Product Description
Filled with ominous landscapes and macabre menace, Stephen King's latest mass market novel features The Gunslinger, a haunting figure in combat with The Man in Black in an epic battle of good versus evil. A spellbinding tale that is both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike.Amazon.com Review
Thirty-three years, a horrific and life-altering accident, and thousands of desperately rabid fans in the making, Stephen King's quest to complete his magnum opus rivals the quest of Roland and his band of gunslingers who inhabit the Dark Tower series. Loyal DT fans and new readers alike will appreciate this revised edition of The Gunslinger, which breathes new life into Roland of Gilead, and offers readers a "clearer start and slightly easier entry into Roland's world."

King writes both a new introduction and foreword to this revised edition, and the ever-patient, ever-loyal "constant reader" is rewarded with secrets to the series's inception. That a "magic" ream of green paper and a Robert Browning poem, came together to reveal to King his "ka" is no real surprise (this is King after all), but who would have thought that the squinty-eyed trio of Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach would set the author on his true path to the Tower? While King credits Tolkien for inspiring the "quest and magic" that pervades the series, it was Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that helped create the epic proportions and "almost absurdly majestic western backdrop" of Roland's world.

To King, The Gunslinger demanded revision because once the series was complete it became obvious that "the beginning was out of sync with the ending."While the revision adds only 35 pages, Dark Tower purists will notice the changes to Allie's fate and Roland's interaction with Cort, Jake, and the Man in Black--all stellar scenes that will reignite the hunger for the rest of the series.Newcomers will appreciate the details and insight into Roland's life. The revised Roland of Gilead (nee Deschain) is embodied with more humanity--he loves, he pities, he regrets. What DT fans might miss is the same ambiguity and mystery of the original that gave the original its pulpy underground feel (back when King himself awaited word from Roland's world). --Daphne Durham ... Read more

Customer Reviews (579)

First-Time King Reader Who Digs Western Stories
This is my first time to read a Stephen King book. I haven't read much fiction in a long time either, but I absolutely love the Sergio Leone films, so I was drawn to the Gunslinger. I also love sci-fi. I picked this up at the library so it's missing the new 35 pages. After reading King's afterward, the mystical aspects of the story make more sense. It is presented in five parts, which were released over time in a magazine. He wrote The Gunslinger over 12 years and it's not like he has a big-picture outline of it. With that in mind, I give it 4 stars and will keep reading the series. I did enjoy the book and was engaged, but was thrown off by some of the vague aspects of the story. So I think the synopsis is a bit misleading by stating it's complete even though it's part of a series. However, my 4 stars stand because I see it as part of a whole that I have been drawn in to.

forgot to mention something....
3 out of 5 stars because of the water stain in the center of the book that effected both book and jacket. Maybe had the seller not "forgotten" to mention it, it would not have bothered me.

Grrrrreat
Can't really add to what's already been said, so I'll just stick with saying this book was phenomenal.

All Cult Classics Are Not Equal
Hmmmm.I got talked into starting The Dark Tower by several friends who (a) know I have read most of Stephen King's work and (b) have taste that I largely agree with.So I've now made it through the first (short) book that makes up the seven-book series.I had started it many, many years ago and quickly abandoned it, finding it not up to his other works and just not interesting enough to make up for that.Having now finished it, I can say I think both of those facts remain true for me.It's too purposefully mystical and I think largely kind of silly (though not fun-silly).However.I'll continue with the series.I'll read the next book (which I've been told is infinitely better) and eventually probably read all seven.Because I'm that reader who, once he starts, finishes.Unless they start to feel like the kind of head-spinning fun-less work that this one was.At that point, I may abandon my quest.But for now, I'll give the impossible dream a shot.

So much better the second time around
The first time I read this book, I was lost and wasn't sure I'd make it through the entire book. The ending was worth it and at the time, I thought the most important part of the book.Now, having read the entire series AND re-reading this one, I see all the hidden messages, meaning and importance of the information shared and I'm in awe.I love this book the second time around. ... Read more

Product Description

International bestselling author Stephen King is in terrifying top form with his first collection of short stories in almost a decade. In this spine-chilling compilation, King takes readers down a road less traveled (for good reason) in the blockbuster e-Book "Riding the Bullet," bad table service turns bloody when you stop in for "Lunch at the Gotham Café," and terror becomes déjàvu all over again when you get "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French" -- along with eleven more stories that will keep you awake until daybreak. Enter a nightmarish mindscape of unrelenting horror and shocking revelations that could only come from the imagination of the greatest storyteller of our time.Amazon.com Review
In his introduction to Everything's Eventual, horror author extraordinaire Stephen King describes how he used a deck of playing cards to select the order in which these 14 tales of the macabre would appear. Judging by the impact of these stories, from the first words of the darkly fascinating "Autopsy Room Four" to the haunting final pages of "Luckey Quarter," one can almost believe King truly is guided by forces from beyond.

His first collection of short stories since the release of Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993, Everything's Eventual represents King at his most undiluted. The short story format showcases King's ability to spook readers using the most mundane settings (a yard sale) and comfortable memories (a boyhood fishing excursion). The dark tales collected here are some of King's finest, including an O. Henry Prize winner and "Riding the Bullet," published originally as an e-book and at one time expected by some to be the death knell of the physical publishing world. True to form, each of these stories draws the reader into King's slightly off-center world from the first page, developing characters and atmosphere more fully in the span of 50 pages than many authors can in a full novel.

For most rabid King fans, chief among the tales in this volume will be "The Little Sisters of Eluria," a novella that first appeared in the fantasy collection Legends, set in King's ever-expanding Dark Tower universe. In this story, set prior to the first Dark Tower volume, the reader finds Gunslinger Roland of Gilead wounded and under the care of nurses with very dubious intentions. Also included in this collection are "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French," the story of a woman's personal hell; "1408," in which a writer of haunted tour guides finally encounters the real thing; "Everything's Eventual," the title story, about a boy with a dream job that turns out to be more of a nightmare; and "L.T.'s Theory of Pets," a story of divorce with a bloody surprise ending.

King also includes an introductory essay on the lost art of short fiction and brief explanatory notes that give the reader background on his intentions and inspirations for each story. As with any occasion when King directly addresses his dear Constant Readers, his tone is that of a camp counselor who's almost apologetic for the scare his fireside tales are about to throw into his charges, yet unwilling to soften the blow. And any campers gathered around this author's fire would be wise to heed his warnings, for when King goes bump in the night, it's never just a branch on the window. --Benjamin Reese ... Read more

Customer Reviews (315)

Great Read
This is the perfect read if you like your horror in small doses.Each story is unique; some are "scary" while others are thrillers or more psychological in nature.I'd rate this 100% good stuff.

Not great, but good
Like Stephen King's body of work, this collection of short stories is a mixed bag. A few were chilling and original, others seemed little more than rambling. I'm not holding it against King. When you're as prolific as he is, not every story's going to be a home run. He has enough great novel that he's earned a few strike-outs and he's still among my favorite authors. That said, this collection is not a strike-out, only a few of the stories are, and another few are so-so (base hits, if you will). I enjoyed the read, but not as much as I usually enjoy King. Kings fans should definitely read it (I won't tell you which stories I liked or didn't like since we all have our own tastes) and readers looking for a few nights of scary stories could do worse.

Great book!
I am a big Stephen King fan and this is a terrific book.The short stories are very well written and compelling.They are also only about 50 pages long each, so you can read one in a sitting (as opposed to King's novels).Great book.I enjoyed it very much.

One Good Story, One Decent Story
"I've never told anyone this story, and never thought I would - not because I was afraid of being disbelieved, exactly, but because I was ashamed...and it was mine. I've always felt that telling it would cheapen both me and the story itself, make it smaller and more mundane, no more than a camp counselor's ghost story told before light's out. I was also afraid that if I told it, heard it with my own ears, I might start to disbelieve it. But since my mother's died, I haven't been able to sleep very well. I doze off and snap back again, wide awake and shivering. Leaving the bedside lamp on helps, but not as much as you'd think. There are so many more shadows at night, have you ever noticed that? Even with a light on there are so many shadows. The long ones could be the shadows of anything at all, you think.

Anything at all."

Stephen King's maligned a lot, both by elitists and people who I doubt have read a book in the past three years. He's got (occasionally mortal) flaws in his writing, and anyone who says that he hasn't declined post accident is deluding themself. That being said, you can always tell which of the haters have actually read and dismissed Stephen King and which of them have skipped the first step and just dismissed him. Those detractors say that he doesn't care about characters, that his books are just fast paced noise with no higher goal than shock factor and body count. While I won't deny King's occasional love of shock horror, the other parts of the typical King criticism are as close as you can come to being objectively wrong while making a subjective statement.

King's character development and prose are what keep me coming back to him. He has the ability to step into someone's head and write in style that is distinctly human from the first paragraph of any character's point of view. Unfortunately, due to his meander-happy style of no-outline writing, his later books just wallow around for a few hundred pages before coming to a closing so unsatisfying that it boggles the mind. Everything's Eventual, despite consisting of short stories, none of which clock in at over ninety pages (and that's the highest by a significant margin), is the most blatant example of this that I've yet seen.

[Two notes on the coming review:
1. I did not read the story The Little Sisters of Eluria. It's a Dark Tower story and, seeing as I'm planning to read the Dark Tower this year, I'd rather appreciate it in its proper context.
2. This review will contain SPOILERS for several stories in the collection; The Man in the Black Suit, Lunch at the Gotham Café, and Autopsy Room Four, to be specific.]

King hasn't lost his gift for characterization. Almost every voice in the collection is perfectly captured. The gullible, overwhelmed thoughts of Dink (Everything's Eventual) are as vivid as the despondent world weariness of Alfie (Everything That You Love Will Be Carried Away). King also hasn't lost his obsession with character created euphemisms. For the most part, these are well done and endearing, though the endless parade of eventuals in the title story, standing in for awesome, gets horribly old.

Unfortunately, the prose can only enchant you for a few pages. After that, you start looking for content, and that's where the collection disappoints again and again. The failures can basically be broken into two categories.

The first of these categories is the nonstarter. These stories read like the opening chapters of a novel, where the main event is still a good hundred pages away at the least by the time you've turned the last page. The best example of these is The Devil in the Black Suit. The story depicts a young boy going fishing a short distance from his house. While fishing, the boy encounters the devil. Now, in the notes section, King says that a friend's grandfather insists that, one day, he met the devil and had to not let the devil know that he'd caught onto the deception. This reminds me of a section in the excellent How Not to Write a Novel entitled Why Your Job Is Harder Than God's. See, in real life, meeting The Man in the Black Suit could be the defining event of your lifetime. In a Stephen King short story, on the other hand, the reader's reaction is more like: and then?

And it's that and then? that's really missing here. The kid talks with the Devil, tries to hide that he knows it's the Devil. The Devil says that the kid's mom died. The kid starts running away. Alright, the reader thinks, we're getting somewhere. Not really, because he gets away without all that much trouble. He goes home, and his mother is...still alive? Okay, wait, his father doesn't believe him and the two are going to head down to spot and see what happened, so I guess there's still space for something to happen, right? Wrong. They get there; it smells faintly of sulfur. The end. Let me see if I can sum up the major events of the story: kid has a dream. Oh, and the place smells of sulfur. Forgive me if I'm not shaking in my boots yet. Now, the story's not a total wash. The voice is perfectly captured and a joy to read. There's one genuinely disturbing image. And...well, no, that's it. I'm sorry, Mr. King, but a good prose style and one paragraph aren't enough to salvage thirty pages of nothing.

The majority of the stories, however, fall under the second, even more disappointing, category, the one where you get what seems like an interesting set up before everything nose dives so badly it's sometimes hard to watch (as King said in Riding the Bullet: Well begun, too soon done). The best example of this is Lunch at the Gotham Cafe. The story opens with a man being left by his wife. We get ten pages of good characterization, inhabiting the more-than-slightly shell-shocked shoes of Steven Davis. At the eleven page mark, Steven and his wife, and his wife's lawyer, sit down at the café for lunch. Without warning, the maitre d starts screaming about some invisible dog and draws a knife.

Let's pause for a second, as the set up's now over. Writing Excuses often talks about how the beginning of a story is a promise to the reader. So, looking back over what's happened so far, let's pick out those promises. First of all, the divorce. We need some form of resolution there in order to make the first ten pages not feel like a total waste of time, be the resolution painful acceptance or happy reunion or something in between. Second, and more immediate, we need to figure out what the hell's wrong with the maitre d. There're some secondary threads hanging around - such as Steven's attempt to quit smoking - but those two are absolutely essential, and I can't imagine a good ending without those being resolved.

And, just so you know, neither can Stephen King. The maitre d's insanity, and the following fight, are, at first, surprising and odd enough to be unsettling, but the bastard's built like some form of table waiting super-zombie, and he just does not die. After what feels like a lifetime of reading about this guy getting mutilated again and again, the maitre d finally manages to die (in a manner less climactic than several already attempted non-deaths) and the story just fizzles out from there. The reason for the guy's insanity? Unless screaming Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee counts as a rational motive, the guy resembles a windup toy with a knife more than an actual character. The divorce? The main character really might as well have been in there alone.

You know the joke that, if you can't figure out how to move the plot forward, you just throw in a man with a gun, hoping that you can shift things around while the audience's captivated by all the bright lights and loud noises? Well, that kind of feels like what happened here. The people sit down, but King doesn't know where to go, so he introduces a nice distraction to jump start the plot. Problem being, he still doesn't know where this thing's heading, and after wasting as much time as he could (seriously, I don't think I've ever seen a fight scene that can best be summed up as "meandering" before), he just realizes that he better just slap a nice THE END on. Oh, and I'm somewhat perplexed that the cop's don't feel any need to speak with the primary target, not to mention the killer's killer, after the whole scene, but whatever.

