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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Needful things is one of the biggest books I've read.
A new shop opens up in the town of castle rock, and with it brings confusion and destruction. The townsfolk go in to Needful Things and see things that they "need" to have. There are no prices on anything but for a bargain price and a little prank it can be theirs!
Mr Gaunt is a freaky SOB and it's quite what he makes himself out to be.
There are so many characters in this story that sometimes I got a little lost in who bought what and who was pranking who, but it didn't take away from the craziness of what was going on.
Sheriff Alan Pangborn is sure that Mr Gaunt is up to something, and I'll say I was rooting for him and Polly from the start. One thing about King though is that you can't be sure characters you like will make it to the end of the story, and with a good few characters to either love or hate, I always felt a little on edge when I was reading certain sections.
It is quite a slow burner to begin with but stick with it, it's worth it.
A new shop opens up in the town of castle rock, and with it brings confusion and destruction. The townsfolk go in to Needful Things and see things that they "need" to have. There are no prices on anything but for a bargain price and a little prank it can be theirs!
Mr Gaunt is a freaky SOB and it's quite what he makes himself out to be.
There are so many characters in this story that sometimes I got a little lost in who bought what and who was pranking who, but it didn't take away from the craziness of what was going on.
Sheriff Alan Pangborn is sure that Mr Gaunt is up to something, and I'll say I was rooting for him and Polly from the start. One thing about King though is that you can't be sure characters you like will make it to the end of the story, and with a good few characters to either love or hate, I always felt a little on edge when I was reading certain sections.
It is quite a slow burner to begin with but stick with it, it's worth it.
Pretty good! Especially after Cujo and Christine. The sheriff is one of my favorite King characters. Boy, you can really feel King's hatred for small towns. Would give 3.5 stars if I could. The spider bit I could have done without. Gross.
Interesting plot and fleshed our characters. But could have easily been so much shorter and still been great. The ending seemed haphazard too.
I like the Maine setting and characters; I thought the premise was really good - it's sad the "things" we throw our lives away for. The ending was immensely satisfying - good 'ol Alan! I thought there were a few too many characters toward the end though, like the high school principle and the guy he went to parties with - didn't really care about them, and just scanned the pages. Other than that, no complaints.
I really enjoyed this book and was in the mood for some small town drama and noone delivers that as well as Stephen King. But this was about 100 pages too long and the ending was ridiculous. I've heard lots of people complain about King's endings and I really liked that he joked about it in his cameo in the recent IT:Chapter 2 movie so he's clearly aware this is how people feel. I was yet to come across one I didn't like until now. This would've easily been a 5 star read for me because I absolutely LOVED the premise and execution of the story and was inspired to read it after the Mr Needful episode of Rick & Morty. I lived for the pettiness of the people in Castle Rock and was glad to see some familiar characters from Cujo and Salem's Lot, but sadly that ending brought it down. Still a huge King fan and I'll be reading The Dark Half soon which was apparently meant to be read before this book! So if you haven't read The Dark Half I definitely recommend reading that first and The Dead Zone, better yet just looking up the order of his Castle Rock books because there are spoilers for like 5 previous books at the beginning of the story.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Stephen King twists his tale once again in Castle Rock. Interwoven connections that build and build. Consequences due to the actions of the people in town and one hell of a climax.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very ugly book to read, filled with small-town spite. Probably doesn't need to be as long or repetitive as it is, but has a strong climax.
Having read The Shining and The Stand, so far I think this is one of King's most disturbing books. It made me feel weird, but I really liked it.
I can't decide if I disliked this book because it was so over the top, or because, curiously enough, it still managed to remind me too well of the uglier side of humanity?
Personally didn't like it but I can see the appeal for general horror lovers.
Let me know what you think!
Personally didn't like it but I can see the appeal for general horror lovers.
Let me know what you think!