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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everybody wants something. Everyone has sentimental attachment. Needful Things explores what people will do to hold on to their ideals, whatever they may be. As per typical King, lots of detail and a chaotic cast of characters. But his framing in the introduction and conclusion, and how little pieces become significant over time, is exceptional.
Steven king always knows how to keep you in the edge of your seat. Needful Things was no different. He’s so descriptive it makes you feel like you’re there watching it all play out. There were definitely a few surprises that I didn’t see coming. I highly recommend getting lost in this book.
'Needful Things' lacks the depth of characterization that makes King's best work so memorable. Instead what we get is a saintly protagonist in a fun-house, slasher story with a large cast of archetypal cardboard cutouts colliding in a massive showdown. The entire falling-dominoes narrative is managed -- somewhat over-managed -- by an omniscient narrator who so clearly lays out the themes and concerns of the story that there is little to be wondered at. The effect is comic book-like action. And description. At one point, the villain, Leland Gaunt, even throws back his head and laughs. Dr. Evil would have been proud. To be fair, the narrator likens Gaunt to the Joker, drawing a direct comparison with the Batman comics, and in the end that's what this feels like: a comic book drawn in your mind.
Terrible ending but overall one of KIng's best works. I think this book is extremely under rated even with the bad ending.
The usual King weak spots are here: too long, too many characters (casino night plot could be edited), and a lot of build up to an ending that seems rushed. At the end of the day though this is an intriguing look into a small town full of sin and revenge. I'd rate it near the top of King's works for me.
challenging
dark
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:
Complicated
Absolute shocker again from the master. Read this years and years ago and had to re-read again recently. Creepy as hell of course. Evil at it's worst and best at the same time.
Enjoyable carnage and ending where all the pieces fit together
I finally finished this book. I started it in August, and now, more than half way through November, I plowed through the last 240 pages in about 4 hours this morning because I had to finish this thing once and for all. I've been trudging through it for 3 months and my agony had to end.
This is the first King book I just flat out didn't like. A lot of people accuse him of needing a strong editor to cull back the bloat, and until I read this book, I had never much been bothered by his excessive words before. It took far too long to built up to the confrontation between Wilma and Nettie, and I hated every moment I had to read about Danforth Keeton because King seemed to love dwelling on his insanity. I liked Alan and Polly as characters, but most others were despicable or uninteresting or both. I felt like I was reading Under the Dome again, even though Needful Things was the elder of the two by about 15 years. Same basic good guy character, same basic town councilman bad guy, same hateful townspeople. Sometimes it seemed that the only difference between the books was that the characters had different names. The reason why I think I enjoyed Under the Dome more than Needful things was that it just had better pacing.
That being said, there were some highlights: the references back to Cujo, The Dark Half, and The Body, the slight allusions to the Gunslinger world when Ace Merrill picks up the Tucker Talisman in Boston, and the scene when Polly fights the grotesque and growing spider in her bathroom. I was on the edge of my seat - I have a particular terror of insects and bugs, especially giant insects and bugs - and it's too bad the rest of the book didn't live up to that scene. The last two hundred pages were more interesting than the first two thirds of the book but not interesting enough to make the preceding 500 pages worth it.
This is the first King book I just flat out didn't like. A lot of people accuse him of needing a strong editor to cull back the bloat, and until I read this book, I had never much been bothered by his excessive words before. It took far too long to built up to the confrontation between Wilma and Nettie, and I hated every moment I had to read about Danforth Keeton because King seemed to love dwelling on his insanity. I liked Alan and Polly as characters, but most others were despicable or uninteresting or both. I felt like I was reading Under the Dome again, even though Needful Things was the elder of the two by about 15 years. Same basic good guy character, same basic town councilman bad guy, same hateful townspeople. Sometimes it seemed that the only difference between the books was that the characters had different names. The reason why I think I enjoyed Under the Dome more than Needful things was that it just had better pacing.
That being said, there were some highlights: the references back to Cujo, The Dark Half, and The Body, the slight allusions to the Gunslinger world when Ace Merrill picks up the Tucker Talisman in Boston, and the scene when Polly fights the grotesque and growing spider in her bathroom. I was on the edge of my seat - I have a particular terror of insects and bugs, especially giant insects and bugs - and it's too bad the rest of the book didn't live up to that scene. The last two hundred pages were more interesting than the first two thirds of the book but not interesting enough to make the preceding 500 pages worth it.