After seeing an endless stream of novels and short stories from the man, many people are understandably curious as to whether he's actually got anything fresh left in him. Unfortunately, Everything's Eventual is no more satisfying in originality than it is in consistency. I'm fine with an author putting his own spin on a tired cliché, but the number of stories whose notes have a variation of "this is my attempt at a [insert horror cliché here] story" is just ridiculous. These are, for the most part, predictable from the first (stale) note to the final (disappointing) let ring.

Let's look at Autopsy Room Four. This is King's take on the standard buried alive drill; the protagonist wakes up on the autopsy table. You can see the tension gathering with every step the doctor's take as they prepare to cut into him, but seeing isn't feeling, and the knowledge that this's supposed to be a nail biting moment doesn't quite make it one. You know the guy's going to get out okay from the get go, and that just makes you want the doctor's to hurry it up and discover him already. In the notes, King says that he wanted a more "modern" take on the whole thing, with the doctor's discovering the patient's living status by his erection. You know what? That might've been just amusing enough to save the story. But saying that's what happens is a bald faced lie. The erection isn't discovered until afterwards, what saves the patient is another doctor jumping onto the stage and giving a painfully implausible info dump right before the scissors start cutting. It's something that would be unbearably convenient in some amateur's first stab at writing, and King's treatment is no better.

The connection isn't a total wash, mind you. There is one decent horror story, The Road Virus Heads North. It's another of those aforementioned my take on stories, with the victim this time being your standard moving picture tale. Still, despite all the warning signs to the contrary, the story manages to hit some scary, though predictable, notes. Standing above that is Riding the Bullet, the collection's one story that's actually, genuinely, good. The story's horror aspect is actually somewhat reminiscent of The Man in the Black Suit, but the chills are the least important thing here. Riding the Bullet is a portrayal of sorrow and guilt that manages to be almost touching enough to make up for the rest of the collection.

Almost, but not quite. This collection has fourteen stories, out of which I've read thirteen. Out of those, one was good, one was decent, and eleven ranged from lackluster to cringe worthy. I've read a lot of newer Stephen King - hell, my first book by him was Cell - and this is the first time King book that I can truly classify as bad. Get Riding the Bullet and ignore the rest.

great compilation of short stories by a great author!
i enjoyed this book soo much. I found that most of the stories were great, and the others were atleast good. Its worth the buy! ... Read more

Product Description
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER-THE PRELUDE TO THE CLASSIC DARK TOWER SERIES.

A tale of archetypal heroes and sweeping adventures, of dragons and princes and evil wizards, here is epic fantasy as only Stephen King could envision it.Amazon.com Review
A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must dobattle for the throne.Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of Good to fightfor what is rightfully his.This is a masterpiece of classic dragons-and-magic fantasy that only Stephen King could have written! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (359)

A tale of a castle and the dark doings within
Because of its origins as a bedtime story for his little daughter, I put off reading Stephen King's "The Eyes of the Dragon" for many years, thinking it would be too childlike and boilerplate storybook-ish for my tastes.But finally getting to it, I learned that I needn't have worried.This tale of an evil magician who engineers a murder and frame-up in order to assure that his own controllable choice for King is placed in line for the throne is gritty, entertaining, and decidedly adult.

I did like the first half of the book more than the second half.The initial chapters feature much texture and subtlety in the depiction of King Roland, his sons Peter and Thomas, and the evil court magician and King's advisor Flagg (perhaps the same Flagg who shows up later in Mr. King's "The Stand").I particularly liked the way one short conversation between Peter and his mother about the importance of using a napkin leads Peter to a lifelong obsession with napkins, even using them for a centerpiece escape attempt later in the novel.The book's latter going is still good, but its shift to some less interesting (though still likable) secondary characters and the de-evolution of Flagg from a complex villain to your more basic cackling maniac made me miss the nuance and texture of the earlier parts a little.But only a little if I'm honest.

I actually listened to "The Eyes of the Dragon" via a terrific new unabridged audio production read by Bronson Pinchot (who makes the most of the story's generous amounts of drama and intrigue) that I picked up from Amazon's Audible division and enjoyed on my MP3 player. But I'm sure the story's qualities will come through in print form, too.

Possibly a dry run for his Dark Tower epic, "The Eyes of the Dragon" is a Stephen King tale of a slightly different flavor and stripe, but one still as reliably involving as his usual fare.

W. Sierra (NB Michigan)
I am a huge fan of Stephen King and will read anything written by him. I bought this book on my Kindle. I loved the story, but there were so many mispelled words and puncutation errors that it was very hard to get past. I have noticed there are more mispelled words in the Kindle version of Stephen King's books than any other I have read. I have read over a hundred books on Kindle.

Unexpected
This was not what I expected from Stephen King but was very enjoyable nonetheless. I would definitely recommend this book.

A Bedtime Story
Stephen King has said that "Eyes of the Dragon" was written for his daughter who at the time was not old enough to read his published novels.He did not intend to have the story published but once word got out that the story existed it was impossible to turn down the financial offers.

The story itself is one of murder and betrayal, focusing on two Princes who are in-line to be King. One brother is wrongly accused of murder and imprisoned, set-up by the King's evil advisor Flagg, and the other ascends to be King while under Flagg's influence (yes Flagg has infiltrated King's young adult novel).

I was curious to see if I could introduce my 9 year old daughter, who recently has taken an interest in sci-fi/fantasy books, to Stephen through this book.Although the majority of the novel is acceptable for this age there were a few scenes that parents should be aware of.Early on King talks about the "making" of the heirs to the throne, and although not graphic at all there are suggestions of baby making with little love between the King and Queen.There is also a horrible death scene and family betrayal between the brothers.All in all nothing heinous but make sure your child is mature enough to handle the subject matter.

Overall the book reads like a story told to a child before bedtime and I don't think it is meant as anything more than that.The story is generic with characters that are one-sided and labeled as "good" or "bad" (except for Thomas who is an interesting character but diving into his mind would be way too much for a children's book).There is very little plot except to find out if the Prince is redeemed and Flagg punished, but somehow that is enough.There is an innocence to the novel that seems to carry the story forward with enough trademark King to keep his adult fans interested for a short time.

"Eyes of the Dragon" is not a long novel and reads quickly.It is not meant to be anything more than a breezy story about two Princes and the man named Flagg who wants to control them both and a Kingdom.

Nice change of pace for early King
I recently read this again after probably twenty years or so, and enjoyed it almost as much as the first time.Even now, after King has completed the Dark Tower series and gone down many other paths as a writer, this book stands out as unique.I love the choice of an unidentified narrator and the commentary the narrator adds, it really complements the tale set in a land of kingdoms, magicians, and dragons.At the time this story was WAY off from King's typical work, which I found interesting and now, having read more of his stuff (after a long hiatus) it adds to the proof of what a great writer and storyteller he is, no matter what genre he is placed in.There are a few parts in the beginning that seem unnecessary and might make one uncomfortable (at least us prudes) about having a youngster read it, but overall, it is fairly suitable for anyone.I was amazed at the time that King wrote a fantasy story like this so well, but after reading the Talisman and now having completed the Dark Tower series I guess it isn't so surprising.But the style of writing in the Eyes of the Dragon is unique; though I am a King fan, I would think those that don't care for Kings typical horror stories would nevertheless find this book enjoyable. ... Read more

Product Description
Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a twenty-five-year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went -- a place that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons, Lisey's turn to go to Boo'ya Moon. What begins as a widow's effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited. Perhaps King's most personal and powerful novel, Lisey's Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love.Amazon.com Review
Since his first novel was published in 1974, Stephen King has stretched the boundaries of the written word, not only bringing horror to new heights, but trying his hand at nearly every possible genre, including children's books, graphic novels, serial novels, literary fiction, nonfiction, westerns, fantasy, and even e-books (remember The Plant?). With Lisey's Story, once again King is trying something different. Lisey's Story is as much a romance as it is a supernatural thriller--but don't let us convince you. Who better to tell readers if King has written a romantic thriller than Nora Roberts? We asked Nora to read Lisey's Story and give us her take. Check out her review below. --Daphne Durham

Guest Reviewer: Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts, who also writes under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, is the author of way too many bestselling books to name here (over 150!), but some of our favorites include: Angels Fall, Born in Death, Blue Smoke, and The Reef.

Stephen King hooked me about three decades ago with that sharply faceted, blood-stained jewel, The Shining. Through the years he's bumped my gooses with kiddie vampires, tingled my spine with beloved pets gone rabid, justified my personal fear of clowns and made me think twice about my cell phone. I've always considered The Stand--a long-time favorite--a towering tour de force, and have owed its author a debt as this was the first novel I could convince my older son to read from cover to cover.

But with Lisey's Story, King has accomplished one more feat. He broke my heart.

Lisey's Story is, at its core, a love story--heart-wrenching, passionate, terrifying and tender. It is the multi-layered and expertly crafted tale of a twenty-five year marriage, and a widow's journey through grief, through discovery and--this is King, after all--through a nightmare scape of the ordinary and extraordinary. Through Lisey's mind and heart, the reader is pulled into the intimacies of her marriage to bestselling novelist Scott Landon, and through her we come to know this complicated, troubled and heroic man.

Two years after his death, Lisey sorts through her husband's papers and her own shrouded memories. Following the clues Scott left her and her own instincts, she embarks on a journey that risks both her life and her sanity. She will face Scott's demons as well as her own, traveling into the past and into Boo'ya Moon, the seductive and terrifying world he'd shown her. There lives the power to heal, and the power to destroy.

Lisey Landon is a richly wrought character of charm and complexity, of realized inner strength and redoubtable humor. As the central figure she drives the story, and the story is so vividly textured, the reader will draw in the perfumed air of Boo'ya Moon, will see the sunlight flood through the windows of the Scott's studio--or the night press against them. Her voice will be clear in your ear as you experience the fear and the wonder. If your heart doesn't hitch at the demons she faces in this world and the other, if it doesn't thrill at her courage and endurance, you're going to need to check with a cardiologist, first chance.

Lisey's Story is bright and brilliant. It's dark and desperate. While I'll always consider The Shining, my first ride on King's wild Tilt-A-Whirl, a gorgeous, bloody jewel, I found, on this latest ride, a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems.

A few of them have sharp, hungry teeth. --Nora Roberts

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... Read more

Customer Reviews (507)

this was a good read
stephen is by far the best writers ever. first he has ideas that scare people from different points. you may not think this is a good book but die hard fans that believe in him and stand by htm expect 80 percent every once in awhile

have you forgotten the very very severe accident this man and his family has been through. in an interview he said he would quit writing when he was out of ideas. he isnt i would rather have a 2 or 3 star book than no book at all. read the dome it is very good and cell is very thought provocing.

LISEY'S STORY
I thought the first half was a really wonderful love story, but was a little disappointed when the last half descended into some pretty preposterous things that required an extensive suspension of disbelief. Still, I'd recommend it. It's unlike any King story I've read.

Don't believe the haters.
Readers who are strictly fans of more formulaic genre stuff like Pet Sematary or self-referential, adolescent tripe like the later Dark Tower books should definitely look elsewhere.Readers wanting a quirky, sad, and creepily atmospheric love story capable of generating sincere emotional interest could do worse than pick this one up.I won't waste time with a plot summary, since there are about 200 of them in the other reviews here, but I will say this: don't believe the haters.Like Insomnia, Lisey's Story is a bit of a misfit.Also like Insomnia, it ranks among King's most interesting novels to date.

Really Bad Gunky
Trust me, this is the bad patois.This is the bottom of the barrel for SK.Half the book could easily be omitted, as is usually the case with SK's novels.Is it not the editor's job?But perhaps the editor is afraid of losing Stephen King's business. I suppose he is only interested in misspellings and grammatical errors, and oh yeah, not offending the god of horror.But those misspellings and grammatical errors would gladly be traded by faithful readers for a leaner, more readable novel, which this is not.Don't get me wrong, it's not so much that it's bad writing--the genius of King's writing is still here--but it's the plot that ultimately fails.King claims he doesn't write using a plot, but neither should he put down everything that first comes to mind.And where the plot fails is near the end where it loses its believability.

Ever read a story that made you want to puke?That made you light-headed, made you want to dunk your head in a bucket of water for all eternity?I tried to finish this foolishness, this boolishness, but when Lisey resorted to using her vegetable sister Amanda to ward off the villain, Dooley, I could not take any more. I kept hoping Dooley would make his reappearance and kick-start the story once again but was thwarted by King's bad gunky writing.I had put up with babyluv, Fairy Forests,silver shovels (not so bad, that), magic pools, bools, bowels, and other assorted variegated esoteric nonsense, verily.

But Stephen, please, oh please, don't keep spinning this bad gunky; don't make us fools by giving us this gunked-up bool!! Because, I'm you're biggest fan....

Lisey's Story by Stephen King
A touching story by the master Stephen King.
He really puts us inside Lisey's head and makes us feel what' losing someone you've loved for so long.
Supberb!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
On a brisk autumn day, a thirteen-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America–and into another realm.

One of the most influential and heralded works of fantasy ever written, The Talisman is an extraordinary novel of loyalty, awakening, terror, and mystery. Jack Sawyer, on a desperate quest to save his mother’s life, must search for a prize across an epic landscape of innocents and monsters, of incredible dangers and even more incredible truths. The prize is essential, but the journey means even more. Let the quest
begin. . . .
... Read more

Customer Reviews (369)

It's worth the trip to the end
I love Stephen King. I think the last 100 pages or so of this book provide one of his best endings. The ending reminds me of The Stand, in terms of scope and grandeur of good against evil. At the same time, I thought that two long sections of the middle portion bogged down. (Although, in fairness, the idea is that the hero is bogged down in these sections, so maybe I was just channelling his frustration too well). I didn't get nightmares from this one, the way I did with It, Salem's Lot, and Needful Things. You can take that as a positive or a negative, depending on whether you view nightmare-inducing as a good thing in his books. I should add that the book was written in 1984 but doesn't feel dated at all.

