Duma Key: A Novel by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: 8 Things I like about Stephen King
Summary: 5 Stars
The reason I enjoy King's work so much is because he has many things going for him consistently: 1. HIS STYLE: Simply put I like the way he writes. I can easily settle in for a 600 page book and lose myself, rarely feeling that he needs to get to the point. 2. WHAT HE WRITES ABOUT - the myth, of course, is that it's all horror but we know that's not true. In Duma Key he writes about family, friendship, art, and even horror of the Lovecraftian elder-god variety. You never know what's coming next. 3. HE'S FUNNY - I can remember being unable to stop myself from laughing out loud on a plane reading Hearts In Atlantis. 4. GOOD PEOPLE - King's main characters are relatable, real people that we care about. 5. FINE DINING VS. FAST FOOD - I usually find his work (at least his later work) to be as weighty and worthy of extended analysis as Ian McEwan but as fun as Harlan Coben. 6. SCARY - Yes, we all know this one. He's still got it. 7. (and this one is huge to me)IT'S ALL UP FOR GRABS - Good people die in King's stories sometimes, even often. In his tales of life and death it's not always a happy ending, so I am always on the edge of my seat because anything can happen! Bittersweet is definitely the word to describe many outcomes. 8. NAILS THE LANDING - He knows how to end a book. Takes his time, even if it takes 100 pages. Very well crafted for maximum effect. I'm not saying I'll like who lives and dies, but it is beautifully done and the last few pages are worth slowing down for. **** How many other authors have even most of these qualities going for them? All these things are happening in Duma Key. Take your time and enjoy.Book Review: Vintage Stephen King....
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know about you, but ever since I heard that Stephen King was retiring from the writing game, I receive each new novel with both a since of joy and a sense of woe. Will this be the last? If it is, then King will be going out on a high note. Duma Key is pure Stephen King magic through and through.
King allows the story in Duma Key to develop slowly. Some will say the story drags or that King is too wordy. Not so. King uses the slow pace to develop the sense of atmosphere that readers have come to expect. Vivid writing, with wonderful descriptive sentences, and deep, three dimensional characters, Duma Key will hold your attention.
Edgar Freemantle is not really your typical King character. He is sympatheic but with an edge. Injured in a very freaky (are there any other kinds in any book written by Stephen King?) accident at a construction site he finds that life has changed for him; really changed. Severly disabled, his wife eventually deserts him and he retires to Duma Key. The story winds on and the script gets tighter and tighter. I will tell you that as the story winds on you'll see a number of plot surprises. Typical Stephen King.
Finally, is Duma Key just a little autobiographical? I don't know and Stephen King is the only one that can answer that. Going through the pain of his near fatal accident I am sure has given him material to draw on. I suspect that his experiences as a result of his accident had made Duma Key a richer novel.
Duma Key is a long read but it passes quickly. Give it a try.
Peace to all
Book Review: King outdoes himself
Summary: 5 Stars
Early Stephen King books were genre-defining, relatively simple gorefests that bridged the gap between horror junkies and the general reading public.
Somewhere in there, King started flexing his literary aspirations, and the last twenty years have been inconsistent. King's voice is always very evident and well-developed, but he's struggled to find that perfect balance between experimentation, ambition and pulse-pounding entertainment.
Books like Blaze have shown that King can boil pots with the best of them, while more complicated outings like Bag of Bones have shown a tremendous capacity for literary writing, but at the expense of a forward-moving plot.
I would call Dumas Key the first perfect blend of the old King with the new. The story is complex, multi-layered, and epic, as with most of his more cerebral works. And yet? It's fast-paced, emotionally stirring, and damned interesting to boot.
Narrator Edgar Freemantle is sympathetic without being a goody two shoes. The finale is bittersweet and unpredictable. And, like most of King's best work, the characters exercise a level of ingenuity that doesn't leave the reader rolling his eyes and asking "Why doesn't he just _____?"
If you don't like horror, or have already decided that you don't like King, this might be the book that changes your mind.
Hopefully, King will continue to write books of this quality, and Dumas Key signifies the beginning of a new golden age in his enormously prolific writing career.
Book Review: The King is Back!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Stephen King's best book in a decade.
I thought, like many readers (like King himself, in fact) that he'd been in a slump ever since his accident a decade ago. There've been moments of brilliance (Wolves of the Calla, for example, was not without its charms) but, on the whole, his writing had begun to seem well...tedious and formulaic.
Not so with Duma Key. At times poignant, at times hilarious, at times shockingly scary, this book captivated me, made me look forward to the ends of my days when I could stop everything and read.
King has created some of his most powerful characters here (Edgar Freemantle, one of his most inspiring protagonists, Wireman maybe his most likeable (and believable) character...ever) and has crafted a plot(at times slow but never dull, always compelling and ominous, like a building thunderstorm over the Gulf) worthy of this formidible characterization. The setting, a small, idyllic key off the west coast of Florida, is one I was loathe to leave (the truest definition of escapist literature). His writing, too, is fresh and inspired - seldom is a word wasted. Though some of the plot twists are odd, this does not detract from the book as a whole (in fact, it adds to it), and the ending is as thrilling as it is moving. (I closed the book with a lump in my throat.)
In short, Duma Key cast a spell in a way only King ever could...and I was happy to be under it. One of his very best, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Book Review: A return to classic King
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the most enjoyable King novel I have read since I reluctantly closed the book on The Dark Tower almost 4 years ago. To me, Duma Key is a return to the classic King of old. Although I will always read virtually anything King writes, I've found most of his more recent novels (with the exception of The Dark Tower series, of course!) to be just okay. Duma Key, however, felt like a return to a consummate King page-turner, as it starts with an exceptional premise (a devastating accident leads main character Edgar Freemantle to seek refuge on a small, undeveloped Florida island, where he re-discovers his love of drawing) and then throws in a healthy dose of the supernatural, with things going from bad to worse pretty quickly.
I thought Duma Key was similar in tone to King's Bag of Bones, one of his best novels from the past 10 years. Both books feature a newly single middle-aged male character, and both hint at haunted houses and age-old secrets. But I found Duma to be reminiscent of other King works as well, including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption--maybe King was paying homage to this underated novella in Duma's conclusion?--and even a bit of Pet Sematary too. But perhaps the best thing I can say is that even after finishing Duma Key several days ago, I still find myself thinking about the plot and characters--to me, that's one of the signs of a great novel, and so Duma Key definitely deserves 4 1/2 stars in my book.