Product Description
Stephen King cranks up the suspense in a different kind of bedtime story. A game of seduction between a husband and wife goes horribly awry when the husband suddenly dies. But the wife's nightmare has just begun. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (259)

Geralds Game
It is very well written and you can really believe the story line.. It is a great book about womens issue and abuse...

A successful exception to King's usual style, but not an exceptional book. Moderately recommended
After her husband dies of a heart attack in the middle of a sex game, Jessie is left handcuffed to their bed, abandoned in an off-season summer home, with only his corpse for company. Without hope of rescue, she must free herself to survive--an effort which takes her back through her traumatic childhood memories. Gerald's Game is in many ways a deviation from King's usual novels. There's no sprawling, here: the bulk of the story is the events of a single character in a single location over a single day; the journeys into her memory also hold to a limited scope. As a result, the novel is comparably short--a mere 400 pages. Furthermore, Jessie's story is more personal than supernatural, with some exceptions (including the questionable inclusion of voices in her head, which repopulate the book with characters and dialog but feel more cliché than convincing, and the specter that haunts--and weakens--the conclusion). The local, personal, realistic story has the potential to do what many King novels do not: provide a tense, tight, and authentically frightening story. If King doesn't usually work for you (he doesn't for me), consider giving Gerald's Game a try.

That said, while Gerald's Game is a successful exception to King's usual style, it never becomes an exceptional book in its own right. Jessie's physical predicament is claustrophobic and convincing, which makes the book authentically frightening but also makes it uncomfortable, if not painful, to read. The many frustrations and flashbacks on her way towards escape slow the book's pacing, so it doesn't have the unputdownable suspense of a thriller. In short, there are moments when the reader wonders: Why exactly am I reading this? Perhaps more importantly--not to the process of reading, but to the reader's judgement upon conclusion--is that Jessie's struggles tie together a little too well. The neat knit of current quandary, past trauma, and the psychology bridging them creates a story of suffering and survival that, even though it avoids a cheap and easy conclusion, never feels entirely real. I often take issue with King's wordiness, huge casts, and excessive length, so Gerald's Game is for me a refreshing, and concurrently much more effective, change of pace. But at the same time, the book never quite satisfied me. It's authentically frightening, but fails to be authentically meaningful, and so I can give it only a halfhearted recommendation.

Should have been a novella
Gerald's Game is an interesting premise. A young woman named Jessie is handcuffed to her bed to partake in kinky love when her husband Gerald suffers from a heart attack and dies. We are left with Jessie trying to escape the handcuffs while struggling to survive through basic means like needing to eat and drink, and also have her sanity survive.

Gerald's Game is a book that I quickly tried to read, if only because I didn't want to lag through it. I was surprised at the book seemed to have finished earlier then I thought but the aftermath is about 40 pages. King should have cut the last 40 pages and just put it in one of his short story collections. Its not really a bad thing, but if your like me and you need to read anything done by King then you will probably read this just to be a completest.

First King novel I ever read
This was the first King novel I ever read. I wanted to get acquainted with King and see what the fuss is about. I came across a bunch of King's novels over a relative's house and they kindly let me have them. They aren't readers to begin with and with the amount of junk in their house I'm certain they didn't read them at all.

One of the first books I picked up was Gerald's Game. I found the plot-line intriguing. I wanted to find out what happened, so I set out to read it. The blurb on the book's jacket didn't say if Gerald died or not, so what happened to him was quite a shock. I was under the impression that the book was about Gerald's sick game but that was resolved early in the book. Now what would happen to Jessie? How would she get out of those handcuffs? That's what I wanted to find out and it kept me reading. The idea of a woman being handcuffed to a bed, and on the floor at the foot of that bed lay her dead husband and the key to those handcuffs in a bureau at the far end of the room, in a big empty house with the back door open so that anyone could walk in and torment her made for some intense reading. Unlike anything I've read before. And realistic. Something like this could very well happen in real life. To you. Scary thought.

It was a great read. It slowed in parts but not so much that I wanted to skip pages. This could have been much shorter though. As King said, it started out as a short story and ended up as a novel. I think it would have been better as a Novella.

Worth the read for King fans, and even newb fans like me.

3.5 stars

Stephen King at his finest; an unnerving and gripping horror/thriller!
Warning: Review may contain spoilers

When reading a Stephen King novel, it's easy to get caught up in all of his previous work, most of which deals in some way with supernatural horror; be it the psychokinetic abilities possessed by Carrie, or the terrifying youth and adulthood of 7 individuals in "It," King's ability to bring the reader characters and plots full of depth is unmatched in modern horror. Taking the basic premise of Gerald's Game, a novel about a wife handcuffed to the bed after her husband inexplicably dies in the middle of a sex act (Gerald's "Game"), it's easy to see why some people may think of this as one of his best AND one of his worst novels. Those that love his supernatural horror and expect it in every novel may not be the most pleased, while others that read King for suspense and horror, in general, consider this an overlooked gem. I find myself in the latter category; I've read 29 of Stephen King's novels (only two dark tower books), and this is, quite honestly, one of his scariest novels to date. What makes this novel so completely compelling, unnerving, and frightening is that the horror isn't of the supernatural variety.

The feeling that King produces in this novel is that of a strong claustrophobia, as he places the reader inside the bedroom with Jessie as she ponders both the precarious situation she finds herself in and some event that has haunted her from her youth (something involving an eclipse). Without giving anything away, the flashbacks about her youth and that particular day are the only instances of supernatural occurrences. The claustrophobic and unsettling feeling is so strong that thinking about the novel well after finishing it can still cause shivers to run down one's spine. The majority of the time, Jessie finds herself alone chained to her apparent death bed; she has no ability to get any food or water, and begins to find herself suffering from the effects of dehydration, including hallucination, adding more to the feeling that this is where Jessie is going to die and all hope is lost.

King shines brilliantly when he incorporates a new "character" into the novel, which may or may not be a member of Jessie's imagination. The terror is turned onto overdrive when it is discovered (by the reader only, not Jessie) that this specter may be the culprit in a recent string of crimes occurring in a nearby graveyard, and is indeed a real person. His description, from the look of his face to the look of his hands, sounds like something straight from our worst nightmares; from Jessie's perspective, it's enough to drive someone out of his/her mind and straight into panic mode.

Because of our ability to put ourselves in Jessie's situation (the fact that something like this COULD happen), this novel is rendered all the more terrifying and hard to forget well after completing the last page; the horror that Jessie experiences occur out of the realm of the supernatural and takes place in a setting as simple as Jessie's mind (in her flashbacks) and a simple bed that she finds herself chained to, awaiting whatever may come. In essence, Gerald's Game is an in depth character study, a novel about a woman's struggle against past and present demons; about how much one will endure to stay alive. For anyone looking for Stephen King at his finest, or a novel that is completely captivating, compelling, and scary from the first chapter, pick up Gerald's Game. You won't regret it.

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Product Description
Stephen King leads off with three stories, including 'Sneakers', about a very unusual haunting, and 'Dedication', one of the most powerful and unsettling of all his works. Dan Simmons pays homage to Philip K Dick with 'Metastasis', one of three highly accomplished stories. And George Martin rounds off the book with the brilliant werewolf novella, 'The Skin Trade'. Dark Visions is a brilliantly original showcase from three masters of the macabre. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Dark Visions - awesome book
This was an awesome book and I would love to find more along these lines.seller had this to me quickly and in mint condition

great collection of stories
the book kept me interested throughout.Not the finest collection of Kings works, but entertaining.Worth reading.

Not Free SF Reader
A strong anthology, with a 3.57 average, with the Simmons being the weakest part in general.However, the Martin 'hard boiled werewolf' novella is excellent.

Dark Visions : The Reploids - Stephen King
Dark Visions : Sneakers - Stephen King
Dark Visions : Dedication - Stephen King
Dark Visions : Metastasis - Dan Simmons
Dark Visions : Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell - Dan Simmons
Dark Visions : Iverson's Pits - Dan Simmons
Dark Visions : The Skin Trade - George R. R. Martin


Tonight show replacement appearance.

4 out of 5


Music biz mule dunny ghost.

4 out of 5


Spoof eater curse signing time.

3 out of 5


Cancer monster suspicion.

3 out of 5


Bolgia's televangelist transformation torment time.

3.5 out of 5


Officer's holey end.

3 out of 5


Mirror mirror on the wall, werewolf killer, blood will call.

4.5 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

One of the best horror anthologies around
I purchased this collection of works originally in its 1988 "Night Visions" release, primarily for its Stephen King contributions - and promptly work the cover off reading and re-reading the absolute masterworks by Dan Simmons and George R.R. Martin. I was literally jumping out of my chair when I happened across this new edition!

First off King's works are as good as always, both entertaining (Reploids, Sneakers), disturbing (Dedication) and thought-provoking.

Dan Simmons' contributions were an unexpected surprise. "Metastasis" had me on the edge of my seat, and "Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell" had me laughing out loud and shouting triumpantly at the same time. Bravo, Mr. Simmons!

George R.R. Martin's "The Skin Trade" definitely saves the best for last. This short story has become my favorite horror tale of all time, hands down. As of my writing this, I have read it at least twenty times, and it hasn't lost a bit of its appeal. For those of you who only know Mr. Martin through his "Song of Ice and Fire" series, this will show you why he is one of the greatest storytellers of our generation. It is a must-have for any reader's shelf.

