Why does no one talk about David Morrell?

[@halifirien]

Morrell’s “The Brotherhood of the Rose” is my 1984 pick for the My Novel Life challenge. The premise sounded wild.

[@5150show]

I loved that book !

[@dartharaneus67]

After "the brotherhood of the rose", there is "the fraternity of the stone" and "the league of night and fog". They form a sort of unofficial trilogy centered around two pairs of government assassins (unconnected and with completely different backgrounds): one pair per book and they sort of team up in the third book when their paths cross. Imagine a movie where Jason Bourne and The Equalizer would team up and you have an idea!

[@halifirien]

@@dartharaneus67 I have all three books on my Kobo, so I’ll get to them eventually if I like the first one well enough.

[@dartharaneus67]

@ If you like spy trillers with plenty of action, you will love them!

[@anthonyvictor3034]

Morrell is not just a great writer. He is great with his fans. I have written to him on his website at least twice and he responded on each occasion within three to six hours personally. Including commenting on a novel he wrote The Spy Who Came For Christmas, which I mentioned I used in a sermon at Christmas (yes I am a clergyman), and he graciously responded that he’d heard from a number of clergy that they’d used it too. I really like such engagement, in an age when so often you get at best cursory, at worst silence, from authors.

[@sharanyamukherji2744]

I am glad that somebody is talking about David Morrell, First Blood literally sent shivers down my spine with its chilling end.

[@dragondrool]

I've read Creepers and the short story collection Black Evening. My first Morrell story was Rio Grande Gothic in the 999 anthology. That's a story I periodically come back to. He's such a taut, precise, skilled writer. I need to read more.

[@parvelshunk241]

In the '80s Playboy magazine published an excellent autobiographical article by Morrell entitled "The Man Who Created Rambo". It had a very funny passage where Morrell recalled a conversation he had with his lawyer when he sold First Blood to Hollywood. "Make sure you get a cut of the sequels," "Sequels? But Rambo dies at the end!" "TRUST ME." "Also, make sure you get a cut of any toys." "Toys??? This is a serious adult novel about Vietnam veterans!" "TRUST ME."

[@the16thGemini]

Jack Carr, author of the Terminal List novel series, cites David Morrell (First Blood/Rambo) as an influence. It is apparent in the Prime series adaptation.

[@SarahTotton]

David Morrell is notoriously humble. I saw him speaking at a mystery convention once and before he started, he stood up and said, "Are you all sure you want to listen to me? Dennis Lehane is next door." I read The Totem in high school--fantastic mix of science and horror.

[@Subo23]

Similar experience. I met him at Bouchercon years ago and had a brief chat. The next day he saw me and asked if I was having a good time at the convention. Not in the throw-away sense, but he really wanted to know if I was enjoying myself. A wealth of knowledge and a kind and humble man.

[@dleesim]

Professor Morrell, as I knew him at the University of Iowa, was my lit teacher in the late 1970s. Funny, brilliant, and incredibly gracious.

[@warren-freshoffthevinemedia]

I read "Assumed Identity" in 1996 and was awestruck. I've also read First Blood, Burnt Sienna, The Shimmer, and Double Image. Then, about six years ago, I met him at a writers' conference in Nashville. We bumped into each other as we waited for a presentation to begin. He introduced himself as "Dave" and we chatted for a bit before I realized he was David Morrell. He's a classy and humble man.

[@dartharaneus67]

"The brotherhood of the rose", "the fraternity of the stone" and "the league of night and fog" are my favorite books by Morrell. They form a sort of unofficial trilogy centered around two pairs of government assassins (unconnected and with completely different backgrounds): one pair per book and they sort of team up in the third book when their paths cross. Imagine a movie where Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross would team up with John Wick and the Equalizer and you have an idea!

[@5150show]

When I was a young fellah I read all his books in the late 80s

[@SmallSpaceCorgi]

"The Totem" was an unexpected delight.

[@gingerbibliophile]

Hey Olly! Love this! I’ve only read the one by him, Creepers, but would love to find more of his work. You’re right, I’ve not seen him talked about anywhere else.

[@Yellowblam]

I basically forced myself to read ‘First Blood’ and I really enjoyed it. The misery on Rambo was more concentrated than the movie.

[@MaisieStirfry]

Thanks Olly, I've added The Totem to my Kobo! Creepers sounds like fun, too. I didn't realize Morrell was Canadian. Incidentally, Andrew Pyper (also Canadian), just passed away. I haven't read anything of his but The Demonologist has been on my list for a while. Have a great day!

[@disconnected22]

I was in the Army, mid-90’s. The base library had Morrell books. The Fifth Profession was my first. I devoured his stuff.

