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joshkiba13's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"Did you know that you could sit in front of a screen or a pad of paper and change the world? It doesn't last, the world always comes back, but before it does it's awesome. It's everything. Because you can have things the way you want..." -Stephen King, Billy Summers
This book was fantastic. The premise of a hired hitman doing his final job is what interested me initially, but what I found was the story of a man finding a love for writing. Many of King's books are about English teachers and authors, and uses that I think as a way to project his feelings about the craft. The way he does it in this story was a neat way to provide readers with Billy's backstory little by little, rather than start the book from the beginning of his life.
I came for the final job story and got that, plus a love letter to writing stories. It was a slower build up with really gripping and gratifying moments, and unlike some of his darker stuff, I left feeling inspired. A great read :)
This book was fantastic. The premise of a hired hitman doing his final job is what interested me initially, but what I found was the story of a man finding a love for writing. Many of King's books are about English teachers and authors, and uses that I think as a way to project his feelings about the craft. The way he does it in this story was a neat way to provide readers with Billy's backstory little by little, rather than start the book from the beginning of his life.
I came for the final job story and got that, plus a love letter to writing stories. It was a slower build up with really gripping and gratifying moments, and unlike some of his darker stuff, I left feeling inspired. A great read :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Child abuse
veronikar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, War, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
simonisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and War
Minor: Rape, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
finn_vibing's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Characters weren’t authentic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Death, Pedophilia, and Murder
saniyamuz's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Child abuse, and War
bdania's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and War
graceorose's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
The concept is great, I love the characters and their development. It was just so slow for me that it was hard for me to stay engaged and interested, leading to it taking me forever to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Rape
clotalksbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I feel wrung out after finishing this. At first I thought it wasn't my sort of book, and not one I would attribute to Stephen King. Some truly atrocious things happen, just as in life, and I couldn't read about it without wincing.
The characters though, just felt so real. It showed how if you dig deep enough you can find good and bad in everybody, and it's up to you what you focus on.
The little mentions to COVID in the future I felt were unnecessary and didn't really add to the story, but that is my minor criticism.
It is not a book I could zoom through even though I wanted to find out what would happen, because it took a lot out of me emotionally and I needed to reflect. So it isn't one I can honestly say I enjoyed as such, but I wanted to keep getting to know these characters.
There were a couple of nods to this being a King novel, more noticeable towards the end. The writing as always is brilliant.
The characters though, just felt so real. It showed how if you dig deep enough you can find good and bad in everybody, and it's up to you what you focus on.
The little mentions to COVID in the future I felt were unnecessary and didn't really add to the story, but that is my minor criticism.
It is not a book I could zoom through even though I wanted to find out what would happen, because it took a lot out of me emotionally and I needed to reflect. So it isn't one I can honestly say I enjoyed as such, but I wanted to keep getting to know these characters.
There were a couple of nods to this being a King novel, more noticeable towards the end. The writing as always is brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, War, Violence, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Drug use, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child abuse
fckastel's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am not a fan of horror so was wary of Steven King but this book is not horror, more of a thriller/mystery, and has so many great layers. All the positive reviews are accurate, such an interesting and kind of beautiful book. Maybe started out a bit slow with so many details and a few moments felt weird but I wasn’t really bored - the details were amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
ezahn17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Rape