If you identify as a Constant Reader, you approach a new King book with a personal reading journey decades in the making. Your first one. Your favoritIf you identify as a Constant Reader, you approach a new King book with a personal reading journey decades in the making. Your first one. Your favorite one. The one that made you fall in love. The one that broke your heart. The book you tell everyone is the worst. The last one you read. The one you’ve read the most. The Top Ten. The Bottom Five.
Sometimes I feel like Constant Readers are the saltiest Stephen King fans there are.
We certainly can be the hardest to please. *Raising my hand*
When we hold a new King book in our hands, what are we looking for? For me, it’s the characters. Stephen King’s characters are EVERYTHING TO ME. They have lived in my reader’s heart since the moment they came to life on the page and they will never leave.
Oy the Billybumbler.
The Loser’s Club
Father Callahan
Dick Hallorann
Mother Abagail
Tom Cullen
Jack Sawyer & Wolf
Jake & Sadie
Roland
Danny
Andy Dufresne & Red
Gordy, Chris, Vern & Teddy
And on and on and on.
For me, King is in his wheelhouse when he’s writing from a kid’s POV and they have to stare down some unimaginable horror. That’s where the magic is for me. And so his new Hard Case Crime, LATER brought the magic home for me after a long spell of not feeling it.
LATER is the story of a young boy named Jamie who lives a pretty comfortable life with his mother. They have a sweet relationship. Fairly early on, it’s revealed to readers that he has supernatural gifting (because it’s a Stephen King book and we show up for this).
Jamie is open to his mother about his gift but for the most part, he internalizes the depth of the struggle he goes through bearing the weight of it. As Jamie grows older and new relationships come in and out of his life, he realizes that some people can be trusted with knowing about what he is able to do and some cannot.
Jamie’s narrative sucked me right in. It was like coming home. I walked up to the first page and King reached out his hand and I just fucking left the world behind. There is this familiarity with the style and the storytelling where I was just like, “Yep. This is the shit right here.”
As Jamie gets a little older and begins to understand the power of his gift, he encounters something with even greater power and this scared the shit out of me.
It has been a minute since King tapped that for me. It felt awesome!
My husband was in the living room while I was reading and a few times I held out my paperback like Simba the lion cub in the circle of life moment shouting, “YES!! THIS!!”
There are so many things to love about this book-it's like a love letter to fans who have been with him for a long time because he tucks in some little tie-ins to the King universe that made me cry.
Literally. Fucking. Cried.
And you know, this book is not perfect. But if anyone else BUT the King wrote it, people would be like, OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!! But we hold Stephen King to this whole other standard. And I’m not shaming anyone because I do it too.
SLEEPING BEAUTIES? Meh. (I didn't even finish it)
ELEVATION? Meh. THE INSTITUTION? Meh.
As I said, it has been a minute.
This book is a five-star for me. There was exactly one thing I didn't like about it. One. And I’m going to forgive it because for the most part, I was in blissed-out, Constant Reader euphoria and it felt damn good. He still has it for me. He’s still the man.
DNF I'm not going to finish this book; at least right now. Maybe I'll be more tolerant of the slow pacing, exorbitant cast of characters and weak plot DNF I'm not going to finish this book; at least right now. Maybe I'll be more tolerant of the slow pacing, exorbitant cast of characters and weak plot line, later. Although I doubt it. I was 450ish pages into a 700 page novel and my suspicion is that this book was more of an Owen King effort instead of Papa King. I didn't see Stephen's fingerprints on this AT ALL. This book had no teeth, no edge, no bite. This wouldn't be the first time I DNF'd a King book, so I don't feel bad about it. He has so many hits for me, a miss is no big deal. This is a miss....more
I'm glad I listened to this book instead of reading it for myself because I think the narrator's voice did an excellent job bringing me into this bookI'm glad I listened to this book instead of reading it for myself because I think the narrator's voice did an excellent job bringing me into this book. I was totally engaged, as if I was sitting at a bar listening to some old timer tell a story from his glory days. The story itself isn't my favorite subject, in fact, I have managed to avoid most books about sports up to this point! But being that this is King and I want to "read them all", I gave this one my ears. I'm glad I did! ...more
I read this book 2 years ago or so because I found it at the thrift store for 2 bucks. I had already been told by other SK fans that it wasn't veryDNF
I read this book 2 years ago or so because I found it at the thrift store for 2 bucks. I had already been told by other SK fans that it wasn't very good so I wasn't thrilled to read it. One day I saw it sitting there and I was thinking that maybe I'll see something here that others didn't and I might like it.
Ha! So rumor has it he wrote this book under the influence of severe pain meds--yeah, I can tell! This story is so muddy, I was confused most of the time I was reading it. So, there are these 4 friends on a hunting trip. We are shown that these friends help to save a Down's Syndrome kid from bullies in their past and that it gave them special abilities...COOL! But then wait, they're attacked by aliens out in the woods!