Not King's best; find it at your local library.
I won't write a long review summarizing the plot. I am a big King fan, but this book left me disappointed. The writing was well below his normal level, and it didn't really pull me in like most his books. The plot was laughable and contrived, the characters much less "real" than any other King book I've read. I think that this should either have been a long series (7+ books) to better develop... everything... or half as long as it was to tighten it up.

In summary it is a middling book with a boring plot, uninteresting and hokey characters (Right here right now it's axiomatic!), and probably the worst King book that I've read.

I recommend finding this book at your local library, give it a quick read, and if you like it, borrow it. I can't recommend paying for it.

Zippidy do da.
What in the world was I thinking when I titled this review, "zippidy do da", and why give a so so bit of writing 5 stars? I make a point of reading the reviews in order to develop an understanding of why readers consider a book good to read or not, and I've found both King and Straub interesting and fun to read - but not everything they've written of course. "The Talisman" is typical of this genre, epic fantasy adventure, and depending on where your mind is at the time of reading you'll find it anywhere from fantastic to mundane. Although the story which revolves around a young boys adventure at finding the miracle to save his mom is not unlike others, within its pages it contains everything needed to satisfy. The book itself is written well, the characters are easy to believe, and the protagonist is even easier to identify with. The story incorporates novel ideas and offers hope to those in need but whether you as an individual will find the story worth reading truly depends on where your mind is. If you're at a point where seriousness is important then look elsewhere but if you're in the mood for a spine tingling, strap me down full speed ahead adventure then give it a whirl. I liked it and I'd give it anywhere from 3 to 5 stars depending on your frame of mind. Like I said, zippidy do da!

A Roller-Coaster Ride of Eeriness and Beauty
The Talisman is one of those rare books in which the main character immediately becomes yourself. Jack Sawyer is a lonely preteen boy: taken out of school to an isolated resort hotel with his dying mother. Then he meets Speedy Parker. The eccentric older man with knowledge of something otherworldly that Jack himself will very soon become acquainted with, whether he likes it or not. When I began to read about Jack's decision to take on the quest of two worlds to find the Talisman, I honestly thought he was somewhat vacuous for leaving his dying mother behind like that all alone when he honestly had no clue what he was up against. As I kept reading though, I began to understand for myself why Jack Sawyer took on this dangerous quest. I won't talk much about that because it would give some things away to the person who hasn't read it yet. But towards the end of the book, I forgot that I thought of Jack as foolish before, because I absolutely fell in love with him. He's the epitome of adventure to every aspiring young boy or girl out there and he's the absolute portrayal of courage and strength.

If you're a Stephen King fan, you'll most definitely love this book. It contains moments of terror, happiness, beauty, drama, and love that all join together to create a great work of literature. Even if you're not a Stephen King fan, the Tom Sawyer character you see in Jack Sawyer is so striking that you'll most likely fall in love with Jack and this book as much as I did.

The Talisman
This is the first in a series of LOST books that I plan to read as the final season unfolds.I have always meant to read the books mentioned on LOST so there is no time like the present. While not actually mentioned by the show or read by a character it does fit. This book focuses on a boy named Jack Sawyer who can flip between parallel worlds.Sound familiar?;)

The Talisman is rich in detail, story and off-beat characters.In fact...are we really sure that Peter Straub co-wrote this?Because this reads like pure Dark Tower King.One thing that stood out and maybe should have been retooled was that the character of Wolf was so close to that of Tom Cullen in The Stand.
... Read more

Product Description
Twenty-two stories from the "wildly imaginative" #1 Bestselling Author

In this brilliant collection of stories, Stephen King takes readers down paths that only he could imagine....A supermarket becomes the place where humanity takes its last stand against unholy destruction...a trip to the attic turns into a journey to hell...a woman driver finds a scary shortcut to paradise...an idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil...and a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.Amazon.com Review
In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his secondcollection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literaryelephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses howmuch money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about gettingarrested one time when he was "suffused with the sort of towering,righteous rage that only drunk undergraduates can feel." He winds upwith an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto my arm now. Holdtight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I knowthe way."

And he sure does. Skeleton Crew contains a superb short novel("The Mist") that alone is worth the price of admission, plus twoforgettable poems and 20 short stories on such themes as an evil toymonkey, a human-eating water slick, a machine that avenges murder, andunnatural creatures that inhabit the thick woods near Castle Rock,Maine. The short tales range from simply enjoyable to surprisinglygood.

In addition to "The Mist," the real standout is "The Reach," abeautifully subtle story about a great-grandmother who was born on asmall island off the coast of Maine and has lived there her wholelife. She has never been across "the Reach," the body of water betweenisland and mainland. This is the story that King fans give to theirfriends who don't read horror in order to show them how literate, howcharming a storyteller he can be. Don't miss it. --FionaWebster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (133)

4 1/2 stars; superb
For the casual fan of Stephen King or just the Stephen King fan who has only read his longer work, this is an excellent book. The collection features 22 works, which includes nineteen short stories, a novella ("The Mist"), and two poems ("Paranoid: A Chant" and "For Owen"). In addition to the introduction, in which King directly addresses his readers in his signature conversational style, Skeleton Crew features an epilogue of sorts entitled "Notes" wherein King discusses the origins of several stories in the collection. The stories are collected from science-fiction and horror anthologies (Dark Forces, Shadows, Terrors, and New Terrors) genre magazine publications (Twilight Zone, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Startling Mystery Stories, Weirdbook and Fantasy and Science Fiction) and popular magazines (Redbook, Gallery, Yankee and Playboy).

The opening story, "The Mist," is, simply put, great. After a thunderstorm in Maine, David Drayton and his son Billy go to a supermarket, only to find the building surrounded by mist from the outside. This is a completely engrossing and compelling read. Frank Darabont, who directed "The Shawshank Redmption" and "The Green Mile," also King works, made a film version of the story in 2007, and that is definitely worth seeing, as well.

To me, this book rivals "The Stand" or "It" as one of King's best. Just about every story here is excellent, and through the course of reading the book, one can really appreciate his versatility as a writer.

simply the King
From the chilling uncertainty of "The Mist" to the creepiest toy monkey story you'll ever read, King takes you to all the strange but familiar places inside your head and heart, alternating shades of light and dark. As a writer, King first makes me want to give up in frustration, then delights and inspires to continue. This may be the best story collection of the latter half of the 20th century.

Scott Nicholson
The Red Church
Ashes

King, yes! Short stories, yes!
You can't go wrong with Stephen King. These short stories are a nice change of pace if, like me, you've been enjoying his 1,000 page novels (It, the Stand, Needful Things). You get the same quality, but in bite size chunks that you can put down for a while and come back to later. The story about the guy stuck on the island, in particular, sticks with me. How does King come up with this stuff?

So-So
I just recently began reading Stephen King again.After finishing "Cell" and having my King obsession growing again, I picked up "Skeleton Crew."Some of my favorites would include "The Mist," "The Raft," and "The Jaunt." I would recommend this collection with the disclaimer that not all of the stories are great.However, if you just read the aforementioned three stories, it would be worth your time.

Entertaining
Entertaining. If you like short stories, then this might be for you. I say might because King has a certain style that sometimes requires the reader to really work their imagination. Some may prefer that. I really bought it for the "Mist". Very good. Quite diferent ending than the movie though. ... Read more

Product Description
Once upon a time, a fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but this last gripping Bachman novel resurfaced after being hidden away for decades -- an unforgettable crime story tinged with sadness and suspense.Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., was always a small-time delinquent. None too bright either, thanks to the beatings he got as a kid. Then Blaze met George Rackley, a seasoned pro with a hundred cons and one big idea. The kidnapping should go off without a hitch, with George as the brains behind their dangerous scheme. But there's only one problem: by the time the deal goes down, Blaze's partner in crime is dead. Or is he?Includes a previously uncollected story, "Memory" -- the riveting opening to Stephen King's new Scribner hardcover novel, Duma Key. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (176)

Blaze by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Blaze by Stephen King (or Richard Bachman, take your pick) is actually one of his better works in recent times; even alongside epic, well-written follow-ups, Duma Key and Under the Dome. Probably as a result of its low profile and of the fact that it is indeed a `trunk' novel, recently revised, it has not reached the same level of success that Duma Key or Under the Dome enjoyed. However, it still surfaces from the wayside as a different, more fulfilling read than the rest. It isn't in the same, epic vein of The Stand or Under the Dome but it's good enough for a satisfying few hours of reading, and it has a touching undertone to boot even with its sometimes-corny touches.

What do we have for a story premise here? Blaze is a caper story involving a big guy, Clay Blaisdell, nicknamed Blaze, whose partner in crime is dead. What's worse is that Blaze has always been the dumb one, impeded by permanent brain damage sustained after his father dropped him on his head in his youth. That, alone, is one of the most original concepts for a crime story of late, even if the crime tag feels loosely termed here.

That's the thing about Stephen, he doesn't write in any genre for its own sake. Whether it's horror or crime he's working on, he doesn't set out to write a novel of those strictly defined types. He instead employs genre to tell the story he wants to tell, letting the story work itself. That's the reason why this book feels fresh and familiar at the same time; and a ton of Stephen's signature styles are all over this book. There is the inner conflict of Blaze trying to struggle with the loss of his partner. His torn childhood was marked with abuse and the echo of his partner's voice tells him exactly how to work the perfect caper: the theft of a rich family's offspring for ransom. There's the realism of Stephen's succinct yet superb descriptions; when Blaze gets hurt, getting away from the cops, you can't help but ache in your heart for his trips and falls.

And that's not even the main reason your heart will ache. Stephen gets us to see what he really wants us to see, the inner conflict of Blaze's almost naïve innocence, caring for the baby, juxtaposed against the need to please his partner. That to me has to be one of Stephen's most intelligent plot devices to date. It's clear that Blaze doesn't really want to do this, but as the story gets pulled closer and closer to the end, he becomes an almost helpless victim of his own demise and we can't help but feel for the big man.

One instance marred the entire book though, the line that speaks about how Blaze's lovechild became...

Wait. I guess I will just let you guys decide if that line is necessary or not. Other than that, great read.

Paid by the Word?
Over the years, I've watched Stephen King grow wordier and wordier - no big deal since I just tend to skim a lot of the prose now.Although the story behind BLAZE is not bad, I was extremely disappointed in the actual writing.Is he getting paid by the word now?If you removed 3/4 of the pointless obscenity -- pointless meaning it didn't add to the story in any way -- you'd probably cut out 50 to 75 pages of the book. Blaze was ridiculous. You tell a story in however many words it takes to tell it.You might flesh it out with any number of things that add to the story, but don't pad it with indiscriminate use of expletives.It detracts from the story and is in really bad taste.Hard to believe this is the same guy who wrote "The Stand" and "Firestarter" and "Insomnia."

Bachman needs to stay dead...
There's a good reason the Bachman books are kept separate from King's other work; with the exception of Thinner There all fairly weak efforts and Blaze adds nothing to "Bachman's" rep. It's a one note pulp; think of it as an alternate life for Steinback's Lenny of Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition)if Lenny's George was a two-bit criminal with delusions of grandeur. An ill-fated kidnapping, a haunting figment of Blaze's overtaxed imagination and flashbacks filled with missed opportunities are what make up this mess. King always has the ability to make you turn the pages, but I was glad that money from this one was donated to charity; at least it served a purpose other than wasting my time.

Sad....
Coming from my favorite author I was disappointed with this one.Your mileage may vary.

Another Great Novel by the Master ofMacabre
I just finished reading "Blaze" by Stephen King (AKA Richard Bachman), my favorite author of all time, the Master of Macabre and all other genres he chooses to tackle.Needless to say, I loved this book.

Blaze is a guy screwed from birth.After his father throws him repeatedly down a flight of stairs, young Blaze ends up in a state ran boy's home.He grows into his hulking physique, his forehead permanently dented from the stairs incident, and loses everyone he loves before reaching adulthood.His pal George schools him in the way of the con, and continues to give him advice even after Ole George dies of a stab wound after a craps game goes bad.Hey, that's the way they roll.

This book is so sad, even though Blaze would never ask for pity. We learn about his tragic past as we follow him on his kidnapping caper, egged on by George, and watch him take care of the baby he snatches and loves as is if he were his own child.Blaze is slow, but has a big heart.

This is a thriller you don't want to miss, and one of the only times your throat will be sore from routing for the 'bad guy'. ... Read more

Product Description
The haunting collection that comes from the unique place where Ripley's Believe It or Not! ® meets The Twilight Zone: Stephen King's unparalleled imagination....

Nightmares & Dreamscapes includes the tale "Dolan's Cadillac," soon to be a feature film starring Christian Slater, Wes Bentley, and Emmanuelle VaugierAmazon.com Review
Many people who write about horror literature maintain thatmood is its most important element. Stephen King disagrees: "My deeplyheld conviction is that story must be paramount.... All otherconsiderations are secondary--theme, mood, even characterization andlanguage."

These fine stories, each written in what King calls "a burst of faith,happiness, and optimism," prove his point. The theme, mood,characters, and language vary, but throughout, a sense of story reignssupreme. Nightmares & Dreamscapes contains 20 shorttales--including several never before published--plus one teleplay,one poem, and one nonfiction piece about kids and baseball thatappeared in the New Yorker. The subjects include vampires,zombies, an evil toy, man-eating frogs, the burial of a Cadillac, adisembodied finger, and a wicked stepfather. The style ranges fromKing's well-honed horror to a RayBradbury-like fantasy voice to an ambitious pastiche of RaymondChandler and RossMacDonald. And like a compact disc with a bonus track, the book endswith a charming little tale not listed in the table of contents--aparable called "The Beggar and the Diamond." --Fiona Webster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (107)

The Brooklyn Bridge, Over and Over Again
In his introduction to this collection, Stephen King recalls being a credulous youngster who believed all sorts of things--from the reality of Santa Claus to Richard Nixon's plan to get the country out of Vietnam.He is still like this, and willingly accepts the recurring disappointments in exchange for the ability to believe in a story and bring it to life.In this collection, his third following Night Shift and Skeleton Crew, King believes into existence twenty-two stories--and one nonfiction piece--intended to scare the reader "...so badly you won't be able to go to sleep without leaving the bathroom light on."Some of them deliver all too well.

