Rating: 
Summary: What is Evil?
Review: A fine examination of the nature of evil, and why it seems to congregate in certain places and in certain people. A sequel to the novel "The Talisman," this is a piece that relates to King's Dark Tower series, the Jupiter of his novels, connecting them - and corrupting them. Jack Sawyer is older, wiser, and his memories of the Teritories are coming back at the same time that a serial killer terrorizes western Wisconsin. This is a brilliant collaboration, weighted and uplifted by the two decades of experience that King and Straub have accumulated since "The Talisman." Sadly, Straub has not had the same popular success that King has in the States, but this book will hopefully alleviate that problem. King and Straub are both at the top of their games, with King continuing the level of brilliance he achieved in "Bag of Bones." Quite simply, a must read for anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Stephen King used to be one of my favorite authors. What I liked best about his writing was his striking, true-to-life dialogue and his ability to make even the most peripheral characters fully fleshed and interesting. No matter how far fetched, terrifying or creepy the plot, it was always presented in an extremely "realistic" matter. I believed vampires could take over a small town after Salem's Lot, old cars made me anxious after I read Christine.When I look at a chronology of his best sellers, it's easy to see where the "realistic tone" of Stephen King's writing I adored began to be subverted by, well, I don't even know how to explain it. "It" was the last Stephen King book that I truely loved, he perfectly nailed the friendships of the young Losers and the writing appears effortless. The disappointment began with Tommyknockers, instead of the believability of the earlier books, I never felt like the tommyknockers themselves were explained well enough. While Needful things was just okay, Insomnia was the first Stephen King book I actively disliked. I hated the dream-like, trippy ending which was such a departure from the crisper, more realistic tones of his earlier novels. This trend was continued in Rose Madder, Desperation and the Regulators. I have pretty much liked each new book less and less. I disliked Dreamcatcher so much I returned it to the bookstore for a refund. While I think Black House is a better book than Dreamcatcher, I find it extremely precious and affected. The royal "we" of the narration, for example, becomes extremely tiresome. I also began to despise the "Kingisms" I used to appreciate, you know, the little terms like "bXitchrod." His wonderful ability to inhabit a character and speak in a natural voice for that person has disintegrated, everything feels forced to me. I'm also disappointed in Stephen King's treatment of the disabled. In Dreamcatcher, the mentally disabled boy was depicted in a nearly beautific light, in Black House, blind Henry is so cool and so hip as to be rendered cartoon-like. He plays to nearly every stereotype of the blind, since Henry can't see, his other senses are hightened to nearly superhuman levels! He doesn't NEED to see, heck, according to Henry, the blind can even drive. Perhaps I am too harsh, who am I to deny my former favorite author the chance to mature as a writer, to attain a new depth of vision and to strive for a greater lyricism? All I know is, I used to look forward to every new book and now I don't. -- Former #1 fan
Rating:
Summary: Wow. This is quite a piece of work by King and Straub.
Review: I never read the Talisman (I will be trying to do so soon - these books are long to get through), but even without that background, Black House is a simply great read. Its a nail biter and page turner and literary reference all in one text -- I'm pretty impressed that 2 authors known just for horror can coordinate to write like this. I love a good murder mystery and its plays that role too (kind of makes you wonder what goes on in places like Wisconsin, to be honest). Also, I bought the eBook version in MS Reader and found it to be very easy reading on my laptop computer. Plus the eBook has a lot of extra content about the story, the Talisman and the authors themselves if you are interested (kind of like a DVD version of a VHS - you get a little more content for your dollars). Can't wait until the TV pilot of this book comes out - you can tell its written almost like a screenplay and ready for video adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: Like spending the day with an old friend
Review: I was extremely excited when I first heard this book was being released, but as the release date grew closer I began to have feelings of trepidation. The Talisman has been one of my favorite books since it was released when I was fourteen. Jack Sawyer has always been one of my favorite of Stephen King's characters (ok, I realise that this is a collaboration, but I tend to view it as more of a Stephen King creation. This is probably grossly unfair to Peter Straub, but there you have it.) My great fear was that I wouldn't like Jack as an adult. That there was no way that these two could top the marvelous quest that was The Talisman. Then I heard that Black House would be tied into the Dark Tower series. I wasn't sure how to feel about this either. While I feel that the Dark Tower will prove to be the greatest of Stephen King's works, I have always viewed The Talisman as something altogether seperate, and magical. My trepidation increased. Then I decided to just let it go, made a concious effort to view Black House as something unto itself, to not hold it up to the Talisman, or anything else for comparison. I am very glad I did this. I spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning reading this book, and let me tell you it was wonderful. Jack Sawyer, a little older, a little wiser, a little more lonely and scared, but still the boy with the good heart, grown into a man of integrity. I will not give away plot points in this review, but let me just say a couple of things. The connection to the Dark Tower series is done very well, revealing some important information without taking you to far afield, and making this into an actual Dark Tower book. It is more akin to Insomnia - related, but not overwhelmingly so. The characterisations in this book are wonderful. I was a little afraid there, because I was disappointed in that aspect of Dreamcatcher. These characters are like people you would meet on the street. They have their strengths and weaknesses, fears and hopes. At the top of the list is Jack, who after all of these years remains someone I would really like to hang out with. This is not a rehash of the Talisman. The Talisman was a quest novel, while this is something different. There is a questing element in this novel, but it lies within Jack. His quest is to come to terms with himself and his past. Outwardly, this is more of a crime novel that veers into alternate realms with great effect. I had great difficulty in putting this book down. Until I realised that I less than 100 pages left, at which point I became afraid to finish. I didn't want it to end, you see, and to me this is the greatest compliment I can give a book. This was a wonderful addition to the Talisman, and to the Dark Tower pantheon. It has whet my appetite for more of both. Hopefully the wait will not be too long.
Rating: 
Summary: Impressed....but....
Review: Why would Straub want to have anything to do with King's "DT" universe? I'm a little stunned at that. Oh...the book.... ...is very good. Style is much changed between "Talisman" and "Black House". First 80 pages or so of the book is narrated like a screen play, introducing you to the characters, places, events very much like a DePalma tracking shot. Flitting around on wings of a bird from place to place until we get to Jack Sawyer, the protagonist of the previous novel. Jack himself has changed a bit since we last saw him... For "DT" fans, this book is a treasure trove of Crimson King / Dark Tower references (hey, was Jack taking the Talisman from the Black Hotel the event that caused the destablization of the Dark Tower to begin with? hmmm....). For the uninitiated, it can be a bit tiring to hear about "the path of the beam", aballah's "Breakers", and other Dark Tower references without having context. It's almost as if most of the plot is invisible to you. Don't get me wrong - even without knowing a thing about the Dark Tower series and the 14-15 books that fall into the Dark Tower universe, you'll still have a heck of a time reading this novel. I'm just a little sketical at the pervasiveness of King's persistant universe, taking over pretty much all of his fiction... ...and now Straub's too? =)
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps a Bestseller
Review: As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I was thrilled to see how Stephen King and Peter Straub brought back Jack Sawyer, their youthful hero from THE TALISMAN, in BLACK HOUSE--a horror story packaged in a fantasy framed within a mystery. Jack is now in his thirties, and he's left the LAPD. He's living in western Wisconsin where a horror story is occurring. A serial killer is butchering children and dining on their bodies. Jack has no specific memories of the Territories (from THE TALISMAN), but we all know that King and Straub are too talented of professionals to let this poor fellow be. Jack finds himself roped into the investigation and haunted by wide-awake dreams and half-memories of the Territories. You can guess where this book is heading--straight to the top of the bestseller lists.
Rating: 
Summary: The Black House
Review: I can't remeber the last time I was so disappointed in a book. It is long winded and down right boring. The freakish float- around-and-look-at-everything style makes it very dificult to get into the story as does the constant introduction of characters that have no bearing on the plot. It is a waste of time and money and I considered it to be a very poor sequel to a great book, The Talisman.
Rating:
Summary: Thankee-sai
Review: Absolutely blew my mind. I knew that the Talisman was a precursor to the Dark Tower series (like an experiment, your toes slipping into the cool, dark water of the lake, before you plunge in to the depths). This is really an installment of the Dark Tower series - not revolving around Roland, although we do hear of him in passing - but this book answers many of our questions and introduces us to what I believe will be one of the key players in the upcoming showdown with the Crimson King: little Tyler. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him, or of Jack and Sophie for that matter. I bought this book yesterday when it was released, and read it almost completely in one sitting - I stayed up until 4:00 AM, and only went to bed because I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. In preparation for the release I reread the Talisman, finishing it on Thursday night. So I have only one little tiny exception to make: "When I was six, when Jacky was six..." Jack didn't begin migrating to the Territories (or the Daydreams, as he called them then) when he was six; he had already been there by that time. When Jack was six, he discovered that his father & ole Bloat knew about it. But this is not a story about the Territories anyway, this is about the Crimson King and the Dark Tower. Thank you, SK & PS for writing an incredible page-turner and taking my mind of the horrors of OUR world for a day. Sorry if this review is a little disjointed; I'm still reeling. But for those of you on the fence, BUY THIS BOOK! It will thrill you, terrify you and leave you gasping for more.
Rating:
Summary: Fully satisfying new piece of the Dark Tower tapestry
Review: This books is... intense, to say the least. The novel picks up some years later after Jack Sawyer has completed his quest, and is now a retired LAPD officer living in Wisconsin. There's plenty of description above so I'll go into the less mentioned, but more important details of the story. King finallys brings us into the world of the Dark Tower again, and taking off from "Low Men in Yellow Coats", from Hearts in Atlantis, we learn who and what the Breakers are, and some more of the mystery around the Crimson King is revealed to us. After being so wrapped up in the story of the last gunslinger and his quest, this has been the most highly anticipated book of the year for myself. My only regret was that I couldn't be more objective in this review. On a note, readers not familiar with the Dark Tower storyline, or who have not read The Talisman, may be a little lost initially, but will nonetheless find this a compelling read. For those fans like myself, who have gleaned small bits of the story from many of Kings books over the years, this is an essential read to bring you further.
Rating:
Summary: Hey, It's Good!
Review: Well, after "Dreamcatcher" I was a little concerned that perhaps my favorite author, Stephen King, may have "lost his touch," so to speak. I don't know if Mr. King has changed his writing style, or if it is the fact that he wrote this book with Mr. Straub, but this book is GOOD. If you enjoyed "The Talisman", you will devour this book. If you have not read "The Talisman" yet, please read it BEFORE you read "Black House" or you will be confused. Mr. King's new literary style that includes overblown, confusing narratives is sometimes evident in this book, but it seems that he, or Mr. Straub, have held back the flood of words enough that the clear narrative of this novel is not comprimised in a notable way. The imagery is fresh and exciting, with the descriptions of the feathers and the robin's eggs standing out as truly effective and striking. This book is scary, too; I had chills up and down my spine while reading it. The characters are very believable and I cared about them right away, and the setting is truly creative. "Wolf! Wolf!" read this book -- you will NOT be disappointed.
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