Seven horror stories. Three lackluster entries by Stephen King. One great story by Dan Simmons and one by George R.R. Martin.

"Dark Visions" (2000) is a new edition of a 1988 anthology called "Night Visions 5: The Skin Trade."

It includes 3 short stories by Stephen King, 3 more by Dan Simmons, and one by George R.R. Martin.

King's contributions are "Reploids", "Sneakers", and "Dedication." Reploids is very short and goes nowhere. "Sneakers" is okay. Some parts are pretty cool. It's basically about a haunted men's room. (I kid you not.) "Dedication" is pretty gross. (As part of a black magic spell, a woman eats a man's congealing semen off of his sheets.) It gets points for the originality of its disgusting premise, but it's not a great story. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, all three stories are reprinted in King's collection "Nightmares & Dreamscapes."

Dan Simmons' contributions are "Metastasis" -- which is great -- "Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell", and "Iverson's Pits." Metastasis is about supernatural slug-like creatures that cause cancer. They're usually invisible. Only one man is able to see them, and he invents a technique for drawing them out of their victims. "Vanni Fucci" is about a damned man and is slightly comedic. It's an okay story. A lot of Dan Simmons' fans think "Iverson's Pits" is the best of the three, but I liked it least. It's about Civil War ghosts, I think. (It's been a while since I read it.) Like Stephen King's stories, these three Dan Simmons stories were reprinted elsewhere. I think they're in the collection "Prayers to Broken Stones."

The best story is the last and also the longest. It's George R.R. Martin's werewolf story "The Skin Trade." I don't remember the whole plot, but I remember the story was *good*. And I don't think this story is available in another book.
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Customer Reviews (14)

ok, but not his best

I'm about to finish these tales and have determined that they are not as interesting (or as good) as many of his other collections, mainly Night Shift and Nightmares and Dreamscapes. The stories seem to touch on ideas he has already used (kind of like Tommy knockers and Dream catcher). The story of The Road Virus Heads North is very similar to the Sun Dog in Four Past Midnight (I did enjoy Virus though). And he throws in a silly story about a mobster dying of a gunshot wound, please (not so enjoyable)! It is worth reading, especially if you check it out of your local library or wait and buy the paperback. Three of the stories are available on audio in Blood and Smoke. They are great when read by the Master himself.

Why Did I Wait So Long?
I read this book last year, after watching the movie 1408.My friend commented that the story was in Everything's Eventual by Stephen King. I was shocked. I used to own this book but had never gotten around to reading it.In fact, I hadsold the book in a garage sale the summer before, and, although I once devoured all things Stephen King as soon as they were published, I have slowed down on reading in the last 10 years.Well, now I had to have that book! I ordered the book from Amazon the very next day, and read it from cover to cover.Why did I wait so long?

Like other reviewers, I really enjoyed his introductory chapter to writing, very insightful of the author, and the ever changing business of story telling (such as old time radio), book selling and e-book reading (love my Kindle).

These stories are what I love about Stephen King's writing, no one can match him in the "good scary story" department.

One story I really enjoyed was The Death of Jack Hamilton.I think about that story now when I see the trailer to Johhny Depp's new movie, Dillinger.I wonder if the account will be in the movie?One of the Dillinger Gang, Jack Hamilton, is shot while running away from the cops.Told by a member of Dillinger's gang, the story recounts Jack's last days, from the detailed account of his shooting through the next few days of the gang on the run, hiding out with friends, and Dillinger's attempts to keep Jack alive and entertain him through it all, as well. (Especially Dillinger's talent with flies!)

Strange, I thought, to include the prequel to the Dark Tower series.This is more of a Desparation or a Richard Bachman-type story, which I don't enjoy as much.Strangely interesting, the story did not inspire me to commit myself to the full series of books, but, at least now I know what the story is about.

My favorite Stephen King novels?It and Carrie.

Stephen King: Three Complete Novels: Carrie; Salems Lot; The Shining

Some of King's Best Short Stories
As a prominent King fan, this book harbors several of what I would consider his best pieces.Not always frightening, its great to see how King explores other genres and topics as only he can.

Some good, some bad
The number of stars references the closest average for the thirteen stories in this book that I read. I didn't bother with The Little Sisters of Eluria, because I am not a fan of the Dark Tower Saga, and I didn't really want to spend the time reading an eighty page "short story" that I wouldn't enjoy anyway.

For each of the rest, a star value is below, along with any thoughts that I had on them.

Autopsy Room Four 3
The Road Virus Heads North 3
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French 3
Riding the Bullet 3

Pretty average stories, all told. Nothing new, original, or particularly well done in any of them. The third of these has a particularly obnoxious title, as if the author thought that it was cute to say Deja Vu in 11 words. Not for that, I would have given it four stars, as the ending is slightly unexpected. As even the author references, Riding the Bullet (a hitchhiker gets picked up by a ghost), Autopsy Room Four (autopsied alive), and That Feeling... (the temporal quantum bubble of repeitition) are pretty standard fare for horror novelists and writers in general. The Road Virus Heads North is an interesting enough story, or it would be, if it didn't strike me as stolen from a movie or television show, I can't remember which, featuring a painting of a house with a fence out front, where a boy is, and then isn't. For some reason, the latter was way scarier, and the story in this book is pretty dull by comparison.

L. T.'s Theory of Pets 2
The Death of Jack Hamilton 2
Luckey Quarter 2

These three stories have little to recommend them. The first is, like the first four stories, a retelling of what happens in a classical urban legend. In this case, though, it is more about what happened BEFORE that. Unfortunately, what happened BEFORE that is boring. The second is about a friend of John . Not particularly good, but quite boring. The third is just lacking in real detail. It has no horror, it has little enough fiction. If anything, it seems like a vignette from The Dead Zone mixed with a little bit of Everyday America. Boooring.

The Man in the Black Suit 3

I'm not surprised that this story won an O. Henry award, per se. Rather, I am surprised that Stephen King wrote it. It is a good story, although it, again, feels like something that is taken out of IT. It was fun to read, though.

All That You Love Will Be Carried Away 4

This was one of the better stories in the collection. This one focuses on a purveyor of Latrinalia (look it up). This was well-written and believable. This is what short stories should be. I liked the ending, as well.

In the Deathroom 4

This was also really interesting. In a way, it departed, quite a bit, from normal King-esque horror. Instead of the quotidian fears, this one is quite reasonable. That doesn't stop it from being interesting, though. I particularly liked the ending. I thought that it was nice that he stuck with the optimism even through the end, rather than the more obvious ending of having the character wake up screaming and having the whole story his imaginings as he is tortured.

Everything's Eventual 4

The titular story of the collection, and one of its longer offerings as well. It also happens to be one of the best. Imagine what you would do if you received seventy dollars every week (in addition to free rent, no bills, all the food and frivolities you can write on a white board), but you had to spend it all? This is an interesting question, and the story could easily have been expanded into a novel akin to something that Bentley Little would write. The fact that it is a tight little short story makes it all the saucier.

Lunch at the Gotham Café 4

This is a good example of how the quotidian can be quite good. And disturbing. An unpleasant lunch spoiled by the deranged, psychopathic snap of a Mideast Side New York maitre d. It was funny, particularly, when the divorcing wife and husband are forced to confront a non-quotidian event, and are not brought together by it, but driven further apart. There is some real characterization here, and it makes the collection worth reading.

1408 4

This story gets a special mention solely because it nearly scared me into a bowel movement. It is also a pretty uninspired tale of the horrors of a haunted hotel room (again, a rehash of old ideas). It did not scare me on any of its own merits, but in conjunction with the Dolphin Hotel from A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami. As anyone who has read these two novels knows, there is a haunted, of sorts, hotel in them. It is called the Hotel Dolphin. That is the name of the hotel where room 1408 is. Creepy coincidence? Perhaps.

So, in general, nothing here is particularly inspired. Most of the stories are unoriginal, at best. All of them are readable, though. There are a lot of retellings, granted, but all fiction consists of similar motifs, and you just have delightful differences in the familiar to separate your favorites from those you loathe. In this case, most of them are pretty tepid.

If you are looking for short fiction by Stephen King, pick up the Skeleton Crew or Nightmares and Dreamscapes. If you have them, and the rest, grab this one too. There isn't much that is disappointing, just a lot that is familiar.

C

Harkius

Disappointing
By the third story I had to say out loud what I had been thinking after the first story - Stephen King did not outdo himself with this book. I was disappointed in that the stories did not grip me. I had been salivating to borrow the book from a friend. At the end of each story I was left wanting (in a bad way) and it had nothing to do with the usual ambiguous endings that i love. It just left me feeling unsatisfied. The hardest one to get through was 'The Little Sisters of Eluria' followed by'Death of Jack Hamilton'. Those really made me want to give up. If i didn't have a touch of OCD which compels me to finish a book, i would have done just that. In fact i crossed the Dark Tower series off my wishlist after that. The former story went on longer than it should and didn't deliver and the latter was just plain boring.

After seeing the other reviews i had to ask myself - am I the only one who felt like this? Fortunately a friend of mine, an SK fan also felt the same way.

Still excited about the 5 SK books I have waiting on the bookshelf.