[@pablolopezplc]

Watching this I remembered that I read The League of the Night And fog many many years ago in Spanish and loved that book! But I completely forget about it for years, so now I'm definitely going to pick up a lot of his books. Cheers mate

[@kufujitsu]

David Morrell is a good writer if a person wants to break out of a reading slump. The last book I read by him was Creepers, & every time I put the book down, I found myself thinking about it several hours later. Totem was like that as well. I've also read a collection of weird suspense stories by him, called Black Evening, & virtually all of the stories in it were first rate. His prose has a well balanced, compelling feel to it,

[@JohnSeney-t1i]

I read "The Totem" in the 80s and knew of his "First Blood" connection and followed him loosely over the years, glad he's still around and writing 👍

[@Harbottle64]

I read Creepers when it first came out and loved it. Just checked Morrell out on IMDB and I see there's a film version of it in the works called Do Not Enter.

[@crab0traps0now]

First Blood is fantastic. I've been talking to people about David Morrell recently. And I've been talking to David Morrell, too. I've got a couple more of his books on my phone now waiting to be read!

[@toweypat]

Great question!

[@drstrangefreak]

I had a Rambo knife and t-shirt with "Free all hostages, send Rambo" text on it. Was about ten, I think. Haven't thought about that in a while. Really should read First Blood.

[@troytradup]

I think you're spot-on in that he's too eclectic to settle into a single marketing/fan base. The two versions of The Totem are fascinating, different enough in their pacing and style to seem like two separate novels. And both work!

[@Locutius11]

I have read First Blood and Creepers, both of which I enjoyed immensely and I found very gripping, Thank you Olly for the reminder that I need to track down and read some of his other material.

[@lisavitale8410]

Olly, I'm glad you highlighted David Morrell in your video today. I read and reviewed my first David Morrell novel in October 2024 on my book blog. I read Murder As Fine Art by David Morrell which is a work of historical fiction/mystery/ thriller. It’s also the first novel in the Thomas De Quincy series. This novel was so much more than I expected it to be. The writing is detailed and simply superb. I Look forward to reading the rest of the series. I’ve added Totem and Testament to my reading wishlist. Thanks for the suggestions of other novels to read by David Morrell.

[@rasmur1]

I read the unexpurgated version of The Totem on Audible. The ending freaked me out.

[@JohnPatrickWeiss]

The Fraternity of the Stone was my favorite by Morrell. Anti terrorist agent turned Carthusian monk. Would have made a stellar movie.

[@jamesadams1698]

Morrell has long been one of my faves. His short stories are fantastic, as well, and he has three collections. 'Burnt Sienna' is my personal favorite, and 'The Fifth Profession' is pulpy fun. He also wrote the novelisations for Rambo and Rambo 3.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah I forgot when I filmed this, but I have also read both the Rambo books. Definitely going to be trying out more of his stuff soon

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

According to Goodreads he worked on all 3 Rambo novelizations.

[@tyler2610]

I have only read “The Totem” so far but I also have “Testament” and would like to eventually read “Creepers” its sequel and “First Blood.” That’s interesting that the original version of “The Totem” was heavily edited. The copy I read was also an original release from 1979 and I definitely got that fragmentary sense often feeling like scenes were left unfinished or that you just suddenly were dropped into a scene with no build-up to it. Based on that I only thought it was okay, but I did enjoy it overall.

[@johngaffney1671]

Great profile of Morrell. I had a copy of First Blood when it came out but can't remember reading another book by him. Good idea to profile an author who doesn't get enough attention. Forgotten authors is an interesting theme. I recently dug out an old copy of Stone City. A book set in a prison. Published in the 1990s. An impressive book but again someone who's not talked about.Author is Mitchell Smith

[@vincegracci3189]

Great video. For me, during the 80's and 90's, David Morrell was the quintessential 'beach book' or 'rainy day book' author. I loved his orphan brothers trilogy (Brotherhood of the Rose, Fraternity of the Stone and The Leauge of Night and Fog). You'd hit the ground running, and not stop until the back of the book.

[@johndillon8051]

I read the League of Night and Fog years ago and enjoyed it. Shortly afterwards, I picked up another book by him (I can't remember which one) but didn't like it nearly as much. That was it for me, but perhaps I dismissed him too soon. I will check out Totem, which sounds very good.

[@5150show]

Love the League of the night ...

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

I have read Totem twice. The original in the 80s and the revised in the 00s. Also read Creepers. I have First Blood and others on my shelves.

[@TimGraham1974]

I read First Blood last year and have bought it twice for friends to read as I thought it was fantastic. I’ve recently read The Totem (which I admittedly bought because the cover looked cool) and loved it just as much as First Blood. I kept thinking that The Totem would make a great film. Really creepy

[@markwestwriter]

I read "Creepers" last year and loved it - bought the sequel to read this year. I also have an old-school paperback of "The Totem".

[@angelinadi]

I love his Opium-Eater series of Victorian era mystery thrillers. They are so much fun. While I was reading them, it kind of blew my mind that he was the same guy who created Rambo.

[@kevsplitterskull3209]

David Morrell is a phenomenal, propulsive, prolific writer whose stuff falls through the cracks for anyone who isn't in the know. Primarily a thriller writer, he also regularly appears in Best Of the Year horror anthologies for his short work. I went on a huge run of his work when I saw how much of it my then-local library had. Not a bad one in the bunch.

[@waltervanlille2263]

Like most who've read Morrell, I read First Blood, which I loved. Also, Brotherhood of the Rose, which I almost think I liked even more (BTW - The mini series they made off the book, starring Peter Strauss and David Morse is also very good). The League of Night and Fog is sitting on the shelf, just waiting to be read, and I've read one other of his books, the name of which I just can't remember, try as I might. Anyway, the biggest reason I haven't read him all that much is because I'm not really all that into spy stories and government intrigue, which I thought was mostly what he wrote, but he's a good enough writer that I do grab something by him every few years.

[@iv0rysh0es39]

I'm only aware of him from First Blood, but I'm now intrigued by Testament and The Totem, particularly the prior. Both sound like they would make for good films.

[@francoisdan4492]

The 'Thomas De Quincey' series is a great trilogy by David Morrell which should also be covered. All three books are highly readable with the narrative set in the Victorian era, which is very unlike 'First Blood'!

[@DDB168]

Yes I've read him, because only cool people read him. 🤭I know another reason he's not talked about, but this is specific to booktube - because everyone is too busy talking about Stephen Snoozfest King !!!! Yes, it's a 4 exclamation mark sentence. 🤭

[@tristanthompson7317]

Read The Totem last year, also recommend Assumed Identity. Interesting observation regarding Morrell writing career having ultimately suffered due to eclipse of Stallone’s portrayal of John Rambo…but then again Morrell did elect to resurrect his literature character and pen the novelisations for Rambo 2 & 3 (not his stories or screenplays though) ✌️

[@thestevepbrady]

The Abelard Sanction series, which starts with the great, The Brotherhood of the Rose is great. Read them back in college and loved them.

[@LiterateTexan]

I agree with you. David Morrell deserves more attention than he gets. I've read all 4 of the Morrell books that you've mentioned, but I haven't read any of the comic books he's scripted. I also didn't realize that he has written 28 books, either!

[@LuisParedesWrites]

Creepers is criminally underrated! Such an amazing novel! Couldn't get into Scavengers though.

[@geoffdenham5063]

Funny. I literally picked up Totem by him yesterday

[@eriebeverly]

I read Totem a few years ago and really enjoyed it. When you mentioned it recently I picked up the ebook without realizing it was the revised edition. I liked the original edition more which I remember as being creepy. I didn't think the revised edition was as focused or unnerving. Curious to see what you think if you ever take the revised edition for a spin.

[@kyrilson71]

He's one of my favorite writers. A ton of his stuff is on Kobo Plus, at least in the US. Not sure if they are in the UK.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Just checked, and yes, here too, which is a win!

[@speaklowww5747]

i read creepers in college in one sitting. very entertaining pulp novel.

[@dalezang3856]

I love David Morrell. I have read Creepers and Scavenger. Now Totem is on my list. He is a wonderful writer.

[@standbyforsummarycombustion]

I want to read First Blood by David Morrell, because I love the 1982 film, I heard the book is way more violent. I need to check out David Morrell's books, Great video!😀👍

[@rickyestevez4698]

I loved David Morrell. Read everything he wrote in the 80's and 90's. Wasn't thrilled when he made the switch from intrigue and espionage to historical murder mystery but decided to give Murder As A Fine Art a try. Although well written, I found it rather derivative and dull.

[@DuncanMcCurdie]

It’s because he’s Canadian.

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

I have 11 of his books (Totem is on order) but have only read the first Rambo so far. The League of Night and Fog /The Covenant of the Flame/Burnt Sienna/Assumed Identity/Creepers/Scavenger/Double Image/Desperate Measures/Rambo 1, 2, 3

[@mariusroodt6971]

First Blood is amazing, I couldn't put it down. Also, think Rambo might be the antagonist in First Blood, not the hero...

[@briandrake5464]

Wait till you get to The Brotherhood of the Rose!

[@epiphoney]

Jack Carr likes him. I think he interviewed him. Wow 4 hours: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZ6yi3SlZcqfo5I Morrell did a commentary track on the First Blood blueray. He also wrote the novelization of the 2nd Rambo movie. He co-edited Thrillers: 100 Must Reads. He was a professor in literature. Brotherhood of the Rose is the only television miniseries to premiere after a Super Bowl. Testament is his most intense novel. I wonder how he compares to Adam Roberta, another literary professor that writes scifi.