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slim's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
It was ok. Had it been longer I wouldn't have finished it, I don't think. The premise was interesting - a boy who can talk to ghosts that can't lie - but I didn't feel like the story really did it justice. It was a bit plain; not much happened. It was written in the first-person, similar to a diary, where the narrator (the boy who can speak to ghosts, Jamie) sort of just outlined the times throughout his life he'd talked to ghosts and something mildly interesting occurred. There he would also sort of talk about his mum, his mum's ex-girlfriend, Uncle Harry and some others.
I think I just finished it because King is a good writer, but overall fairly boring story, in my opinion.
I think I just finished it because King is a good writer, but overall fairly boring story, in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Medical content, and Body horror
Minor: Abortion, Rape, and Incest
health anxiety, hypochondriadesiderium_incarnate's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Dafür, wie entspannt die Geschichte begonnen hat - fast wie ein Memoir einer etwas ungewöhnlichen, aber größtenteils normalen Person-, hat mich das Ende ziemlich überrascht. Klar, die Menge an Action hat zugenommen, aber viel krasser fand ich die Geheimnisse und wie die Leute einfach damit lebten. Die Art der Erzählung fand ich sehr gelungen, zu Beginn war es gewöhnungsbedürftig, es hat sich aber über das Buch entwickelt, was glaubwürdig ist, da exakt das dargestellt werden sollte.
Dadurch dass nicht alle Fragen geklärt wurden, ist die Geschichte zwar etwas unzufriedenstellend beendet worden, das passt jedoch ins Genre, da man sich so unwohl fühlt. Es ist eher ein schleichende Horror in dieser Story.
Dadurch dass nicht alle Fragen geklärt wurden, ist die Geschichte zwar etwas unzufriedenstellend beendet worden, das passt jedoch ins Genre, da man sich so unwohl fühlt. Es ist eher ein schleichende Horror in dieser Story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Stalking, Body horror, Child death, and Cursing
ricksilva's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Stephen King's take on a boy who sees dead people, ends up going in a pretty different direction than the film The Sixth Sense, but the inspiration for the idea is pretty clear.
Jamie Conklin can see the recently dead, and they must answer his questions truthfully. Jamie just wants to live a normal life, but when people close to him discover his abilities, they begin to think of ways it could be useful.
This had a surprising number of plot twists considering its relatively short length. What would be described as "false finishes" in pro wrestling come fast and furious.
The story is a bit more "typical" King than I was expecting given the marketing of the Hard Case Crime imprint. I went into it expecting something with no (or at least minimal) supernatural elements, something more like Mr. Mercedes.
Still, the story and characters were great, and in spite of relying on a lot of standard King tropes, the plot kept the surprises and twists coming right up to the end.
Jamie Conklin can see the recently dead, and they must answer his questions truthfully. Jamie just wants to live a normal life, but when people close to him discover his abilities, they begin to think of ways it could be useful.
This had a surprising number of plot twists considering its relatively short length. What would be described as "false finishes" in pro wrestling come fast and furious.
The story is a bit more "typical" King than I was expecting given the marketing of the Hard Case Crime imprint. I went into it expecting something with no (or at least minimal) supernatural elements, something more like Mr. Mercedes.
Still, the story and characters were great, and in spite of relying on a lot of standard King tropes, the plot kept the surprises and twists coming right up to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Addiction, and Gore
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Dementia
Minor: Incest and Cancer
camz's review against another edition
dark
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
3.25
Una de las pocas historias de King que creo tiene la cantidad justa de páginas. No es un secreto para nadie que a King le gusta escribir más de la cuenta, sin embargo creo que en este libro escribió lo justo y necesario.
La trama me gustó porque cuando empezaba a pensar que la historia iba por un lado me daba cuenta que se iba por el otro, en parte es debido a que no tenía planeado leer este libro, por tanto no leí sinopsis ni nada. No es que sea una historia particularmente innovadora, pero por lo menos sabe mantenerte enganchado.
Su final... es un gran wtf. No digo que sea bueno o malo, la verdad no me importa qué es lo que pasa en el, simplemente pienso que no aporta nada. Supongo que como el libro tiene un poco de coming-of-age entre medio del horror, se puede ver como el cierre del ciclo de la niñez del Jamie, pero incluso si es así, pudo ser mejor.