Three of my favorites:

In "Dolan's Cadillac" we live through years of obsessive investigation and planning for revenge.A man traps the mob boss who ordered his wife's death and systematically covers up all evidence of his crime.Perfect.

If you could remove mankind's violent tendencies and bring about "The End of the Whole Mess" of murder and war, you would do it, right?Even if it wasn't the smartest thing to do.

In "Suffer the Little Children" we meet Miss Sidley, a teacher who has been taking care of children all of her adult life.One day her students begin acting strangely...so she takes care of them.

This book is highly recommended for Stephen King fans and readers who enjoy a well-crafted story that makes their brains squirm for a day or two after reading.

Expect the expected--and the unexpected
One of the many things I love about Stephen King as a writer is this--when you read one of his works (whether short story, novella, novel, or epic novel), you get exactly what you expect, along with a bit of what you don't expect. And that's one of the characteristics that make him such an entertaining and amazing author--he keeps building his repertoire and impressing you with talents that you didn't know he had. This collection of short stories allows King to showcase many of the talents you'd expect from him, as well as a number of talents he doesn't often get an opportunity to showcase in his novels. There's a revenge tale reminiscent of Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" ("Dolan's Cadillac"), a story featuring creepy kids ("Suffer the Little Children"), stories about animated things that shouldn't be animated ("Chattery Teeth" and "The Moving Finger"), apocalyptic tales ("The End of the Whole Mess" and "Home Delivery"), an homage to Lovecraft ("Crouch End"), and what is probably one of King's best short stories, "The Ten O'Clock People"--all pretty standard, and well done, Stephen King fare. And then there's the unexpected--a teleplay ("Sorry, Right Number"), a Sherlock Holmes story ("The Doctor's Last Case"), a poem ("Brooklyn August"), and--the most pleasant surprise of all--a non-fiction piece about King's son's Little League team ("Head Down"), which resulted in an effect I never imagined a piece of Stephen King's writing would have on me: I cried. I will continue to sing the praises of Stephen King and insist that he is one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated writers around. Despite his massive popularity, he is often derided as a one-dimensional writer with no skill outside of his chosen genre--horror. "Nightmares & Dreamscapes" offers ample proof that that is not the case at all. Read it, and be surprised.

2 stars for Seller;5 stars for book
The book had many interesting short stories.I would recommend the book but not the seller, Thriftbooks.The book they sent me had pages out of order.For example, you're reading on page 342 and the next page is 382.The pages were mixed up throughout the middle of the book.All the pages were there but not in order.

Good fun, lots of chills
This collection is chock full of everything King aficionados love, and it'll easily hook the uninitiated.There are many different samples on display, from one of King's true oldies (a Castle Rock story originally published in a college literary magazine, and feeling its roots very deep...when the autumn pumpkins get loving detail, you know it's a young man's voice) to something he finished in about three days in the year this was published.They are, for the most part, very good, full of story and gab, which is what you expect from King.I especially liked 'Popsy', which is a sort of child abductor revenge fantasy meets vampire tale (parents everywhere are confronted with their greatest nightmare and must give a cheer at the end), 'Suffer the Little Children', which kept me up for HOURS later that night, 'Rainy Season', which walks the line between horror and humor very well (the only time King tips his hand is when he name drops 'The Lottery'...you'll see what I mean), and 'Umney's Last Case', since it's clever and I'll gobble up anything Raymond Chandler-esque.

There are actually only a couple of bumps in the road.King's Sherlock Holmes story is passable Conan Doyle, at best.If you want a BRILLIANT modern attempt, read Neil Gaiman's 'A Study in Emerald.'King probably gets a moderate grade because Holmes requires icy precision, subtle restraint and a wry, nimble style of writing, and King, much as I love him and much as he has great talent, is not especially gifted in those areas.(I could be wrong, but I think Holmes makes a pussy joke somewhere in there...reader, I cringed.)

Still, there is much to enjoy here.I won't give a blow by blow of everything I liked (which was a lot), and everything I didn't (which was a little.)Instead, I'll take on two stories, my favorite and the one I liked least.

Crouch End- King goes to Lovecraft country, and I absolutely didn't want it to end.Everything you love about King-- the sense of place and character, dialogue and dialect, rising sense of terror, and flat out crazy, tentacled monsters living under the city streets-- is here.It's also one of the best examples of story and mood working together, instead of fighting with each other.A young couple visiting London go to meet the husband's colleague in Crouch End.The moment they enter the suburb, I became unsettled.It got worse from there.The wife, who (spoiler) lives to tell the tale, notices the strange orange light, the claw-handed child, the people with rat heads (but she imagined it...?), the one-eyed cat who seems to become a vagrant under a bridge later.The woman's tale is interspersed with the kindly officers at the police station, who listen to her story and don't know what to make of it.The editing in this tale is very good, so that the action unfolds as you might see it on television or at the movies.I won't say what happens to the husband, or how it ends, but it's very satisfactory, very frightening, and also very creepy.I had to turn on the lights when I was done, and it was only afternoon.King's command of the British dialect in this is nearly always spot on, and he makes everyday things in the light of day appear sinister and evil.The plotting, writing, everything is good here.Happily, most of the collection falls into this area, though I think this is the best example of the book.

Home Delivery- Unfortunately, everything that is right about Crouch End is wrong about Home Delivery.The story starts out as some kind of Lifetime movie, with an incredibly mousy woman, unable to cope without a man.She once married a dashing sailor, you know, who showed her love, until...until he was drowned at sea.Now, weak minded and pregnant, she must face the void alone.And then the zombies eat the president.Not kidding.That's basically the next line.King's instincts here are wrong, between trying to play all this nonsense dead serious and the wall to wall folksiness of EVERY F---ING SITUATION.The down home charm is one of the reasons I like King, but if you were up in a space shuttle, watching space worms eat your compatriots' brains (don't ask, it'll make sense) and knowing you're next, would your last musings to the world via satellite be 'I did so like all of them, especially the fat guy who dug around in his nose.'Yeah, it's a British character.King's knack for the Brit dialect vanished on this one.Sometimes, it does seem like King will be folksy if it kills him.Then the pregnant woman fights the Ray Harryhausen (in my mind) sailor husband back from the grave, zombies you know.And the men of the island town machine-gun the whole graveyard.And the woman is happy that she'll have a home delivery.Probably the two greatest failings here were the decision to, as I said, play it straight, and the relentless down home chat.Honestly, Steve, I know you have an ear for dialogue.I BELIEVE YOU.

Still, snark ended, this is a very good, creepy read, excellent for curling up with on a dark night.Going through it, piece by piece, you see and understand how much love King has for the craft, how hard he works at it, and how much joy it brings him.It's bound to bring you happiness as well, even if it's the squirming, terrified kind of happiness.It'll do.

A Great RIde
I really enjoyed this book, its a lot like enjoying classical music. The moods, the tempo and the pacing of the stories is so enjoyable. The story that still freaks me out to this day is "Home Delivery" simply for the scene that takes place in the space shuttle!! King could have made a whole novel based on that scene. But he didn't and that is what makes him so good at the short stories. I think a good short story forces your mind to ask "what would have happened if the story kept on going"? Not that his novels do not do the same, but in the short story King is forced to put down the bare bones of the story. The other stories that blew me away were: The Night Flier, The Moving Finger, Crotch End and My Pretty Pony. My Pretty Pony shows the depth of King's thinking on the philosophy of time. The Ten O' Clock People is a nice story but to me it's just a ripe off of John Carpenter's They Live. All in all not a bad collection of stories. ... Read more

Product Description
Roland the Gunfighter and his two companions continue the quest for the tower at the portal of all the worlds...in this third volume in the epic that continues to dominate the bestseller lists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (201)

BRAVO!
WOW! I just finished this book.

I started with book one, "The Gunslinger", which was great. The second book, "The drawing of the Three" was just OK, but I got through it and I am glad to have done so, because, "The Wastelands" is AMAZING!

I really enjoyed the ending, although I understand how some disapprove. It leaves you with a serious cliff hanger, and then the 4th book took years to be released. But, this ending was perfect, I wouldn't have changed a thing! Stephen was right when he said "books which write themselves(as this one did,for the most part) must also be allowed to end themselves".

I can't wait to start the next of "The Dark Tower" series.

Loses some momentum about halfway through, but still a great read.
I was enjoying the hell out of this book up until the point where Jake was drawn. After that, it was interesting, but not quite as fascinating for me personally. Fighting Shardik, finding the path of the beam, tag-teaming/raping a sexually charged demon, and Jake's battle with the door keeper were absolutely riveting. I loved the portion of the book exploring Jake as he tries to cope with the memories of dying twice. These were the high points of the book for me, but then comes Lud. The sequence in the city was exciting at certain points, but ultimately it wasn't as strong as the first portion of the book in my eyes. Even though it ends on a cliffhanger, I enjoyed the ending and every second they were in the presence of Blaine the mono. The riddling that begins the next book is some interesting stuff. Even with the weaker ending, this is my favorite book in the Dark Tower series behind Wolves of the Calla. Such a great story, with mystery piled upon mystery in a way that may seem maddening, but ultimately it just fuels your desire to keep on reading.

Stephen King Tower Series #3
I loved the book!It is the continuing saga of the tower series and if you're like me, you can't skip from one to 3 without reading two.

Waste Lands Review
Started off slow for me.I actually read this in paperback about a year ago and about half-way through and didn't return to it.I decided to make it my first Kindle purchase.I'm glad I did, the book ends much better than it starts out and leads perfectly into the 4th book Wizards and Glass which I purchased after ending this one.

PLEASE READ!!!!
This is a great book! Sadly itis the last great one in the DT series. So my warning to fans of The Dark Tower books is this: DONT read books 4-7! You will be horrified at what King does to the wonderful charachters and world that he has created. But if you must continue the story after 3 then go ahead and read 4. It really isn't that bad but it's sure is no match for 1-3. 5-7 is complete garbage and should have never been written or published.

The Waste Lands is my favourite in the series. I love the plot and the cool stuff that Roland and his "ka tet" find along their journey.
it really is a great addition to the DTs. But once again 4-7 will only dissapoint. Some things are better left unfinished. Mr. King should have relized that when he decided to (SPOILER) put in Harry Potter snitches, lightsabers, and the most annoying way of talking ever in book 5.

This epic series had such momentum and it really is a shame at what happens to the quality of the story in 4-7. So please please please don't read them!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Now Available in a box set-the first four Dark Tower Books -- with new material from the author!

The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Waste Lands
Wizard and Glass

In this brilliant series, Stephen King introduced readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, The Last Gunslinger. Roland's quest for the Dark Tower took readers on a wildly epic ride-through parallel worlds and across time. A classic tale of colossal scope-crossing over terrain from The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, The Talisman, Black House, Hearts in Atlantis, Salem's Lot, and other familiar King haunts-the adventure took hold with the turn of each page...

In a major publishing event, the quest for the Dark Tower continues in Wolves of the Calla (Volume V), Song of Susannah (Volume VI), and The Dark Tower (Volume VII), coming from Scribner, beginning in November 2003.

Now readers can go back to where it all began with this box set of the first four Dark Tower titles, each featuring a new packaging and new introduction. Plus Book I, The Gunslinger, has been completely revised and expanded throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (89)

From promising to the absurd
Really enjoyed the series early on as we delve in othe world of Roland, but then it reaches some strange places and it's hard to finish, in fact i couldn't...

Lobstrosities? Crazy trains? Really?

Would have been better off sticking with the original gritiness and not going to strange in my opinion.

so so
This series is not up to Stephen King's not too high standards.It's just not as much fun.For me most of his books are rapid page turners.I have come to expect them to hold my interest.This one simply doesn't; it's the bad apple in the bunch.

Stephen King Rocks and I can't wait to see this in a movie and on TV
The Dark Tower series is one of the best series of books out there on the planet today. I will be very happy to see how they do the movies along with the TV series since it would take all of that to properly show the stories written here. The books are great and I am sure you will like them too.

Thanks Stephen King! Thanks a lot!
Stephen King has ruined literature for me. After reading this series I cannot even imagine reading any other book that could match or even come close to how awesome these were.

Great Merchandise
Books were brand new and cased perfectly. They were a gift for my husband and he loved it.

thanks ... Read more

Product Description
Now Available in a box set-the first four Dark Tower Books -- with new material from the author!

The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Waste Lands
Wizard and Glass

In this brilliant series, Stephen King introduced readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, The Last Gunslinger. Roland's quest for the Dark Tower took readers on a wildly epic ride-through parallel worlds and across time. A classic tale of colossal scope-crossing over terrain from The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, The Talisman, Black House, Hearts in Atlantis, Salem's Lot, and other familiar King haunts-the adventure took hold with the turn of each page...

In a major publishing event, the quest for the Dark Tower continues in Wolves of the Calla (Volume V), Song of Susannah (Volume VI), and The Dark Tower (Volume VII), coming from Scribner, beginning in November 2003.

Now readers can go back to where it all began with this box set of the first four Dark Tower titles, each featuring a new packaging and new introduction. Plus Book I, The Gunslinger, has been completely revised and expanded throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (89)

From promising to the absurd
Really enjoyed the series early on as we delve in othe world of Roland, but then it reaches some strange places and it's hard to finish, in fact i couldn't...

Lobstrosities? Crazy trains? Really?

Would have been better off sticking with the original gritiness and not going to strange in my opinion.

so so
This series is not up to Stephen King's not too high standards.It's just not as much fun.For me most of his books are rapid page turners.I have come to expect them to hold my interest.This one simply doesn't; it's the bad apple in the bunch.

