BACKGROUND
This is such a stupid book. Basically, some guy wrote a novel based on the movie Seven. Why? Why does there need to be a book? The movie kicks so much ass, I just don't know why someone has to come along and write some long boring book…go watch the movie. The movie has Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt and is about some crazy dude who goes and kills people with the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins. If you don't know the seven deadly sins…they are as follows:
Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Lust. Basically, these are the worst sins that you can commit and you will go to hell if you do…according to that wonderful institution…the Catholic Church. Personally, I think everyone has committed these "sins" somewhere in their life so it will be nice to know we are all going to hell together. C'mon, who doesn't eat that extra slice of pizza even though they are full? Who doesn't spend a weekend lying on the couch just watching TV? Who doesn't get angry? Who doesn't envy someone and have some lustful thoughts about some hottie? The author that this book always refers to with regards to the 7 deadly sins is Dante and his "Divine Comedy". If you have seen the movie, then you already know the plot to this book. The book is just about identical to the movie except for a few things the stupid author added in. Also, the author writes what people are thinking in the book which is maybe different from the movie. My suggestion for anyone who has to read this book for class is to smack your teacher upside the head for assigning it and then go rent the movie and watch it.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Lieutenant William Somerset: He is the main detective who is played by Morgan Freeman in the movie. He has lived in the city and been a detective for a long long time and he is really smart. He is seven days away from retiring when the book starts.
Detective David Mills: He is a young detective (played by Brad Pitt) who comes to the city from outside the city and hasn't seen all the evil shit that is in the city. He thinks he is tough and wants Somerset to respect him, and also teach him.
Tracy Mills: David's wife. She is his highschool sweetheart who is a real nice woman. She hates the city and wishes they never came.
John Doe: This guy is the sick bastard who commits all the crimes. You don't find out anything about where he came from, but you do know he is really smart.
The Captain: This is the head of the police. He doesn't want Somerset to retire because he knows how good he is.
PLOT
If you have seen the movie, you know the plot already. He is a breakdown of what happens. Somerset is partnered with this new guy (Det. Mills). Somerset is going to retire in seven days. Mills thinks he is hot shit but Somerset doesn't think Mills has what it takes to deal with all the bad shit in the city. They get a call about a possible homicide and it is a big fat guy who is dead, face down in spaghetti. He has been tied to his chair for a few days and forced to eat. They find out he died from eating too much and someone held a gun to his head. Then this big time defense lawyer gets killed by cutting a pound of his own flesh and the word "greed" is written in blood on the wall. Somerset goes back to the scene of the fat man killer and finds the word "Gluttony" written in grease and also a note from the killer saying "Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light". He realizes that they have a serial killer. So he goes to the library and reads up on all these books about the Seven deadly sins and gives it all to Mills. Somerset doesn't want to get involved in the case because he is retiring soon and he knows he will get sucked in. Then Mills' wife invites Somerset over for dinner. Mills is pissed off because he doesn’t think Somerset gives him any respect and treats him like a kid. They eat dinner and Tracy Mills is charming so it all goes well. Then Mills and Somerset look at pictures of the murders and there is a picture of the lawyer's wife with blood around her eyes. So, they go talk to her and she looks at the pictures and says the painting in his office is upside down.
So, Mills and Somerset go look at the painting and then Somerset dusts for prints and finds the world help me in finger prints on the wall behind the painting. They run the prints and get some dude who has been in trouble with the law. So, they bust into his house and find this guy tied to his bed with his hand cut off. He has been there for exactly one year and he looks like a skeleton. They think he is dead but he is alive. They hope maybe he can talk, but his brain is fried and he ate his own tongue. The word "Sloth" is written over his bed. Do you see a pattern emerging? Then Mills and Somerset are talking and this photographer takes their picture and Mills flips out at him. (this is important).
Mills and Somerset are pretty down right now because the killer is totally fucking with them. They know that all the clues they have found are because the killer left them to find them. Then Somerset gets a great idea. He goes to the library and gets a list of all these books relating to the seven deadly sins and he gives it to this FBI guy. The FBI is tapped into all the libraries so they know what you read and they can bust your ass if you are a freak and read books on how to make bombs and kill people. The FBI guy brings back a list of names and one guy sticks out….John Doe. John Doe is what they call unidentified dead bodies so it seems like a good name for a killer. They go to his apartment and when they are about to knock on his door, John Doe comes home and starts shooting at them. Mills chases him out and runs into an alley where John Doe wails him with a board and then sticks a gun in his mouth. Then, instead of blowing his brains out, John Doe takes off. Mills is all pissed off because John Doe kicked his ass so he goes back to the apartment. Somerset says they can't go in because they have no probable cause. So, Mills kicks the door in and they pay some homeless guy 20 bucks to say he called the cops about John Doe being suspicious.
John Doe's apartment is freaky. It's all black and has all this shit from the murders, like the hand of the guy he cut off. Also, Mills finds pictures of himself in the guy's bathroom, which he converted into a darkroom. That means the photographer at the scene of that last murder was John Doe. See how bad he is fucking with them? Somerset finds all these notebooks with John Doe's thoughts and the problem is that he isn't too insane. His thoughts actually make sense….too bad he kills people huh? They find a receipt from some exotic leather store and they decide to check it out tomorrow.
That night, Somerset gets a call from Tracy Mills asking him to meet her tomorrow. The next morning he has coffee with her and she tells him she has no friends and hates the city. She also tells him she is pregnant with David's baby but doesn't know if she wants to bring it up in a place sooo bad. Somerset thinks David should stop playing Super Cop and leave the city for his wife and baby. Then Somerset meets Mills at the leather shop and they find out John Doe had a special device made. It's basically a strap on didlo thing with a knife on it. Just then, some policemen come in and say they have found another body. They go down the street to this whorehouse and find this nasty scene. Some guy is still alive and he is wearing the knife-dildo thing and he is all freaked out because there is a dead prostitute who he banged while wearing the knife. I don't need to say how nasty that is. Well, the guy did it because John Doe had a gun in his mouth and made him do it. The word "Lust" is written on the wall.
Then they find another victim. She is a really beautiful lady who did a lot to keep her looks and her face is all cut up. John Doe cut her face up and then bandaged the wounds, then he superglued a phone in her one hand and a bottle of pills in the other and gave her a choice…you can call for help and live…but you will be disfigured OR you can just kill yourself by taking the pills. The word "pride" is written above her bed as well as "I did not kill her. She was given a choice". On the way back to the police station, Somerset tells Mills he would like to stay on longer because this is all messed up and he can't leave loose ends. As they are walking in the station, John Doe walks in too covered in blood and gives himself up. Everyone is confused because there are still two sins left. John Doe tells the police that he will sign a full confession and show the police the other two bodies if and only if Mills and Somerset drive him alone at a certain time. If not, he will plead insanity and never show the bodies. Mills and Somerset agree and they drive John Doe. There is a helicopter that follows them and they are wearing microphones. They talk in the car and Somerset tries to find out who John Doe really is. Mills is more interested in mocking him out and calling him a sick puppy. He says that John Doe is crazy because he killed all these innocent people. John Doe goes off on how they weren't innocent….a disgusting fat guy, a greedy lawyer who put criminals on the street, a whore, a drug dealing low life (sloth), and a lady who only cared about how she looked. He talks about how he is showing the world how bad things are because we are willing to accept these things as every day life.
They drive out to a deserted place with all these powerlines and they get out of the car. John Doe starts leading Mills into a field. Then a van starts driving down the road and Somerset goes to meet it leaving John Doe with Mills. John Doe starts talking to Mills about how he admires him and "envies" his life. Mills tells him to shut up. Somerset gets to the van and finds out it is a delivery van that John Doe paid to deliver a box to this spot at this time. The box is for Det. David Mills. Somerset knows this is John Doe's big surprise. He opens the box and realizes that John Doe has won. Inside the box is Tracy Mills' head. Somerset realizes that she is the "envy" sin (i.e. John Doe envies Mills and his hot wife) and he realizes the last sin…Wrath…is going to be Mills shooting John Doe. So, he runs and tells Mills to throw down his gun and walk away. John Doe says….I paid a visit to your house this morning and played tried to play husband, tried to taste the life of a simple man…..But it didn't work out. I took a souvenir though. I took something to remember her by. Her pretty head. I took it because I envy your normal life, Detective. It seems envy is MY sin…..Tracy begged for her life…it was truly pitiful. She begged for her own life…and for the life of the baby inside her." Mills is all fucked up because he doesn't know about the baby. Somerset tries to tell him to drop his gun but Mills is too mad and caps John Doe in the head. John Doe's masterplan is a success…all seven sins are completed….Mills goes to jail, and Somerset doesn't retire. The end.
CHAPTER BY CHAPTER
CHAPTER 1:
CHAPTER 2:
CHAPTER 3:
CHAPTER 4:
CHAPTER 5:
CHAPTER 6:
CHAPTER 7:
CHAPTER 8:
CHAPTER 9:
CHAPTER 10:
CHAPTER 11:
CHAPTER 12:
CHAPTER 13:
CHAPTER 14:
CHAPTER 15:
CHAPTER 16:
CHAPTER 17:
CHAPTER 18:
CHAPTER 19:
CHAPTER 20:
CHAPTER 21:
CHAPTER 22:
CHAPTER 23:
CHAPTER 24:
CHAPTER 25:
THINGS TO MAKE YOU LOOK SMART