Robert Bloch's Psycho: Sanitarium

Robert Bloch wrote "Psycho" while on vacation In Weyauwega, a small Wisconsin town only 7 miles from where I grew up. And Edward Gein, the character that Norman Bates is based on, lived in Plainfield, Wisconsin just 22 miles on the other side of the town I grew up in. Ed committed his nefarious activities in the mid 1950's and Mr. Bloch wrote and published his story in 1959. I still have the December 1957 issue of Life Magazine that covered the crimes of Eddie (as the locals referred to him). So it is no wonder that I grew up with Ed Gein and "Psycho" in my head.And "no", this book isn't perfect. It started out so slowly that I wondered if it would finally catch fire and drag me into it. Robert Bloch wrote "Psycho II" in 1982 which indicated that Norman Bates had been in a mental institution for those 23 years and had then escaped and gone on a killing spree. "Robert Bloch's Psycho: Sanitarium" was written in 2016 by Chet Williamson and pays homage to the original book by referring to Norman's stay in a sanitarium during those two decades. Coincidentally, Ed Gein, often referred to as the "Butcher of Plainfield" spent the remaining days of his life in the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin where he died of liver cancer and COPD.I had researched Chet Williamson before ordering this novel to determine if he had the "writing chops" to construct a sequel to the original "Psycho". Mr. Williamson is an accomplished writer in his own right, having won the International Horror Guild Award and also being nominated for another 11 writing awards including the World Fantasy Awards (2), Bram Stoker Awards (6), a Locus Award and another International Horror Guild Award. It is safe to say that Mr. Williamson has the required credentials and style to mirror Robert Bloch's work.As a reader of horror, you may be put off initially by the slow start which necessarily involves properly setting the stage for the plot and premise. But grind your way through this short obstruction and you will be ultimately rewarded with a well-plotted and imagined continuation of Norman Bates' story. You might think that you are catching on to where this novel is heading, but you will find a few well designed 'head fakes' that throw you off track. The language and descriptions used in this novel are rather tame with no profanity and lack of sexual detail. The author however skillfully describes and narrates the action without having to go for pure language shock value. It's more of a 'thinking man's' description and you (the reader) are allowed to paint the relevant pictures in your own mind.In addition you will find a few extra stories within the main plot that help bring this novel to an interesting and satisfactory conclusion. Surprise, surprise, surprise! The investment of a few hours of your time will prove quite rewarding. Go for it!

Psycho: Sanitarium by Chet Williamson (St. Martin’s Press, April 2016) brings back Norman Bates and his mother, plus introduces a surprise sibling to complicate things. Readers are caught off guard when Norman discovers he has a twin brother named Robert Newman. Though separated at birth, Robert finally finds Norman locked up inside the psycho sanitarium, and Robert becomes a new and important part of Norman’s life. Author Williamson does an admirable job of making demented Norman Bates a sympathetic protagonist. As one-by-one all the antagonists who torture Norman disappear, readers want to cheer and shout “good riddance.” Instead of the Bates Motel, this sequel is set in the former Ollinger Sanitarium, now a state correctional facility for the criminally insane. Rampant rumors abound that the sanitarium is haunted. Dr. Adolph Ollinger, the original owner of the sanitarium, allegedly tortured and killed patients in a secret room in the sanitarium’s basement. Does the ghost of Dr. Ollinger, or one of his patients, haunt the psycho sanitarium? Doctor Felix Reed is Norman’s psychiatrist, and Norman feels lucky to have such a protective and understanding therapist. Doctor Reed allows Norman and new-found brother Robert to meet secretly inside Norman’s padded cell. Reed escorts Robert into and out of the facility without the knowledge of Dr. Goldberg, the sanitarium’s draconian director, or the knowledge of other staff, including Nurse Marie Radcliffe. Doctors have long suspected that schizophrenia, along with all its attendant co-morbid conditions, might be inherited from maternal bloodlines. If Norman Bates inherited his insanity from his mother, doesn’t it stand to reason that Norman’s brother Robert may also be insane? When inmates and staff who treat Norman badly begin to disappear, Norman suspects Robert may somehow be involved. Norman’s mother knows the truth, but Dr. Reed has helped Norman banish Mother from Norman’s consciousness. After all, it was Mother who murdered all those people at the motel. Wasn’t it? It seems everyone who lives or works at the sanitarium has skeletons hiding in their closets, and Norman may be the most normal person in the entire place. Not only does Williamson remake Norman into a sympathetic character, Norman seems at times almost heroic. Psycho: Sanitarium is a worthy successor to Robert Bloch’s original storyline. Highly recommended.

Being a big fan of psycho (the movie, the books and Bates Motel) I found this, I was a bit worried at first (being a different author) I need not have.If you have read all three of the original psycho series then this book fits between the end of book one and the start of book two.Norman is in a mental hospital receiving treatment following the events at the motel. Norman has forced mother deep down into this mind where she can't do any harm.However when Norman long last brother Robert makes contact Norman appears to be on the mend (or so it seems).The hospital is suppose to be haunted so when people start disappearing are the ghost stories true, is Norman somehow responsible, has mother returned to her killing ways or is there something a lot worser happening.Although no one can beat the original classic novel this book does beat the 2 sequels. Fast paced good read which keeps you guessing (although you will work out who's done it with a few chapters left to go which was a little disappointment however you will want keep reading to the end to find out how)Fans of Psycho rejoice, 50 years after the original novel Norman back.

This book continues Norman Bates's story. He is in a secure facility for the criminally insane where both he and his doctors are attempting to rid his mind of 'mother'. Of all the fictional antagonists created, Bates is (in my opinion) up there with the best, so to find a book in which I could learn more about the inner workings of his mind was intriguing.There is a lot of discussion between the doctors about types of treatment that give insights into what was deemed 'acceptable' medical treatments of mental conditions in old institutions. There are also passages of writing from insides Norman's head. I enjoyed these, observing Norman's battles with his mother.Trying to rate this book was difficult as there were so many positives, but also some negatives. This book is in need of some editing. There are many instances of words jumbled together with no spacing so I had to work out what the sentence should say. Also at one point the author's name appeared in the text in big bold letters! It was also difficult to work out who was speaking in parts where Norman, his doctors and Mother were all speaking. Blocks of text were in italics and some speech marks were missing where they were needed.I was really looking forward to reading this and have been left feeling disappointed. I finished it as I wanted to know what happened but was getting annoyed with the lack of editing that got worse the further I got through the book. If this book had been properly edited then I would have given it a higher rating as the plot and the characters are both really good.It's a shame but I'll have to give this book 3.5*

I wasn't really expecting much of this sequel. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Ive read both of the original books and didn't know how this would fare next to those. The writer has really got the atmosphere right and it is written in a way that makes the reader feel like you are watching this all unfold from the shadows. I would highly recommend this to anyone if you enjoy gothic style horror.

As a massive fan of psycho, films and books, I read this with an open mind. It was a fantastic read, twists and a great story. This is great addition to Robert Blochs originals, well done Chet Williamson.

To write a sequel to a book as infamous as Psycho is no easy job and I was reluctant to read it thinking the story would be lame and written in a completely different way - authors having their own writing style- however, it was incredible. Such a twist to the story but written in such a way as to honour the first Psycho story and carry on with Robert Bloch's original character as well as introducing others. I loved it.