Reading Rainbow

Hollywood Monster
By Robert Englund and Alan Goldsher

One, two Freddy’s coming for you…

This autobiography skips along like a nursery rhyme singing school girl. It begins with young Krueger…I mean Englund…joining an acting group for the sole purpose of picking up on girls and ends with him holding his current title of horror movie icon.

It’s a fun journey that sees Englund as a joker, husband, college student, stage snob, divorcee, struggling character actor, television star and movie star. Each section in his life is briefly described and a short story or two is shared from that period of time. The stories are light and easy and I found it disappointing that he never dips more than a gloved knife finger into waters that could run very, very deep. For example, you won’t find out how Englund feels about violence, the role he feels horror plays in society or what if any memory he channels to play a vicious child killer.

You will however discover the he loves women. It seems that not a page goes by where he isn’t mentioning the assets of a nubile young co-star or the biker chick who had him autograph her breasts.

Another thing you take away from the book is how appreciative Englund is of all those who have participated in his journey. He praises just about everyone from Henry Fonda to Jan-Michael Vincent and never has a bad word for anyone.

All in all, it’s an enjoyably quick read but too shallow to have any lasting effect.

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Recently, I’ve been a reading machine.

I don’t know if it’s my vow of celibacy or my reduced alcohol consumption but I just can’t stop reading.

Since Christmas I’ve read:

Jack Ketchum’s Off Season – see my earlier review.

Robert E. Howards’s The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane – Howard is the king of high adventure! His stories about the puritan Kane are exciting, bloody and always a welcome punch to the imagination.

Robert Englund’s Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams - see above.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omen’s: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – a very funny tale about a demon and an angel who unite to stop the end of the world from taking place. Why? Because they’ll miss the food, wine, music and other creature comforts the world currently offers.

Louis Sachar’s Holes – an award-winning children’s book about a kid who is sent to a prison camp where they do nothing but dig holes. The background story is magical.

I’m currently a little less than halfway through Edward Lee’s Black Train – oh, lordy. This book is disgustingly wrong in so many ways but I can’t wait to see what happens.