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Death Tour
It was crazy but it was a story. The five students who specialised in weird features for the college paper needed a story badly when they heard about alligators infesting the city's sewers.
With a stolen map of the sewer system they climbed down a manhole into an underground world of fetid pools and sludge-filled tunnels.
In a dark territory that played host to black rats and hideous reptiles their reporting mission turned into a nightmare as death sprang from the evil-smelling gloom...
How many of them can survive the Death Tour?
With a stolen map of the sewer system they climbed down a manhole into an underground world of fetid pools and sludge-filled tunnels.
In a dark territory that played host to black rats and hideous reptiles their reporting mission turned into a nightmare as death sprang from the evil-smelling gloom...
How many of them can survive the Death Tour?
156 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 15, 2022
What a rollercoaster ride of terror! Tom and his friends of the Five-Stars Journalist Club want to do an article about alligators in the local sewer. Mary's dad, Basil Malgren, was bitten by one. But when descending into those catacombs soon some real terror starts. Mary's mother ran away many years ago with a French teacher. In the maze of tunnels someone is hunting the youth. Then there is a train they take derailing. Can Mary's father help them. He's a mean old bastard but he works in the sewage plant... hell of a story, started relatively funny and relaxed but turned into full fledged horror underground. Great blast from the past. The story is from 1977 but still as good today as it was back then. Really recommended!
February 2, 2022
This book was not what I expected. What I thought was going to be a giant alligator on the loose in the sewers running riot, turned out to be a great Scooby-Doo in the catacombs type of thing.
It starts out with a group of college journalists trying to find a big story. A father of one of the group works at a water treatment plant. He's mean and nasty. Hates everyone he sees. Turns out that he was bitten on the leg by a gator. The group decides to go underground to investigate. Besides the alligator, they discover that an employee has disappeared in the sewers and they discovery a crazy hermit living down there. They have to figure all these things out to make it out alive
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was going to be a mediocre "Paws and Claws" outing, but quickly got interesting. There is pretty much everything you could want in here. Lots of action and bursts of gore keeps it rolling along.
It starts out with a group of college journalists trying to find a big story. A father of one of the group works at a water treatment plant. He's mean and nasty. Hates everyone he sees. Turns out that he was bitten on the leg by a gator. The group decides to go underground to investigate. Besides the alligator, they discover that an employee has disappeared in the sewers and they discovery a crazy hermit living down there. They have to figure all these things out to make it out alive
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was going to be a mediocre "Paws and Claws" outing, but quickly got interesting. There is pretty much everything you could want in here. Lots of action and bursts of gore keeps it rolling along.
September 13, 2014
Most of us have heard the urban legend about the kid who brought home a baby alligator that he wanted to keep for a pet. Then one day, while he’s out playing with his friends, his mother decides to dispose of the pet alligator by flushing it down the toilet.
We all know what the result of that is; a sewer system full of alligators. To make the legend even snappier, make them albino alligators roaming the underground system of tunnels. I think every version of this legend I heard was that it happened in New York, giving it the grittier, edgier telling than what would be rather ho-hum in a place like Florida or Louisiana.
David J. Michael’s novel DEATH TOUR takes that old legend and runs with it…kind of. Published in 1978, DEATH TOUR is Michael’s second novel, if the three sentence bio in the back of the book is true. I found the book used, of course, and bought it only because of the nifty cover by Ivan Punchatz of a scaly green human-gator hybrid skull-face rising from a crimson tide. It’s the kind of cover so prevalent in the 70s and 80s that today’s horror fan would be a fool to pass up.
We all know what the result of that is; a sewer system full of alligators. To make the legend even snappier, make them albino alligators roaming the underground system of tunnels. I think every version of this legend I heard was that it happened in New York, giving it the grittier, edgier telling than what would be rather ho-hum in a place like Florida or Louisiana.