Stephen King Rocks and I can't wait to see this in a movie and on TV
The Dark Tower series is one of the best series of books out there on the planet today. I will be very happy to see how they do the movies along with the TV series since it would take all of that to properly show the stories written here. The books are great and I am sure you will like them too.

Thanks Stephen King! Thanks a lot!
Stephen King has ruined literature for me. After reading this series I cannot even imagine reading any other book that could match or even come close to how awesome these were.

Great Merchandise
Books were brand new and cased perfectly. They were a gift for my husband and he loved it.

thanks ... Read more

Product Description
The #1 bestseller-for King's rabid fans.

A family dog turns into a family killer in King's canine classic.Amazon.com Review
Cujo is so well-paced and scary that people tend toread it quickly, so they mostly remember the scene of the mother andson trapped in the hot Pinto and threatened by the rabid Cujo,forgetting the multifaceted story in which that scene isembedded. This is definitely a novel that rewards re-reading. Whenyou read it again, you can pay more attention to the theme of countryfolk vs. city folk; the parallel marriage conflicts of the Cambersvs. the Trentons; the poignancy of the amiable St. Bernard (yes, thebreed choice is just right) infected by a brain-destroying virus thatmakes it into a monster; and the way the "daylight burial"of the failed ad campaign is reflected in the sunlit Pinto thatbecomes a coffin. And how significant it is that this horror tale isnot supernatural: it's as real as junk food, a failingmarriage, a broken-down car, or a fatal virus. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (279)

Cujo
I read Cujo a few months ago, and this was my first King novel. Where the story was quite weak and a little boring at times, King makes up for with great writing. I'll definitely continue reading King.

Reading with Tequila
I saw the movie adaption of Cujo a few years ago and thought it was just kind of okay. With that kind of enthusiasm, I didn't expect much from the book. While the story isn't hugely scary (I have no fear or dogs, nor rabies), the book goes much deeper than the movie did, making the whole story more well-rounded and the ending that much more traumatic.

I'm confused as to how certain things mentioned in the book relate to the overall story. 4 year old Tad has a monster in his closet. It's made very clear that the monster isn't imaginary. But what did that have to do with Cujo going rabid? The same can be said for the town's previous killer Frank Dodd. He was mentioned numerous times, to the point where you expected him to have been reincarnated as Cujo or something similar. Was it just to show that bad things had happened in Castle Rock before? Any Stephen King fan knows, if something horrific is going to happen anywhere in the world, it's most likely going to happen in Castle Rock. So, what exactly was the point?

And could we have possibly had chapter breaks? This 300 plus page book had no chapters. While not a big deal to most, I found it unnerving.

On the surface, Cujo is a killer dog story. But really, it's a story of a mother's fight for survival and the survival of her child. The long struggle, trapped by Cujo, shows the psychological fear of trying to figure out what to do to protect the child. The book includes much more in the way of backstory for the characters. We see the precarious place Vic and Donna's marriage is in, the trouble with Vic's job, the horrendous marriage of Joe and Charity and their fears about how their own son is growing up.

Cujo probably won't be considered truly horrific by most and has a few glaring loose ends that confuse more than annoy. It does, however, have an impressive psychological impact and will leave even the most hardened horror fans shaken.

Long build up terrifying ending.
Reading Cujo is like believing there is something in your closet that will eventually come out and get you.While you know its there, you begin to grow complacent and it waits.Oh, you know there is something in that closet, but maybe its really not all that bad, maybe if it does ever come out, it will just give you a good scare and then just leave you alone.Maybe it's really nothing at all...It's just a closet, full of shadows cast on harmless things you would have at one time believed were monsters, but your a grown up now and all this spooky talk is just foolishness. Time passes and everything fades into the back of your mind, like a whisper you thought you heard in an empty room.You open that closet.As you peer in, allowing yourself a moment to adjust to the darkness, you stare, suddenly frozen, into the eyes upturned by its maddeningly triumphant grin; and then it grabs you. The monster in the closet is real and it pulls you into its arms as if to lovingly embrace you.The door closes and you let out a soundless scream as the monster in your closet takes its time slowly chewing you to pieces.

Cujo was like that for me... I knew this book was going to be scary, and at first I could see things being played out in my head as I tried to imagine what it would be like to be attacked by a 230lb rabid dog.But then the story takes off in another direction, building the characters and the conflicts between them and you begin to feel like this story isn't about a rabid dog at all, but about people who have really hard lives and are caught up in some really bad situations... then as this story comes to a climax (around the last 150 pages) things take a real turn and then BAM, my heart actually started racing on several occasions... and the ending.... wow, it really blew me away... it was very hard to read, but I wont tell you why, because any hint in that direction would most likely give it away... Read this book, but lock the closet... in fact lock it up and throw away the key.

Still Tedious After all these Years
I first read Cujo 29 years ago, and finally picked it up to reread a few days ago.It didn't get much better in the three decade break between readings. The first time I read the book I was acutely aware of the fact that the 'monster' was just a rabid dog, and I felt disappointed that I had wasted all my time reading about a dog.This time I was more aware of the social commentary King mixed in to explain why nobody was able to come rescue the trapped mom and son, but I was not any more pleased with the overall pacing of the story.

Cujo is one of the lesser King works, and with some trimming of the narrative fat, would fit nicely in one of his short story collections.

I wanted to love this book
I have read just about every Stephen King book. Cujo was the one novel from the early days that I had not finished before. This is my favorite period of King, early 70's - mid 80's. But Cujo doesn't work.

King has a great style. His prose is very simple, his words are conversational. King likes to string together story after story in creation of a larger one that holds them all together. In his work from the 90's on, his prose gets very long in the tooth. Its as if he has become unable to edit his own work with a critical eye. You can see early signs of this with Cujo. If I were editing this story, I would chop about a third of it out.

This is a hyper self involved story. You have a father/mother/young son at the core of the novel. You have a police officer/evil tennis pro/hick car repair guy/his wife/his son/next door neighbor/and more. The focus of the story drifts from one character to the next. Each one has DEEEP thoughts. They reflect on their lives in weighty repose. And this gets pretty old after a while.

King also pulls a 'boogy man', a 'monster' early on that is pretty interesting as a character, but this story line peters out. I have no idea why its there. Its sort of like if the story in 'Misery', (the one where some crazy lady holds a writer hostage)... if that story were started off with a vampire that was chasing the writer before he gets to that house. And then their is no longer a vampire mentioned ever again.

This is not kings finest work. I recently read Firestarter and that had a sweet start. the first 100 - 200 pages were perfect. And of course if you have not read them, Salems Lot, the Stand, or a short story collection like 'Skeleton Crew' are much better bets if you have not tried them before.

... Read more

Product Description

"YOU'RE THE CARETAKER, SIR. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE CARETAKER. I SHOULD KNOW, SIR. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE...."
-- DELBERT GRADY OF THE OVERLOOK HOTEL

THE SHINING

First published in 1977, The Shining quickly became a benchmark in the literary career of Stephen King. This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to laim the very souls of the Torrence family. Adapted into a cinematic masterpiece of horror by legendaryStanley Kubrick -- featuring an unforgettable performance by a demonic Jack Nicholson --The Shining stands as a cultural icon of modern horror, a searing study of a family torn apart, and a nightmarish glimpse into the dark recesses of human weakness and dementia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (655)

The Shining will shine a light on you By Eric Cartmen
Stephen King's epic horror novel was published in 1977.The title was inspired by the John Lennon song Instant Karma! Containing the line "we all SHINE on."The success of the book soon turned into an epic film in 1980. Then it turned into a miniseries in 1997.The Shining is an epic story about the Torrance family winter watching the Overlook hotel. Danny the Torrance family's son has a gift called the shinning. The shinning is you can either see in the future or what is going on that no other person can see. Danny can do both, and he sees some things that if you saw you would faint. These things torment him for a while. The Torrance family gets tormented for a long time.
Stephen king was a genius. There was a great setting. There were great characters. There is a great plot. All of that mixed together turns into a great book. The shinning is Stephen King's best book. If I had to rate this book one through ten I would give it a ten all the way. I would recommend this book to someone with a great imagination and a love for horror. Stephen King was a genius. The characters were great. A great setting, a great plot. Put together, it turns into a great book. I think that this is Stephen King's best book. If I had to give this book a rating of one through ten. I would give it a ten in a second. I recommend this book to anyone with a great imagination and a like for horror.

the things that go bump in the night are back...redrum
I started to read this book just because th "ghost adventures" guy said Stephen King was a great horror writer. I didn't expect the story to be heartpounding and be able to keep me awake at night. The story features Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic, his wife Wendy and their odd kid named Danny. Danny believes that a boy named Tony shows him things_the future the present and the past. When his dad announces the family will be living alone in a secluded hotel for the winter since he became its caretaker, Tony shows Danny some creepy things-a monster in the halls disturbing signs and REDRUM...when they get to the hotel the visions get worse...dead men on the ground..blood on the walls....and soon Danny realizes mysterious things in the hotel are trying to destroy them. Balls go on in the empty hotel and dead people try to hurt the living. It kept my hands on the kindle and my heart pounding. The scariest book ive ever read........read it. REDRUM.

The Shining
The Shining is a Stephen King classic about a family that goes and stays in a hotel in the middle of nowhere for the winter. But this family has some problems, the little boy, Danny, has a special ability where he knows what people are thinking. He can also see things that have happened in the past or things that are going to happen when he goes into a trance. These 'powers' can be helpful at times but they mostly create problems for the family because with these abilities he has developed a very strong imagination and this makes him see bad things where bad things have happened in the past. The house that the family is staying at has defiantly had its fare share of murders and other bad cases. To make matters worse the Dad is an ex-alcoholic and still a little bit loopy. He has been off of alcohol for the past year but all the stress of the house is making all of his alcoholic symptoms come back one including hitting his son and wife. All of these factors play a big role in the climax of the story. This book is the best and scariest horror story I have read. I didn't think that I could even be scared from reading a book until this book.
SS

The Shining by Stephen King

After reading The Shining by Stephen King, and then seeing the movie where Jack Nicholson plays the caretaker, this really sealed the deal of not only being a great horror novel, but one great horror movie as well! "It gives new meaning to the term cabin fever." If you haven't read The Shining or seen the movie I encourage you to do so, as you will not be disappointed! Yours truly Garry E. Lewis Author of The Curse of the Devil's Wolf Strap, The Rileyville Mystery, Rileyville The Harvest Season.

Who is Al Shockley?
SPOILER, AND A MYSTERY

Jack Torrance's life is unraveling. He drinks, he loses his job, he hurts his son. Sounds like a lot of people you might know. Desperate for a job, he takes a position at a creepy old haunted hotel in the middle of winter. Then spooky things start happening. But that's not even the horror part of this story.

What I noticed was that every time something bad happened to Jack, guess who was ALWAYS with him? Good ol' Al Shockley. When he hit a kid's bike in the road (with, mysteriously, no kid attached), Al was with him. When somebody rigged the timer (or did they?), Al was hanging around. When he went to bars and drank, Al was his drinking buddy, even though Al knew Jack had a drinking problem. Al got him the job at the hotel. Good ol' Al. When Jack is killed and his traumatized wife and son are staying with Dick Halloran for a while, what does Wendy say? "I think we'll take Al Shockley up on his offer." The end.

OMG. Al Shockley is an undercurrent in this entire book, easy to overlook if you blink, or if you don't understand that Stephen King doesn't put irrelevant characters in his books.

"Somebody" wants Jack out of the way. Somebody wants control of Danny and his gifts. Why, and who? And what are they going to do with it? You can probably guess who I'm thinking of. The brilliance of this novel is that open-ended question that most readers miss completely - the faint but sinister presence of Al and his undefined motives. A mystery with no ending. A book that's more horrifying for its insinuations than for its graphic imagery. That's probably the reason this book sticks in my memory more than any other of King's works. Brilliant, Steve. ... Read more

Product Description
When Rose Daniels sees the drop of blood on the bedsheet, she knows she must escape her marriage and her savage husband before it's too late.But escape is not that easy.Norman isn't willing to let her go without a fight.Amazon.com Review
After 14 years of being beaten, Rose Daniels wakes up one morningand leaves her husband -- but she keeps looking over her shoulder, becauseNorman has the instincts of a predator.And what is the strange work of art that has Rose in a kind of spell?In this brilliant dark-hued fable of the gender wars, Stephen King has fashioned yet another suspense thriller to keep readers right at the edge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (295)

A *fleshed-out* heroine, for the most part

I am a big fan of King's older material ("The Shining" being one of the BEST novels ever written), and this novel is good too. It contains characters that are well fleshed-out, including the villain! It was eerie to get that *close* to the mind of a psychopathic sadist like Norman, King's writing shines here. Rosie's mind is pretty well delved into as well, although I would have liked to have read more background into BOTH their minds. For instance, what made Norman so appealing in the first place? How long did they date? How could he not show ANY signs of being insane, when he was obviously completely so?
What made Norman so crazy? He was abused yes, but lots of people are and they don't grow up to bite people to pieces or beat their wives' noses in. More background would have been better.
But Norman does chill, and is a villain not easily forgotten.
My other complaint matches others' up here: The painting subplot seems out of place somehow. I imagine King was trying to find a supernatural way of dealing with a violent husband, and that's a refreshing spin on the tale.
But it just didn't really work. The dialogue between Rose Madder and Rosie just seemed muddled, and Norman/Rose Madder part while apt seemed rushed.
And the epilogue was terrible. It almost ruined the story, Rose became an unsympathetic character and not a triumphant heroine. A couple of pages sketching Rose's life afterwards would have been a good way to end it.
A very decent read, most King fans will like it.

