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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Wow, man. Just wow. I was a fan of Stephen King before this, but after reading it I am even more convinced that he's my favorite author. There's no actual action in the book until about 30% in, but the writing is so engrossing that I didn't even care. Honestly, the way it was written, I could have read an entire book just about Charlie, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar. I could ramble about this one, but I'll try to keep it shorter.
Charlie was an amazing leading guy. Yes, he's a young kid with an old soul and he doesn't act like you would think typical teens would, but that's part of his appeal and (I think) the reason he was the perfect fit for the tasks ahead. I loved how he cared for his father, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar. He had to grow up way too early, but it ended up helping him in the long run. He and Mr. Bowditch had a great camaraderie, and I LOVED watching Charlie become so invested in Radar. That kid sure loved that dog.
One of my favorite quotes: "What I wanted to do was get my dog and go home." Same, Charlie. Same.
The one negative thing I find with most of King's novels is that the ending was just sort of there. He's not always the best at finishing what he starts, but if you know that going in and can be content to enjoy the start and the build up, you still walk away happy in the end. Even with the so-so ending, my enjoyment of the book wasn't affected in the slightest. I plan on reading it many times over!
This book is an exciting mix of King's creepy elements, traditional fairy tales, The Hunger Games, Gladiator, Pet Sematary, Shawshank, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I Am Legend, Up, and The Wizard of Oz. It's alot, I know, but with every new turn that was added to the mix, I was even more invested.
If you're curious about experiencing Stephen King's writing but don't necessarily want to jump into his horror books, give this one a try!
Charlie was an amazing leading guy. Yes, he's a young kid with an old soul and he doesn't act like you would think typical teens would, but that's part of his appeal and (I think) the reason he was the perfect fit for the tasks ahead. I loved how he cared for his father, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar. He had to grow up way too early, but it ended up helping him in the long run. He and Mr. Bowditch had a great camaraderie, and I LOVED watching Charlie become so invested in Radar. That kid sure loved that dog.
One of my favorite quotes: "What I wanted to do was get my dog and go home." Same, Charlie. Same.
The one negative thing I find with most of King's novels is that the ending was just sort of there. He's not always the best at finishing what he starts, but if you know that going in and can be content to enjoy the start and the build up, you still walk away happy in the end. Even with the so-so ending, my enjoyment of the book wasn't affected in the slightest. I plan on reading it many times over!
This book is an exciting mix of King's creepy elements, traditional fairy tales, The Hunger Games, Gladiator, Pet Sematary, Shawshank, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I Am Legend, Up, and The Wizard of Oz. It's alot, I know, but with every new turn that was added to the mix, I was even more invested.
If you're curious about experiencing Stephen King's writing but don't necessarily want to jump into his horror books, give this one a try!
Just wasn’t impressed with this one. Didn’t seem up to the master of horror’s usual style.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like the image of King writing this during the pandemic and experiencing joy. We all need to be reading wins and happy endings right now. Great evils overcome. Great devastation faced. Great people fighting for a better future.
This is the first King book I’ve read. I’m inspired enough to read the Dark Towers series but the detailed gore in this one is enough to keep me away from his horror work for now.
There is definitely a reason I’m giving it four stars… I liked the story. And I liked Charlie. The writing kept making me think some things were gonna be more important than they were… and how it all comes together felt… I don’t know. I like it when a book can make me gasp at how clever it was the whole time— right under my nose spinning this brilliant and obvious web that I can look back on and appreciate how much I missed. The web was simpler than I was expecting. It was a simple story. And it was enjoyable for the most part (saying for the most part makes me feel like I should drop my rating to three stars but like I said I’m inspired enough to read more King.)
Most of my five stars are books that I would read again and once was enough for me to agree with Charlie’s choice to seal Empis.
This is the first King book I’ve read. I’m inspired enough to read the Dark Towers series but the detailed gore in this one is enough to keep me away from his horror work for now.
There is definitely a reason I’m giving it four stars… I liked the story. And I liked Charlie. The writing kept making me think some things were gonna be more important than they were… and how it all comes together felt… I don’t know. I like it when a book can make me gasp at how clever it was the whole time— right under my nose spinning this brilliant and obvious web that I can look back on and appreciate how much I missed. The web was simpler than I was expecting. It was a simple story. And it was enjoyable for the most part (saying for the most part makes me feel like I should drop my rating to three stars but like I said I’m inspired enough to read more King.)
Most of my five stars are books that I would read again and once was enough for me to agree with Charlie’s choice to seal Empis.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
This gives, Wizard of Oz meets Labyrinth meets Pan's Labyrinth. My favorite Stephen King novel so far
this was objectively well-written, but really not for me. wasn’t expecting this much fantasy, and it lost me a little in all of the dungeon chapters. it also felt about a hundred pages too long, but i appreciated all of the worldbuilding
adventurous
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I enjoyed this book overall, however it was definitely unnecessarily long. Radar was the highlight for me. I almost feel like at least half of the time in the other world could have been cut out, at the 50% mark it was hard to see how I was only halfway through given how close we were to the original goal. I also did not buy the romantic interest between Charlie and Leah.
The story was good i guess, but this book could have done with some trimming. Sometimes less is more.