Alana ... Read more

Product Description

On a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother, Pete, and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror.

As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio's reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her -- protecting her from an all-too-real enemy who has left a trail of slaughtered animals and mangled trees in the dense, dark woods....Amazon.com Review
With a convincing mix of youthful optimism and world-wearyresignation, reader Anne Heche adds resonance to this unabridgedrecording. Heche is especially effective as the 9-year-old heroine,Trisha McFarland, who makes a fateful decision during an afternoonhike with her dysfunctional family. "The paths had forked in a 'Y.'She would simply walk across the gap and rejoin the main trail. Pieceof cake. There was no chance of getting lost." As one might suspect,there is every chance she'll get lost--or worse--and taking theshortcut turns out to be a very bad choice indeed. At times Heche'sreading may be too measured, but her narration is generally quite goodand her steady portrayal of a young girl lost renders this tale allthe more frightening. (Running time: 6.5 hours, 6 cassettes)--George Laney ... Read more

Customer Reviews (860)

Got a free afternoon?
Then take the time to read this short (for King anyway) book about a young girl named Trisha who ends up lost in the woods.It's not incredibly gruesome but I felt Trisha's fear and was always rooting for her till the end.Anyone who's ever gone hiking on the more rural areas of the Appalachian Trail (or in the deep woods for that matter) can sympathize with Trisha with just how much everything looks the same.Trees, plants etc.It can all look very similar.And when night comes so does the wild imagination of a scared child.Definitely not the best of King but a page turner that you'll just want to plow through to the end.

Decent read for King fans, though nothing special
I've read an awful lot of Stephen King, and liked most of it. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is not his best, but it's far from his worst. It's got all the usual King themes, but he goes relatively light on the horror and mayhem in this one, since it's essentially just a story about a little girl lost in the woods. It's a quick read with a fairly unremarkable ending.

I Don't Know if I Should Recommend This or Not
"The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted. Trisha McFarland discovered this when she was nine years old. At ten o' clock on a morning in early June she was sitting in the back seat of her mother's Dodge Caravan, wearing her blue Red Sox batting practice jersey (the one with 36 GORDON on the back) and playing with Mona, her doll. At ten thirty she was lost in the woods. By eleven she was trying not to be terrified, trying not to let herself think, This is serious, this is very serious.Trying not to think that sometimes when people got lost in the woods they got seriously hurt."

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a near perfect book for the first two thirds of its narration. In the first pages, Trisha walks away from the path while on a family hike in the Adirondacks. The story follows over Trisha's shoulder as she struggles to survive and find her way back. Every word in these scenes bleeds tension, and the book is impossible to put down.

After a time, we reach the middle section. Trisha's story to survive is no longer quite as urgent - it's become clear that she's not going to be rescued in the next five pages, but she's not going to be fed to a bear in them, either - but this isn't necessarily such a bad thing. Building a narrative based on monotony's always a dangerous move, for rather obvious reasons, but King successfully walks a fine line and manages to convey the crushing, deadly tedium of a world where you're the only thing who's had a thought more complex than "grrr" today, without the text becoming an exercise in willpower.

It's in these sections where we see the first hints of the supernatural, but, whatever the monster that's pursuing Trisha is, it stays well out of the limelight here. If the cover didn't say Stephen King in such big letters, you might even think the beasty was just a reflection of Tris-ha's terror and loneliness, the need for there to be some other agency at work in such a lawless place, even a malicious force being better than simple bogs and trees and flies.

During these pages the focus of the story is still very much Girl in the Woods, not Demons Killing Stuff. Now that the sheer terror of the earlier sections have subsided, King takes the opportunity to show segments of beauty as well as plight, further drawing the reader into Trisha's journey through the wilderness. King cuts back on the flashbacks as the story progresses, while simultaneously deepening Trisha's character considerably.

And then we get to the ending, and - who's surprised? - it all goes to hell. At the end of a chapter two-thirds of the way through the book, I put the book down after reading for the past hour, absolutely enthralled. I have no idea where he can possibly go from here, I thought to myself. Well, it turns out that Stephen King didn't know where he should go either. In a few dozen pages literally all tension bleeds out of the narrative. Maybe it's yet another horrible obstacle, yet more hundreds of miles of forests, that breaks it, piling on one too many catastrophes for the result to still hold together. Or maybe it's just that something like this couldn't be kept up forever. I don't know, but while I read the first two-thirds of the book in two sittings, this part took me four or five to muscle through.

In inverse proportion with the amount of tension there is in the narrative, you have the supernatural presence. When the Lost in the Woods episode begins to lose its luster, King brings the bogeyman to the fore - and everything falls totally flat. Not for the first time, a monster is what takes the sails out of King's horror, beginning with the nothing-short-of-painful scene where Trisha talks to the representatives of the three gods, the intangible sub-audible, the loving God of Tom Gordon, and the evil-horror-terror God of the Lost.

In addition to the growing demonic presence, as The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon progresses, the endless procession of sayings - ranging from those obnoxious faux-adages, to TV jingles - only intensifies. King's love of euphemisms is pretty well established by now, stretching back to his earliest works (remember the capitalized DIVORCE, in The Shining, for instance?). It's not a bad thing in and of itself and is even quite endearing, at times. The problems come to the fore when clichés replace description, and truisms replace thought. As far as I can tell, Pepsi is the suburban equivalent of a fortune cookie generator, an utterly blank slate, save for an endless parade of prepackaged sayings. Acknowledging that something is hollow and cliché doesn't make it meaningful again, and ironic winks grow tiresome when repeated ad nauseam.

I haven't even mentioned the actual climax yet. [The rest of this paragraph has SPOILERS; if you want to be totally chaste entering the book, skip to the line break.] You know when you're reading a book, you stop at the one quarter-or-so mark and laugh to yourself about how poorly the author could end it? The problem with reading a newer Stephen King book is that you'll have a prediction...and then it'll actually come true. For instance, what's the worst way that a book about a girl being lost in the woods could end? Her being randomly found through no effort of her own, of course. To make matters worse, it comes right after what could've been a great ending. It was horribly cheesy, of course, but it worked. It was the kind of ending that tugs your heart strings so hard you just can't complain. But no, cheesy-but-excellent wouldn't be climactic enough, so let's bring in the gun toting hunter. Why the hell not? Ugh.

The first two thirds of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon are among the best pages that Stephen King has ever written. As I was reading them, I was mentally listing The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon alongside great works like The Shining and It. And then, I read the ending and was forced to watch as everything I loved about the book was ravished and discarded. I don't know whether I should recommend this book or not. It's not the worst thing that King's written, Everything's Eventual takes that dubious honor with ease, but it disappointed me more than anything else he's done. In the end, I think my recommendation goes like this...

Wait a minute. Haven't I said all this before? Right here (Duma Key: A Novel), in fact?? You know, I don't know if I can even blame Stephen King anymore. The formula for his later books is pretty damn blatant by now: excellent characterization and pacing, followed by lackluster horror and a god awful ending. I should know what I'm getting into by now, right? By this point, writing that a late era King novel disappointed me makes me feel like I'm going to a restaurant I've always hated, every single night, and complaining that the same dish I've always despised hasn't changed. Well, duh. I think it's time to stop coming back. Next time I'm in the mood for King, I think I'll reread Salem's Lot.

The guy who loved Patricia McFarland.
This book was not what I expected from Stephen King, one look and hold of the book made me decide that. Its roughly 220 pages, pretty sparse for one if his novels. But I was itching for a new King book after Under the Dome.

I was intrigued by the setting and the beginning of the story, and soon that wavered, and at times I was downright bored. But King has a special way of delivering his stories, he gives his characters a lot of dimensions, he breathes life into them, and none more so than Tricia. She is 9 years old, and it always felt that way. As I was reading this novel, and especially now afterward, I believe she's a real person.

She is quirky, and downright weird sometimes, the way we all are in private. She recalls memories and distorts some, just like we all do. This was my absolute favorite aspect of the book, and it never failed to cheer my up to peer into the mind of this lost 9 year old.

The book is not frightening, nor do I think it tries to be. Although reading the book won't take long, the journey inside it sometimes did. As much as I liked the main character, you got the sense that there really wasn't much to write about or to really progress the story at times.

I must admit I am a huge fan of the very ending, it was truly satisfying for me and made the whole experience worthwhile, however short it was.

Stephen King Light
This is a great book that differs a bit from King's usual horror-fiction.Events
are told from a single character perspective and we are left at the end wondering whether they actually occurred or were a figment of a young girl's imagination.The book is fast-paced and short making for a quick read.It should appeal to younger readers and those who like a suspenseful story with horror elements without a lot of 'blood and guts' killing. ... Read more

Product Description
Bobbi Anderson and the other good folks of Haven, Maine, have sold their souls to reap the rewards of the most deadly evil this side of hell. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (188)

A Bit Different
The structure of The Tommyknockers is a bit different than any other Stephen King novel that I've read.Basically, it's King's take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers.More Sci-Fi than horror.I'm on a bit of King marathon right now and this is the fourth one I've read in two months.The first three being The Stand, It and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.The first 200 pages deals with the development of the two main characters before he takes us anywhere else.Quite unlike The Stand or It or any other I can remember from my youth.I agree with the most popular review for this title in that, if you can stick with it, you'll have a good time.Not that I felt like I was trudging through the beginning but the likability of the two main characters (Bobbi Anderson and Eric "Gard" Gardener) isn't as great as one like Stu Redman from The Stand.Bobbi and especially Eric have quite a lot of flaws and you have to accept that or you just won't care.In a way it makes them quite real to me.I enjoyed the book and didn't mind many of the left wing views of "old Gard" concerning nuclear energy or the "Dallas Police."It's just part of his character and I accepted that.On a side note, I loved the little references to It, The Dead Zone and Firestarter as well as King himself that were scattered throughout the book.

