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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Conclusion, todo es culpa de los pedofilos. Billy eres mi héroe. Me voy a ir a limpiar los mocos.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
Starts out slow, but after about a third I didn’t want to put it down.
Great book! I was hooked the entire time, couldn’t anticipate what was going to happen next.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
For me this was the worst book by King I've read so far. If it had been written by anyone else I would have stopped reading it. The beginning takes forever to give anything but useless details, like every move Billy Summers makes. It's worst than watching paint dry. I don't know how I made it through the first half of the book. I actually dreaded to continue reading it. I felt he had "word count" on and was just filling in spaces to add words in until he could add a bit of useful interesting bits. I only got a bit interested in this book roughly after 80%. That's bad. Really, really bad. I'm glad I finally finished it. (Again, I only continued reading because I'm a Stephen King fan).
As always, I enjoyed this King…he rarely disappoints. I enjoyed the character study-like feel that this story has. I know he is known for his suspense and horror, but what I think King does best is creating characters that encompass everything a human is in such a believable way. There were suspenseful moments that actually made me physically anxious and nervous, not because they were “scary,” but because I cared for Billy; I love when an author is able to make me care for the protagonist so completely, despite their faults and crimes, especially in the case of Billy Summers who was an actual criminal.
I greatly appreciate that it didn’t turn into a cringey romance, because that would have been cliche, expected, and would have ruined the story for me. It was very satisfying and refreshing to have this story have no romantic motive, because other authors tend to worm that into every narrative somehow and I hate it.
I was also satisfied with the ending, which is rare for me.
The only thing keeping it from 5 stars was the (what to me felt) forced insertion of Easter eggs from past books.
**SPOILERS BELOW (sort of)**
I enjoy the subtle name drops and references as much as every fan of King does, but the hedge painting being brought up multiple times trying to add a “haunted spooky” element to this otherwise reality-based environment irked me and felt unnecessary to the story. Just one mention of the painting would have been satisfying as someone who has read The Shinning, but all the mentions following that felt forced. It’s a small thing to criticize, but it took me out of the story.
I greatly appreciate that it didn’t turn into a cringey romance, because that would have been cliche, expected, and would have ruined the story for me. It was very satisfying and refreshing to have this story have no romantic motive, because other authors tend to worm that into every narrative somehow and I hate it.
I was also satisfied with the ending, which is rare for me.
The only thing keeping it from 5 stars was the (what to me felt) forced insertion of Easter eggs from past books.
**SPOILERS BELOW (sort of)**
I enjoy the subtle name drops and references as much as every fan of King does, but the hedge painting being brought up multiple times trying to add a “haunted spooky” element to this otherwise reality-based environment irked me and felt unnecessary to the story. Just one mention of the painting would have been satisfying as someone who has read The Shinning, but all the mentions following that felt forced. It’s a small thing to criticize, but it took me out of the story.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
BILLY SUMMERS is the first time I have ever read anything by Stephen King, and now it is one of my new favorite books. It may be a crime novel upfront, but it also becomes a road story with elements of a Western set in modern America, featuring a main character you cannot help but root for, as complicated as his background is.
Billy Summers is a hitman who only takes a job if the target is a bad person. He is hired by a mobster he’s worked with before and a mysterious client that wants him to take out a fellow sniper who holds valuable intel. They give Billy a cover story where he will pretend to be a writer named David Lockridge and set him up in a small town and an office nearby with a vantage point of the courthouse where the target will be. Billy intends to make this his last job, but with it being the last, everything that is bound to go wrong does.
I’ve always known Stephen King as a great writer and a celebrated author, but I just never thought to pick up his books until @jesswithbookss recommended we read this for book club. With BILLY SUMMERS, I now understand the acclaim. His writing is engrossing, as are the characters, and this story in particular is so compelling and propulsive that I forgot it’s 500+ pages.
Billy Summers himself is an intriguing character. While pretending to be a writer, he actually does start to write about his life. It’s here through the pages of his book revealing his past, that you begin to see layers to him and what he grapples with in the present.
Without giving too much away, there is a new character introduced later who not only changes the course of the story, but also affects Billy on his own journey to redemption. The relationship that forms and develops is what struck me the most and has still left me reeling. Due to the circumstances of their meeting, I am really with how King handles their bond. It could have easily gone one way, but he keeps it grounded staying true to his characters.
There is still so much to unpack that I haven’t even covered, and maybe more I have yet to discover. After reading BILLY SUMMERS however, I’m already eager to read more books by Stephen King.
Billy Summers is a hitman who only takes a job if the target is a bad person. He is hired by a mobster he’s worked with before and a mysterious client that wants him to take out a fellow sniper who holds valuable intel. They give Billy a cover story where he will pretend to be a writer named David Lockridge and set him up in a small town and an office nearby with a vantage point of the courthouse where the target will be. Billy intends to make this his last job, but with it being the last, everything that is bound to go wrong does.
I’ve always known Stephen King as a great writer and a celebrated author, but I just never thought to pick up his books until @jesswithbookss recommended we read this for book club. With BILLY SUMMERS, I now understand the acclaim. His writing is engrossing, as are the characters, and this story in particular is so compelling and propulsive that I forgot it’s 500+ pages.
Billy Summers himself is an intriguing character. While pretending to be a writer, he actually does start to write about his life. It’s here through the pages of his book revealing his past, that you begin to see layers to him and what he grapples with in the present.
Without giving too much away, there is a new character introduced later who not only changes the course of the story, but also affects Billy on his own journey to redemption. The relationship that forms and develops is what struck me the most and has still left me reeling. Due to the circumstances of their meeting, I am really with how King handles their bond. It could have easily gone one way, but he keeps it grounded staying true to his characters.
There is still so much to unpack that I haven’t even covered, and maybe more I have yet to discover. After reading BILLY SUMMERS however, I’m already eager to read more books by Stephen King.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: War