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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
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:
No
I read this as a sequel to "The Talisman" which I read and enjoyed a few years back.
This book is solid and once it gets (after an overlong introduction) into the meat you get a solid Stephen King book.
Only two things annoyed me: First, this has two characters that were very "Mary Sue" for me. Gladly it stopped before becoming unbearable how perfect the characters were. Second, this is a Dark Tower book. Not bad in itself but I would have been happy to know this in advance. I think without reading the Dark Twoer series as well this story is not as "complete", wich is sad.
But like I said: All in all a solid book.
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Black House is the sequel to The Talisman, a novel published in 1984 by Peter Straub and Stephen King. The novel is quite different to the original. Whilst the first was very much a blend of a road trip/high fantasy story, the second book is additionally a dark thriller that revolves around a deranged killer (interestingly, it’s based on a real life murderer).
For anyone who hasn’t read The Dark Tower novels I-IV, and The Talisman, this novel will be quite confusing. To be honest, I think they shoud’ve advertised it as a sequel to avoid readers being disoriented by a whole bunch of subplots. For veterens of said novels, Black House will surprise you as very much a Dark Tower Novel. I’d love to say more, but, spoilers etc.
At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of it. The introduction of the characters was confusing and there’s a lot of long-winded passages that made me quite concerned. Some of the dialogue was so bad, I was already preparing myself to claim this as the worst-written King novel.
Fortunately, the writing improves significantly. The characters and town start to come to life, and it becomes gripping until the very end. Like King’s previous novel, Dreamcatcher, it’s an ambitious, bloated, messy, fun, ridiculous blast that delighted and frustrated but mostly delighted me.
I liked the town of French Landing and the change of scenary. King has swapped Maine for Straub’s home state, Wisconsin. I loved the police procedural aspects of it. Presumably, he’s warming up for all of those Bill Hodges/Holly Gibney novels. Jack Sawyer is a decent protagonist and The Fisherman is a truly deranged villain. A biker gang is also amongst the memorable characters.
What I will also say is that it incorperates snippets of The Dark Tower universe more more successfully than any other book before it, particularly Insomnia.
Despite having some silly moments (magical basebat, friendly bees), there’s a lot to savour, such as the vivid setting, and the gloomy atmosphere as a repugnant killer stalks the neighbourhood.
Finally, I’m pretty excited to find out that King is working on the finishing touches to a third book , turning this series into a trilogy, and it will hopefully be released in 2026.
King Ranked:
1. The Stand 5/5
2. Pet Semetary 4.6/5
3. Salem’s Lot 4.5/5
4. The Dead Zone 4.2/5
5. Misery 4.2/5
6. The Shining 4.2/5
7. The Long Walk 4.2/5
8. Dolores Claiborne 4.2/5
9. The Drawing of the Three 4.1/5
10. The Wastelands 4/5
11. Night Shift 4/5
12. Different Seasons 4/5
13. The Eyes of the Dragon 4/5
14. The Green Mile 4/5
15. The Dark Half 3.9/5
16. Cycle of the Werewolf 3.9/5
17. Thinner 3.8/5
18. Christine 3.6/5
19. Desperation 3.5/5
20. Roadwork 3.5/5
21. Skeleton Crew 3.5/5
22. Cujo 3.3/5
23. Firestarter 3.3/5
24. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon 3.2/5
25. Carrie 3.2/5
26. Rage 3.2/5
27. The Tommyknockers 3.2/5
28. Hearts in Atlantis 3.2/5
29. The Gunslinger 3.2/5
30. Wizard and Glass 3.2/5
31. The Talisman 3.2/5
32. Black House 3.2/5
33. Dreamcatcher 3.2/5
34. Bag of Bones 3.2/5
35. The Running Man 3/5
36. IT 2.9/5
37. Rose Madder 2.5/5
38. Needful Things 2.4/5
39. Insomnia 2.4/5
40. The Regulators 2.4/5
41. Four Past Midnight 2.3/5
42. Nightmares and Dreamscapes 2.2/5
43. Gerald’s Game 1/5
Next to read in the “Reading King in Chronological Order” challenge:
FROM A BUICK 8
For anyone who hasn’t read The Dark Tower novels I-IV, and The Talisman, this novel will be quite confusing. To be honest, I think they shoud’ve advertised it as a sequel to avoid readers being disoriented by a whole bunch of subplots. For veterens of said novels, Black House will surprise you as very much a Dark Tower Novel. I’d love to say more, but, spoilers etc.