Not up to King's usual standard
Many people have problems with this novel, and I certainly agree with them, but in terms of laying blame I hold the editor almost as responsible as King. The book is ludicrously overwritten, indulgent, tangential and full of plot holes, and while King created it, I think not reining him in was a horrible disservice both to his talent and to his fans.
Inside the 752 pages of The Tommmyknockers is a wonderful novel of about half that length. The story has numerous memorable moments and King is great at creating a feeling of impending doom. But the fact that his editor didn't make needed cuts and demand some simple rewrites is a real shame.
This is a strange and beautiful book that's buried, much like the flying saucer itself, under a massive pile of debris.

Technical matters
Well... what can I say? There were some technical matters in the book that put me off. There was the place when they were talking about a garden tractor and mentioned the "husky 4 cc engine. 4cc is about the size of a model airplane engine. And a not very big one either. Then there was the old man's gun. It seemed to flip-flop between being a revolver and an automatic. But i think this might have just been a slip of the pen. He mentioned there being 4 rounds in the chamber. I think he meant in the clip. However, King's made mistakes like this before - lack of continuity. Then too there is the matter of the saucer. He kept reiterating how huge it was. However he said the circumfrence was about 300 yards (estimated). Thats only about 100 yards in diameter. Thats only about the length of a football field - hardly titanic. Later on in the book I think the size was estimated up to about 200 yards across. Twice as big but still not in the titanic range. Also when Bobbi was making the sketch to estimate the size, I think it would have been impossible to draw it to scale on a pad of paper and compute the size. At that time I think they only had a chord of 20 or 30 feet. the drop would have been only a couple of inches for a circumference of 300 yards. I guess King must have been asleep in geometry class when they were talking about the circle. Well anyway - the book was OK. I think King should stick with horrer & leave the science fiction to people that know science.

**SIGH**
Once in a while, Stephen King writes something that makes me swear off Stephen King for awhile.This was the first time I had read something by Stephen King that I didn't like.The vast majority of Stephen King books are great or at least good.In this one, King creates likeable characters - then kills them off.The protagonists left over are completely unlikeable.There is also an improbable, unhinted-at plot twist: the aliens lack common sense.It felt like King wrote the story into a corner, then had to throw in a way to beat the omnipotent baddies.

I am not saying that this book is bad or not worth reading - nothing Stephen King writes meets that description.I would start with something else and put this at the bottom of the pile, under The Stand, It, Salem's Lot, The Dead Zone . . . and just about everything else King wrote except Cell (which has the same plot problems, albeit with likeable protagonists).

The Horror of Evolution and Regression
The Tommyknockers, by Stephen King, was released in 1987 and is a thick tome that keeps you enthralled throughout the whole novel.It follows Bobbi, a western genre novel writer, who trips upon a metallic object in the woods that she inherited.As Bobbi uncovers more of this mysterious object, the reader is directed to meet Gard, Bobbi's alcoholic former lover and poet.Gard travels a long and dark road to help Bobbi and they start to discover the truth about what was hidden in the ground.Sinister things start to occur as more is revealed and changes take place to the little town of Haven where Bobbi lives.

Stephen King is the master of character development; he draws the reader into his stories whether they like it or not.His characters are fully formed in this book, but I have to admit that I wasn't all that empathetic with them.I feel like I should have cared about them more in this book and I would have enjoyed the book more for it.As it was, I was rooting for the good guy in the end, but didn't really care what happened to most of the characters.Given that statement, I think that an emotional separation from these characters was fitting for this book.In essence, I, as the reader, was mirroring Gard's relationship with Bobbi by the end of the book.An emotional detachment from a person he's attempting to help.The Tommyknockers is about evolution and regression at the same time and maybe the reader shouldn't be empathetic to a character that becomes something new.

The Tommyknockers is a product of its time with a heavy hand on the topic of nuclear power and what Gard refers to as the "dallas police".I liked this book, but I won't read it 10 times like "It".
... Read more

Product Description
The editors of the acclaimed Borderlands anthology series deliver a new collection of 25 all-original tales of terror by today's acclaimed masters, including Bentley Little, John Farris, and Tom Piccirilli, along with "Stationary Bike," a new novella by Stephen King. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Was hoping for more
When I ordered Borderlands, I was anticipating a great collection of Horror short stories.What a got was an OK collection of a hodgepodge of short stories.Not surprisingly Stephen King steals the sow with his contribution.I would only reccomned the book to someone wanting to read an ecliptic mix of stories from Authors, or die hard King fans that must have everything he writes.

Favorite author
Stephen King has done it again.I find myself anxiously awaiting his next masterpiece.

From The Borderlands
I hated this book. It was almost like the people that published the stories in this book where trying to hard to be different. The stories did'nt really make sense at all. The only good short story in this book was stationary bike.

Want Something to Read Whilst in a Waiting Room?
This is an anthology of a number of short stories all of which deal with terror and madness.

A nice book to have for planes and waiting rooms where you might get interrupted.

Borderlands
Most of the stories in this book are good.A few of them were just downright ridiculous and I skipped over them but, for the most part, this book is worth the read. ... Read more

Product Description

For the first time in Stephen King's remarkable publishing history, the master storyteller presents an all-new, original tale written expressly for the television screen.

They're calling it the Storm of the Century, and it's coming hard. The residents of Little Tall Island have seen their share of nasty Maine Nor'easters, but this one is different. Not only is it packing hurricane-force winds and up to five feet of snow, it's bringing something worse. Something even the islanders have never seen before. Something no one wants to see.

Just as the first flakes begin to fall, Martha Clarendon, one of Little Tall Island's oldest residents, suffers an unspeakably violent death. While her blood dries, Andre Linoge, the man responsible sits calmly in Martha's easy chair holding his cane topped with a silver wolf's head...waiting.

Linoge knows the townsfolk will come to arrest him. He will let them. For he has come to the island for one reason. And when he meets Constable Mike Anderson, his beautiful wife and child, and the rest of Little Tall's tight-knit community, this stranger will make one simple proposition to them all:

"If you give me what I want, I'll go away."Amazon.com Review
Stephen King started writingStorm of the Century as a novel, but it evolved into theteleplay of an ABC TV miniseries. Set in Maine's remote Little Tall Island, the tale isall about vivid small-town characters, feuds, infidelities, sordidsecrets, kids in peril, and gory portents in scrambled letters. Thecalamitous snowstorm is nothing compared to the mysterious mind-readingstranger Linoge, who uses magic powers to turn people'sguilt against them--when he's not simply braining them with hiswolf-head-handled cane. Don't even glance at that cane--it can bringout the devil in you. Just as The Shining was concerned withmarriage and alcoholism as much as it was with bad weather and worsespirits, Storm of the Century is more than a horror story. It'screepy because it's realistic.

But it's also unusually visual. Linoge's eyes ominously change color,wind and sea wreak havoc, a basketball leaves blood circles with eachbounce. The 100-year storm no doubt hits harder onscreen than on thepage, but the snow is a symbol of the more disturbing emotionalmaelstrom that words evoke perfectly. And the murders of folks we'vegotten to know is entirely terrifying in print. The crisp disciplineof the screenplay format makes this book better than lots of King'smore sprawling novels--the end doesn't wander and the dialoguecrackles. Here's the real test: It's impossible to read parts 1 and 2and not read part 3, "The Reckoning." --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (169)

Very entertaining.
I love this screenplay! It's entertaining. I plan to catch the miniseries one day soon. The Linoge character is very creepy. Highly recommended.

THE ABSOLUTE BEST
HAVING READ A POT-FULL OF S. KING'S---THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT I HAVE KEPT
IN MY KEEPER COLLECTION---BACKED UP BY THE MOVEI!!!WHAT TO DO FIRST--READ THE BOOK---
WATCH THE MOVIE--WATCH THE MOVIE--READ THE BOOK???ANY WAY YOU DO IT---YOU DON'T LOSE.
GREAT, GREAT BOOK ((OKAY--SCREENPLAY FOR YOU PURISTS)).MY FEELINGS---I DON'T THINK
THAT IT IS NEARLY AS SCARY AS SOME OF THE OTHERS--BUT--IT HAS ITS MOMENTS.GREAT, GREAT
BOOK--GREAT, GREAT MOVIE.A REAL KEEPER.

Clive Barker is Better
I've read many of Mr. King's books and I believe the reason they are so long is because he spends a great deal of time talking about trivial things such as the color of eyes, shape of eyes, length of hair, color of pants, etc. In this book Croatan is mentioned at least twice (and in the movie), but neither explains what a Croatan is! It's a werewolf! If you want true horror and excitement, try Clive Barker and I would suggest your first experience with Mr. Barker be "The Damnation Game". It's FANTASTIC!