La trama me gustó porque cuando empezaba a pensar que la historia iba por un lado me daba cuenta que se iba por el otro, en parte es debido a que no tenía planeado leer este libro, por tanto no leí sinopsis ni nada. No es que sea una historia particularmente innovadora, pero por lo menos sabe mantenerte enganchado.
Su final... es un gran wtf. No digo que sea bueno o malo, la verdad no me importa qué es lo que pasa en el, simplemente pienso que no aporta nada. Supongo que como el libro tiene un poco de coming-of-age entre medio del horror, se puede ver como el cierre del ciclo de la niñez del Jamie, pero incluso si es así, pudo ser mejor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Kidnapping, Blood, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Car accident, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Incest
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I did not want to put this book down ! I had actually been putting off reading it as the description felt "meh" to me, and I really am not a fan of the cover. Boy was I wrong !
This is told as if our MC, Jamie, is writing the story. He is 22, and is recounting the crazy and traumatic events of his childhood that resulted from his ability to see dead people, or ghosts. This style works so well, and had me completely engaged in the story. It was as if I was reading a story that a friend wrote.
The timeline does jump around a bit, but it's not difficult to follow. The cast of characters are relevant, and they all have their own place in the story. None of them feel pointless. This book is the perfect length for the story it told. Any longer and it would have felt drawn out, or gotten dull.
Overall, this was a fun ride with some great tie-ins to King's other work (as usual). I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a break from the bigger, denser reads.
This is told as if our MC, Jamie, is writing the story. He is 22, and is recounting the crazy and traumatic events of his childhood that resulted from his ability to see dead people, or ghosts. This style works so well, and had me completely engaged in the story. It was as if I was reading a story that a friend wrote.
The timeline does jump around a bit, but it's not difficult to follow. The cast of characters are relevant, and they all have their own place in the story. None of them feel pointless. This book is the perfect length for the story it told. Any longer and it would have felt drawn out, or gotten dull.
Overall, this was a fun ride with some great tie-ins to King's other work (as usual). I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a break from the bigger, denser reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Gore, Drug use, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Cursing, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer, Classism, Vomit, Torture, Incest, and Rape
allweseeorseem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.5
This was a pretty fun ghost/crooked cop/son-mother relationship story. I really enjoyed it until the end, which really ticked me off.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Medical content, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
cyanide_latte's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'll be honest, I was excited when this book was announced, after having finished Joyland by King, and while I've never read IT, I was still interested to see what similarities there would be between the lore from King's older work and one of his newest. So take my rating and review with a grain of salt; I was biased from the start.
Later very much is what it says in the summary...and it also isn't. I find it difficult to review this book because it largely would spoil the remaining half of the book that isn't described in the summary of the novel, and at any rate, it's really one you should read and discover for yourself. I will say I absolutely enjoyed Jamie as a POV protagonist, and I feel like King handled him well. He reads as being his age, and I appreciate that immensely. And I was able to pick up on the nods to IT, despite not having read the book. (Having a best friend who takes you through the films and is more than willing to answer questions is a relief. I don't know if I have the patience to sit through IT any time in the near future.)
I usually try to figure out what the message and/or theme is in King's horror, because he usually has at least one, if not multiple layered into a novel. I think I'll need more time to mull over it, but I'll eventually give you my thoughts on that.
...you know, later.
Later very much is what it says in the summary...and it also isn't. I find it difficult to review this book because it largely would spoil the remaining half of the book that isn't described in the summary of the novel, and at any rate, it's really one you should read and discover for yourself. I will say I absolutely enjoyed Jamie as a POV protagonist, and I feel like King handled him well. He reads as being his age, and I appreciate that immensely. And I was able to pick up on the nods to IT, despite not having read the book. (Having a best friend who takes you through the films and is more than willing to answer questions is a relief. I don't know if I have the patience to sit through IT any time in the near future.)
I usually try to figure out what the message and/or theme is in King's horror, because he usually has at least one, if not multiple layered into a novel. I think I'll need more time to mull over it, but I'll eventually give you my thoughts on that.
...you know, later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, and Police brutality
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Incest, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
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