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Spellbinder
Book by Robbins, Harold
488 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
126 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Harold Robbins
308Ìýbooks427ÌýfollowersBorn as Harold Rubin in New York City, he later claimed to be a Jewish orphan who had been raised in a Catholic boys home. In reality he was the son of well-educated Russian and Polish immigrants. He was reared by his pharmacist father and stepmother in Brooklyn.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 2, 2016
I am not a fan of evangelist as I believe they are all just in it for the money and are feeding off of other people's sorrow. That said, it is a very well written book.
April 16, 2012
I picked this book from the floor of a classmate's room in the university out of boredom; oh, was I surprised! I was totally blindsided. It was freaking fantastic. The mixture of the divine and the dirty served as the perfect motif on which the story, about how greed can denigrate and ultimately stop what is pure, thrives. I never finished a book so fast.
August 9, 2010
A surprise and 1/2 -- this is not a book I would have chosen for myself, but what a fascinating read. It is about Preacher (a pastor in the Vietnam era, he was a medic in the war and was injured..sent home, he finds his calling in preaching to the masses) This was possibly quite the controversial book back in its day, as it does not say nice things about the preaching for money concept (Oral Roberts, the Bakers, Jerry Falwell and the like) A quick read and quite enjoyable.
November 21, 2011
Great read. lots of flouting of political correctness laws.
December 3, 2019
I probably already mentioned in a review of a different Harold Robbins book on this website that my parents had many of his books around the house when I was growing up. I’d read this one before, but I didn’t remember that until I got about halfway done here...and then I somehow knew/remembered how it was going to end. That sense of almost deja vu pushed me to get it read even faster to find out if I was right...and of course I was. This book is eminently readable, and the insights into yet another big time “business� world are worth pondering. Indeed...despite the fact that the book starts in the waning years of Vietnam and ends in the early 80s, there is pertinent context for our very own times on these pages. That’s not the reason I read it, though, nor was it the reason I enjoyed it. For me, the Robbins classics all come across like an enjoyable movie that catches your attention and dares you to walk away. I was not disappointed when this one did that for me, too.
August 10, 2016
Many years ago I read quite a few Harold Robbins books and found them pretty decent as each one dealt with a specific industry. Arthur Hailey is another author who popularized this style.
This book deals with the big TV evangelist market and all the greed and corruption that goes along with it. Compared with what I remember about the other books I read, this one does not seem as good. It's also quite a bit shorter I think.
Worth reading if you have read Robins before, but if not then one of his better known works, such as The Carpetbaggers or The Betsy are a much better representation of his work.
This book deals with the big TV evangelist market and all the greed and corruption that goes along with it. Compared with what I remember about the other books I read, this one does not seem as good. It's also quite a bit shorter I think.
Worth reading if you have read Robins before, but if not then one of his better known works, such as The Carpetbaggers or The Betsy are a much better representation of his work.
January 23, 2016
(3.5) This book could be tedious at times but it's heart was in the right place. I liked the earnestness Robbins gave the Preacher; it always felt like he had God's best interests at heart and succumbing to temptation was more real and palatable than if he was just faking for cash. Says a lot about the Religious Right of the 80s and the many awful millionaires who no doubt bankrolled them.
May 24, 2020
This time,Robbins takes aim at christian TV evangelists.The preacher in this book is a Robbins' character,so how can his world be complete without lots of sex and drugs.
The book might still ruffle a few feathers.It is not as awful as some of his other books,but there is nothing great about it either.
Finished it somehow.
The book might still ruffle a few feathers.It is not as awful as some of his other books,but there is nothing great about it either.
Finished it somehow.
October 5, 2017
Me queda claro porque Harold Robbins fue un gran best seller.
Una novela sobre el peregrinar espiritual de un pastor entre la luz y la sombra por más de 20 años de su vida y con un final sorprendente.
Lástima que dejaron de editar sus libros.
Una novela sobre el peregrinar espiritual de un pastor entre la luz y la sombra por más de 20 años de su vida y con un final sorprendente.
Lástima que dejaron de editar sus libros.
January 16, 2018
My 3rd Harold Robbins of this year, I read. Another good read. Always a good decent story, in my opinion.
August 4, 2022
Leaps and bounds better than the last Robbins novel I read. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of wildly problematic elements, but at least this one tells a competent story, and, as the recent Eyes of Tammy Faye movie has shown, the world of 80s televangelists is ripe for interesting storytelling. I'd put this book in the category of almost decent.
November 10, 2013
I wish Spellbinder wasn't my first Harold Robbins book. I had heard a lot about how racy and gripping his novels are. Well, this one's nothing of that sort. Its boring, almost totally devoid of drama and too steeped in American church politics to appeal to an outsider.
Another problem with Spellbinder is that it spends no time in character development. For a book that is entirely about the life of one person, its strange how it sheds such little light on the man's motivations and what led to his becoming what he became. So much so that Robbins doesn't even bother to give us a physical description of his protagonist.
What makes the novel even more disappointing is that it starts off well. The first 40 pages are action-packed. Sadly, that's all the action that's there in Spellbinder.
Another problem with Spellbinder is that it spends no time in character development. For a book that is entirely about the life of one person, its strange how it sheds such little light on the man's motivations and what led to his becoming what he became. So much so that Robbins doesn't even bother to give us a physical description of his protagonist.
What makes the novel even more disappointing is that it starts off well. The first 40 pages are action-packed. Sadly, that's all the action that's there in Spellbinder.