A very good effort by the King
First I need to say that I was not very excited to read Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" because I was afraid that the screenplay format would strip away all the character building I enjoy in Stephen King's writing.Secondly, I have never liked many of his works written for, or adapted for, the screen. I began this book with some serious concerns.

No worries were needed.After I got through living with the residents of Little Tall Island for two nights during the biggest storm ever to hit the island, and the visitor who chose this time to rip the island's community apart, I was more than satisfied that I picked up "Storm of the Century".

The characters were stock King characters, but the anti-hero, Linoge, was actually even creepier because the screenplay format would not allow a deep dive into Linoge's motivation.All his physical actions, with no understanding (until the end) of his intentions, made Linoge unpredictable and a very strong evil character.

I also enjoyed seeing how Stephen King structured the suspense visually.From the quick cuts showing scenes of a town slowly being swallowed by the storm (and Linoge), to the great scene where Mike is chronicling the crime scene at Martha's with a Polaroid camera and each flash of the camera reveals new details of the crime.I thought his creative use of a visual medium was very good.

There were also enough pure Stephen King lines in the screenplay that you never forgot who the author was.The dialogue was not great, but some of the throw away direction is priceless.For instance, when one of the characters gets an axe to the face, Stephen King describes how he wants it sound (the action happens of camera) "it's like someone slapping mud with the flat of his hand".Or when he writes how the Town Hall should be depicted as the final safe haven in Little Tall Island and then adds "Of course the Titanic probably looked the same way before it hit the iceberg".

The theme of guilt within the tight family of islanders was also interesting, and I am glad the ending had a glimpse into the future (present) so we could see what happened to some of the main participants of the final tragedy.

All in all I enjoyed it a lot.

Storm of the Century
I havn't read it yet, but I've seen my dvd of it (at least) 3 times already. Let alone, on tv a few times too. ;)

~a Stephen King Constant Reader ... Read more

Product Description

Now known worldwide for his horror creations in best-selling books and popular film adaptations, Stephen King spent years in obscurity trying to find his voice and his audience. For much of his career he chose to remain in the small-town Maine of his youth, far from glittering publishing and film centers, yet few American writers can now equal his hold on audiences worldwide. This biography traces King's evolution from would-be pulp magazine writer to master of his craft, whose work both epitomizes and transcends the horror genre.

Customer Reviews (3)

Don't waste your money
I am a huge Stephen King fan and was excited about reading this book. However this book reads more like a wikipedia page than a biography. It is poorly written and didn't shed any new light on Stephen's life at all.

Do not waste your money!

A fine book- for a high school student
This is a great book for "just the facts, ma'am" reading.
If I had to do a report on Mr. King (my favorite author,)
for school, this book would come in handy! Has the obligatory, though interesting photos. Other than that, there's no real substance to it. If you can get it cheap, and you're a big King fan, buy it. Maybe I'll resell mine!

A must
Congratulations to Greenwood and Dr. Rolls for a comprehensive, well-written, and exhaustively researched volume. A must for all King fans and scholars. ... Read more

Product Description
Innocence and beauty ignite with evil and terror as a young girl exhibits signs of a wild and horrifying force. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (163)

Classic King
Unlike It or The Stand this is not an epic Stephen King novel and can easily be read in less than a week.Its a straight up action chase thriller about a man and his daughter (Andy and Charlie) on the run from a "secret" part of the government called The Shop.Most of the other reviews have pretty much summed up the plot of the novel.I just wanted to comment on how well King describes the love between father and daughter.I really felt for the characters and their connection to each other.I was rooting for Andy and Charlie all the way to the end.An often overlooked King classic, Firestarter is definitely a worth while read.

Don't buy Kindle edition
Its a nice story, but the number of typos and mis-spellings in the Kindle edition is enormous. What did no one run a spell check on this? I want my money back.

Classic Stephen King but Kindle book is full of typos
This is a classic Stephen King novel and in my opinion, one of his best, along with The Dead Zone and The Stand.As others have noted, however, the Kindle version is full of typos, and it really diminishes the reading experience, as interpreting the typos breaks the reading flow.For example, there is a character in the book named Al... except in the Kindle version he is usually referred to as "A 1". Annoying.

I read a lot of self published and public domain stuff on Kindle, and both of those types of ebooks are full of typos and formatting errors.The Firestarter problems are the worse I've seen, and that's particularly disappointing in a Stephen King book.King has been a big supporter of alternate format books (and "UR" was a great read on and about the Kindle) so you'd think his Kindle books would be better quality.Four and half stars for King's writing, and a negative star for the formatting.

Inexcusable Typos!
This is a great Stephen King novel; the 1 star is for the endless amount of typos that plague this novel.No need to go in details since previous folks already did a great job on documenting the specifics.I just find it hard to believe that an e-book could be released without a human being reading for quality control.

I hope Amazon will look into this book make the corrections and resend a corrected version of this novel to all who have made the purchase - for free.

Amazing story but the Kindle version needs to be proofread
SK at his best! But Penguin Publishing needs to pend a little time proofreading the book. Al is A1, corner became comer... it is annoying to read with such sloppy OCR. I would expect it from old documents or some poor publisher but Penguin? Stephen King? Come on! ... Read more

Product Description
The year is 2025. The Running Man is America's favorite television game show. Ben Richards is the program's latest contestant-and the Hunters' latest target in a rigged game of death.Amazon.com Review
Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) crafted The Running Manearly in his career, though after such mega-hits as Carrie and The Shining.A bit of adeparture from the supernatural horror that is most frequently associatedwith his work, the novel describes a science fiction dystopia where marketcapitalism and television game shows have spiraled out of control, and theseparation between the haves and the have-nots has been formalized withseparate currencies. King establishes characters quickly, creating sympathyin the first few pages for Ben Richards--whose 18-month-old baby girl issuffering from a horrible cough, perhaps pneumonia.Not able to affordmedicine, Richards enters himself in the last-chance money-making scheme ofthe Free-Vee games. The games include Treadmill to Bucks, in whichheart-attack prone contestants struggle to outlast a progressivelydemanding treadmill, or the accurately named Swim the Crocodiles. After a rigorous battery of physical and mental examinations, Richards isassigned "Elevator Six"--the path of a chosen few--that leads to TheRunning Man game.In this game, the stakes and the prizes are raised. Success means a life of luxury.Failure means death.Unfortunately,few ever win the game; in fact, as the producer tells Richards,in six years no one has survived.

The Running Man is a short book, tightly written to be read andenjoyed quickly.The future world it depicts is vividly captured with afew essential details. The action is also fast paced and, though the noveldiffers from much of King's other work, the sardonic social commentaryreveals a pleasing glimmer of King's characteristically twisted sense ofhumor. --Patrick O'Kelley ... Read more

Customer Reviews (104)

Fantastic! a real page turner!
i have been reading king novels for years and this is by far one of his best. avoid the intro because it spoils the ending. luckily i skipped it and saved it till i finished the book. this book goes a milea minute. if u like fast paced thrillers then this is the book for you.

A metaphor for workaholics
I LOVE YOU STEPHEN!!!!! It dawned on me that we are all running men, being followed by guards who keep us in line - buying the right cars, living in the right homes, spending, spending, working, working. . . When we get to the end will we be afraid to stop and collect our winnings?

WARNING
So this would have been the first Stephen King book I read cover to cover. I was REALLY excited with the story line and could not wait to start reading it. The mistake I made and am warning you about is that during the introduction "The Importance of Being Bachman" King gives away the ending!!! Not just a "Oh, and then something negative happens" but "Blah, blah, and then he blah blah" specifically. If you want to enjoy the book (as I am CERTAIN I would have) DO NOT READ THE INTRODUCTION!!!!

Who does that?? Yes, I get it, it has been republished so you want to add a note, but for those who would have picked up the book for the first time (never had seen the movie either so I don't know if it tells the true ending) the book has been ruined!!!. . . I always pictured Stephen King as a smart man. . . WRONG!

So please! Add a HUGE SPOILER warning before you give the ending of a book before the story even starts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I should have read this years ago
What an idiot I am.I never read this because I've seen the movie.But this is a great thriller action packed short story.

This books just reinforces King is the thriller master.
(on a side note - also showcases the talent screen writers have to be able to to adapt a short story to a film and not copy the book.)

They are not the same story, but have the same premise.

Sit back and enjoy.

You won'tfind Arnold in these pages
In the history of good books, people have created good movies using the books title (but have nothing really to do with the book).BLADE RUNNER and DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP is a good example of this.RUNNING MAN is another fine example of this.When I was a teenage, I loved the Arnold movie.Now that I am way past a teenager, I decided to read the source material.I was shocked and thrilled that I stepped into almost an entirely different world.

The Ben Richards of the novel is not a criminal, fabricated or otherwise.The Ben Richards in the novel is a desperate man trying to find a solution to a nightmare many fathers face.Richards is a character in this book faces a far greater challenge than that of the movie.The game arena is the USA.The foes are the good people of the United States of America.In this Dystopia, Richards finds himself struggle to find commrades and figuring out who to trust.

