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kristen1416's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
thebestmark's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
A queasy mixture of extreme grindhouse-cinema violence and the boyish high fantasy of The Neverending Story, The Talisman is essentially a mechanism of torture for its 12 year-old protagonist, Jack Sawyer. Throughout The Talisman, Jack is enslaved, menaced by a sex pest, bears witness to cannibalism and is haunted by the guilt of accidentally murdering half a dozen adult men, along with countless other psychological punishments. The constant repetition of Jack's incredible misery takes on an almost fetishistic quality thanks to the novel's narrator, who possesses a sardonic, mocking detachment from Jack's infinite misery. Because Jack's trauma is both escalatory and cyclical, rising and falling as regularly oceanic tides, The Talisman almost achieves a kind of Hellraiser-esque reverse-zen philosophy, in which only the worst possible outcome can be achieved, and in which the reader learns to anticipate whatever's worse than the worst thing imaginable. Because of this, the hands of the authors weigh heavily over The Talisman, as if both King and Straub are playing a game of chicken to see who's definition of 'too far' is the broadest. It feels less like a comprehensive, full-bodied novel than it does a writing class exercise about committing to the bit that's gone on way too long.
ckrush's review against another edition
3.0
I decided to read this book because of it's (and the sequel's) connection to the Dark Tower, and it was strongly recommended by a friend. To start, the story was slow in the beginning. I didn't find any real interest or desire to continue reading until I was about 150 pages in. The only reason I kept at it was because my friend said it would be worth it.
While the story is pretty good, it certainly peaks as Jack travels across the country and he passes through the Blasted Lands. Without giving anything away, the events that take place at the end of the book lead toward a conclusion you know is coming, but takes a very long time to get to.
High Points: Jack's Relationship with Wolf; the Sunlight Home; the Blasted Lands; Camp Readiness
Low Points: The 200 page slow start, the ending
It will be interesting to see how this takes shape as a graphic novel and mini-series.
While the story is pretty good, it certainly peaks as Jack travels across the country and he passes through the Blasted Lands. Without giving anything away, the events that take place at the end of the book lead toward a conclusion you know is coming, but takes a very long time to get to.
High Points: Jack's Relationship with Wolf; the Sunlight Home; the Blasted Lands; Camp Readiness
Low Points: The 200 page slow start, the ending
It will be interesting to see how this takes shape as a graphic novel and mini-series.
greathornedowl's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
remigves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
flavoredowl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, and Slavery
subparcupcake's review against another edition
3.0
I went back and forth for a while with my rating for this book. Some sections were a solid five. Some a pretty solid four.. But then everything in between those.. It sort of dragged. There was just so much journeying, so so so much on the road type crap. Which I get! It's just that kind of book, a hero with a quest, obstacles along the way. I like that, it's classic fantasy. But it just got to be too much.. It seemed repetitive in a lot of ways. The stops along the way were interesting.. But the actual quest seemed to drag on and on.. It really hindered my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
My biggest annoyance - it took Jack about 3/4 of the book to go what seemed to be a pretty short distance in comparison to the whole of his journey.. And then wham bam he goes the rest of the way in no time at all. It was just poorly balanced, in my opinion of course, and left me at times wishing it would just get to the point already.
That said.. There was a lot of good in the book. A lot of good characters, interesting story lines.. It just couldn't make up for the endless monotonous journey that at points almost bored me to tears. Or rather, it made it so I just couldn't make myself bump a three star rating to the four star it deserved throughout most of the book.
My biggest annoyance - it took Jack about 3/4 of the book to go what seemed to be a pretty short distance in comparison to the whole of his journey.. And then wham bam he goes the rest of the way in no time at all. It was just poorly balanced, in my opinion of course, and left me at times wishing it would just get to the point already.
That said.. There was a lot of good in the book. A lot of good characters, interesting story lines.. It just couldn't make up for the endless monotonous journey that at points almost bored me to tears. Or rather, it made it so I just couldn't make myself bump a three star rating to the four star it deserved throughout most of the book.