Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
This is the single largest example of a writer I have enjoyed for decades, Stephen King, suffering from Stephen King-atosis. This is insufferably long, bloated, and empty. The four confusing main characters—Jonsey, Pete, Beaver, and Henry, were all the same to me. I could never tell one from the other (even though I had over 600 pages to practice).
The story surrounding the boy with Down Syndrome, Duddits, offered a glimmer of hope at the beginning of the tale, but that soon fizzled; and even though it was supposed to tie the whole story together at the end, along with the title, did not. The insane army officer, Colonel Kurtz, is compared to Colonel Kurtz in Heart of Darkness, but it actually a copy of Colonel Killgore from Apocalypse Now.
I know the story of how this was written while King was recovering from his own accident, but this was really his own personal “something-to-do” while recovering, and it should never have been published in this form.
As a credit to King, there were some excellent pieces of storytelling, but I think he knew it was a lower-tier story when he resorted to the farting and the creatures who ate their way out of bodies. I think it was in Danse Macabre where King, himself, wrote that if you can’t get them with good storytelling, go for the gross out.
I do not believe I’ve ever rated a Stephen King novel this low, but according to my own scale, this is a very solid 2.
My review ratings are based upon the following:
1 Star, “I did not like it and wasted my time or couldn’t finish it”;
2 Stars, “I think it is just Ok, but I’ll never think about it again”;
3 Stars, “I think it is an entertaining, enjoyable book, and I’ll think about it again”;
4 Stars, “I really love this book, and I may read it again”;
5 Stars, “I think this book is excellent, I will read it again, and it will likely stand the test of time.”
The story surrounding the boy with Down Syndrome, Duddits, offered a glimmer of hope at the beginning of the tale, but that soon fizzled; and even though it was supposed to tie the whole story together at the end, along with the title, did not. The insane army officer, Colonel Kurtz, is compared to Colonel Kurtz in Heart of Darkness, but it actually a copy of Colonel Killgore from Apocalypse Now.
I know the story of how this was written while King was recovering from his own accident, but this was really his own personal “something-to-do” while recovering, and it should never have been published in this form.
As a credit to King, there were some excellent pieces of storytelling, but I think he knew it was a lower-tier story when he resorted to the farting and the creatures who ate their way out of bodies. I think it was in Danse Macabre where King, himself, wrote that if you can’t get them with good storytelling, go for the gross out.
I do not believe I’ve ever rated a Stephen King novel this low, but according to my own scale, this is a very solid 2.
My review ratings are based upon the following:
1 Star, “I did not like it and wasted my time or couldn’t finish it”;
2 Stars, “I think it is just Ok, but I’ll never think about it again”;
3 Stars, “I think it is an entertaining, enjoyable book, and I’ll think about it again”;
4 Stars, “I really love this book, and I may read it again”;
5 Stars, “I think this book is excellent, I will read it again, and it will likely stand the test of time.”
It's well written (nothing else would have been expected from Mr. King) and the characters are well developed.
The story itself is interesting too, but it was very predictable and the group of friends was split up too quickly for my taste.
It wasn't as much suspense for me as I had expected or wanted to feel. Worth reading nevertheless!
The story itself is interesting too, but it was very predictable and the group of friends was split up too quickly for my taste.
It wasn't as much suspense for me as I had expected or wanted to feel. Worth reading nevertheless!
One of King's sillier stories, especially in the final few hundred pages, but I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed the set-up to this story. Everything leading up to the cabin, before the first big reveal, was page-turning in that classic Stephen King fashion. What comes after is another story, but for those first 100 to 150 pages, I was really hooked.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s not great, but it’s sporadically interesting. As with most Stephen King novels, this is overlong and filled with repeated phrases that King must have just liked the sound of (if I have to read the phrase “No bounce, no play” again, I’ll scream). The opening hundred pages or so where it seemed like this was going to be a fart-centric take on “The Thing” were interesting, but once the military shows up and King goes into his “evil government conspiracy thriller” mode, I started losing interest. The magic Down’s syndrome guy is a really bizarre plot point as well, and is every bit as awkwardly written as you would expect. Anyway, Stephen King is an interesting author even though I don’t like most of his work, so I still had a good time reading this for the most part
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I really enjoy King's books, although some of them are just soooo much things going on, and this one had lots of military vocabulary I wasn't that familiar with.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this story and the little easter eggs (very clear references, actually) to his other stories. Reading a book by Stephen King's always an interesting ride.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this story and the little easter eggs (very clear references, actually) to his other stories. Reading a book by Stephen King's always an interesting ride.
Horrific, visceral, complicated, compelling. The narrative did seem to go on for a long time at parts, but those parts ended up being important later.
Very gross.
Very gross.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced