Rating: 
Summary: I feel cheated.
Review: The Talisman is one of my most favorite Stephen King novels, and when I found out there was going to be a sequel I was thrilled. However, I hated Black House. If you are not familiar with King's Dark Tower series, you probably won't appreciate this book. I'm very impressed with King's ability to interweave so many stories, however, I didn't want to have to read a bunch of other things, i.e. The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands, Wizard & Glass, "Low Men in Yellow Coats", and Insomnia, just so this one would make sense. I prefer The Talisman as a stand alone work.
Rating: 
Summary: Black House
Review: Thanks to King and Straub for reaquainting us with old friends and bringing us new ones to love. It was good to see what kind of man Jack had grown into. Black House ties together many King characters,locations and ideas, leaving us with the feeling that the WHEEL is smoothly turning for all the worlds we love to read about. Black House is a great read,hard to put down,difficult to go slowly and savor. As with so many wonderful things in life, I was sorry for it to end. I hope King and Straub don't leave us hanging here for too many years wondering about Jack, Sophie,Tyler,Speedy and Beezer. Get back to work Guy's!
Rating:
Summary: "EVEN A BLIND MAN CAN SEE..... HOW GREAT THIS STORY IS !!"
Review: A five star rating does not do this story justice. Don't wait until the paperback version. Buy it now! I got a good chuckle out of "KINGSLAND" brew. The best there is, I bet. I loved meeting Jack as an adult. Old characters like Speedy and memories of Wolf come back. The new characters are wonderful. Henry, the bikers and Tyler. I'm a fan of the Dark Tower series and the story gives a glimpse into that world. Some questions get answered and ties in other stories, past and future- Hearts in Atlantis and the future TV movie "Rose Red", for example.... This story stands out on it's own but the DT tie-in is the best yet. If you're not a DT fan, better hurry up and get on the DT bus. I have a feeling the best stuff is yet to come.
Rating: 
Summary: I am very sorry to say...
Review: ..that I am VERY disappointed.
To all the Talisman fans out there: this is like watching Godfather 3!!
Although you know you are going to read it, it will make you sorry you did!!!
WARNING: spoilers ahead!
For me, The Talisman was magical because of the Territories. I was sooo looking forward to visiting again!!! But SK/PS don't take us there. Instead, we are stuck in Wisconsin with no return ticket. I was appalled at the gruesome-ness of the book. It was wholly depressing. The ending just seemed to happen as a quick wrap-up; there seemed to be this massive build-up which fizzles in a few pages.
I am a HUGE SK fan. I am crushed. The first half of this book was almost impossible to get through. The only redeeming quality to this tome is the insight into the DK series. I think I'll go back and re-read Hearts of Atlantis now that I have a better understanding of Breakers.
So: Tyler has no Twinner? does that mean we could possibly hold out hope for a nother sequel- maybe Ty flipping?? Oh- I feel like Judy Marshall: I want to visit Faraway but I am trapped forever in this world!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining But Violent Sequel.
Review: "The Talisman" was one of my favorite King books.In retrospect it had an almost Harry Potterish style about it as the young Jack Sawyer traveled between our world and a magical second one to save his Mother.In "Black House", Jack Sawyer now a retired L.A.P.D. detective has moved to a quiet town in Wisconsin where there's an unspeakable and graphic child killer on the loose.Jack who had forgotten all about his past finds it coming back to haunt him as he's dragged into the case to stop the murderer. The authors choose some nifty narrative devices, the coolest being the lengthy description of the town as seen through the eyes of a bird.The downside to me is, no big surprise, the book is exceedingly graphic, and alot of it involving children. Perhaps it wouldn't of bothered me if I'd read it before September 11th, but now much of it seems almost too grim. On the plus side for fans, the book nicely sets up the possibility of another sequel which ties these books to King's "Dark Tower" series.
Rating:
Summary: The Territories Revisited
Review: It seems lately that when I finish Stephen King's (and Peter Straub's in this case) latest novel, I am left with feelings of anger and hatred. This is because I generally have to wait another year for his next one to be published. Amid all the Stephen King skeptics that have surfaced lately, I tend to feel that his work has improved immensely. He has matured into a superb weaver of the suspense tale.
