I had read a previous Lee book that left a bad taste in my mouth. So I decided to read one of his earlier works to get adjusted to his style of writing. I must say I am glad I hung in there. I loved this book. It was slow to start, but when it picked up wow! I was drawn in quickly and couldn't put it down until I found out how it ended. Excellent read for a newcomer to the world of Lee. ( )

There are some books that seem to have found their perfect place in the 50c pile of a library sale, and The Golem was one of those books for me. Had I spent the full five and change I would have been very upset with myself, but but for a few quarters I dipped my toes into an unfamiliar genre and wasn't completely disappointed.

The Golem is a book in the 'Hardcore Horror' genre, and Edward Lee is apparently a big name to its readers. If this book is a fair representation of Hardcore Horror, then I can only assume that the more explicit sex and violence one can pack into a story, the more hardcore it is. That's not to say that there wasn't a story. The plot was enjoyable enough. The prologue was a bit disconnected, but things made sense, and the characters were realistic enough for being complete monsters. There's decent buildup, two parallel narratives that intermingle seamlessly, and a satisfying conclusion.

But I like psychological suspense more than graphic horror, and The Golem is a book teeming with rape, necrophilia, disembowelment, drug use, and similar straight forward vices and taboos. All of it is graphic. None of it stirred in me anything but mild amusement. After you've seen one dismembered body part shoved into an orifice you've seen them all. So my dislike for the book isn't so much about its execution as its subject matter. If you like gore and sex, you'll probably like The Golem. If you don't, you won't.

For me this was a 50c well spent. I can now safely dislike hardcore horror and still have had some exposure to it. ( )

Edward Lee's niche is similar to the old Shaun Hutson shock and gore horror books. The Golem doesn't disappoint in the bloody murders and rapes, however neither create tight suspense or brooding terror. Instead the evils committed seem rather matter-of-fact, which leaves a short horror yarn with no likeable characters, two-dimensional villains and a narrative which bounces between now and 1880 for little reason. The Golem evidences little imagination beyond a couple of twists near the end and is an easily forgotten tale. Pulp horror fans only. ( )

Jewish mystical horror. ( )

When I was a kid, my aunt bought me a huge book about horror films, and although I've been trying to remember the title for YEARS, I still can't place it. One of the older films discussed was THE GOLEM, a silent film I finally managed to see during my high school years at a theatre in Manhattan. The verdict? It bored me senseless (my apologies to silent horror film purists out there).

Well, guess what folks? Ed Lee's THE GOLEM, while retaining the cultural mythos of the story, is NOTHING like the film (but then again you probably knew that as soon as you heard about this one!).

While THE GOLEM is standard genre stuff (couple moves to isolated house with dark secret then has to confront ancient evil), Lee adds his own voice with plenty of intense violence, some brutal (and one unforgettable) sex scenes, and plenty of humor courtesy of 2 bumbling redneck crack dealers (truest me, it doesn't take away from the seriousness of the novel). I also enjoyed Lee's handling of religion here, the differences between authentic and heretical Jewish faith nicely displayed.

Reading most of Lee's novels are like watching gore-filled splatter films of yesteryear, and THE GOLEM is no exception. This has been done many times before, but seldom as fun. 'Tis a fun fun fun genre read. Oy vey! ( )