David J. Michael’s novel DEATH TOUR takes that old legend and runs with it…kind of. Published in 1978, DEATH TOUR is Michael’s second novel, if the three sentence bio in the back of the book is true. I found the book used, of course, and bought it only because of the nifty cover by Ivan Punchatz of a scaly green human-gator hybrid skull-face rising from a crimson tide. It’s the kind of cover so prevalent in the 70s and 80s that today’s horror fan would be a fool to pass up.
June 28, 2016
This book is not good but neither it's bad. It's about a group of young people as they do their Scooby Doo Mystery Club (in this case - with the intend to publish in the newspaper). After the last mystery they want a new one - in this case - alligators in the sewers.
Interesting premise - mildly interesting twist - but where were the alligators? Good images/landscapes of the sewers.
The end was good but I already knew it would end like that. Boy and Girl meant to be together and nothing could break them apart. Adversities easily surpassed...
Interesting premise - mildly interesting twist - but where were the alligators? Good images/landscapes of the sewers.
The end was good but I already knew it would end like that. Boy and Girl meant to be together and nothing could break them apart. Adversities easily surpassed...
May 13, 2020
The group is trying to work out which feature to work on next when one almost falls into their laps. Mary’s father, a misanthropic alcoholic who controls her life, hates intellectuals (and plenty more besides) since his wife left him for a French teacher five years before and expects Mary to be at his beck and call, is the supervisor at the local sewage plant and has just been bitten on the leg by an alligator. Seizing their chance, Tom butters him up, Mary secretly photocopies the plans and Five-Star launch their expedition. Of course, nothing goes right and it’s not long before they discover they’re not alone in the sewers, as a shambling, white-haired troll who eats roasted rats seems intent on killing them.
The first half of the book enjoys a leisurely pace, developing the characters and their interplay well. Once things move underground, the pace picks up and Michael uses the locations and atmosphere well, especially the “things” in the water and the first appearance of the troll. As the body count rises there’s a neat little twist that shifts the emphasis of the book and then we head off into proper horror territory. Briskly told (the edition I read is all of 156 pages), this is good fun (so long as you don’t expect it to be the creature feature promised by the cover art), populated by characters you care about and gleefully gruesome in its set pieces, while never outstaying its welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The first half of the book enjoys a leisurely pace, developing the characters and their interplay well. Once things move underground, the pace picks up and Michael uses the locations and atmosphere well, especially the “things” in the water and the first appearance of the troll. As the body count rises there’s a neat little twist that shifts the emphasis of the book and then we head off into proper horror territory. Briskly told (the edition I read is all of 156 pages), this is good fun (so long as you don’t expect it to be the creature feature promised by the cover art), populated by characters you care about and gleefully gruesome in its set pieces, while never outstaying its welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Want to read
July 8, 2020
It was crazy but it was a
story. The five students who specialized in weird features for the
college paper needed a story badly when they heard about alligators
infesting the city's sewers.
With a stolen map of the sewer
system they climbed down a manhole into an underground world of fetid
pools and sludge-filled tunnels.
In a dark territory that played
host to black rats and hideous reptiles their reporting mission turned
into a nightmare as death sprang from the evil-smelling gloom...
How many of them can survive the Death Tour?
June 28, 2023
Review to come.
February 6, 2017
This is from the back of the book."They were the creatures of the night- unspeakable horrors, fanged, clawed, flesh-rendering beasts, waiting like a silent promise of destruction on the depths beneath the city."
Sounds like a great creature book, right? Giant killer somethings in the sewers. The book covers all show deadly gators. Well, think again. Gators are mentioned briefly a few times, and make quick appearance that is more like a cameo appearance then a staring role. The book is actually about a crazy person and a murderer in the tunnels underneath the sewage plant and the kids they kill. It was a total gator bait and switch! If I had known this book was just about some crazy people stalking the kids, I wouldn't have read it. It was an ok enough of a read, but not a theme I care about. I was looking for creature feature horror, not suspense. You can definitely tell the book is from the 70s. Lots of old ways of phrasing things casually that could be a little on the offensive side to some people now days- attitudes towards women are on the sexiest side (like they belong in the kitchen, or they aren't heavy thinkers like men are), making lots of negative comments to a main character that is over weight- she weighed 200 pounds (comments like she shook the whole room when she walked in because she was so fat or how ugly she was because she was fat), and lots of remarks about this one main character who was autistic or not very smart but the the author kept calling him retarded and a mongoloid. All the comments weren't mentioned in a mean way exactly, more like you could tell how much common politeness and sympathy for people has changed from the 70s to now. It got a little annoying over the course of the book but not too terrible as long as you kept in mind when it was written.
