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  • First Blood

  • Written by: David Morrell
  • Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
  • Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (58 ratings)

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First Blood

Written by: David Morrell
Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
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Publisher's Summary

"HIS NAME WAS RAMBO AND HE WAS JUST SOME NOTHING KID FOR ALL ANYBODY KNEW."

The award-winning novel that inspired the legendary film series starring Sylvester Stallone.

First came the man: a young wanderer in a fatigue coat and long hair. Then came the legend, as John Rambo sprang from the pages of FIRST BLOOD to take his place in the American cultural landscape. This remarkable novel pits a young Vietnam veteran against a small-town cop who doesn't know whom he's dealing with - or how far Rambo will take him into a life-and-death struggle through the woods, hills, and caves of rural Kentucky.

Millions have seen the Rambo movies, but those who haven't read the book are in for a surprise - a critically acclaimed story of character, action, and compassion.

©2000 David Morell (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about First Blood

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Wow

A completely different entity from the movie. Better!!! Fantastic, thought provoking, grim and action packed. I highly recommend this book.

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Excellent

As always, the book is better than the movie. Good narration, and an enjoyable listen.

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DO NOT LISTEN TO INTRO BEFORE

The book is a 10/10. Absolutely amazing. I started playing the audionook on Youtube but then switched to Audible when i was halfway through. As i was fully engulfed into the story i was very displeased when the "intro" mentions the ending and who dies. Very poor choice to include that into an intro.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Way deeper than the movie

All the characters feel like real people in this book. Layers and layers within their personalities. If you get to keep the movie’s version out of your mind, you find yourself divided about who you should be rooting for in several moments. And it still provides unstoppable action just like the theatre’s version. Strongly recommend it!

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exciting start to end.

The book brings back memories of the movie and gives you an alternative ending and view of Rambo. I loved this version of rambo, he is much more violent in this story then Hollywoods version. I recommend this book highly if your a Rambo fan, the narrator was pretty good, I wish they added brief moments of the original rambo music just to get that extra feels during high stress moments but non the less great all the way through.

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  • Derek
  • 2015-02-26

Spoiler by the author.

I just started listening to this book this morning. The author included a forward that gives away the end. I am, however, enjoying the book. I think I would have opted to put that at the end. Just a warning to future purchasers.

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31 people found this helpful

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  • Wayne
  • 2020-05-17

Rambo!

First a warning that the author's forward gives away the plot. If you object to a major spoiler skip the forward.

FIRST BLOOD introduces Rambo and is the basis of the movie with the same title that made John Rambo a cultural icon. This novel, released in 1972, was David Morrell's first novel and is likely his best. Morrell is still releasing novels at age 77. Of course there were two other Rambo movies which were followed by two other Morrell novels based on the movies.

First Blood is an outstanding action and suspense novel that I highly recommend. Eric G. Dove is the perfect narrator for First Blood.

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20 people found this helpful

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  • nathan harlan
  • 2017-09-09

What a great book!

So I have seen the movie First Blood dozens of times. I listened to the audio book because a friend and I watched First Blood yesterday. On a long trip today I started listening to the book. Knowing that it was very different than the movie now I wish they would make another movie of the book and keep it true to the story. What a dark and sad story. Being a Veteran myself I can identify with both Rambo and Teasel. The story is troubling but is still very current. I loved it.

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15 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Michael Rogers
  • 2011-08-10

Not everything I expected, but exciting

I heard this novel does a good job of telling the story from two different perspectives and I enjoy stories that show events from more than one perspective. I was disappointed that it didn't do a good job of showing the events from both perspectives (in my opinion at least) but I enjoyed this book because of the excitement. I usually only read and listen to nonfiction but this is such an action packed story I enjoyed it.

One criticism/warning is that the authors comments before the story give away the ending so if you don't want a spoiler skip the author comments until you've complete the rest of the book. On the positive side the narrator was incredible.

The book is very similar to the early 80's Rambo movie at the beginning but as the story progresses the movie took a different course so you won't know what comes next if you've already seen the movie.

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14 people found this helpful

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  • Barry
  • 2017-04-18

Beware

This audio book is great. However, the first chapter is an introduction by the author. during that introduction he gives away the ending of the book and discusses the books differences from the movie. avoid that chapter

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9 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • David
  • 2015-03-02

Sobering Story

Sad to think about the way society treated veterans during that era. Really makes you think. Very well written and performed.

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5 people found this helpful

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  • Penguin
  • 2019-03-04

Pretty Good Book, Finished quickly

Pretty Good Book, I finished it quickly.

I also bought a second book (not the same series) by this author immediately after finishing this one.

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  • Loomster
  • 2017-10-20

This, is Legit

Better than the movie, WAY better! The narrator is spot on too. Great Book. Check it out.

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  • Steven
  • 2012-10-25

They shouldn't have messed with Rambo!!!

Where does First Blood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I think I would have to say in my top 25.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I wouldn't go so far as to say the edge of my seat good, but it was enjoyable. This Rambo was one bad mother (shut your mouth) type of guy that was just pushed too far. And he showed the sheriff that he was the wrong drifter to go and mess with.

What does Eric G. Dove bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Like what i say every time, that when you have a good narrator it brings the characters to life and Mr. Dove did a good job on his part.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The movie tag line that was used in 1982 works just fine in my opinion "This time he's fighting for his life."

Any additional comments?

It's pretty much the same as the movie, except that he kills a butt load of guys in this book than what he did in the first Rambo movie. I still enjoyed listening to the book and I'm a fan of the movie too.

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Joesh
  • 2021-05-25

So good

Easily in my top 5 books I’ve listened to on here. So gripping. A real thriller.

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3 people found this helpful