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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Review coming soon later
*Note for the editor - I realized, upon sending you this review for revision, that I missed a perfectly good opportunity to make a pun that surely no one has used in relation to this book's title. I have since amended this mistake, as you can see by the strikethrough within the review itself. When you revise, please delete "soon", so it simply reads: "Review coming later". Also, of course, please delete this note before publishing the review. Thanks.
*Note for the editor - I realized, upon sending you this review for revision, that I missed a perfectly good opportunity to make a pun that surely no one has used in relation to this book's title. I have since amended this mistake, as you can see by the strikethrough within the review itself. When you revise, please delete "soon", so it simply reads: "Review coming later". Also, of course, please delete this note before publishing the review. Thanks.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
[4.5*] This was SO good....except for something towards the end which I was like, "Steve my friend - you had to go there, huh?" But even with that one thing, it was an excellent read. The old guy still has it!
Maaaaaaaan, you almost lost a star for that ending..........
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Later, Stephen King's latest release via Hard Case Crime, is a supernatural coming-of-age story that fits quite neatly within the crime genre. King has progressively become more invested in the crime genre in his sunset years, having penned a couple previous Hard Case Crime books, along with those titles in the Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider (it sounds like his forthcoming hitman book, Billy Summers, will continue this trend), along with other earlier works like The Green Mile and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. It's proved to be a natural and comfortable shift for King, and Constant Readers will find Later as eminently readable as virtually any other story in this author's massive backlist. While this is certainly a crime story at heart, it is also very much a horror story.
Jamie Conklin sees dead people. While not exactly a unique premise, and King makes some knowing nods toward The Sixth Sense, it is compelling in its own right and has a few neat twists along the way. Later is narrated in first-person by an older Conklin looking back on his younger years, autobiographical style, from age 6 and up. We get an excellent look at his young life in New York, living with his lit agent mother as they navigate the turbulent economic crash of 2008 and cope the death of their primary breadwinner client, an author of historical bodice rippers whose demise leaves his celebrated series unfinished after the penultimate novel. The hard crime component... well, that comes later and requires a modicum of patience.
King explores the conceit of being a child medium quite credibly, as well as how that talent can be exploited and challenged in pretty terrific ways, including a callback to an earlier King classic that took me by complete surprise. He also lays out the ground rules of this particular talent in believable ways, and then throws a real nice curveball into the mix to keep us on our toes.
King's writing of young characters doesn't always ring completely true (here, a thirteen-year-old Jamie uses the phrase 'doc-in-a-box' to refer to a small-town clinic, a term I'd never heard before, let alone ever heard a kid say), but he's developed a neat work-around here with this story's narrative structure. By and large, Conklin is a pretty relatable kid, no doubt made wiser than his years thanks to all his communing with the recently departed and the knowledge of hindsight as he recollects his life's story.
Later is a quick and compelling read, and a real fun cross-genre affair that expertly blends crime, horror, and coming-of-age elements seamlessly. Constant Readers likely won't find much surprising about that, though, given King's naturalness as a storyteller. What they will find is yet another comfort food-equivalent read, and a perfectly fine way to while away the hours.
Jamie Conklin sees dead people. While not exactly a unique premise, and King makes some knowing nods toward The Sixth Sense, it is compelling in its own right and has a few neat twists along the way. Later is narrated in first-person by an older Conklin looking back on his younger years, autobiographical style, from age 6 and up. We get an excellent look at his young life in New York, living with his lit agent mother as they navigate the turbulent economic crash of 2008 and cope the death of their primary breadwinner client, an author of historical bodice rippers whose demise leaves his celebrated series unfinished after the penultimate novel. The hard crime component... well, that comes later and requires a modicum of patience.
King explores the conceit of being a child medium quite credibly, as well as how that talent can be exploited and challenged in pretty terrific ways, including a callback to an earlier King classic that took me by complete surprise. He also lays out the ground rules of this particular talent in believable ways, and then throws a real nice curveball into the mix to keep us on our toes.
King's writing of young characters doesn't always ring completely true (here, a thirteen-year-old Jamie uses the phrase 'doc-in-a-box' to refer to a small-town clinic, a term I'd never heard before, let alone ever heard a kid say), but he's developed a neat work-around here with this story's narrative structure. By and large, Conklin is a pretty relatable kid, no doubt made wiser than his years thanks to all his communing with the recently departed and the knowledge of hindsight as he recollects his life's story.
Later is a quick and compelling read, and a real fun cross-genre affair that expertly blends crime, horror, and coming-of-age elements seamlessly. Constant Readers likely won't find much surprising about that, though, given King's naturalness as a storyteller. What they will find is yet another comfort food-equivalent read, and a perfectly fine way to while away the hours.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
While not one of the best by King, this was definitely still an interesting, easy to get into, flows very well, read. I was immediately hooked since the first page and couldn't put down.
The plot twist by the end got me though, yeah, I wasn't expecting That.
This was really nice and highly recommend for an easy quick read.
The plot twist by the end got me though, yeah, I wasn't expecting That.
This was really nice and highly recommend for an easy quick read.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced