What do you think?
Rate this book
Dr. Phibes #2
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Half-man, half-monster, Anton Phibes returns for another orgy of bloodletting, this time seeking the Key to Eternal Life. Those who stand in his way must die.
The first victim is removed by a jeweled serpent, which pierces his brain. The second is torn to bits by a ferocious hawk. The third is eaten to the bone by a swarm of scorpions.
Only one man remains--Jonathan Biderback, a mysterious scientist, equally determined to find Eternal Life. But first, he must meet Phibes!
In a subterranean cave deep withing the Mountains of the dead, Phibes awaits his last enemy, a grin of triumph twisting his satanic mouth. . .
The first victim is removed by a jeweled serpent, which pierces his brain. The second is torn to bits by a ferocious hawk. The third is eaten to the bone by a swarm of scorpions.
Only one man remains--Jonathan Biderback, a mysterious scientist, equally determined to find Eternal Life. But first, he must meet Phibes!
In a subterranean cave deep withing the Mountains of the dead, Phibes awaits his last enemy, a grin of triumph twisting his satanic mouth. . .
- GenresHorror
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
2 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
William I. Goldstein
6 booksWILLIAM I. GOLDSTEIN is the creator of DR. PHIBES and the best-selling author of the CULT CLASSIC DR. PHIBES SERIES including DR. PHIBES, DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN!, DR. PHIBES IN THE BEGINNING and the recently published DR. PHIBES VULNAVIA'S SECRET. He is also co-writer of the top grossing horror motion picture THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, starring Vincent Price, recently re-released on Blu-ray. He lives in California and is currently busy collaborating with his son, DAMON J.A. GOLDSTEIN on BOOK IV OF THE CULT CLASSIC DR. PHIBES SERIES, DR. PHIBES AND THE REAL ANDROBOTS.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 16, 2023
I'm sad to say that Dr. Phibes Rises Again! is actually worse than the first Dr. Phibes novel, which I didn't really think was possible.
It suffers from most of the same problems: it's terribly written (suffering this time from the author trying to be flowery and poetic), there's huge descriptions of things that don't mean anything to the plot (fortunately this time it's random military battles instead of cringy sex scenes for the most part) almost no wordage is given to Phibes. In fact, he's in this one even less than he was in the first. Again, if you're reading this book, you're here for Phibes. This also proves problematic for the plot. In the movie, though the threads are tenuous, there is some attempt to make a connection between Biderbeck and Phibes. In the novel, the connection is never made, which means if you haven't seen the movie, Phibes is just picking on Biderbeck and we don't know why. We also don't ever get any backstory on Biderbeck, so we don't know how old he is or how he got to be immortal or anything.
The characterization for everyone suffers. Trout suddenly becomes a domestic abuser because of his failure to catch Phibes in the first book. Waverly is never developed beyond a fuss pot who barely speaks in completely sentences.
The problem really come in with Biderbeck. After Robert Quarry's intense performance, we're given a piece of plywood who actually doesn't seem to have much resolve. The whole affair becomes actively problematic when we find out that Biderbeck's girlfriend in the movie is actually the legal ward he took in at 10 and began having relations with when she was 16. So, Biderbeck grooms girls to service him, but it's what the girl wants so it's all okay. And this isn't the only example of young girls throwing themselves at men which we're supposed to think is romantic. It made this book really uncomfortable to read.
I really can't recommend this to anyone. Watch the movie instead.
It suffers from most of the same problems: it's terribly written (suffering this time from the author trying to be flowery and poetic), there's huge descriptions of things that don't mean anything to the plot (fortunately this time it's random military battles instead of cringy sex scenes for the most part) almost no wordage is given to Phibes. In fact, he's in this one even less than he was in the first. Again, if you're reading this book, you're here for Phibes. This also proves problematic for the plot. In the movie, though the threads are tenuous, there is some attempt to make a connection between Biderbeck and Phibes. In the novel, the connection is never made, which means if you haven't seen the movie, Phibes is just picking on Biderbeck and we don't know why. We also don't ever get any backstory on Biderbeck, so we don't know how old he is or how he got to be immortal or anything.
The characterization for everyone suffers. Trout suddenly becomes a domestic abuser because of his failure to catch Phibes in the first book. Waverly is never developed beyond a fuss pot who barely speaks in completely sentences.
The problem really come in with Biderbeck. After Robert Quarry's intense performance, we're given a piece of plywood who actually doesn't seem to have much resolve. The whole affair becomes actively problematic when we find out that Biderbeck's girlfriend in the movie is actually the legal ward he took in at 10 and began having relations with when she was 16. So, Biderbeck grooms girls to service him, but it's what the girl wants so it's all okay. And this isn't the only example of young girls throwing themselves at men which we're supposed to think is romantic. It made this book really uncomfortable to read.
I really can't recommend this to anyone. Watch the movie instead.
August 1, 2015
This book has some issues, but is overall enjoyable. My biggest grip is that the author spends a lot of time at the start building up the Egyptian back story and devotes a lot of space throughout to rather mundane matters, like the washing of a car for example, but then at the end just sort of wraps up all the supernatural stuff in the story with just a couple of lines and no real explanation at all. Disappointing.
April 12, 2013
Overall, a phun novel phor any Phibes philm phanatic. Not as phrightful as the phirst, but still phantastic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews