A review by fyretamer
Misery by Stephen King

dark mysterious tense fast-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

This is one of my favorite Stephen King books because in my opinion, of the small collection of ones I have read, it is one of the scariest. However, it is also one that I almost DNF'ed within the first 10 pages (as someone who is very opposed to DNF'ing books, no matter how much I dislike them). Trigger warnings/very vey mild spoilers for this next bit:
When SK compares Annie force-feeding Paul pain pills as "rape", and at the end of the book compares Paul's self defense and his attempting to kill Annie as "rape", I almost DNF'ed the book. I did not feel SK had any right to relate either of those situations to rape.
Additionally, there are some very, very questionable uses/depictions of mental health and borderline (or even overt) racism that is pretty par for the coarse for early (and honestly most) of SK's work. Misery is one of my favorite SK novels, but when I read it the first time, it was also the book that decided me that I would not ever purchase SK books other than secondhand, because I didn't really want to directly given my money to him, and has me teetering on the edge of ever wanting to support SK ever again.... so take that as you will. 

TL;DR: Problematic writer and themes. Good horror besides.
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