Psycho
(Psycho #1)
Robert Bloch's Psycho captivated a nation when it appeared in 1959. The story was all too real-indeed this classic was inspired by the real-life story of Ed Gein, a psychotic murderer who led a dual life. Alfred Hitchcock too was captivated, and turned the book into one of the most-loved classic films of all time the year after it was released.
Norman Bates loves his Mothe
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But Alfred Hitchcock only needed about nine grand to buy the rights to this book. Then it only took a blonde, a ...more

Everyone knows the basic beats of Psycho due to the iconic Alfred Hitchcock film. Woman gets knifed in the shower, psychotic mama's boy, etc. When it popped up for ninety-nine cents, I figured, what the hell? Shooting Star / Spiderweb was pretty good. Psycho was definitely worth the buck.
Inspired ...more

4.5 Stars

That’s what I tell my boys all the time. I hope they turn out just as friendly and loyal to their momma as Norman did.
Is there anyone even on the planet who hasn’t at least heard of Psycho before? What can I say that you don’t already know? Well, I can confirm that this book is short at roughly 200 pages. Due to its brevity, I can also say not a paragraph is wasted on filler. Every scene that occurs does so for a reason. W ...more

My generation and everyone since has grown up with the concept of Psycho, stemming from Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller, but all this began with Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel.
Reading this after having seen the film and grown up with the story, I dealt with a fair amount of theatrical irony. While the film stayed mostly true to Bloch’s vision, there were some departures and these were enjoyable to experience.
Bloch’s prose is tight and the atmosphere developed ...more

Psycho may be perfect. Strange how little Norman Bates gets the Oscar in the book--you actually miss him in the parts where he is not a figure. And his obsessions/psychosis/murderin' are the fault of the town, of his circumstances. And, although i ...more


If by some freak of nature you happen to be in the dark regarding Robert Bloch's Psycho I will warn you not to go in the shower at the Bates Motel, and be green with envy that you can read the novel with no prior knowledge of the intriguing plot.
If you are familiar with Alfred Hitchcock's movie version (released in 1960) then you will notice two obvious differences when reading the book, the first o
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Ok...yes...I was mildly entertained while I mostly cringed
-characters....not well formed....1950s stereotypes
-writing....written at a grade four level but for adults
-knowledge of psychopathology....amateurish, outlandish, unbelievable
-plausibility......low no make that very low
despite this I was entertained, mildly entertained but it would have sufficed to have just seen the movie and I have seen it several times
I will not mov ...more

I am a great fan of Alfred Hitchcock and his films, but this is the only film that I haven't watched more than once. Sure, that includes a string of other Oscar winners like Shawshank Redemption and Forest Gump; I'm just a weirdo. Psycho really scared me when I was young, though. There was no way to explain how the silhouette of mother's chair rocked on its own while Norman was at the hotel. I don't like unexplainable things.
The novel was actuall ...more



A gripping story!
If you've seen the movie this is better, you get that missing insight of being in Norman's mind. The story is a page-turner. Bloch is a good writer and has plotted the story well no sentence is wasted or boring. After reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter I thought I would try and get into rambling mind of a different kind of killer. Bates is obsessed with his mother wants to be like her And wants her to be part of him.
Some facts
The novel "Psycho", written by Robert Bloch, was actu ...more

The book, written in 1959, stands the proverbial test of time, as well. 'You do not want Mother using her keys.' Quite right. The poundin ...more

I loved Norman Bates in the tv show Bates Motel and I love him in this book!!
(I will not be posting a full review on my blog. I don't have a lot to say about it) ...more


After impulsively stealing $40,000 from her work, Mary finds a motel to rest for the evening.
Owned by bachelor Norman Bates and he’s mother, the motel seemed pleasant enough...
It’s a little more graphic than the movie and Anthony Perkins is a nicer looking version of Norman, but everything else is reassuringly similar.
I’m more likely to rewatch t ...more



What a great classic to read leading up to Halloween. And what better costume could you come up with than that of, my man, Norman Bates. Just put on dead moms dress, smear on some make-up and let's get crazy.
I think the book is very close to the movie version. Obviously you get a greater visual of the shower scene in the movie, but the book really put me more in the head of Norman and I could see the psycho in him much deeper than is revealed in the movie.
Psycho is well written, short, and giv ...more

The movie Psycho gave us that bedrock upon which all future slasher films were built - sex = death.
The 'bad girl' - bad because she had premarital sex - will die. The virgin will live. (If you don't know these rules, you need to watch Scream.)
Psycho the film actually opens in the bedroom, where our heroine is in her bra having just had sex with a man to whom she's not married.
Norman Bates ...more


I’m one of the few who has never seen the movie. I’m so glad that was the case. I loved this book! Straight out of the real serial killer zone, but I forget which one, Norman is a real creeper. ...more

Of course, this book was already old when I read that SK book back in '89 and now I feel kinda foolish for putting off this classic so damn long.
What's my excuse? I thought the story would be kinda... you know... old. Out of date. Without tension.
I really shouldn't listen to myself.
Thi ...more

I think the book and movie are probably equally as good, but the movie really went on to greater acclaim due to the direction of Hitchcock. The story was loosely based on Ed Gein (as was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a few more stories as well.) I think almost a ...more

Bloch's original novel is a quick read, despite having a not so fast-paced plot, and really allows you to get into the head of not only Mary Crane, but of Norman Bates as well. Norman's chapters were absolutely fascinating, and I loved seeing the constant narrative through his mind twisting and turni ...more

What I liked about it? EVERYTHING - The characters, the plot and the twists.
The horror movie "Psycho" is rightfully to be ranked as one of the greatest films of all times!
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To be the only one, and to know that you are real—that’s sanity, isn’t it?
so i was DM’ing sheena about this book, and she said “this would’ve been mind-blowing in 1959”—which i honestly could see. there’s a reason this book is a cult classic after all, spawning both a widely popular film and a smash-hit TV series.
buuuuut as it stands, me reading this in 2020 was kind of a bore.
even as someone who’s totally unfamiliar with hitchcock’s film adaptation and bates motel, i knew what was going o ...more

This is a classic crime book featuring the popular serial killer called Norman Bates. This 1959 book may not be the pioneer in this genre but the English film director a ...more

I didn't realize this book was so short! I'm surprised this was a middle-of-the-road read for me. It's not bad, but I was expecting it to be a lot more exciting. ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Horror Italia: * Febbraio 2019 - Psycho | 25 | 37 | Mar 03, 2019 11:23PM | |
Bookwarts Club of...: Psycho - Spoilers | 6 | 19 | Jan 10, 2018 07:00PM | |
The Perks Of Bein...: Psycho - October 2017 | 6 | 83 | Oct 14, 2017 04:42PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: Book Title | 3 | 10 | Apr 23, 2017 07:45PM |
Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over twenty novels, usually crime fiction, science fiction, and, perhaps most influentially, horror fict ...more
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