop culture and an influential part of cinema history, spawning hundreds of imitations from every country, and still inspiring some action films today.

That in no way means it's good. Hell yes, it's enjoyable, but it's also quite bad. As a sequel to what is one of the best action-dramas of the 1980's, it's piss-poor. But Morrell does the best he can with the storyline he's got, fleshing out characters, 3.2/5

Rambo: First Blood, Part II is infamous in its insane stature as an icon in American 80's pop culture and an influential part of cinema history, spawning hundreds of imitations from every country, and still inspiring some action films today.

That in no way means it's good. Hell yes, it's enjoyable, but it's also quite bad. As a sequel to what is one of the best action-dramas of the 1980's, it's piss-poor. But Morrell does the best he can with the storyline he's got, fleshing out characters, Rambo's thoughts and feelings during every situation he's thrust into, adding details, and applying a few changes (mostly different scenes) that actually make it better than it did in the movie. The death of a key character is different here, handled with care and drama, actual tension, whereas in the movie it was so goddamn laughable that it's impossible to take it seriously. It was wise to commission Morrell to write the novelizations for the first two Rambo sequels--who better to refine them through the written word than the author of the original novel? He's made First Blood, Part II better than it had any right to be.

I would probably give this a full four stars if the overall story wasn't so ridiculously stupid at times, but that's something Morrell really didn't have too much say in (one of those 'work with what you have' kinda deals). Some passages were weird and unnecessary, like describing the guard who creams himself talking to Co (disguised as a prostitute) and the fact that one of the Russian bad guys gets sexually aroused by torturing Rambo, and then jizzes himself as he's being electrocuted (there's a surprising amount of accidental ejaculation in this book, lol); or the four pages dedicated to describing the 'Ram Bow' (a bad joke, but I love it) are probably the only additional details I really didn't care for.

I've always enjoyed the movie for what it was. I like the book even more. Hell, if Morrell could turn Rambo II into a mostly great reading experience, I can only imagine how much better Rambo III's novelization is compared to its cinematic counterpart! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2009 Clint Flatt rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction

Jul 16, 2023 Cordelia rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, thriller, read-2023

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