Excellent book & read
The work itself is excellent, as all of Stephen King's works are.However Blair Brown & Stephen King's reading of it really brings it to life.I had read the book a few years ago, but listening to it, it was almost like I was hearing it for the first time.

a good read
Stephen King is a writer, one that I enjoy reading almost all he has written.This book is a good one.

The plot involves Rosie Daniels who flees from her husband after fourteen years of marriage.She tries to hide from him but as he is a policeman and has good instincts for finding people and is a little crazy may help him find her.

It is typical Stephen King.A read good read.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

Great tale of an abusive husband
I haven't read many of King's books, all of about 5 novels and a couple dozen short stories, this one had me hooked at page one. It was a great journey following Rosie halfway across the country in her attempt to get as far away from her abusive husband (Norman) as possible. Then once she gets settled in a new city, the story starts to slow down and I get bored. That is, until the scenes with Norman working to track her down. He's a great villain, and it takes a great villain to keep me engrossed in a story. At this point, the best scenes in the book are with Norman. Rosie's scenes become less and less entertaining and I start caring less and less about her. Three quarters of the way through the book I am actually rooting for Norman. He's that entertaining. Hilarious.

The pages flew by when Norman was at the forefront and sauntered like a snail when it was Rosie. I even skipped about thirty pages of Rosie's "dream sequence." If you just took out Norman's parts and turned them into a work of itself, it would be highly entertaining and worth five stars. The one thing that bothered me was that all Norman's parts were in italics in the book. Why? I've read lots of books where more than one point of view was offered and they weren't italicized. Italics don't make for an easy read, and luckily Norman was interesting enough for me to keep reading, otherwise I'd have set the book aside and read something else.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It wasn't great, and it wasn't horrible. The dialogue was cringe worthy. I hear people say that King's a master at dialogue and I just shake my head. Nobody talks like this in real life. The ending wasn't truly satisfying, it could have been better and I think it should have ended without an epilogue. It really wasn't needed.

3.5 stars

That mask looks ridiculous!
This offering reads like a crime novel with city style violence and pernicious stalking.The primary theme is that of a likeable Rose Madder finding the courage to extricate herself from a marrige gone terribly wrong and finding her true voice. (he experienced an on going horror of sexual abuse when growing up) She is stalked across state lines by her control freak law enforcement husband because he wants to have a private life or death conversation-up close. It's only when he's dead that she finds freedom. ... Read more

Product Description
An unpopular teenage girl whose mother is a religious fanatic is tormented and teased to the breaking point by her more popular schoolmates and uses her hidden telekinetic powers to inflict a terrifying revenge. Reissue.Amazon.com Review
Why read Carrie? Stephen King himself has said that he finds his early work "raw," and Brian De Palma's movie was so successful that we feel like we have read the novel even if we never have. The simple answer is that this is a very scary story, one that works as well--if not better--on the page as on the screen. Carrie White, menaced by bullies at school and her religious nut of a mother at home, gradually discovers that she has telekinetic powers, powers that will eventually be turned on her tormentors. King has a way of getting under the skin of his readers by creating an utterly believable world that throbs with menace before finally exploding. He builds the tension in this early work by piecing together extracts from newspaper reports, journals, and scientific papers, as well as more traditional first- and third-person narrative in order to reveal what lurks beneath the surface of Chamberlain, Maine.

News item from the Westover (ME) weekly Enterprise, August 19, 1966: "Rain of Stones Reported: It was reliably reported by several persons that a rain of stones fell from a clear blue sky on Carlin Street in the town of Chamberlain on August 17th."

Although the supernatural pyrotechnics are handled with King's customary aplomb, it is the carefully drawn portrait of the little horrors of small towns, high schools, and adolescent sexuality that give this novel its power, and assures its place in the King canon. --Simon Leake ... Read more

Customer Reviews (432)

Fantastically Frightening
High school teen Carietta "Carrie" White grew up with an unbalanced religious fanatic for a mother and without either a father or friends she could rely on. Kept from doing things or buying clothes that the average teen would, the change in her life begins the day of her first menstrual period at age seventeen. The emotional trigger that is pulled that day unlocks her latent telekinetic powers and she starts to put them to use. These powers, combined with one girl named Sue's guilt over what she did to Carrie and her attempts to redeem herself, set the stage for one of the most terrifying and memorable fictional events in modern times: Prom Night, the Black Prom, Carrie's vengeful rampage through the town of Chamberlain.

The strange thing with this book is that you know exactly how it's going to end and what happens, both because Carrie is both an infamous book and movie and because the epistolary form of the novel gives away multiple times that people will die on Prom Night and even who will die. But it doesn't subtract from the suspense at all to be told what happens; I found that it excited me more because it told me what was ahead and made me want to read the accounts of those who were involved instead of third parties who weren't there.

All of the characters felt realistic and flawed to me: Carrie, the shy, abused, and bullied girl who becomes more and more unhinged until she finally breaks; Sue Snell, the girl who did something she regretted and went to great lengths to try and fix what she did in some what; Chris Hargensen, the bully who hurt Carrie for years and just started to get an inkling of a feeling that she was doing something wrong just a little too late; Billy Nolan, the complete monster (okay, so he wasn't as three-dimensional as others); and Margaret White, the severely-unhinged and religiously fanatical mother of Carrie. Everyone had life to them, even characters mentioned only once or twice.

After I was done with the book, I remember Chris's hesitation when it came time to pull the string and dump the pig's blood on Carrie. What if she had decided against it? Would the buckets have remained unpoured and Carrie would have had the best night of her life? After getting along with Freida and other, would Carrie have started to make friends? How would Tommy have dealt with loving both Sue and Carrie? I wanted to know about everything that could have happened, but didn't- it made me want to see an alternate ending. There's the possibility that Billy would have pulled the string after he got sick of Chris's hesitation, but there's also equal chance that he wouldn't have. Yet even if the bucket had remained untouched, there would still be Carrie's mother to think about, who had been planning the whole time to kill Carrie when she got back. Would that have been Carrie's trigger instead of the pig blood? We will never know.

This book gave me one of my favorite moments of all time, one that made me mentally go, "Oh snap!" It was when Chris Hargensen's lawyer dad John Hargensen and Principal Henry Grayle had a mental face-off. Chris was supposed to go to detention for throwing tampons and pads at Carrie and when she didn't, she was suspended for three days and lost her prom tickets. John comes in to try and get the prom rights back for her and a mental face-off the likes of which I have never seen before happens between the two men. While they argued legal mumbo-jumbo back and forth about the rights of the school to punish one of their students and how teachers can handle students, I was on the edge of my seat. Once I was finished with that scene, I went back and read it again just because it was so awesome! Mr. Grayle definitely won that battle, showing off Chris's ugly record like that, along with threatening to sue on Carrie's behalf.

One small point bothered me about the novel, but I'm willing to let it slide. This novel is told in epistolary form with excerpts from fake books and accounts from people who lived in Chamberlain then. Yet this book contains Carrie's point of view when it's never seen that she write in a journal or leaves behind records; Tommy's thoughts and feelings just before his death are in here too, along with Margaret White's. When these characters die without leaving behind any records, where would these bits come from? This is my first true epistolary, but I would think that the entire book would have to be made up of records of some sort, not just pieces of it. I'll give it a pass because it's my first epistolary (my issue might have to do with being an idealist and not knowing how they work) and because it's in third-person. We don't ask about who the narrator is in every third -person book, do we? Exactly.

How could I not give this book a five-star rating? It was suspenseful, terrifying, classic, and I couldn't stand to put it down! (It also helps that if I gave it even one ukulele, the fictional and ghostly spirit of Carrie would come and kill me, according to my wild daynightmares.) I highly recommend this book; after reading it, you will more than likely see why Stephen King has become so popular. If you will excuse me, I'm going to go find the movie on television.

Cross-posted from my blog, Ashleigh Reads (With a Ukulele), also posted on Goodreads.

His First
"If only it would be today and Jesus coming not with a lamb and a shepherd's crook, but with a boulder in each hand to crush the laughers and the snickerers, to root out the evil and destroy it screaming - a terrible Jesus of blood and righteousness.

And if only she could be His sword and His arm."

Everyone has, no doubt, heard of Stephen King and his first work, Carrie, and yet it is paradoxically easy to distance oneself from the giants in the field. After a point, it's easier to think of everyone on the subway holding a newly released copy of Under the Dome than it is to remember the realities of King's writing. When I began Carrie, my first King novel in two or so years, I was immediately reminded of all the reasons that I read twenty of his novels in a period of just under three months. By the time I finished Carrie, I also remembered the annoying aspects of King's writing that are just as much a part of his style as the positive parts.

Carrie is a mercilessly mocked misfit that comes to embody supernatural revenge through her latent telekinetic powers. The structure of the story is built entirely around a single massive set piece. The events are deserving of the focus lavished on them, but the extensive early foreshadowing serves to dampen any sort of surprise. The novel is told through an untold number of viewpoints, both pseudo-nonfiction and a standard third person. This cornucopia of perspectives leads to both great and terrible things. On the upside, we come to sympathize with (almost) every side of the equation, and therein lies the novel's greatest strength. On the downside, the pacing of the book is often slowed down at critical moments. Learning about a man running terrified as he's pursued by what feels like every demon of hell personified in an endlessly wronged schoolgirl? Awesome. Learning about sixty of them for every street that Carrie crosses? Not so much.

The strength of the novel comes from the characters, and the star of the cast is, of course, Carrie White. The number of truly innocent characters in fiction is fairly low, but Carrie is without a doubt one of them. She is both naïve and cynical, both pitiable and, by the end, reprehensible. In her character, King has taken a phenomenon as common as anything else in the world - the outsider, mocked by the whole for being different - and turned it into a tragedy as personal and as unjust as any global atrocity.

Of the other characters, most manage to come to life through their dilemmas and problems. Undoubtedly the greatest of the secondary characters is Sue Snell, who tries to right the wrongs done to Carrie. Of course, she's far from black and white. She was there along with everyone else, taunting Carrie, and only now does she feel the cruelty of what she did. Often, it's impossible to tell whether her actions are motivated by a newly found compassion, or whether they're merely empathy in the guise of selfishness. And it's not just that we don't know, the character doesn't either, and she admits it.

The only character that really falls flat is Carrie's mother, Margaret White. For the first, but certainly not the last, time in his career, Stephen King investigates religion, this time in the guise of Margret's zealotry. Unfortunately, this is probably his worst treatment of it. The early glimpses of her views are disturbing, but you soon come to the realization that there isn't much under the surface, and some of the more outrageous aspects make the entire affair seem kind of silly. Dirtypillows, for instance, are just not a very frightening, nor realistic, term for breasts. I mean, fine, sexuality's evil, but I just have trouble conceiving of the sheer act of puberty being sinful.

King's prose in Carrie is similar to his writing throughout his career: down to earth and easy to follow. It's easy to imagine these events taking place in some nearby small town, and King's diction is a definite part of that. His writing feels like the raw speech of the average man and as such conveys a sense of time and place like few others are able to. The most interesting element in it here is his conveying of thoughts - often contradictory to the majority of the prose - in parenthesis, such as:

"Carrie tried to swallow an obstruction and only
(i am not afraid o yes i am)
got rid of part of it."

Carrie isn't flawless, but its successes - primarily the characterization of Carrie White - are so powerful that you'll be haunted for days to come. Without the faintest aura of pretension, Stephen King manages to show the reader something about the consequences of their actions on others. Highly recommended, if you're in the mood for a bleak novel that may just show you some things about yourself and your interactions that you didn't wholly realize.

Just Didn't Do It For Me
I am not going to say much, but I just didn't find this book all that compelling. After reading Stephen King's On Writing, this book was a bit of a letdown -- especially because he makes some of the errors he warns against. Of course this could be because it was his first novel, but I didn't find the writing all that great. Some metaphors were trite or even a bit forced and laughable at times. And I certainly didn't find the book all that scary. Carrie was more of a two-dimensional figure t ...moreI am not going to say much, but I just didn't find this book all that compelling. After reading Stephen King's On Writing, this book was a bit of a letdown -- especially because he makes some of the errors he warns against. Of course this could be because it was his first novel, but I didn't find the writing all that great. Some metaphors were trite or even a bit forced and laughable at times. And I certainly didn't find the book all that scary. Carrie was more of a two-dimensional figure to me than a real person. I haven't given up on King, but was not that impressed.

carrie
Great book could not put it down king holds you in every page and does not let go

CARROE
The book came quickly, was in very nice condition-however, it was fom my son's summer reading list--and he would LOVE to read this copy, because it includes an analysis of the story and the hidden meanings---just what he'd like to write a great paper without thinking for himself:) ... Read more

Product Description

Susannah Dean is possessed, her body a living vessel for the demon-mother Mia. Something is growing inside Susannah's belly, something terrible, and soon she will give birth to Mia's "chap." But three unlikely allies are following them from New York City to the border of End World, hoping to prevent the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Eddie and Roland have tumbled into the state of Maine -- where the author of a novel called 'Salem's Lot is about to meet his destiny.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (391)

Dark Tower VI
The book allows me to get to and through Dark Tower VII, which I've had for some time---and it definitely needed to be read prior to VII, so thanks for the good deal and good condition of the book!! It's some of King's strangest work, but definitely worth the effort... in my opinion anyway.

Thanks again!

another great book in an amazing series!
My book arrived with a slightly dented corner because the packaging wasnt adequate but the story itself is great.

The Dark Tower, book 6
From the moment I started reading The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1),I was hooked. The saga is a breathtaking journey, and I couldn't wait to read this book.

It did not disappoint.The inter-weaving of the characters and their respective and collective adventures kept me captive. I could do little else other than read this latest installment.
I must stress, this is not a book to start reading unless you have followed the gunslingers through the first five books.If you already are a "constant reader" of this series, you need to read this.

Book 6 is now number 2 on my list
I very much enjoyed reading book 6, not once did I find it hard to turn the page.