Over all the book was alright, but I was disappointed in the lack of killer gators.
Sounds like a great creature book, right? Giant killer somethings in the sewers. The book covers all show deadly gators. Well, think again. Gators are mentioned briefly a few times, and make quick appearance that is more like a cameo appearance then a staring role. The book is actually about a crazy person and a murderer in the tunnels underneath the sewage plant and the kids they kill. It was a total gator bait and switch! If I had known this book was just about some crazy people stalking the kids, I wouldn't have read it. It was an ok enough of a read, but not a theme I care about. I was looking for creature feature horror, not suspense. You can definitely tell the book is from the 70s. Lots of old ways of phrasing things casually that could be a little on the offensive side to some people now days- attitudes towards women are on the sexiest side (like they belong in the kitchen, or they aren't heavy thinkers like men are), making lots of negative comments to a main character that is over weight- she weighed 200 pounds (comments like she shook the whole room when she walked in because she was so fat or how ugly she was because she was fat), and lots of remarks about this one main character who was autistic or not very smart but the the author kept calling him retarded and a mongoloid. All the comments weren't mentioned in a mean way exactly, more like you could tell how much common politeness and sympathy for people has changed from the 70s to now. It got a little annoying over the course of the book but not too terrible as long as you kept in mind when it was written.
Over all the book was alright, but I was disappointed in the lack of killer gators.
April 6, 2021
A group of college journalists descend into the sewers to get the exclusive story on just what lurks down there…
...which doesn’t actually involve alligators too much, despite the promise of the cover art on every edition. We can’t blame author David J. Michaels, though; that was undoubtedly an example of the marketing department exerting it’s evil influence. Michaels did his part by delivering a tidy little horror novel with a couple good twists and a breezy, humorous tone that can get nasty when it needs to. Much of the less effective humor is aimed at his characters, most of whom he doesn’t seem to like very much. In addition to the all-American boy and girl protagonists, the journalist crew consists of Cherry (fat and loud, with frizzy red hair, brown teeth, and dirty nails), Krevitch (rat-faced and nervous, with the habit of licking his sparse mustache), and Hunk (intellectually challenged and unable to eat without drooling). It’s not too hard to figure out who’s going to live and who’s going to die. But after a little mental recasting, I found this to be a pleasantly depraved thrill ride through the sewers.
https://thericochetreviewer.blogspot.com
...which doesn’t actually involve alligators too much, despite the promise of the cover art on every edition. We can’t blame author David J. Michaels, though; that was undoubtedly an example of the marketing department exerting it’s evil influence. Michaels did his part by delivering a tidy little horror novel with a couple good twists and a breezy, humorous tone that can get nasty when it needs to. Much of the less effective humor is aimed at his characters, most of whom he doesn’t seem to like very much. In addition to the all-American boy and girl protagonists, the journalist crew consists of Cherry (fat and loud, with frizzy red hair, brown teeth, and dirty nails), Krevitch (rat-faced and nervous, with the habit of licking his sparse mustache), and Hunk (intellectually challenged and unable to eat without drooling). It’s not too hard to figure out who’s going to live and who’s going to die. But after a little mental recasting, I found this to be a pleasantly depraved thrill ride through the sewers.
https://thericochetreviewer.blogspot.com
September 10, 2020
Im surprised that I enjoyed this book. Quick read. Kept you engaged. Wanted to know what happens next!