Black House: in most senses, this novel is a crowning achievement in the King library. I feel badly for Peter Straub because this novel reeks of the King's world. However, even a die-hard King fan like myself must admit that Straub's hand is evident in the style and language.
When I started the novel, I was a tad nervous because it seems to start slowly. The beginning exposition has a tedious feel, but then in classic King style, I found myself unable to stop. It seemed the transition from tedious to hooked took place over the space of a paragraph or two.
The character development is extremely thorough, making everyone in the book seem like the neighbor just down the way. Jack Sawyer and Henry Leydon are done particularly well, with the two of them leaping off the page at the reader. The secondary characters are developed such that they barely remain secondary.
The story itself leaves little to be desired. I wish I could go into some of the finer plot points without ruining the story, but suffice it to say that this is one of those books that leave the reader with few questions unanswered. The ones that do remain unanswered are obviously left that way on purpose for further discovery in future King novels. The story is very entertaining, keeping the reader's attention from start to finish. The twists and turns along the way are clearly not meant to be clever, but rather to develop the story and its players more fully, which is something many authors attempt but few achieve.
As for this story's validity in the Dark Tower universe, I think most fans of this particular mythos will be thrilled and frustrated all at once. We have been dying for the next entry in that series, and Stephen King's habit of teasing along the fringes is bordering on cruelty. Mr. King has often stated that the doors to Roland's world are never easy to find, and I see that evidenced by his constant references to that world.
If forced to voice a complaint-I emphasize 'forced'-I would say that the novel climaxed and resolved itself in a very short period of time. The final confrontation was less intense than the average King novel, but this could have been intentional due to the subject matter and the power of the characters involved. Overall, this was an excellent read, a true page-turner, going by much faster than the wait for its release. I would not hesitate to recommend this novel to any reader considering reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Slippage comes home
Review: Reading this book, this past week, just after 9/11/2001, was disturbing.
pg 47 "with those foreign words, those terrible impacted images of the Tower and the burning caves beneath"
Slippage occurs between worlds, along the borders. The authors could have been describing the feeling of the past two weeks when our reality has been altered.
A good read, more judicious editing may have helped the pace, but all in all a welcome addition to the Dark Tower saga.
Rating:
Summary: Even a blind man could see this is a great book!
Review: I read The Talisman when I was twelve, same age as Jack. That was almost 20 years ago and it remained my favorite book. Until now. I was scared I wouldn't love adult Jack as I had young Jack, but I needn't have worried. He has aged well. The characters-new and old-are great. I felt as if I knew them all. Especially Henry. I didn't think Jack would ever find another friend like Wolf, but again I was surprised. The writers, God bless them, have also aged well. Throughout The Talisman there were sections where you could tell who was writing. Here it was much less apparent. They seemed to gel better. I tried to make the book last, only reading a chapter a night. It was still over too quickly. Hopefully we'll see Jack again soon. Read this book-you will be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Recent books I've read
Review: I purposely tried to avoid the hype. I shied away from reviews and stories about it. I was just too excited to get a sequel to the Talisman. Please, don't ruin it for me, oh Entertainment Weekly... Bought it. Read it. Loved It. Fantastic book, the tie in to the Dark Tower was a thrilling surprise, along with the quick reference to Hearts in Atlantis. He is truly tying together all the loose ends of all his novels, since they all take place in the world of the Tower. I didn't want it to end, and I am making my public plea to Stephen... PLEASE, WHERE IS BOOK FIVE of DARK TOWER??? signed, a loyal reader for 16 years.
Rating:
Summary: Jack's Back
Review: I won't write too much here -- I just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in. This is a great book. Characters are (as usual) wonderful and unforgettable. Story is incredible with enough connections to the Dark Tower world to be interesting but not so many as to make it inaccessible to the average reader. All in all, truly remarkable and a worthy successor to the Talisman.
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