My The Dark Tower book ranking:

Book 2 - The Drawing of the Three
Book 6 - Song of Susannah
Book 3 - The Waste Lands
Book 5 - Wolves of the Calla
Book 4 - Wizard and Glass
Book 1 - The Gunslinger

**Still need to read book 7**

The song of Stephen King
For better or worse, book 6 in the Dark Tower series sees a dramatic change in the story. Previously only hinted at in book 5 when we found Pere was also a character in the Stephen King book "Salem's Lot", here a major storyline is the question of what if you were just a character in a book written by someone else. King doesn't spend too much time dwelling on this philosophically, but instead plays with the idea. When he included himself as a character in his own book, I knew I was in for something different.

There are two main storylines here - Roland and Eddie attempt to secure the vacant lot with the rose (meeting King along the way) and Pere, Jake and Oy chase after Susannah, who's possessed by Mia and about to give birth. Using the Unfound Door, Susannah/Mia travels to New York City in 1999 with Mia mostly in charge. After she learns Mia betrayed Eddie and Roland, Susannah tries to fight for control. Stronger than Susannah but still naive and frightened by the big city, Mia needs Susannah's help to accomplish her goal of giving birth to her chap at a location determined by the Crimson King's men. Susannah learns more and more about the origin of the chap and Mia herself - a demon who made a deal with the Crimson King's men to become mortal in exchange for becoming a mother.

Jake and Pere have a small but important part in this novel. Traveling on the heels of Susannah, they must track her down and try to rescue her, a task originally selected for Roland and Eddie. Instead, Roland and Eddie travel to Maine 1977 where they must make the deal with Calvin Tower to secure the vacant lot with the rose. They get into a large battle with Balazar's men and get help from a local man. Before they can complete the deal and then try to travel and rescue Susannah, they follow Eddie's instincts and a new lead. They find out from the local who helped them that Stephen King lives in the area nearby which has been the center for strange happenings. They go to meet King, a meeting which has a big impact on all of them and raises the question of whether or not King has control over what happens to Roland and Eddie.

Personally, I feel this is the weakest entry in the series up to this point. The Susannah-Mia storyline has some interesting insight into the Dark Tower, but it feels repetitious at times when it comes to the struggle over the chap. I don't quite like King's handling of himself as a character in his own novel. While the question of one being a character in someone else's story (or someone else's dream, as many others have said) can be an interesting one, so far King hasn't explored it as much as played with it. It also feels like too much of a departure from the story up until now. While one could argue it relates to Roland's quest to see the Dark Tower and find out if the top room is empty, I feel that's a bit of a stretch. Naturally, at this point I still want to see how it all ends in the next and final book; I'll reserve full judgment of King's handling of this question until after reading it. ... Read more

Product Description
Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, the DARK TOWER series is unlike anything you have ever read.

Here is the fifth installment, "one of the strongest entries yet in what will surely be a master storyteller's magnum opus" (Locus).

Roland Deschain and his ka-tet are bearing southeast through the forests of Mid-World on their quest for the Dark Tower. Their path takes them to the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis. But beyond the tranquil farm town, the ground rises to the hulking darkness of Thunderclap, the source of a terrible affliction that is stealing the town's soul. The wolves of Thunderclap and their unspeakable depredation are coming. To resist them is to risk all, but these are odds the gunslingers are used to. Their guns, however, will not be enough.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (411)

Highly recommended!
Although the Dark Tower series was started in the late 70s, this is my first time reading the series and they just keep getting better and better. This series is by far, in my opinion, one of King's best set of novels because each novel gets better then the last. Wolves of the Calla is no different. This novel is full of vivid imagery, spine-tingling suspense, and strong storylines all wrapped up in such an awesome plot that this work of fiction is believable. King is such a good writer that it seems like Roland and the other characters are real people; like there could actually be another world out there where these adventures take place. Wolves of the Calla will leave the reader excitedly anticipating the next book in the series. My strong recommendation is to order the next two books before you finish this one to avoid waiting between novels.

A good book sullied by a failing narrator.
I read the first three dark tower books and wanted more.Years later (giving King the time to finish the series so that I don't have to wait YEARS for the next book), I found the audio books.They were CAPTIVATING!.The narrator, Frank Muller, captured the essence and the characters perfectly.I greedily absorbed each audio book and looked forward to the next.That is, until I listened to the first disk of "Wolves of the Calla".OMG.The guy (George Guidall) sounded like he couldn't keep drool off his lips and you can hear it while you listen. UGH!!His failing flesh comes through in his reading and I don't think I can stomach another disk.I believe I'm going to have to wait until I have more time so that I can read the series as I cannot endure anymore disks of this driveling, slobbering narrator.Don't get me wrong:age has nothing to do with my dislike of this person but when you are narrating a book, clarity and voice quality have a huge impact.What a disappointment.:(

AWESOME!!!
I just finished reading the 5th Dark Tower book (in spanish, I'm from México) and it was awesome!! But I just couldn't belive what Stephen King did... He inseretd himself in the story!! That's awesome!! I would like to know what part he is going to play since I have just been told that he is in the next book for a short time. I can't wait to read the 6th book... 2 more books to reach the Tower!!!

Best of the series so far.
I just finished Wolves of the Calla this afternoon, and while it suffered from the same side track syndrome that permeated the previous book in the series, Wizard and Glass, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Even though it was pretty off track, Wolves of the Calla succeeds at being a wholly engaging and entertaining side quest of Roland and his ka-tet. The mystery surrounding the wolves and why they are nabbing a single twin from each pair from the Calla Bryn Sturgis is answered throughout the course of the novel, but there is much left to ponder when all is said and done. The story of Don Callahan, the priest from Salem's Lot, who died and found him self in the world that Roland is questing through is absolutely the high point of this novel for me. Especially the last couple of pages when some pretty interesting, or insane depending on how you view it, revelations about what this world might be come to light. Not much is done in this book concerning the groups main quest of the tower, and events at the end set up another side quest that may very well take center stage in the next book. Even though there was little to push the main story along, this has been my favorite book in the Dark Tower series up to this point.

dark tower reviews
I've been a Stephen King fan for nearly 20 years, and have only recently began to read The Dark Tower books. After finishing The Talisman and Black House last summer, I longed for new stories of the territories and so began my latest reading adventure. I couldn't be more in love with these stories and rave about them to everyone I meet. Roland and his ka-tet have captured my heart. Not since litle Jacky Sawyer have I felt so strongly for a character's fate, and I praise Mr. King for his undying devotion to his life's greatest writing accomplishment. These books have left me smitten. Thank you, Mr. King. Thank you for working so hard, so that all of us may play. ... Read more

Product Description

Published a year after his stunning debut novel, Carrie, 'Salem's Lot firmly cemented Stephen King's name in the literary lexicon of great American storytellers. His rich and finely crafted tale of a mundane New England town under siege by the forces of darkness is both a homage to Bram Stoker's classic Dracula and an allegory of our post-Vietnam society. Considered one of the most terrifying vampire novels ever written, it cunningly probes the shadows of the human heart -- and the insular evils of small-town America.Amazon.com Review
Stephen King's second book, 'Salem's Lot (1975)--aboutthe slow takeover of an insular hamlet called Jerusalem's Lot by avampire patterned after Bram Stoker's Dracula--has two elements thathe also uses to good effect in later novels: a small American town,usually in Maine, where people are disconnected from each other,quietly nursing their potential for evil; and a mixed bag of rational,goodhearted people, including a writer, who band together to fightthat evil.

Simply taken as a contemporary vampire novel, 'Salem's Lot isgreat fun to read, and has been very influential in the horrorgenre. But it's also a sly piece of social commentary. As King said in1983, "In 'Salem's Lot, the thing that really scared me was notvampires, but the town in the daytime, the town that was empty,knowing that there were things in closets, that there were peopletucked under beds, under the concrete pilings of all thosetrailers. And all the time I was writing that, the Watergate hearingswere pouring out of the TV.... Howard Baker kept asking, 'What I wantto know is, what did you know and when did you know it?' That linehaunts me, it stays in my mind.... During that time I was thinkingabout secrets, things that have been hidden and were being dragged outinto the light." Sounds quite a bit like the idea behind his 1998novel of a Maine hamlet haunted by unsightly secrets, Bag ofBones. --Fiona Webster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (505)

Excellent, Though Not his Best
"Being in the town is a daily act of utter intercourse, so complete that it makes what you and your wife do in the squeaky bed look like a handshake. Being in the town is prosaic, sensuous, alcoholic. And in the dark, the town is yours and you are the town's, and together you sleep like the dead, like the very stones in your north field. There is no life here but the slow death of days, and so when the evil falls on the town, its coming seems almost preordained, sweet and morphic. It is almost as though the town knows the evil was coming and the shape it would take." (p. 315)

Published in 1975, 631 pages long, King's second novel, `Salem's Lot, is often considered the best vampire novel ever written, as the back so proudly states. Does it live up to its reputation as one of King's best novels? Yes, but not his best.

Stephen King debuted with Carrie. Carrie showed King's strengths at both characterization and horror, as the guilt of Sue Snell and Margaret White rose in tandem. What the book did not show was King's skills at working with people as a group, with manipulating and personifying an entire social set at once. Besides the principle characters, the cast of Carrie was fairly shallow and underdeveloped. (That's not to say that Carrie is a bad book, mind you, merely a different book.)

`Salem's Lot, by contrast, is the first time that King unleashes his full powers on a large scale. The town of Jerusalem's Lot is, in many ways, the center of the story. King builds up the people of the town, the town's backstory and idiosyncrasies, and the relationships that define it. King's characters are a varied bunch, most of them being pushed to the edges of their lifestyles and personalities. `Salme's Lot is a town of myriad small evils, from adultery to abuse to things darker still. Each of those binds the town closer together rather than damaging it. The Lot is home to an inbred web of ties that, while occasionally dark, make it what it is. It's a place of comforts and gossips, competent preachers and small scale alcoholics, happy couples and betraying spouses.

King establishes the main characters with care, Ben Mears and Susie Norton each growing and changing over the course of the book. Around them, he gives the Lot life. People seen in the periphery of the main story are given chapters or scenes of their own, exposing their changes and stagnations to the world. These glimpses are generally brief, but they're both memorable due to the vividness of what's described and because of their proximity to what's already been created. The characterization of the Lot soon starts to snowball, with each shred of information shedding light on a dozen other lives.

In the same way that he brings a character's quirks to light through their everyday qualities, King's prose uses down to earth diction and comparisons to the most basic of terms to illuminate his world. It's a style so mundane as to be almost simplistic, and yet it feels anything but, taking familiar images and morphing them into new forms, taking your routines and twisting them into unfamiliar and discomforting shapes:

"The fellow in question had driven up to Crockett's office on a shimmering July afternoon just over a year ago. He got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk for a moment before coming inside, a tall man dressed in a sober three-piece suit in spite of the day's heat. He was as bald as a cueball and as sweatless as same. His eyebrows were a straight black slash, and the eye sockets shelved away below them to dark holes that might have been carved into the angular surface of his face with drill bits." (p. 89)

Central to the Lot is the feeling that it is, despite being a small town in Maine all there is. People commute to and from it, yes, but in relatively small numbers, but they soon either assimilate to the general culture or remain forever outside, looking in. Every change in the Lot is a major one, every new arrival a potential crisis. We see the interaction between Ben and the town in great detail. He adapts to it as it adapts, ever so slightly, to him, and he makes his own path through its customs. And then something, in the form of two more arrivals, comes along to shatter the Lot as it is.

The arrival of the vampire and his assistant, Barlow and Straker, destroys the town's equilibrium. The disturbances are first subtle and all the more terrifying because of it. The even vaguely astute reader will connect the two sinister newcomers with the vampire threat advocated on the book's back, but the change wrought by their coming spreads with almost agonizing slowness. It starts with a moment of quickly building and climaxing tension, but then relents for a time, content to spread slowly and let the town grieve and the reader simmer.

When events finally kick into motion - and King is in anything but a hurry to reach that point - what makes them so horrific is the speed with which they happen. Like a plague, vampirism spreads through the town in an instant, a wildfire that sweeps over whole streets in a matter of scant seconds. The reader and characters are left vainly trying to understand the opening salvos long into the endgame, the hero's actions seeming laughably trite in the light of what they face.

The dissolution and destruction of the carefully crafted ties that King spent the whole novel making is what makes `Salem's Lot such an engrossing work. Relationships are torn apart and character after character isolated, rendering the book's middle section a constant quagmire of change. And then, in the end, everything settles again into a configuration disturbingly reminiscent of the town's isolated spirit in the beginning.

`Salem's Lot is the first novel of King's golden age - where he seemed able to master theme, atmosphere and plot with the ease that most of us can only muster when it comes to the most rote of tasks - it is still not King at his peak, and the work is marked with the occasional tinges of amateurism.

When, a quarter of the way through the book, workers are hired to move a suspicious looking package into the basement of the vampire's house, the scene's mood is subtly and powerfully built up. All of that is mangled, however, when the movers see a shirt in the villain's house. Leaving the victim's belongings in plain sight when you've just invited innocents to come in and take a look? Sorry, but no, that's behavior as laughable for eon old vampires as it is for genius serial killers and preschoolers alike.

The more serious issue facing `Salem's Lot, preventing it from going to a very good work to a great one, is that the evil is not a human evil. In his great works, such as The Shining, King used tragedy, both natural and supernatural, to evolve and transform his character's relationships. In `Salem's Lot, on the other hand, the great evil signifies an end to the subtleties that the rest of the book is built from, a simplification from the multifaceted world of the Lot to the good and evil domain of monster and monster hunter, stalker and victim.

Father Callahan describes the world in terms of big and small evils. The first portion of `Salem's Lot is filled with small and big evils both, contrasting against each other to build a nuanced picture of the world. As the tale progresses, however, all of those intricacies are ironed out. The abuser and the abused both become vampires side by side, the cheater and the cheated upon united once the final bite's sunken in. Using the title of Evil, King is able to shirk away from ever really defining his villains, leaving the vampires and Marstens of his world comparatively shallow and almost generic at times.