To give too much away would tell major parts of the book.Don't read this book expecting an action adventure film.Read this book expecting a character study of a man who would do anything for those he loves.The writing is not King's best, I thought some of it was a little unbalanced, but the story is captivating. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

King's early novels were his best
I had never read "Salems Lot", nor had I seen the movie.So when I noticed the recent publication in trade paperback I thought I would try it out.It was great.The plot, characters, setting and mood were wonderfully created, and Kings descriptions are magic.It brought me back to the early King works and it seems to me that most of these early books ("Christine", "The Dead Zone", "Different Seasons", "Cujo", "Carrie", "The Firestarter" and "The Stand") were written with better plotting than some of the later stuff. Maybe I'm just showing some disappointment with "Hearts in Adlantis", "Bag of Bones""Needful things" and "Four Past Midnight" which were not as enthralling.The recent exception is "The Green Mile".Keep writing Mr. King and I'll keep reading.

Simply a great story
Ive never been scared by any of King's novels, but have been fasinated by them, unable to put them down in this case.Salems Lot is a story of a town and the people that live in it.Eventually, a vampire comes to town in a manner that is told in an amazing way.It doesn't seem like your typical fantasy/horror story.This seems real!!!Its a great story that proved to me that King is a superb story teller.

a must
This book is just great.I have never been one to go for the full vampire thing, but this book really is the best vampire story ever!PERIOD. I have now read it twice. Again King's prose is so lucid, once you get involved,becomes something more than a reading experience. There are at least twoscenes in this book that will leave you clutching your chest in dread, asimilar sensation to those who have seen the exorcist and clutched thiernecks at the neck operation scene. Just read it and you will see what Imean.It also offers itself as an accurate social commentary on modernliving, as is the case with many king subplots. Basically its a raw, darkand intense novel in parts.If you like books that get thier teeth in toyou, then this is for you. ... Read more

Product Description
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King's Roland -- an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland's past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times Best-seller Peter David, this series delves deep into Roland's origins -- the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world, while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels. Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature!Amazon.com Review

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King's Roland - an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland's past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times bestseller Peter David, this series delves in depth into Roland's origins - the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world; while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels. Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature! Collects Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1-7.

Questions for The Dark Tower Illustrators, Peter David and Robin Furth

Amazon.com: How closely did you work with Stephen King on this project?

Peter David: Robin worked far more closely with Steve before the fact, as it were, working out the overall story arcs and beats.My association was more after the fact: I wrote the scripting, which then went to King who provided the line edits and tweaks.

Robin Furth:I’ve been working with Steve King (and Roland!) for about seven years now, so the three of us have quite a long history.While working on The Gunslinger Born, I ran my outlines by Steve King and Chuck Verrill (Steve’s editor) at the same time that I ran them by our Marvel editors.After all, The Dark Tower is Steve’s child so it’s only right for him to have first dibs on any changes.I feel it’s really important that Steve has final say about The Long Road Home. Hence, I always try to make sure he sees everything as soon as I can send drafts to him, and that includes the articles I write and which are at the end of each issue.

Steve has been really supportive of this whole project which has been great.I was lucky enough to be with Steve while he looked through some of Jae’s early sketches for The Gunslinger Born and his reaction was a lot like mine—it felt as though somebody had reached into his imagination and had taken his characters and given them a physical existence.I think that’s pretty high praise, don’t you?

Amazon.com: Roland is one of the most iconic characters King has ever created. How hard was it to get him (and the other characters) "right" on the page? Did any iterations get vetoed by King?

Robin Furth: We were really lucky with The Gunslinger Born because we could adapt scenes directly from Wizard and Glass.We could really stick to Steve’s descriptions.(Occasionally we dipped into other Dark Tower novels, but on the whole, Wizard and Glass was our template.)The Long Road Home was a little more complicated since we spun the story from scattered tales that Roland tells about his youth—stories that are found throughout the Dark Tower books.(As you can imagine, I used my Concordance quite a lot while I was working on the outlines!)

To tell the truth, Roland has such a strong personality that he feels almost human. I even dream about the guy, and once or twice I swear I’ve seen his shadow pacing past my writing room door.(No joke.)But even when it comes to writing about someone you know well, every person has their own perspective. As long as Steve King feels like we’ve caught Roland’s youthful self, I’m happy.If longtime Dark Tower fans feel we have, then I’ll be INCREDIBLY happy.So far Steve has been pleased with our approach.Fingers crossed that the fans will feel the same way!

Peter David: King was very supportive of the license we took in terms of both the story compression and narrative stylizations that Robin and I undertook that were required to take a work of such massive scope and transform it into something that works as a graphic series.

Amazon.com: What was the most challenging aspect of this particular project?

Peter David: For me?Stage fright.Steve had stated that, as "a words guy," he was awaiting the scripts with great anticipation.That's pretty daunting, knowing that Stephen King is going to be going over my interpretation of what is arguably is most personal work.

Robin Furth: I suppose the biggest challenge has always been (in Mid-World speak) to stand true.In other words, to remain true to our original mission and to translate the Dark Tower universe from novel form to comic book form.The Dark Tower universe is so big that we have to do a lot of condensing.It’s both scary and exhilarating.

Amazon.com: Robin, I imagine it is challenging to fit a several thousand page series into a graphic novel. As the DT aficionado, was it hard to adapt this series? What parts of the book did you wish you could include but had to cut because it just wouldn’t fit?

Robin Furth: It certainly has been challenging (you should see the state of my fingernails), but it has also been a really great experience.I have learned huge amounts about comics and about storytelling.I have always loved Roland, Alain, Cuthbert, and Susan so it has been wonderful to work with them again. There’s something very moving about working with young Roland—the boy who grew into such a hard and (at times) unforgiving man.You see the wounds that later become calluses, if you know what I mean.

As for the parts of the book I had to cut—there are many! When we first started working on these comics, The Gunslinger Born was supposed to be six issues long.I handed in eight issues!In the end we managed to cut back to seven, which worked well.In retrospect, I guess the greatest challenge has been to know when to stick to the plot of Wizard and Glass and when to borrow from other books (or occasionally even other parts of the Dark Tower universe) in order to fill out Mid-World for those who don’t know the novels, or to make the comics ring true for long-term fans.That takes a lot of careful planning and sometimes it means taking risks, but if it works it’s really worth it.

Amazon.com: Peter, What was it like to work with Robin and King on this project? Have you worked closely with writers before on adaptations of their work?

Peter David: It was both exciting and daunting: exciting being part of something as ambitious and potentially groundbreaking as this endeavor, and daunting in that King is a writing god whom I desperately wanted to please with my interpretations.No, I've never worked with a writer adapting his work before, which is why this was new territory for me:And what a place to start, huh?It's difficult to imagine any subsequent experience with adapting someone's work measuring up to this.

Amazon.com: What is your favorite panel?

Robin Furth: I must say I like them all, so I don’t know if I could choose.However Jae recently sent me the cover for the first issue of The Long Road Home, and I think that would be in my top ten!

Peter David: I'm torn on that.In terms of story narrative, the one where Roland and Susan give in to their passion.In terms of pure iconic power, that two-page spread early on where we first see Roland, as the gunslinger, in pursuit of the man in black.You never have a second chance to make a good first impression, and Jae and Richard just absolutely nailed it.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (81)

Gelati's Scoop
Let me just start off by saying that what piqued my interest in this series is that it is being made into a movie and television series simultaneously. The graphic novel put out by Marvel Comics has many hands in its production and creation, here goes: Stephen King- Creative & Executive Director, Peter David -Script, Jae Lee & Richard Isanove- Art. The number of novels I have read by Stephen King is zero; this is my first one. He is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I am trying to get into the mystical, paranormal, mythological genres more and more, so I thought if Opie (Ron Howard) can direct the movie and television show, I can certainly read it.
I like what he has done here in conjunction with Marvel. He has taken a very original concept and made a very nice series of graphic novels with it. I am a big fan of authors that cross over mediums to get their stories told; this is no exception. The written word is a powerful thing, but added to the artwork for me, makes it that much more tangible and lifelike. I can now see in a clearer sense the author's vision of the world he created. Stephen King has created a gritty, mystical cowpoke in Roland the Gunslinger. The path and his journey are an interesting one in The Gunslinger Born.Is he better than his father or just an insolent youth trying to make his way? Can he be an asset for the good guys or is the dark force too strong and easy? The trials and tribulations he goes through make for some excellent reading. The characters are original, the dialogue is fresh and witty, and the action is intense. The plotline he has crafted and the world which these characters inhabit can go on for a very long time without getting tired and old.
Do I plan on starting to read Stephen King now? Maybe, but I think I will follow this story first before moving on to others. The Dark Tower has captured my interest and I am curious to find out where the story goes and what happens to Roland in future stories. Besides that, they are making both movies and a television series out of the story so I want to get up to speed as much as I can on this. I am a fan of Ron Howard's work, both in front of and behind the camera. Here is a link with more info on the different pending platforms for Stephen Kings The Dark Tower:
[...]
What are some of your favorite Stephen King novels? If I were to start reading his work, what should be my first novel?

My review of the "Gunslinger Born"
The art in this graphic novel is gruesome, yet so amazing.......There are four sets of The Dark Tower graphic novels before it gets into the actual storyline that follows the books, so don't get discouraged if you think that it doesn't have anything to do with the books if you are a fan of them (Gunslinger Born, Long Road Home, Treachery, Fall of Gilead, & the Battle of Jericho Hill serve as a prelude to the actual storyline......The one after these Gunslinger: the journey begins is the graphic novel adaptation of the "Gunslinger" by Stephen King)

Awesome
Great experience from this seller. The graphic novels are all excellent work and good reads too.