March 28, 2021
Enjoyable enough, but I really expected more alligators. Not sure why. There is one, but it's in the last eight pages for about three paragraphs.
June 4, 2021
I couldn't put it down! Awesome, short, paperback from hell, highly recommended.
November 8, 2018
In my quest for the best of the pulp paperbacks of the 70's and 80's I came across this little sewer gem from a man about whom I can learn almost nothing; David J. Michael. I picked this one up because of the alligator on the cover. I've always been a fan of the "gators in the sewers" urban legend and wanted to see where this book took it. Well, without giving too much away let me just say that the gators play a very small part in this story, while the sewer itself is the real horror. Claustrophobic, filthy, and with as many twists and turns as the catacombs in which our characters get lost, this book is low-brow quick-paced carnage. Definitely the descent into darkness I was hoping for, even if it didn't have quite as much reptile actions as I'd like. Recommended for a quick horror read. Worthy of a movie.
June 25, 2020
Written like a stereotypical teen slasher film from the 70’s.
Nothing inherently awful about Death Tour, but of you’ve seen/read these kind of stories before, you know exactly what you’re getting into.
Nothing inherently awful about Death Tour, but of you’ve seen/read these kind of stories before, you know exactly what you’re getting into.
December 24, 2017
A heck of a lot of fun!
May 21, 2020
Haha, this isn't great, but it's really short, so all in all it's still worth a read. David J. Michael isn't a great or even good writer, but he has a story to tell, which is more than many do. Unfortunately the way this story is told isn't really a good one.
So, there's this group of student journalists who want their next big scoop for what is essentially a scandal sheet. This crew of students is made up of some pretty terrible stereotypes, particularly in the characters of Cherry (who is very fat, and therefore disgusting and loud and gets stuck in a pipe) and Hunk, a big guy with a slow mind (being characterised in all the worst ableist ways possible). Michael seems to really despise the majority of his characters, so it isn't a surprise as towards the end he summarily dispatches them with not a single tear or emotion.
There are some cool twists towards the end, and lets just say that the cover picture is misleading, there are indeed alligators in the sewer but they are not the biggest danger, by far. The story gets horribly bleak in the last 50 pages or so, but that's the best part of the novel, when all the offensive stereotypes are dead already so you can read it kind of safely.
August 13, 2023
Going into this book, i figured it would have the alligators be the main villains. They’re all over the cover art, the descriptions, but as soon as they’re in that swede they have much more to worry about than just the alligators.
This was a fun read! The first few chapters were a bit boring, just some background on the characters so we have a sense of each of them before the real action starts, but as soon as i got to them entering the sewer i couldn’t put this book down!!
And the twist at the end really got me! It feels a bit predictable as you read it and then completely turns it around on you!
This was a fun read! The first few chapters were a bit boring, just some background on the characters so we have a sense of each of them before the real action starts, but as soon as i got to them entering the sewer i couldn’t put this book down!!
And the twist at the end really got me! It feels a bit predictable as you read it and then completely turns it around on you!
January 10, 2019
Review Found Here: https://www.facebook.com/Mandashorror...
September 12, 2024
This is more a 70s YA mystery novel than true horror but fun nevertheless. A Scooby-Doo like gang of goofy journalism college students investigate a sewage facility and discover the true monster is a deranged father rather than a sewer gator which has few scenes and is rarely threatens except when "most needed."
The narrator and his Abby Arcane like girlfriend survive but no one else does. It's essentially a dark comedy and the dialog is enjoyable with the period slang. Recommend.
The narrator and his Abby Arcane like girlfriend survive but no one else does. It's essentially a dark comedy and the dialog is enjoyable with the period slang. Recommend.
May 7, 2022
Another read in one day book.
I want to say as little about this one as possible because it is 100% a misleading cover but it was a really great surprise.
First person narratives rarely work this well.
I want to say as little about this one as possible because it is 100% a misleading cover but it was a really great surprise.
First person narratives rarely work this well.
