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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Just another perfectly average Stephen King book, but less enjoyable than some of his other perfectly average books. Plus the protagonist here was kinda unlikeable in my opinion.
Honestly though I was just looking for a quick simple read to break up my dissertation reading and that’s what I got.
Honestly though I was just looking for a quick simple read to break up my dissertation reading and that’s what I got.
Would you like to see where you go after you die? Are you sure about that? Charles Jacobs has a way of effecting Jamie's life in dramatic ways, for better or for (insert a word more horrific than worse). Jamie met Mr. Jacobs at the age of six when he was the family's preacher. Reverend Jacobs incorporated his hobby of electricity to teach the good word and even used it to cure Jamie's brother. Or was it just the placebo effect as Jamie was told? After a tragedy struck Reverend Jacobs' family, he denounced his faith and was booted out of town. Years later, a drug addicted Jamie stumbled across Charles again. Now known as Dan Jacobs running the Portraits of Lightening at a state fair, he cured Jamie of his addiction by using "secret" electricity, similar to the way he had cured Jamie's brother years earlier. Jamie now owed a debt to Jacobs and he would have to pay even if it meant waiting 30 years and even if it meant seeing the door with the dead ivy and "Mother", something that can never been unseen. I really loved this book. As noted in a previous review, I recently read the Great God Pan by Arthur Machen as it was part of the dedication of this book. I am so glad I did because it gave this book a little something extra, background i guess.
An interesting tie-in with last year's Joyland and the classic short story "Jerusalem's Lot" and novel 'Salem's Lot, - and even, I'm willing to argue, Under the Dome - this is King's take on the Lovecraftian mad scientist tale. The thirteenth chapter is where it all comes together spectacularly, but the novel overall could really have benefited from brutal editing down to short story or novella length. There's a lot of back story that feels almost autobiographical, stretching back to the narrator's childhood in the '60s. While there are several lovely, powerful, and ominous moments throughout, the throughline of tension that pays off in chapter 13 slackens more often than not, making me wonder if it had been intended to be a Bachman book at some point. A reorganization of the book with that key episode as a frame and judiciously placed flashbacks to the best moments would have made for a more sustainably suspenseful thriller.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this audiobook and couldn't help but find it lacking. The big reveal was a bit anti-climactic and frankly not a whole lot actually happens in this book. But it was mildly entertaining and had a few interesting subplots.
A young boy is enthralled with a new preacher, who he runs into later in life.
A young boy is enthralled with a new preacher, who he runs into later in life.
This book feels like when the family is gathered around a relative in hospice, because they’ve all been told “there isn’t much time.” You’re all waiting, filling time with stories, but every now and then a nurse comes in to make the relative comfortable/check vitals—reminding you of where you are. There’s warmth, but also looming dread for what’s to come. It’s fantastical and bleak.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5*
it was enjoyable, i need to stop reading reviews that give me an anticipation that i will be scared bc that kinda ruins it for me.
in my opinion, it wasn’t the scariest, had an eerie vibe towards the end tho i’ll give it that.
some parts were just too slow for my liking
it was enjoyable, i need to stop reading reviews that give me an anticipation that i will be scared bc that kinda ruins it for me.
in my opinion, it wasn’t the scariest, had an eerie vibe towards the end tho i’ll give it that.
some parts were just too slow for my liking