[.ca] The Bad Seed (ISBN 0060795484)

The Prototype For All That Followed:
Shudder and shake when you saw "The Exorcist" or "The Omen"? This novella written in 1954 was the first that delved into the psyche of a totally evil child. For sheer chill, few of the followers have matched it. Little 10-year old Rhoda Penmark is flawless perfection without a soul. She is a pretty, tidy, obedient child who worms her way to adults' affection. Her peers avoid her. Her teachers are puzzled. And her mother is about to lose her mind. Rhoda only has two buttons to push: Greed and Personal Safety. If she wants something, she will go to any lengths to get it. If she fears for her own well-being, she is willing to do anything to safeguard herself. Other than these two flaws, she is flawless. True, she has a short attention span and gets bored easily, but if you keep her satisfied, she's absolutely fine. The novella gets its power from the strain of "I'm watching you watching me" until it is heightened to unbearable intensity. You begin to believe Rhoda is a force of nature, and she can no more be circumvented than the West Wind. The book shows it age in some of the almost caricature characterizations of supporting characters. From our hurried-up 21st Century viewpoint, you can't help but think everybody has a little too much time on their hands. Nevertheless, "The Bad Seed" still packs quite a wallop. -sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Sugar and spice and everything nice, well maybe not.:
This story raises the question can people be born killers. On the outside Rhoda Penmark seems like the perfect little girl, sugar and spice and everything nice. However under her perfect exterior Rhoda is a cunning deciving child who is willing to kill for what she wants, even if it's only a penmanship medal. A the start of the novel Rhoda's mother Christina thinks she is the perfect child always clean, and polite. However as the novel goes on Christina discovers that if her little girl does not get what she wants she kills. Christina is horrifed at her discovery but is more terrifed when she discovers that her gentics make be responsible for Rhoda's lack of morality. The reader gets a great view into Christina's mind as she decides what is to be done about her daughter. This is a great story Rhoda and her mother are great charcters, and the other characters are well potrayed as well. Overall a quick and spoky read that is worth the time.

One of the great all time chillers:
This book stands up beautfully even today. The story of "sweet" little Rhoda actually seems more plausible today than it did when first written. The author did have to go to considerable pains to create suspension of disbelief in the story's plausibility, and he succeeded. The book was made into a stage play and a movie. The movie suffered because the book ending was in that day and age contrary to the production code. So if you saw the movie, absolutely read the book and don't expect the same ending.

Congenital Predestination for Evil!:
Young Rhoda Penmark (the author chooses names which offer clues as to his characters' agendas) is not a typical elementary schoolgirl: too well behaved, fastidious in her habits, and outwardly obedient, she covets the penmanship award--and her privacy. When a boy dies on a school picnic, some folks begin to be suspicious of the perfect but cold little lady. This dark tale of transmitted evil and intergenerational guilt gradually reveals Rhoda's callous activities when younger, as well as her amoral attitude. Harried by the nasty janitor who proves too smart for his own good, this child can be driven too far, as she experiences the only human emotion in her repertoire: Terror of discovery. On another level this novella-noir is also the story of Rhoda's gentle, naive mother. Unaware of her own tragic past (foster-parented), Christine's memory returns in disjointed but terrifying dreams, as her repressed childhood painfully forces itself into the light of adult cognizance. She begins to study True Crime, but the book she claims to be writing is merely a smokescreen to hide her shocking research. How will she end her "novel"--in ink and in blood? Will March choose criminal Irony or pathetic Justice? This gripping thriller is definitely not for elementary children. This horror classic is one chilling mystery, probing the dark recesses of human aberration. Must the children pay for the crimes of the parents--or grandparents? Should one generation play the scapegoat for familial guilt? Is there any way to end the spread of the bad seed?

A classic, and rightly so:
Wonderfully conceived, chillingly realistic. I won't give away the plot in case you've never read the book. By today's standards the approach is subtle, not for those looking for fast-paced thrills. There is no sex and no violence; at least not of the athletic, face-to-face type. At the same time, the story is thoroughly fascinating, sinister and appalling. A thinking person's horror tale and a must read for anyone taken by the genre.