HUH? And then there is something in their bowls? And then...and then...I just quit reading. DNF...more
There isn't a series that I can think of off the top of my head that starts off "okay" with book one and then finishes strong with book three. Maybe tThere isn't a series that I can think of off the top of my head that starts off "okay" with book one and then finishes strong with book three. Maybe that's because if a series starts off weak, I don't read the other books? But this is Stephen King and the Master deserves our attention. So while I didn't care for Mr. Mercedes that much, I read Finders Keepers anyways and I loved it. I loved that story, which rekindled my excitement for book three, End of Watch. By this point in the game, Constant Readers are pretty invested in our main characters/protagonists: Bill Hodges, Hollyberry and Jerome. We also know our antagonist/antihero/villain: Brady Hartsfield. We thought he was a goner in book one but by the end of book two, we get the feeling that Brady isn't finished yet. So there is a lot at stake in this book-we have fallen in love with these people-we care for them. And all hail, Stephen King! He has done that thing that he always does so well-which is character building through relationships. Our trio is faced, once again, with the uphill task of being five steps ahead of a slippery enemy--an enemy who is actually "gorked" out in a hospital bed (at first blush that doesn't sound so difficult) but things have gotten--mental. There were some great plot twists and surprises here--the greatest of which was the ending. I was very surprised (caught of guard) by the emotions King managed to get out of me. I mean, I know what he's capable of: I've read the Dark Tower Series all the way through, twice-I know what King can do to me, emotionally but I wasn't expecting it here, at the End of Watch. Mr. Mercedes 3.5 stars Finders Keepers 4 stars End of Watch 5 stars...more
For only being right around 50 pages long I thought King and Hill were able to develop a plot with back story, interesting characters and dialog, suspFor only being right around 50 pages long I thought King and Hill were able to develop a plot with back story, interesting characters and dialog, suspense and a fulfilling ending. Definitely worth the .99 and the hour or so it took to read it. ...more
Oh boy, where to start. I believe I need to start with Joe Hill's daddy, Mr. Stephen King, my all-time favorite author forever and ever. When I found oOh boy, where to start. I believe I need to start with Joe Hill's daddy, Mr. Stephen King, my all-time favorite author forever and ever. When I found out King's son was writing novels, I was skeptical. I decided I had enough *new* Stephen King to keep me fed. But then I was at the library and I saw the cover for NOS4A2 and I thought, "Hmmm, what if?" So I brought it home and I cracked it open and Oh. My. Gawd. I was not prepared. *no spoilers* So, I was totally sucked in and I wasn't entirely sure I was comfortable. This was my first go around and I wasn't sure if Hill could be trusted! There were a few times I wanted off--I closed the book after a couple of scenes and wasn't sure I was going to open it back up again but I'll tell you when the whole thing flipped for me: I fell in love with the protagonist, Vic. Not at first--it was a slow love. Hill brought in a friendship that developed between two girls and I saw Hill's sweet side (up until then, it was mostly gruesome and grim). The sweet side I REALLY loved. Then Hill brought in two more characters that I fell head over heals in love with--so much so I found myself mind chatting "I hope he doesn't kill them, please don't die!" I do this during King's novels too. I fall in love with people and pray that they don't die because my heart would burst. This story that Hill wrote is so imaginative, so original, I have never read anything like it. It was disgusting, horrifying, fascinating, endearing, raw
I just straight up LOVED it. I have "Heart Shaped Box" sitting on my night stand right now and that's going to get started tonight! So just know that this book is not for the faint of heart--it's not for people that can't handle violence or cuss words or intensity. It's a horror novel first but it's also a great character study and full of heart.I'm so excited to have found a new favorite author and it thrills me that we're keepin' it in the family! <3 xox...more
Stephen King does great collections. He has mastered the art of the short story, which is not easy! My favorite collection was probably Full Dark, No Stephen King does great collections. He has mastered the art of the short story, which is not easy! My favorite collection was probably Full Dark, No Stars--or--Just After Sunset. His latest one, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams was pretty good--but not all the stories were worth mentioning. Mile 81 was pretty great--classic Stephen King. Bad Little Kid was a fun read too. King says of his own short stories in this collection, "Beware-the best of them have teeth." I didn't find that to be true, actually. There were some gruesome, maybe even cringe worthy moments but overall--this wasn't a collection of scary stories, which is what I was anticipating. Ah, well. They were still wonderful. Stephen King can tell me any story he wants and I'll sit cross legged on the floor, put my hands under my chin and listen. --Constant Reader...more
so typically new King books take me about a week or two to finish if I read faithfully every night. I normally do because King books are my fav fav. hso typically new King books take me about a week or two to finish if I read faithfully every night. I normally do because King books are my fav fav. however this series with the detective are not super heavy on the King vibe. I don't love Hodges and I pretty much hated Mr. Mercedes. although in this book, there is a teaser about the killer from that book, Brady, which makes me a little hungry for book 3. this book was much better than the first one. I liked that the trio, Holly, Hodges and Jerome were hardly in it because I loved being in the kid's head, Pete, more. I liked the antagonist too-- he was interesting. anyhoodles, I gave it 4 stars because 5 is King status and this missed the mark....more
So this is the third time I read this Stephen King classic. The first time, I was a teenager and I just didn't *get* it like I got it the second time,So this is the third time I read this Stephen King classic. The first time, I was a teenager and I just didn't *get* it like I got it the second time, which was Christmas of 2015. That time really blew me away. Especially how emotional this read was. I didn't remember crying so much the first time, but then as a mother--everything was just on a whole new level of fear--not a fear of the supernatural or paranormal, ghosts, monsters, not that kind of fear but the fears you only experience as a parent watching your children walk around like pieces of your heart that have left your body and could be broken or taken from you at any moment. THAT kind of fear. This book is a masterpiece. The character development of Louis Creed is other level writing. He feels so real to me. Jud and Norma too. Even Rachel, who I've come to dislike. If you're new to Stephen King and don't really know where to start, this would be an awesome stepping stone. It's the perfect example of the storytelling King is capable of and it has all the horror you could possibly want. It's the full package....more
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