August 8, 2022
Awesome! I didn't read the synopsis until after, and I'm glad I didn't because it describes a creature feature rather than maniac slasher type deal with some greats twists and a tone of action. Excellent pacing. Engaging writing. Mayhem. Violence. Oddities. Start to finish fun.
February 19, 2023
This came recommended online to me and I’m glad I read it. Very quick read and just good all round fun light horror read
March 1, 2024
I read this book years ago after stumbling across an old warn copy in a second hand bookstore.
A wild ride from beginning to end.
A wild ride from beginning to end.
November 24, 2023
Death Tour by David J. Michael
“The world is full of people, but people stink.”
A group of five college journalists called Five-Star are eagerly searching for their next big story. They’ve covered everything from a night on the strip with a well-known prostitute to a mysterious woman known as the “Pigeon Lady” to even witchcraft. Each story being a bigger hit than the last. The trouble with success, however, is it’s difficult to stay there, especially as the mysteries around town dwindle. One day, they hear rumor of something larger than life and deadlier than man living beneath the city streets and stalking the murky waters of its sewers: Alligators. Fresh on the trail of their biggest story yet, the group descends into the catacombs of the sewers hoping to catch the story of the century. What they don’t know is that the alligators aren’t the only deadly hunter roaming the abandoned tunnels…
I received Death Tour as a Christmas Gift from my sister and seeing as it is only just above two-hundred pages, I figured I’d settle in for a quick creature-feature as my last book of the year. Much like the group in this book, what I expected wasn’t what I got. What’s presented as a tale of alligator hunting actually turns out to be a mystery. So, did Five-Star write another harrowing tale of adventure and mystique, or will I be cancelling my subscription?
I devoured this book and it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to say that. I found the characters to be enjoyable and their chemistry together worked really well. I liked that we were introduced to them and their personalities straight from the start of the story. It’s a little tropish: a leader and his love interest, the smart person, the loveable but freakishly strong oaf, and the cowardly nerd. It kind of reminds me of Scooby-Doo in a way, but in a good way. Their personalities really shine through in their scenarios and no one outshines the other when they’re talking together. Overall, I cared for all of them and what befell them, which to me, is the most important part to any story.
The pacing was almost perfect. I’m someone that enjoys a slow burn, and this definitely fit the bill. It took its time setting up the story, the characters, and actually getting into the sewers, and even then, it takes a bit for something to start happening. Even though there were some great parts leading up to the climax, I did find myself getting a little impatient waiting for the action to show up.
The one major flaw with the book is a divisive one. Much like Ketchum’s “Hide and Seek,” Death Tour is presented as a story about a group of college kids hunting a giant alligator in a sewer. However, that’s not at all what the story turns out to be. What we do get is a murder mystery, and a very good one if I’m to be honest. When things start to get unhinged in the story, it takes us through a mystery about an engineer that went missing in the sewers and was never found. The surprise twist is fantastic and took me by complete surprise. The climax of the story is excellently done and has you on the edge of your seat until the final page. The author does a great job of giving you a glimpse of hope, then takes it away leaving you in the dark until you find yet another glimpse. I love a story that has me dreading every sentence as far as the fate of the characters go and this one delivers in the best way possible. However, I can see where some negative reviewers felt cheated. When you’re told it’s a creature-feature, you expect it to be.
Death Tour was a blast of an experience for me. I felt the characters were real, enjoyable, and grounded. I felt the action scenes were very well done and actually had my hands sweating at some points. The story reeled me in and the twist took me by surprise and the climax was just epic. However, with the pacing going from a walk to almost a crawl and the story being presented as one thing, but being something completely different, I can’t whole-heartedly give the book five stars. I will say that it wrapped up my end of year reading nicely, and I would easily recommend this book.
4/5
“The world is full of people, but people stink.”