Origins of Roland
I've loved all of the Marvel / Dark Tower graphic novels. Adds even more to SK'd dark tower universe(s).

Worth buying if your a fan of the series!

Gunslinger Born in Graphic Form
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RQO7DDHOJY8HF Anyone who is a fan of the novels must pick this up. The story is clearly Stephen King. The artwork alone is reason enough to pick this book up. There is a sketchbook attached at the end that gives vision into how the characters were designed. [...] ... Read more

Product Description
This book will be a collection of fantastic and horrifying photographs of gargoyles taken by avant-garde photographer f-stop fitzgerald (yes, that's his name and the spellingis correct), with a wonderful text by none other than the master of horror, stephen king. F-stop has captured gargoyles in all manner of poses, made all the more striking by the design by mark pollard. Through the use of gatefolds and full-bleed illustrations, these awesome creatures will seem practically to leap off the page. (4/5/88). UK YES ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Monsters Of Stone
Gargoyles in their manifold glory, from the small, twisted and misshapen, to the majestic and terrible, this coffee table collection of the rooftop monsters of New York is highlighted by text composed by none other than Stephen King. A lovely and atmospheric gathering of these sculpted nightmares, captured at varying angles and conditions of shadow, light, and sometimes in the rain, deftly calculated to heighten the effect of staring these treasures almost in the eye. I find a lot of meaning in this book, too, because, knowing how much I love old stone sculptures and gargoyles and the like, my grandfather gave it to me as a gift while I was home on spring break from college in the year 2000, and it was the last time I ever got to visit him.

Did not catch the many-century old value of these gargoyles
This is a coffee table book. But it does not have to be bad. The pictures, by f-stop Fitzgerald, of those gargoyles are interesting, some of them very original, but the introductory text, by Stephen King, is definitely too long for what it has to tell. The only idea of some value is that these gargoyles, and yet some of them are not gargoyles, are alive. Fine. And then what ? Why are they ugly, though some of them are not ? What is their symbolical value on twentieth century houses or buildings in New York or Chicago ? This is not answered.

Originally those gargoyles, a long time ago indeed, were there to protect the buildings they were sitting on, many churches among others, by fending off the real devils and monsters they were supposed to represent, and people believed these monsters and devils did exist in those days. That was the first function. The second function was to teach people (essentially on church porches or inside churches, and they were not gargoyles any more) the dangers of sinning, the devils that were waiting for us or the suffering we may be condemned to. That was a pedagogical function. They were thus alive because they represented some faith, some belief that gave them life.

With the passing away of religion as the center of our life, these values have disappeared, and yet they survive in a less religious value. These gargoyles, these monsters, who are not always monsters, protect our homes against the outside world that is dangerous or against our fears they are supposed to keep out. Pedagogically, they do not teach us religion anymore but they have taken over an artistic value. They have become a decoration, and they are intended to be monstrous or frightening. They are supposed to be a way the people in the house tell us to stay away, they are like shouts from those people directed at us to frighten us away, most of them. But they also have another value. They are references to classical gods, to natural elements, to cultural characters that only exist in our literatures or mythologies. Then they become some kind of showing off ordered by the owner to decorate his or her house to show everyone he or she has some culture : here Jove or Zeus, here Neptune or some Sun-God (p. 121), etc.

What would have been interesting, would have been the following questions. Why are some not frightening at all (p. 116, 86, 78), and why are some not looking at us at all (p. 117) ? Why are some not Christian at all, not western at all ? A Chinese one for instance page 110, if it is Chinese. And finally why are so many just plain nice and friendly, like page 90, or some kind of clown like page 115 ? They probably represent the fantasms, fears, likes and desires of the owners, builders, artists, but they cannot be reduced to nightmares in the sky. They are interesting declarations someone we don�t even know is throwing at us with the hope we may understand, appreciate or like them. In other words they are not cathartic. They are a discourse directed at us and we are supposed to understand it.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

Photography, gothic architecture and King....
I'm surprised to read that this is a hard-to-find book; I still occasionally find copies of it in the bargain bins of large booksellers. That will probably change now that the paperback version is being released.

I really like this book. The photos are simple, but they capturethe beauty and mystique of gargoyle images throughout New York and otherAmerican cities. I must admit, I bought this bargain book because StephenKing's name was on the cover and because I thought it was a quirky additionto my book collection. However, once I brought it home and started flippingthrough the pages, I was captivated by the grainy, sometimes eerie images.King's words add some interesting views and anecdotes, but the book standsalone just on Fitzgerald's photos. Some of the gargoyles are menacing, someare macabre, some are playful and some are downright comical. All of themattest to the creativity and imagination of their creators.

Thishardcover, 128-page (or so) volume would be right at home on your coffeetable (it's an awkward size to try to squeeze into most standardbookshelves). King's writing shares page space for about 35 pages; the bookis focused on the pics (as it should be). It's not for everyone; if youdon't like "picture books" then stay away. But if you likeinteresting photos capturing a unique subject, and/or if you are at all aStephen King fan, this is one to bring home.

good for more than a name
personally, i don't even like steven king.actually, i hate his writing.he's a feminist with no talent.

however, despite adding his drivel to these pages, the book is excellent.i enjoy just sitting down and flippingthrough the wonderful photographs.

a must for any gargoyle lover.

Fantastic Photography by f-Stop Fitzgereld
I disagree that this is a Stephen King book.King's words are there just to fill in the white space around f-Stop Fitzgereld's fantastic photography.And he isn't even mentioned here! ... Read more

Product Description
The end is near.
Start at the beginning.

The Dark Tower saga builds to an explosive climax...
In November 2003, the fifth Dark Tower book hits stores for the first time-followed by books six and seven.

This #1 bestseller heralds the beginning of the end.Amazon.com Review
Frank Muller, the recognized virtuoso of audiobook narration(The GreenMile, TheShawshank Redemption), takes on Stephen King's Goliath tale ofsorcerers, time travelers, and sci-fi love. Totaling more than 27hours and spanning 18 cassettes, Wizard and Glass requires thelistener to love Muller's Hannibal Lecter-like voice--either that orsuffer in audio hell for the equivalent of three full workingdays. While some might find his breathy staccatos irritating at best,others will find his voice the perfect accompaniment to King's creepycharacters and nightmarish plots. (Running time: 27 hours, 18cassettes) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (691)

The Best of the Dark Tower Series
I have read the Dark Tower series many times, and it is one of my favorite series. Of all the books in the series, Wizard and Glass is the best. It gives you the details of the Gunslinger's youth and what shaped him. Normally, around the fourth book in any long series, the story starts to get a bit stale, but King did his best work here. I strongly recommend this book and series.

Worst book I've ever read?
I love Stephen King books.I devour them.This book, however, has shown me that they can't all be winners.As others have noted it was in desperate need of some serious editing.The entire flashback to the past section that lasted literally hundreds of pages could have all been summed up in one single chapter.What was so extremely frustrating about it was that so much time was spent on characters feelings and emotions.Ok, so Susan is a hot innocent teenage girl, promised to someone else, and Roland and one of his buddies both fall in love with her, causing a rift in their "ka-tet."Everything ends badly, and the girl dies.There, you can skip this book and move on with the series without missing out on ANYTHING THAT IS IMPORTANT to the story!If King was going to spend so much time on a background story I really wish he would have spent some more time on developing Roland's world instead of focusing on a bunch of characters that do not have any part in the rest of the story.I don't know that I have ever skipped so much as a single word in a book before, but this had me paging ahead, skimming paragraphs, and downright forcing myself to finish it.I think I picked it up and took it back to the library 3 times before I finally was able to stomach all of it.If Stephen King gets 4.5 stars for his entire body of work, this book would be the one solely responsible for him not getting 5.I'm not sure I will finish the series now simply because this was so terrible.

Good, but a little too lengthy for the tail it contains
While I did enjoy this novel, it has been my least favorite in the Dark Tower series thus far (I have just finished book 5). At the beginning of the story, Roland and his band are doing riddle battle with Blaine the mono, and find themselves in a alt-Topeka. This part of the story, as well as the ending, were great. The middle of the novel, however, was a little less compelling to me. I thought that when we finally got Roland's back-story, I would be pleased beyond belief to learn what made him who he is and what compels him to hunt for the tower. Instead, I got a love story that, while informing Roland's personality, doesn't do much else for me. It is by all means greatly written, and there were some great characters and situations, but I felt that this story could have easily been chopped in half and it would have been better for it. It was just too long and at many points uninteresting. The mystery surrounding oil tankers and Conoco signs in a seemingly technology devoid Mexican/western village loses it's luster after a while. The end, after Roland's tragic love story has been told, is so wacky and great that I found myself wondering why there wasn't more of this and less of the back-story. It was an enjoyable story, if not a little too lengthy and slow at points. It helped flesh out who Roland is, and I guess that was the point.

Excellent
Received the book in just a few days in good condition.Greatly appreciate such great service!

Wizards and Glass Book
I was very pleased with the item I had purchased.It was just as advertised and shiping was super quick.I collect Stephen King novels in hardback and always read the paperback version and this was perfect for that.