At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of it. The introduction of the characters was confusing and there’s a lot of long-winded passages that made me quite concerned. Some of the dialogue was so bad, I was already preparing myself to claim this as the worst-written King novel.
Fortunately, the writing improves significantly. The characters and town start to come to life, and it becomes gripping until the very end. Like King’s previous novel, Dreamcatcher, it’s an ambitious, bloated, messy, fun, ridiculous blast that delighted and frustrated but mostly delighted me.
I liked the town of French Landing and the change of scenary. King has swapped Maine for Straub’s home state, Wisconsin. I loved the police procedural aspects of it. Presumably, he’s warming up for all of those Bill Hodges/Holly Gibney novels. Jack Sawyer is a decent protagonist and The Fisherman is a truly deranged villain. A biker gang is also amongst the memorable characters.
What I will also say is that it incorperates snippets of The Dark Tower universe more more successfully than any other book before it, particularly Insomnia.
Despite having some silly moments (magical basebat, friendly bees), there’s a lot to savour, such as the vivid setting, and the gloomy atmosphere as a repugnant killer stalks the neighbourhood.
Finally, I’m pretty excited to find out that King is working on the finishing touches to a third book , turning this series into a trilogy, and it will hopefully be released in 2026.
King Ranked:
1. The Stand 5/5
2. Pet Semetary 4.6/5
3. Salem’s Lot 4.5/5
4. The Dead Zone 4.2/5
5. Misery 4.2/5
6. The Shining 4.2/5
7. The Long Walk 4.2/5
8. Dolores Claiborne 4.2/5
9. The Drawing of the Three 4.1/5
10. The Wastelands 4/5
11. Night Shift 4/5
12. Different Seasons 4/5
13. The Eyes of the Dragon 4/5
14. The Green Mile 4/5
15. The Dark Half 3.9/5
16. Cycle of the Werewolf 3.9/5
17. Thinner 3.8/5
18. Christine 3.6/5
19. Desperation 3.5/5
20. Roadwork 3.5/5
21. Skeleton Crew 3.5/5
22. Cujo 3.3/5
23. Firestarter 3.3/5
24. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon 3.2/5
25. Carrie 3.2/5
26. Rage 3.2/5
27. The Tommyknockers 3.2/5
28. Hearts in Atlantis 3.2/5
29. The Gunslinger 3.2/5
30. Wizard and Glass 3.2/5
31. The Talisman 3.2/5
32. Black House 3.2/5
33. Dreamcatcher 3.2/5
34. Bag of Bones 3.2/5
35. The Running Man 3/5
36. IT 2.9/5
37. Rose Madder 2.5/5
38. Needful Things 2.4/5
39. Insomnia 2.4/5
40. The Regulators 2.4/5
41. Four Past Midnight 2.3/5
42. Nightmares and Dreamscapes 2.2/5
43. Gerald’s Game 1/5
Next to read in the “Reading King in Chronological Order” challenge:
FROM A BUICK 8
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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:
No
Wonderful storytelling that builds on the talisman and connects to king’s dark tower series. Also, reminiscent of stranger things. The duffer brothers clearly read this. Mysterious other world that can only be saved by a former child hero turned hard boiled detective and new child with special abilities, and of course a friendly biker gang.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
A bit of an allegory. I did not read "The Talisman". It was okay but the stylistic choice of speaking to the audience I felt a little precious. Having read a lot of Stephen King in my youth, it felt like familiar territory and voice.