A group of five college journalists called Five-Star are eagerly searching for their next big story. They’ve covered everything from a night on the strip with a well-known prostitute to a mysterious woman known as the “Pigeon Lady” to even witchcraft. Each story being a bigger hit than the last. The trouble with success, however, is it’s difficult to stay there, especially as the mysteries around town dwindle. One day, they hear rumor of something larger than life and deadlier than man living beneath the city streets and stalking the murky waters of its sewers: Alligators. Fresh on the trail of their biggest story yet, the group descends into the catacombs of the sewers hoping to catch the story of the century. What they don’t know is that the alligators aren’t the only deadly hunter roaming the abandoned tunnels…
I received Death Tour as a Christmas Gift from my sister and seeing as it is only just above two-hundred pages, I figured I’d settle in for a quick creature-feature as my last book of the year. Much like the group in this book, what I expected wasn’t what I got. What’s presented as a tale of alligator hunting actually turns out to be a mystery. So, did Five-Star write another harrowing tale of adventure and mystique, or will I be cancelling my subscription?
I devoured this book and it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to say that. I found the characters to be enjoyable and their chemistry together worked really well. I liked that we were introduced to them and their personalities straight from the start of the story. It’s a little tropish: a leader and his love interest, the smart person, the loveable but freakishly strong oaf, and the cowardly nerd. It kind of reminds me of Scooby-Doo in a way, but in a good way. Their personalities really shine through in their scenarios and no one outshines the other when they’re talking together. Overall, I cared for all of them and what befell them, which to me, is the most important part to any story.
The pacing was almost perfect. I’m someone that enjoys a slow burn, and this definitely fit the bill. It took its time setting up the story, the characters, and actually getting into the sewers, and even then, it takes a bit for something to start happening. Even though there were some great parts leading up to the climax, I did find myself getting a little impatient waiting for the action to show up.
The one major flaw with the book is a divisive one. Much like Ketchum’s “Hide and Seek,” Death Tour is presented as a story about a group of college kids hunting a giant alligator in a sewer. However, that’s not at all what the story turns out to be. What we do get is a murder mystery, and a very good one if I’m to be honest. When things start to get unhinged in the story, it takes us through a mystery about an engineer that went missing in the sewers and was never found. The surprise twist is fantastic and took me by complete surprise. The climax of the story is excellently done and has you on the edge of your seat until the final page. The author does a great job of giving you a glimpse of hope, then takes it away leaving you in the dark until you find yet another glimpse. I love a story that has me dreading every sentence as far as the fate of the characters go and this one delivers in the best way possible. However, I can see where some negative reviewers felt cheated. When you’re told it’s a creature-feature, you expect it to be.
Death Tour was a blast of an experience for me. I felt the characters were real, enjoyable, and grounded. I felt the action scenes were very well done and actually had my hands sweating at some points. The story reeled me in and the twist took me by surprise and the climax was just epic. However, with the pacing going from a walk to almost a crawl and the story being presented as one thing, but being something completely different, I can’t whole-heartedly give the book five stars. I will say that it wrapped up my end of year reading nicely, and I would easily recommend this book.
4/5
March 21, 2017
1st Read: July 2, 1993 - July 7, 1993 (*** Rating)
Not as scary as the reverse cover suggests, but it wasn't that bad.
2nd Read: December 4, 2012 - December 5, 2012 (** Rating)
Easy to read and follow....still not a great book. Will give this one away, trade for another or throw out/recycle.
Not as scary as the reverse cover suggests, but it wasn't that bad.
2nd Read: December 4, 2012 - December 5, 2012 (** Rating)
Easy to read and follow....still not a great book. Will give this one away, trade for another or throw out/recycle.
August 1, 2021
A group of students venture into a sewer to write a story for the college paper about alligators in the sewers. The tour of the sewer becomes a death tour with the alligators not their biggest threat. Easy quick read.
November 18, 2017
Death Tour’s brevity, momentum and lack of airs make for a novel that’s quick, dumb fun.
A disposable-yet-entertaining horror distraction.
A disposable-yet-entertaining horror distraction.
October 31, 2011
I read this book twice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews