masquedbunny 's review for:

Black House by Peter Straub, Stephen King

4.0

---

As sequels go, it does a good job of standing on its own. In other words, I'm not sure that you need to have read the first book in order to appreciate it. I did read the first book (The Talisman) when I was in seventh grade, very nearly three decades ago, and I certainly don't remember all the plot points. But because memory, and lack of memory, are major themes in the novel, knowing or remembering what happened in The Talisman doesn't feel very important. Having said that, I am glad that I'd already read The Talisman and King's Dark Tower series. Being familiar with all of those books enriches this one. Actually, I'd almost say that familiarity with the Dark Tower books is more important for understanding certain references herein. The ending felt a bit rushed, particularly when we finally enter the eponymous Black House, but it didn't bother me as much as the conclusion of Dark Tower. I was ready to be that disappointed (yes, I'm one of those), but then I wasn't.