Capsule book reviews in 255 characters or fewer. Ish. A reading diary (1st Jan 2019 onwards) by Eamonn Griffin.
The sleeping sickness now established, matters come to a head in Dooling. A strong counterpart to Volume 1, completing an excellent graphic novelisation (is that even a phrase?) of the King father and son collaboration. Perhaps works better if you’re familiar with the source novel, but enjoyable in its own right too.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A worldwide sleeping sickness affects all women: a small American town may be an epicentre. Excellent precis of the first half of the King father and son collaboration, developing and clarifying the storytelling in creative and visual ways. Vol 2 is anticipated keenly as a result!
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A professional assassin waiting for the go on a big-paying hit begins to write a novel. A superb entertainment: King’s patent mix of the implausible and the compelling – here very light indeed on the supernatural – riffs on recurring themes (the lot of the novelist, JFK, lower-middle class America) in fun and interesting ways. Plus, constant reader, this time he lands the ending. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A young boy has the ability to see and to speak with the recently-deceased. As he grows, this leads to conflict with both the living and the dead. A pacy yarn from the master, balancing crime-related thrills with the paranormal in line with much of his recent output. Won’t win any converts, but again emphasises that King is a supremely confident storyteller. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A monograph on the Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the Stephen King novel. And a good one too; a smart, detailed and perceptive commentary on the movie, its production and reception. Academic but accessible, and even-handed in its analysis of the continuing significance of the movie as a popular culture touchstone. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A widower fancies that he can see faces from his past in televised baseball games. Perhaps for King completists, this is nevertheless a melancholy and effective stand-alone story that doesn’t require a knowledge/love of baseball for it to work; we’ve all got regrets, after all.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Travelling siblings stop to help a boy lost in a field of long grass. Effective horror novella that does exactly what you might expect, and which doesn’t over-work its central idea. Fine work from the modern master and an apprentice son.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A 12-year-old boy genius with latent telekinetic abilities is kidnapped and held at a secret research station. A knowing and occasionally satirical low-key novel; as usual, the ending is the issue, though there’s huge amounts of pleasure in this mix of folksy Americana, paranoid SF and character study. Fun for author fans.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A critical discussion of the 1980 Kubrick adaptation of the Stephen King novel. And a fine thing, too. Though the film is well-trodden territory, Luckhurst’s approach draws fresh attention to the contexts of the work, its many borrowings, as well as to the potential value of a Freudian reading.
My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
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