Coming along with Father Callahan is King's treatment of religion in `Salem's Lot. In most of his works, King is highly critical of the church, but `Salem's Lot sees a more complimentary side of the man, where, though the father certainly has problems, Callahan can be a good man as a result of his beliefs and convictions. Still, this viewpoint is not developed. In the same way that we never get a real understanding of the forces of darkness, we're never really sure why crosses are successful at repelling vampire. Some characters are made into avengers by their faith, then crippled by the loss of it, while others scrape by without being so much as a practicing Christian and yet receive almost the same benefits.

But none of those are problems. No, `Salem's Lot is not quite a masterpiece; King wouldn't reach those heights for another year still. It is, however, an exemplary horror story. `Salem's Lot is still a giant of the field and an essential read for anyone interested in reading King or modern horror in general.

And the vampires don't sparkle.

i liked it enough to tell people i don't know
I liked it. It's only the third King book I've read so far and I'm glad I picked this one. I especially liked how the vampires reacted to sunlight.

That's all I have to say.

Love,

Jarrod

Not bad...
I am a big SK fan and for an early work this was good.Very slow in parts but it does keep you in suspense.You can tell SK polished his stories up after this one but any SK fan should not pass this up.

How I read 'Salem's Lot
With great difficulty, actually.Not that the book sucked (pun unavoidable).Rather, it was due to peculiar circumstances.

Before we left for China to adopt our daughter, they told us to expect to spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen.So I packed a few trashy novels (Stephen King, John Grisham and Edgar Rice Burroughs) figuring I'd have time to get some reading done.My figuring was somewhat erroneous.

I got through 200+ pages of `Salem's Lot (first Signet paperback edition of 1976, 427 pages total, in remarkably good condition considering that I found it in the alley behind the house) during the 13-hour flight to Beijing.I took some time to watch an in-flight movie and play computer games, after all.

Then it took me an entire month to get to page 300.Just because you're waiting for bureaucrats to shuffle their papers doesn't mean that your new toddler isn't making life very busy.Not to mention all the Chinese in-laws who wanted to socialize with the new family member.It was during this period that I had time to think about what I was reading and realized that it was, overall, a load of bat guano.

Finally, during the flight back to Seattle, I polished off the book, which now looked quite second-hand after being manhandled by a two-year-old, in flurries of page-turning while the two-year-old was sleeping.

My reaction: mixed.King is a superb writer.His ear for dialogue is pretty near perfect.His characters are extremely well drawn, except when they're acting like they're in a cheesy vampire movie.(An example of that would be the chapter involving Susan, the romantic interest, which could be summed up as "Ooh I'm just sure there's a big bad vampire in this scary old house but I'm gonna go in there anyway all by myself and stick this stake through his heart and ooh I'm so scared and EEK THERE'S SOMEBODY RIGHT BEHIND ME!")The book was a perfect thrill ride when my reading wasn't derailed by circumstances beyond my control.

And I guess I would classify this book as a "thriller" rather than a horror story.Because it was thrilling, but not horrifying.Vaguely icky, maybe, but nothing like the visceral revulsion I get reading Lovecraft.As I write this, I'm thinking of "The Shadow over Innsmouth," which is about a town taken over by anthropoid sea monsters and really is as stupid as that sounds, but Lovecraft shovels crap at the reader so fast there's no opportunity to think about how stupid it is.To my taste, King spent too much time having his characters rationalizing their belief in vampires, and had to explicitly tell the reader too many times how scary everything is.Lovecraft was a lousy writer, but he sure didn't need to tell me that anything was scary.

Vampire stories never were my favorite.I just have trouble suspending my disbelief, and this one diverged very little from the standard lore.And I really had trouble suspending my disbelief here when the Lord High Vampire, who had defeated all opponents for thousands of years, got snuffed by a couple of noobs with a pointy stick.

In short, I would recommend `Salem's Lot as a finely crafted divertimento from the pre-sparkle vampire era, excellent entertainment for idle hours, but not to be on any list of books one simply must read.

Good for what it purports to be...
This review is aimed at the Stephen King newby (which is what I am) as opposed to the hard-core fans who I assume don't need any promptings from an amazon review to read and devour all the King they can. This is the first Stephen King book I have ever read. I am not, in general, very interested in the horror genre of literature; but I did really love Bram Stoker's Dracula and this book was recommended to me a number of years ago so I decided to give it a go. I also admit to having what I would call a very mild fascination with vampires; although my tastes are very particular. I am not at all interested in the new, hip, teenage vampire. I like a vampire who is drenched in the atmosphere of Eastern Europe, who has been around since the beginning of time, and who has a certain degree of class. The vampire of this story fits the bill quite well.

There are a number of things I liked about this book. The characters, I thought, were drawn fairly well and realistically. In a supernatural story like this a little bit of hoakiness and one-dimensionality is perhaps inevitable but King keeps the hoakiness to a minimum and is able to provide characters with at least some depth. Some of the characters are perhaps slightly stereotypical (the writer tortured by his own past, the drunken priest, the town gossip) but since these people really do exist in the real world it seems to me that writers should be allowed to use them as characters if it fits their purpose. I thought the choice of setting (a small town in Maine) was an excellent choice. In a vampire story the setting is extremely important. What would Dracula be without Transylvania or nineteenth-century London? The small town in Maine seems to me to provide just the right atmosphere and is perhaps the modern day equivalent of Transylvania. The novel is a bit slow going at first as we are slowly introduced to all the characters (though I personally found this section interesting I imagine some readers will be anxious to get to the action) but the last two-thirds of the book are fast paced and often terrifying. King is good at describing just enough to let the imagination run wild which is always more terrifying than providing all the gory details (though King does this to some degree as well).

Ultimately what King does well is tell a good story. Writing can be a lot of things. Writing can communicate ideas, it can be philosophical, or emotionally evocative, it can communicate purpose, or make us think. But writing can also be used to tell a good story without any ulterior purpose beyond that. As humans we love a good story. Before Salem's Lot I had really only read two books that qualify as horror stories: Dracula, and The Turn of the Screw (which is not really a horror story but creates the same kind of tension in the reader as a horror story). What I liked about Dracula and The Turn of the Screw (among other things) was the feeling of tension and constant suspense they created in me so that any creak from the house or any random door closing was enough to send me jumping from my seat. I will never understand why humans get enjoyment from that vicarious fear but it is an undeniable fact that they do. I was hoping that King's book would have the same effect on me and I was not disappointed. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, exciting read, and anyone who liked Dracula should enjoy this book as well.

-Brian
... Read more

Product Description

Ten years ago, Stephen King published Bag of Bones , a number one bestse ller, a tale of grie f, of love's enduring bonds, and the haunting secrets of the past .

Four years after the sudden death of his wife, forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is unable to write and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the Maine summerhouse he calls Sara Laughs. Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway and finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a vindictive millionaire, Max Devore, who is trying to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother, Mattie. As Mike is drawn into Mattie's struggle -- and begins to fall in love with her -- he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors. What do the forces that have been unleashed here want of Mike Noonan?Amazon.com Review
No longer content to be the prolific provider of text, Kinggrabs the audio reigns to recount this haunted tale of grief, younglove, and otherworldly visits. When 40-year-old bestselling novelistMike Noonan returns to his lakeside cabin to process his wife's death,he finds the place a beacon for nightmares and ghoulish visits. Butthere's hope in Kingsville, as this struggling writer falls in lovewith a young widow named Mattie and her 3-year-old psychic daughter,Kyra. If you've never heard King speak, be warned: 19-plus hours ofhis western Maine, nasal-drenched tones may be more than somelisteners can bear. But there's a certain warmth and believability toKing's voice--after all, it's his book and he is a middle-agedbestselling novelist--that jive well with Noonan's character. Andsince King rarely reads his own work, perhaps his doing so indicatesthat he's especially pleased with Bag of Bones; most listenersshould be as well. (Running time: 19.5 hours, 14 cassettes) --Rob McDonald ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1185)

Love and Vengeance from beyond the Grave
Michael Noonan is a forty-year-old novelist who can't get over the loss of his wife four years earlier. Not only is he alone, but it seems his abiltity to write passed away with his wife. Fortunately for him he's had several manuscripts hidden away and he has been putting them out year by year as if he'd just written them.

But eventually he runs out of manuscripts, then he begins having horrific nightmares about the summer home he shared with his wife in the woods of western Main on Dark Score lake. Hoping to overcome his writer's block and whatever's causing the bad dreams, he packs up and goes there.

Soon after his arrival he meets and is captivated by a three-year-old child named Kyra, who is in the middle of a custody battle between her widowed mother and her paternal grandfather, a malevolent millionaire. Mike gets involved in the case and starts to fall for Kyra's mother. And now he can write again.

By the time things come to a head, Mike finds out just how far both love and evil can reach out from beyond the grave in this spooky love story.

In "Bag of Bones" Mr. King effectively plays on our fears of ghosts and things that go bump in the night. But he also delves into what else can terrify you, like the fear of losing the one you love in this different kind of love story that is also a story of redemption and of vengeance, vengeance of the dead. It is a Stephen King novel after all.

WHY is not available to US Kindle readers?
Stephen, you dog, I hope you read this.And when you read it, I hope you hear a screaming three-year-old's voice over and over and over.I want my bag o bones, I want my bag o bones, I want my bag o bones, I want my bag o bones, I want my bag o bones, I want my bag o bones, I want my bag o bones.

I have a sinus infection and was comfy in warm sickbed with my sample and then told I couldn't buy it in the U.S.For doing this to me, you deserve to have that snotty-nosed 3-year-old in your head for 1 month.

Now I have to go read Goldy the Caterer in Colorado...

thank you
Sorry to say, the book was being sent to an inmate in the CA prison system.The book was returned for some reason and I cannot find out why.I want to say thank you to the sending however, for being so professional.I rec'd a credit for the purchase and an E-Mail with a detailed explanation.I will order for this person again.

The KING for sure!!
Like all King Books you can't stop until there is no more to read. And like every book you wonder how does he keep coming up with all these stories. Well its worth a read and then some. Miranda Bachman author of DESCENDANT: Chronicles of the Ipswich Witch

A Masterfully Written Novel
Stephen King has had his share of detractors concerning his writing, his literary style & his plots. Well, it's time for the detractors to eat their words.
In a departure from his usual style, King has created a testament to his literary ability with "Bag of Bones". This is a blend of thought provoking writing, prose, & a whole lot of heart. A labor of love, if you will.
Mike Noonan is a writer who becomes a widower at a very young age. Some years pass and he can't seem to let go & get past his wife's death. Haunted by nightmares & ghosts, Mike returns to their country summerhouse on the lake. He finds his summer hometown in the grips of one very nasty, wealthy individual.
He befriends and eventually kindles a relationship with a woman & her young daughter. The story evolves beautifully around these bits.
At 732 pages, yes it is long. I promise you'll rue finishing the book. This is a beautiful piece of King fiction which can rightfully take it's place next to "The Stand" & "Hearts in Atlantis".
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Product Description

Customer Reviews (14)

Terrific!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Rogak offers interesting insights into King's psyche,his early struggles, his sudden wealth and fame, and into his creative process, even when he was drunk and stoned. She captures something else, too, a kind of ineffable quality that only another writer would understand: the inner need to keep writing. It didn't matter to me that the book is an unauthorized biography. Sometimes, an outsider is better able to capture the essence in a way that an insider simply can't.

`So who is Stephen King, really?'
In her introduction to this unauthorised biography, Lisa Rogak recounts an anecdote about her trip to Bangor, Maine and a discussion she had with Stephen King's assistant, Marsha DeFillipo about the aim of book she was planning to write.
`For most of that half-hour conversation, the man himself hovered just outside the doorway, listening in on our conversation but never once stepping inside.'

This anecdote could be a summary for the book itself:Stephen King's presence within it is indirect and reflected, rather than direct and central. There's plenty of data here, mostly drawn from secondary sources but little insight or analysis.That doesn't mean that the data isn't useful (although based on events detailed in the book, the timeline is incomplete) simply that a third person biography of Stephen King has little new to add to what is already publicly available.

However, for those discovering Stephen King for the first time, this book contains a lot of useful information including a bibliography.I found the notes section frustrating: there is no reference within the text to the notes; the notes themselves contain page references back to the text.So, if you read the text without exploring the notes you would not have a clear picture of how (and from where) the information was gleaned. For those who have been avidly following Stephen King's career since `Carrie' was first published in 1974, it is unlikely that this book contains anything new.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

A great read
I enjoyed this book very much and think it gave me a better overview of Stephen King, the man.When one gets an overview of an author, it makes his work even more meaningful.

Great Cover!
This Edgar award nominated book has a great cover, the rest of the book is okay. It's very readable, and should hold your interest, but it's a "hit the high and low points" type of biography. There is quite a bit of info, known to even the casual King fan, that is left out.It's repetitious, could have used one more proofread, and I found it a little depressing. The author writes that King has lost readers since he turned away from horror. I was an early (rabid?) King fan (if you have not read SALEM'S LOT buy it and read it instead of this book), but I must admit he lost me along the way. The book is surprisingly short, and I wish better photos had been selected for the photo section. The author does a very good job dealing with some sensitive areas of King's life, and giving the reader an idea of some of the wonderful things King has been able to do for people in need.

Any King fan knows all this
This book is a lame lazy retread of the most common King info. If you read King's own book 'On Writing' you got all the information in nearly the exact same sentence structures as in this book certainly concerning his childhood and early writing career. Seriously, she copies it nearly verbatim. This is followed by her "discussions" of his books and writings and this is pedestrian at best and sophomoric summaries of book jacket summaries at best. A complete waste of money ... a complete waste of time ... it's a shame trees died for this to be published ... Read more