Duma Key: A Novel by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: Best King of the last decade. A worthy read !
Summary: 5 Stars
This is definitely the first King I REALLY enjoyed since THE GREEN MILE in 1996. Lisey's Story, From A Buick 8, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, ... these had nothing to do with the GREAT WRITER I had known with THE STAND, IT and MISERY.
If you are part of those who had a hard time finishing Lisey's Story, don't throw away DUMA KEY! This is King back to the source, with the deepnest of his earlier writings and profound and enjoyable characters I had not seen (or read) in years.
I must admit you have to get ready for a long slow-paced read. But if you're familiar with King, you know that details in characters, places and emotions are part of his writing style and quality. King uses a great technique to give the writer a few pieces of informations each chapter and as you get toward the end everything settles up.
I found the last part of the book a bit weird but overall I really enjoyed the story. The first 400 pages are not filled with action, but I had no problem turning pages. The main character, Edgar Freemantle, is one the best created by King.
A great beach read if you are not superstitious ;)
Book Review: The Magician
Summary: 5 Stars
A long time ago, trying to read "bestsellers" (what a snob I was), I bought every paperback that looked halfway interesting off a local bookrack. One of those books was a Stephen King. I can't recall the rest of them (and for good and lasting reasons; for one thing, this is my life and I only have so much of it), but from about page two I became a Stephen King fan and I remain a Stephen King fan...even through his lesser efforts when I felt the old boy really ought to rest on his laurels. But here he is again with all powers intact. And what powers! He is a phenomenon. If we were all back in those caves we once called home, he'd have been the shaman who sat each night after we'd thrown all our gnawed bones over our shoulders, taking us wide-eyed, barely breathing, into story. King is that shaman. The invention never seems to fail him, nor does his ability to gather us up into nets of words so that we're helplessly caught until he finally lets us go. Who else can do this, time after time after time? Dickens in his day. Dickens is gone. King is still here. He's really here. And I thank the stars for that.Book Review: Thought I'd hate it, but 5 stars from a Duma Key resident......
Summary: 5 Stars
......or one who could spit on it from where she lives. It had been about 15 years since I last read a Stephen King book, when I tossed aside the "Tommyknockers" in disgust. "This man can't write a female protaganist", I thought. But then Uncle Stevie started writing for Entertainment Weekly, and I LOVED it. His occasional riffs always had me rolling, and nodding my head. When they ran an excerpt of "Cell", I had to get my hands on the book ASAP. I read it and remembered what I was missing. So all of us Florida locals had been wondering when we would creep into his stories, as Mr. King has spent part of his time in my neck of the woods for a few years now. While I have to admit I was looking forward to reading about familiar locations (Ophelias!), I found myself captivated by the familiarity of the tone and rhythm. I'm not really interested in Stephen King changing as a writer - I have seen what happens when a good writer "grows", and it's often regrettable (case in point - Patricia Cornwell). I want good writing, and a scary story - and Duma Key delivers. I see it as a return to his best form.Book Review: Scariest in a long time!
Summary: 5 Stars
We all know Mr. King's been writing for a long time and it seems his later post-accident stories have been successful on many levels (creepy, surreal and imaginative), but they just haven't been delivering the goods (you know, King is supposed to be a "horror" author - but don't tell him). Well, reader fear no more, or rather, be prepared to fear. I haven't been this spooked by a book in a while. This is an honest to god "read at home alone in bed at night and be prepared to jump at every creak and groan of the house" book. I dare say, King hasn't been this scary since "The Shining". And King seems to be showing off a lot of his Horror influences. The book starts off as a kind of Edgar Allan Poe story of paranoia (things real or imagined under the floorboards) and moves in to H.P. Lovecraft territory (I won't spoil with any plot points) and towards the end feels like a classic Robert Bloch/Richard Matheson pot-boiler thriller, with the cynical wise-cracking first person narrative. As a long-time reader of King (since "The Shining"), I can recommend this one heartily (uh oh, another Poe-reference!).Book Review: The Change Continues...
Summary: 5 Stars
The very first "adult" book I read was Misery by Stephen King. Since then, I've not only read everything he's written, I have recently revisited many of his works (some I've not read in almost twenty years) and found that they still captivate and enthrall me. However, I have come to enjoy the lasting impressions of some of his most recent work: Hearts in Atlantis, Bag of Bones, Lisey's Story, and now, Duma Key. In these novels, King strikes home with the horrors of loss, failure, and insecurity that are more likely to effect us than confrontations with the supernatural. Certainly, the supernatural aspects of these novels are fun and gripping, but it is the humanity in his recent novels that will cause me to read again in the coming years.
Duma Key will leave a lasting impression based on the friendship between Freemantle and Wireman. Its gracious, loving and ultimately a realistic depiction of love and caring, things that are not at first associated with Stephen King's writing. I cannot wait to see what he'll give us constant readers next.