Reviews

Joyland by Stephen King

mrpaulyman's review against another edition

3.0

Good stuff. I only give it 4 stars because I hold King to a higher standard.

xta's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

tita_dias16's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

peytondani's review against another edition

3.0

my overconfident ass was wrong about the twist, but what ended up being the actual reveal wasn’t all that impactful — though likely more impactful than the former possibility of having guessed it correctly halfway through. this story’s strength was the heart of it (Devin and Mike), everything else — the mystery of it all and all the carny culture — felt like fluff.

dj68's review against another edition

5.0

I really don't know how King does it, again and again turning out a great novel, even when it's rather short. His characters - both the bad and the good guys - are so true to life and scaringly relatable in many ways.
King knows people and humanity and I like that he doesn't shy away from the ugly sides of life and that he, at the same time, has a great love for humans and the utmost respect for their struggles.
Though not scary, Joyland provides deep insights and tons of quotable phrases on every page and leaves you teary-eyed with sadness and, yes, joy.

carol_kdc's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

davehershey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

 cried a bit at the end. Need I say anything else?

This was such a great story. Not as good as Kings best but thoroughly enjoyable. 

lolra's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.75

baby_commie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jobustitch's review against another edition

4.0

This was very hard to put down. Fun, pulpy story full of typical Stephen King fun. I recommend it as a nice distraction.