Duma Key: A Novel by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: Nobody tells a story like King!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great, entertaining read. Steven King has such a prodigious way of telling a story, that you can't help but get wrapped up in the characters and flow of the story. It's not just his uncanny imagination, but the color and rich life he injects to the characters as he speaks through them. It takes so little effort to visualize them and their surroudings with King. I also loved the book jacket painting, with the crucial objects that don't reveal their significance until later in the book, which coincidentally is what Edgar Freemantle experiences when he starts his urge to paint and slowly learns of his unique gift and power. Other fiction writers I also enjoy like Koontz and Crichton tell equally dramatic stories, but their storytelling through the characters sometimes is akin to a black and white movie whereas Kings characters are in high definition color. Then there are all the little quotes and hints along the way that tie in to the climax of the book, that seem to take amazing amounts of thought and planning to make cohesive. The last 150 pages were spellbinding , as Edgar, Wireman and Jack confronted the supernatural evil. Very engrossing and entertaining, so much so that the pages just fly by for a 600 page book!Book Review: This Constant Reader Is Pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
I could not wait to read Duma Key since reading an excerpt at the end of his last novel Blaze. The story follows Edgar Freemantle who after a horroifc accident is suffuring from a phantom limb. After his marriage ends his Dr/Friend Kamen suggests he take up a hobby and a change of scenery. Edgar goes to Florida and begins to paint. At his house aka "Big Pink" he is renting on Duma Key Edgar discovers his phatom limb will itch and he has to paint. Edgar is suprised to find even with one arm he is a good painter. Edgar's daughter Ilse visit's and he has a very surreal psychic experience about his daughter's fiancee. Edgar is starting to realize his art is trying to tell him something. Edgar soon meets and befriends Elizabeth his landlord and Wireman her aide. Edgar develops a friendship with Wireman,Elizabeth and Jack his assistant. But soon Edgar realizes he can make things happen with his paintings. And the worst part Elizabeth knows what is going on but she has Alzheimer's. I don't want to give too much more away but there is a malevolent force at work using his art. And if Edgar does not figure out things in tienm he will lose everything. I highy reccomend this book, espically if you liked Bag of Bones or Lisley's Story.Book Review: Always Bet On A Sure Thing.
Summary: 5 Stars
I lay in bed and finished reading the final pages of Duma Key. I've read nearly all of Stephen King's novels and I've enjoyed almost all of them but none of them anywhere near so much as I enjoyed this one. I have never in my life become so emotionally invested in the characters of a novel. I closed the book and sat up in bed, thrilled I had read it, crestfallen I was now through. It was after midnight but I wasn't tired. I needed something else to read. Yard sales, flea markets and used bookstores have proven a treasure trove of new reading material for me. I looked to my sagging bookcases, each shelf filled to or past capacity, the top of each case piled higher still with a slew of unread books stacked haphazardly one atop the other like gravity defying towers in a story by Doctor Seuss. Which one would I read next? I had any number of novels to choose from. Would any of them be as good as Duma Key? Would any of them even come close? Would I be willing to bet on that? With Duma Key still held in one hand I shook my head and grinned. I fluffed up the pillows. I swung my legs over and slid my feet back under the covers. I lay back down. I opened to page one. I began reading Duma Key again. Always bet on a sure thing.Book Review: The King we know and love
Summary: 5 Stars
The old Stephen King is back. At almost 600 pages, each word was carefully chosen to weave a tapestry that goes far beyond some of his most recent attempts. It was well paced and it gave King some time to really flesh out his characters. Additionally, unlike Cell and some others, the ending worked and didn't seem rushed. I can only hope this is a harbinger of more great books to come for King. This book had all of the tell tale ingredients, the down-trodden hero / protagonist who has suffered a painful physical injury that left him a temper-challenged amputee, all of the trademark King humor (you can bring a whore to culture, but you can't make her think), one liners and laugh-out-loud moments that give just a moment of levity in the midst of the thrill ride. From the first moment I discovered his books so many years ago, I knew I'd found an author whose books I could lose myself in completely. Every page and chapter is a beautiful photograph, developed in the dark room of each readers mind. A dark room that no matter how scary or strange, we're compelled, no driven, to get to that next page. With this book and many other early (pre-accident) King novels, I was first anxious and then sad to reach that final page.Book Review: AMAZING READ!
Summary: 5 Stars
I went out and bought this book the first day it came out. I was not dissapointed. Once again, King manages to spin a tale of suspense, horror, and personal struggles that leaves you wanting more. If you are an artist-such as myself-this book will go even deeper for you. I read it at the same time I was preparing for my first art show, and boy, did it leave me a bit weak in the knees. King really manages to capture the thoughts and emotions that any artist goes through and I found myself identifying with the main character on many levels.
The one thing is that King has become darker since his accident. Understandable I think, as we tend to look at life differently when we are faced with life changing events in our lives. I think, for the most part, he has become better at his writing, and he has managed to touch on subjects that most people would fear to address. He makes you look at the darker side of yourself, while managing to always keep the light side in plain view.
Thank you King, for the amazing story. It couldnt have come at a more appropriate time in my life and its a book that I would recommend to anyone out there, horror/fantasy fans or not.