Rating: 
Summary: Hauntingly chilling classic horror
Review: Rosemary's Baby is the story of a young newly-wed couple who happen to move in to a building with a history of unfortunate and strange occurences. Rosemary is ready and willing to start a family, but little does she know she'll end up carrying the baby of, not her husband Guy, but rather Satan himself. This is a story of witches and devil worship coupled with real-life events and occurences. This fact is what made this novel so ground-breaking when it first came out in the 60's. It places horror in the home, and in someone's womb, as opposed to something slightly more abstract (ie-"Swamp Thing" or "The Blob"). "Fear where we never thought to look before." Is Rosemary being a worried soon-to-be mother? How many of her suspicions are rooted in fact? Does Rosemary need to protect her child from others, or is it everyone else who needs protection from him? For Rosemary, the line becomes blurred between fear and reality and she can trust no one as she struggles to discern the truth. Levin weaves the plot elements together so masterfully and intricately that the story is indeed flawless. The characters are believable, and the suspense very real. The twists are intriguing and exciting. I cranked this book out yesterday, so it's fair to say that Rosemary's Baby is an easy and fast-paced read. However, though this is a great suspense-type horror book, it is not really necessarily "spooky" or nail-biting per say. If you are looking for a suspensful page-turner that is a quick and simple read, then give this one a try!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad But...
Review: So I'm sitting here wondering about what I loved about this book and what I hated about it. The plot moves swiftly and the suspense is well painted throughtout making the reader move fast from page to page, as a suspense novel it's great as a horror novel it falls short and I'm not to sure what Ira Levin was aiming for. The ending leaves a lot to be desired but after reading it your not exactly kicking yourself for doing so due to the fact it isn't a huge book to read, the ending although a little weak does not detract altogether from this book cause it's still a good book, but it isn't for those searching for edge of your seat stuff, this is a suspenseful thriller and the ending wasn't gripping enough for me to run out and buy the sequel THE SON OF ROSEMARY, those of you who are looking for a suspense with more chilling results should look to the EXORCIST. As for Rosemarys Baby it reaches for the above average score and holds it firmly.
Rating:
Summary: "Hail Rosemary! Hail Satan!"
Review: This book is a modern horror masterpiece put together in a way like no other horror book I've ever read. Creativity and style are the keys to the success of the story. At all times the reader has the sense that some sort of dark conspiracy is afoot, but at the same time, there is just enough lack of evidence that one can just dismiss it as silliness and paranoia. This tension lasts right up until the end of the story. Minor inconsistencies and eerie neighbors leave the reader constantly guessing and struggling with what is really going on. Yet every time a strange event happens, there seems to be an equally logical explanation that allays the newly arisen suspicion. That is the greatness of this book. The story is so well put together that the reader can struggle, but will not figure out the true scope of everything that is happening until the author wants him to. This is a very worthwhile, scary read. The movie starring Mia Farrow is also plenty creepy!
Rating:
Summary: A Spooky Shocker Classic
Review: Why am I giving this book 5 stars when the writing isn't especially great? Because Ira Levin hit every right note in "Rosemary's Baby" and made it into an instantaneous horror classic. On one level, it's a great horror story; on another, it's also a kind of morality play: God has a son; what happens when the devil gets jealous and wants one too? Enter Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, almost-newlyweds, new tenants in an old, luxury building called "The Bramford", famous for its high ceilings and working fireplaces, notorious for its unsavory happenings (dead baby wrapped in newspapers abandoned in the basement). They are warned off by Hutch, an old friend of Rosemary's who knows all about the building's sordid history, but disregard the omens. Rosemary is a housewife (yes, back in the day there actually were such things) who wants to be a mother. Guy is an actor and a rising star whose talent is overshadowed only by his unlimited ambition. Next door are the Castevets, Minnie and Roman, a delightfully ditzy old couple who just happen to head a coven of witches who have made a pact with the devil. Rosemary wants a baby; Guy wants a leading part in a hit play; the witches want... well, all the ingredients are there for a devil's brew that sets the pot boiling wonderfully for 260 pages. After a nightmarish impregnation, Rosemary goes through a hellacious pregnancy, presided over by Dr. Sapirstein, a famous "society" obstetrician who assures Rosemary that her pains will go away in a day or two. Hutch's death after a long, suspicious illness jolts Rosemary out of her cocoon of trusting ignorance, and here Levin builds the horror up ever so insidiously until it hits you like a sledgehammer. Rosemary discovers who her neighbors are; that they have drawn her husband into a diabolical plot, and when she runs to Dr. Sapirstein for protection, she finds out that he too is... well, if you can't trust your husband and your obstetrician, who can you trust? Rosemary is left alone to try to save her baby from what she fears is a plot against his life and safety, remembering that dead baby in the basement; there's a plot afoot, all right, but what it is, is something neither Rosemary or the reader could possibly imagine until they stare at it, literally and figuratively, in the eyes. Levin is one terrific storyteller and he manages to time the action to coincide perfectly with the story line; Rosemary conceives, ironically, on the night of the Pope's visit to New York in early October, and the baby is born, fittingly, right after midnight, "exactly half the year around from you-know". Some readers have complained that the ending is lame after all the shock and horror, and they have a point, but it's fun to wonder, how else could Levin have ended this story? It's a perfect psychological horror fantasy, no blood, no gore, no things that go bump in the night, but just the ordinary neighbors next door that can and do raise all kinds of hell. It's a classic that has stood the test of time; after 35 years, it's still a great read.
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