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rileedawg's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Dimensional characters, some wonderfully chilling moments, and a powerful conclusion, Stephen King's The Dark Half would make an excellent novella, but as a novel, it suffers serious lag in its middle act.
The novel is very uniquely structured, not only is the book broken into parts, each chapter is further divided into 'sections'. The fragmentation accentuates the theme of multiplicity; who is Thad Beaumont, and who is George Stark? — who is real and who is fictional? Can the answer ever be definitive?
King proves again he can create a realistic, well-rounded writer character, evident from his previous attempts (The Shining and Misery). The Dark Half is also deeply autobiographical, as King himself also had written under a pen name (Richard Bachman) for a couple releases, and suffered a similar fate being discovered by a fan, and forced to be 'outed'. The novel is at its strongest when focusing on Thad and George; it's extremely compelling reading their motivation, and learning how they try to outsmart the other person, first to claim fame and creativity, and ultimately life.
The novel also contains a heavy presence of a third character, sheriff Alan Pangborn, who is the objective, non-believing counterpart when crazy (and oftentimes gruesome) events start to surface. This is where the novel takes a toll in its pacing. Told in multiple voices, the reader often foresees events not yet evident to this particular character; to re-read the same information regurgitated through Alan's perspective, and disproving the existence of George Stark (which the reader knows is incorrect), feels like a waste of time and the standstill ultimately dissipates momentum without adding worthwhile perspective.
Ultimately The Dark Half has great bones, if a little overstuffed in parts. To read this or not depends on your tolerance to meandering pacing; otherwise, maybe checking out the movie adaptation might be the way to go.
Dimensional characters, some wonderfully chilling moments, and a powerful conclusion, Stephen King's The Dark Half would make an excellent novella, but as a novel, it suffers serious lag in its middle act.
The novel is very uniquely structured, not only is the book broken into parts, each chapter is further divided into 'sections'. The fragmentation accentuates the theme of multiplicity; who is Thad Beaumont, and who is George Stark? — who is real and who is fictional? Can the answer ever be definitive?
King proves again he can create a realistic, well-rounded writer character, evident from his previous attempts (The Shining and Misery). The Dark Half is also deeply autobiographical, as King himself also had written under a pen name (Richard Bachman) for a couple releases, and suffered a similar fate being discovered by a fan, and forced to be 'outed'. The novel is at its strongest when focusing on Thad and George; it's extremely compelling reading their motivation, and learning how they try to outsmart the other person, first to claim fame and creativity, and ultimately life.
The novel also contains a heavy presence of a third character, sheriff Alan Pangborn, who is the objective, non-believing counterpart when crazy (and oftentimes gruesome) events start to surface. This is where the novel takes a toll in its pacing. Told in multiple voices, the reader often foresees events not yet evident to this particular character; to re-read the same information regurgitated through Alan's perspective, and disproving the existence of George Stark (which the reader knows is incorrect), feels like a waste of time and the standstill ultimately dissipates momentum without adding worthwhile perspective.
Ultimately The Dark Half has great bones, if a little overstuffed in parts. To read this or not depends on your tolerance to meandering pacing; otherwise, maybe checking out the movie adaptation might be the way to go.
baciliogomez17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
klblackwell83's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best King novels I've read in a long time. I consider myself to be a "Constant Reader" of his works and have read a few that have left a sour taste in my mouth because they felt rushed or anti-climactic. The Dark Half had none of that. It was gripping all the way through the epilogue. I love the way it pulled you in and had you believing that the ghost of a twin that was destroyed by his twin in utero could actually come to life and take over. Kudos, Mr. King for your imagination and talents.
jakey2314's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
I will most likely pick this back up at a later date, but right now I'm just not feeling it.
yodisborg's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
More of a slasher than typical King. Usually his novels stretch too long but this is one that required additional time devoted to side characters and to spend more time viewing the fallout. The most interesting idea is about how others react to your dark half even after you have conquered it. Unfortunately, the novels focused too much on the impact on the King stand in and not his wife or friends.
moustache_reader's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5