Currently reading
December 7, 2008meh...
June 2, 2012
a dated novel about TV evangelists. Interestsing and funny sometimes, but really stereotyped and overdone for the most part.
January 28, 2016
Just awful.
October 8, 2021
It's a potboiler, as one would expect from this author, but it's one that held my attention and kept drawing me back to find out what happened next.
What is more, it is not just about televangelism, but about how people with good intentions can try to get their message out to others and how unscrupulous business people will try to hijack anything they think they can make money out of, in the process usually corrupting the ideal and leading it off track.
Nowadays, of course, we have the internet and social media, so it is easier to exchange ideas and learn what is good and works and what isn't and doesn't. That is why there is such a huge battle going on for control of the medium. We must not allow it to be censored! There are plenty of laws covering criminal activities and they need to be enforced to curb criminal activities and such things as hate mail and libel. But it is extremely devious that many are campaigning to ban what they call 'fake news' - basically defined as anything they disagree with. It is this intolerance that must end, not the freedom to express one's ideas and opinions in a public forum - that is one of the most precious of human rights.
Anyway, I recommend this book about the journey of one man who tried to live according to the Christian precept of LOVE.
Maybe his mistake was trying to win converts by word of mouth, rather than by inspiring people through the way one lives one's own life. It's a much slower process, but surely destined to achieve deeper and longer-lasting results.
What is more, it is not just about televangelism, but about how people with good intentions can try to get their message out to others and how unscrupulous business people will try to hijack anything they think they can make money out of, in the process usually corrupting the ideal and leading it off track.
Nowadays, of course, we have the internet and social media, so it is easier to exchange ideas and learn what is good and works and what isn't and doesn't. That is why there is such a huge battle going on for control of the medium. We must not allow it to be censored! There are plenty of laws covering criminal activities and they need to be enforced to curb criminal activities and such things as hate mail and libel. But it is extremely devious that many are campaigning to ban what they call 'fake news' - basically defined as anything they disagree with. It is this intolerance that must end, not the freedom to express one's ideas and opinions in a public forum - that is one of the most precious of human rights.
Anyway, I recommend this book about the journey of one man who tried to live according to the Christian precept of LOVE.
Maybe his mistake was trying to win converts by word of mouth, rather than by inspiring people through the way one lives one's own life. It's a much slower process, but surely destined to achieve deeper and longer-lasting results.
January 22, 2022
Two stars indicates a book is "okay." This one by commercial fiction giant Harold Robbins was not even okay. Man I don't know what happened...Well, actually I kinda do what happened to Harold Robbins when he drafted this novel. He was phoning it in to support a celebrity lifestyle. But in this case he forgot to phone in the good parts. So what we have is a novel about a televangelist, who served in 'Nam, and who goes by the name Preacher. That's all you have to know about Preacher because you're not going to get anything else about Preacher. He preaches, he tokes pot and (we're told) he has sex with women who seem to fall into his bed while looking for the phonebook. People talk, conflicts occur and then are resolved within a page or two of dialog and Preacher preaches again before retiring to his bedroom to do another toke off a joint. As for the kinky sex stuff that Robbins was famous for, well forget about it here. The sex stuff in this book wouldn't even make Aunt Bea blush. This was intended to be an "expose" of televangelism that was rampant in America back in the 80s but it badly missed the mark. Did Robbins even care? Probably not. By the time I was 90% of the way through the book I longed for just a single scene of someone getting slapped. At least characters used to slap each other in Robbins's other books. Perhaps I should have just slapped myself and called it a loss with this one.
January 20, 2020
The story would be more interesting if the focus wasn't so much on Jesus Christ. I don't have anything against Jesus or any connotations related to him. The problem was the repeatedness of his importance. Too many same phrases and everything goes in circles. So the theme of Jesus Christ could have been developed more in other directions. It was difficult to remember all the characters, but all in all I don't regret reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2025
2'5 de 5.
Un libro muy bien escrito al que le sobra ese tufillo a machismo en las exageradas escenas de sexo, que aportan menos que nada a la trama, y ese final moralista donde se habla de términos que además están errados.
Un libro muy bien escrito al que le sobra ese tufillo a machismo en las exageradas escenas de sexo, que aportan menos que nada a la trama, y ese final moralista donde se habla de términos que además están errados.
February 18, 2018
Truly excellent.
June 16, 2018
An interesting "history" on televangelism.
September 8, 2018
OUTSTANDING!
July 31, 2019
Once again, Harold Robbins does not dissapoint. Well written book!!
August 20, 2020
Read in 1982. Robbins tackles the subject of religious revivalism.
October 30, 2020
Excellent , Excellent
Love reading this book. What more can one say!!!!! Thanks !!!! All his works are everything a reader is looking forward to.
Love reading this book. What more can one say!!!!! Thanks !!!! All his works are everything a reader is looking forward to.
January 12, 2021
I read this when it was published, I was 18, My Father read it first, enjoyed the read, thought it bizarre when Branch Davidian Waco happened in 1993, not read many books since then 3:)
May 2, 2022
Audiobook.
Ok story
Ok story
October 12, 2023
Great book about a corrupt preacher who's created a cult and is drugging his followers.
January 14, 2025
Amazing. Couldn’t put it down. Whilst it is religious, it also is a little promiscuous. I loved it! I HIGHLY
RECOMMEND!!! :)
RECOMMEND!!! :)
December 29, 2020
Para pasar el rato esta bien
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