Reading Martin

"The young man seemed normal to him, but he particularly noticed his pallor and his greenish hazel eyes. “The eyes gave him away,” Tati Cuda thought. They were not the vibrant, dancing eyes of youth, but those of a tired old man"...

I've just spent a pleasant couple of hours reading George Romero and Susan Sparrow's 1977 novelization of Martin. Not quite the missing link between Romero's great film and the lost 3-hour cut that's mentioned on the DVD commentary, the novel more or less follows the same trajectory as the film with a little loosening of the belt here and there. The opening sequence, set on the sleeper train is extended to include an awkward encounter between Martin and a fellow passenger alarmed by Martin's withdrawal symptoms from lack of blood. Elsewhere there are some interesting tweaks to Martin's character - in the home invasion scene, Martin repeatedly punches his lady victim in the face, enraged by the unexpected presence of her illicit lover - a shocking bit of violence that doesn't quite chime with John Amplas' sensitive portrayal of the troubled young man. Ultimately, no great revelations but an enjoyable read all the same...