5 stars to this vendor.I would use them again. ... Read more

Product Description
Unabridged CDs, 9 CDs, 11 hours

Read by TBA

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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fine fantasy springs to life
Stephen King's THE EYES OF THE DRAGON enjoys a fine narrative style by Bronson Pinchot, known worldwide for his fine TV and film work, and provides an engrossing story as it tells of a kingdom in chaos after the old king dies and his successor is imprisoned by an evil prince. A fine fantasy springs to life in a new presentation, highly recommended for fantasy libraries.

Viewing Stephen King through The Eyes of the Dragon
Once again Stephen King has created a world that begins as a fantasy of a Mediaval time and grows to become the reader's reality. His ability to create characters and environments through his wordsmithing is so great that the reader steps from his or her own time and place to a new world within the blink of an eye (or in this case ear). Pinchot, the narrator, is excellent at changing voices to match the characters so you really feel you are listening to a play rather than just being read a story. You will cheer for the heros and shiver at the voice of the vilain, whose voice slithers over you.I am not going to outline the story for you but you really must look through"The Eyes of the Dragon" for yourself! ... Read more

Product Description
At the turn of the twentieth century, Ellen Rimbauer became the young bride of Seattle industrialist John Rimbauer, and began keeping a remarkable diary. This diary became the secret place where Ellen could confess her fears of the new marriage, her confusion over her emerging sexuality, and the nightmare that her life would become. The diary not only follows the development of a girl into womanhood, it follows the construction of the Rimbauer mansioncalled Rose Redan enormous home that would be the site of so many horrific and inexplicable tragedies in the years ahead. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red is a rare document, one that gives us an unusual view of daily life among the aristocracy in the early 1900s, a window into one womans hidden emotional torment, and a record of the mysterious events at Rose Red that scandalized Seattle society at the timeevents that can only be fully understood now that the diary has come to light. Edited by Joyce Reardon, Ph.D. as part of her research, the diary is being published as preparations are being made by Dr. Reardon to enter Rose Red and fully investigate its disturbing history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (272)

Not impressed
Pretty boring for the first 100 pages of details of the "authoress" writing about her life in 1900's Seattle, then her 'round-the-world honeymoon. Parts of it within the house itself are okay, but there are much better haunted house stories around. Lots of skimming, as with most Stephen King books.

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
If so, don't bother with this sad excuse for a book.I'm guessing that the author(s) spewed this thing out of damaged brains in order to squeeze a few more dollars out of the TV presentation of Stepen King's "Rose Red".

My Life at Rose Red - book
I really did like this book...wish there was a little more towards the end.There was so much in the beginning and the latter part was few and far between.Just wish there was more.But I liked it and will most likely read it again.

Great Gift!
Ordered for my son and he loved it.Arrived on time.Will order from here again!

Diary of Ellen Rimbaur
This was a most intriguing book read. I saw the show on TV twice, so I was curious about the book. If you like diary versions, this is very good. Her life was most interesting, going so far back in those days, women did not have alot of say in the household. Her life was sad, most revealing, some very drawn into this house. It took her to a place we sometimes escape in our dreams, but for her it was very real. Very Good Book! The Stephen King Movie Rose Red follows after her passing, it was the house. How it came alive and took her in when she needed love. ... Read more

Product Description
For over a decade now, Lilja has been one of the leading voices on the Internet when it comes to covering and reporting on Stephen King's books and movies. His website, Lilja's Library, is the die-hard fan's source for information about new King projects and breaking news, but Lilja has also featured his own in-depth interviews with the most important people in King's world, including Stephen King himself.


Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King is a brand new massive collection of over 150 of those reviews, over 40 of those interviews, and other special features of interest to King readers everywhere. If you've never been to the website, you're in for a real treat as you catch-up with over 500 pages of articles and features that are sure to please any kind of Stephen King fan, from the general reader to the die-hard collector. And for Lilja's constant readers, there's original material in this special volume that has never appeared anywhere on his website before, and every article and review has been updated and revised for this release.


You have to see the table of contents to understand just how much great material is in this massive book, but just a few of the interviews include: Stephen King (twice!), Frank Darabont, Marsha DeFilippo, Mick Garris, Peter Straub, and many other people who have been involved in King's prolific career. The reviews include detailed commentary on well-known works by and about Stephen King, along with details about the rare works you might not have heard of, including the original scripts for Hearts in Atlantis, Stud City, and dozens of others; the original pilot for The Dead Zone that never aired on TV; Walking The Mile: The Making Of (a book that has never been released); the Pet Sematary and Secret Window, Secret Garden UK dramatizations; the dozens of Dollar Babies, and more!


There are also dozens of brand new features written exclusively for this volume, including interviews with Lilja himself and Glenn Chadbourne; reviews of short films such as Here There Be Tygers, Boogeyman, Walking Ghost,The Secret Transit Codes of America's Highways, Night Surf, Stephen King's Gotham Café, Sorry, Right Number, Night of the Living Dead, and others; reviews of the script for The Mist and scripts that are currently in development (including Black House and From a Buick 8); reviews of books such as Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography, Stephen King: The Non-Fiction, and others; and much, much more!


If you're new to the world of Lilja's Library or already a constant reader, this special volume is a must-have for your collection! An exclusive Cemetery Dance Publications release, there are no other editions planned anywhere in the world for this incredible book. ... Read more

Product Description
Stephen King: The Non-Fiction is the first significant review of King's Non-Fiction. Most fans and readers know King has written three non-fiction books and may have noticed his introductions and Author's Notes to his own works; but few know of his hundreds of columns, articles, book reviews and criticism.

In fact the Authors review over 560 published works of non-fiction (more than a dozen are revealed here for the first time) and a further nine unpublished non-fiction pieces. Full details of these unpublished pieces are revealed for the first time.

Stephen King: The Non-Fiction fills all the gaps, providing significant detail on each of the most significant of these Non-Fiction Works; and a review of every other piece!

Authors Rocky Wood and Justin Brooks spent five years compiling this outstanding reference work, with the assistance of many of the leading King researchers, collectors and 'super-collectors'; and access to Restricted Non-Fiction Works in King's papers at the University of Maine, Orono.

Covering all King's published and known unpublished works from 1959 to mid-2006, Stephen King: The Non-Fiction reveals for the first time dozens of pieces of non-fiction and their appearances that were previously unknown to King researchers.

If you've ever wanted to know more about King's amazing and often controversial non-fiction, this is the reference work you must have. This is the ultimate volume to accompany Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished -- and this is the perfect companion in your collection for The Stephen King Universe and The Road to the Dark Tower. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A simply amazing accomplishment
Let me start by saying that the authors are to be commended for accomplishing the nearly impossible task of compiling and organizing all the nonfiction works of Stephen King into a single volume that is as entertaining as it is informative. The research it took to produce this book is in and of itself a mind-numbing feat of authorship. My Uncle, the late Gordon Hendricks (who's work can also be found here on Amazon), was an author who would spend years of his life doing research for his books so I know first-hand the enormity of this accomplishment.
As for the book itself, all I can really say is wow. Like many of my peers (I'm a dark fiction author myself) I grew up on Stephen King and the jewels of information contained within this amazing volume are a delight to behold. Until I read this book I thought I pretty much knew all there was to know about Stephen King. Boy was I wrong! I wont give away any spoilers, but to know for the first time the inspiration behind my all time favorite King novel IT left me giddy to say the least. In fact I experienced many such giddy moments while reading this tome. I could go on and on, but my suggestion for any real fan of King's work is to buy this book and cherish it for a lifetime. I can guarantee this massive volume will be the crowning jewel of your bookshelf or coffee table and will both entertain and inform for many years to come. Stephen King the Non-Fiction isn't a book to sit down and read straight through, but rather a book to be enjoyed over and over again as you glean priceless snippets of knowledge and delight from its pages ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

excellent!
I got even more than I wanted and on time even though the seller had to send the package priority mail. I really appreciate the extra effort!

Good and scary
I really enjoyed Desperation and it was good to see King get back to his horror "roots".I wasn't sure about Regulators at first because, although I knew it somehow tied in to Desperation, I thought it might gettoo corny.And although it is a tad corny, the way King has created twocompletely different stories with the same characters is amazing andingenious.I recommend them both.(Remember Cynthia Smith from RoseMadder?)

Typical Bone-Chilling King Style
This is one of King`s finest. Kept me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put it down but yet terrified to turn the page!! I have read everything that King has written, both as himself and as Bachman. Desperation is oneof his finest.It is a book to add to the collection of Stephen Kingtreasures!!

Stephen King is truly the Master of Horror!!
After reading both books, I was glad to see that the Stephen King I know, love, and have been reading for upwards of twelve years is back.. Gone is the commerciality of previous books.Your imagination has to do sometwisting to be able to fully reap the satisfying rewards of this set, butreap you will!!Wonderfully gruesome, expertly written, and marvelouslymind twisting.Highly recommended!!

A Suprising Twist On Stephen King's Work!
I gave these books 4 stars but Desperation alone would probably get 2 from me. The Regulators displayed that fantastic twist I loved so much. And how the horror mixed in with the peacful suburban backdrop...wow! After readingthe other reviews on this page, I realize not a lot of people will agreewith me, but I don't care. The Regulators is up there with The Stand,Thinner and Misery. Stephen King/Richard Bachman's reign lives on. ... Read more