Rating: 
Summary: WILL THE REAL SK PLEASE STAND UP
Review: Don't make me feel like I'm the only one - SK has begun a gradual slip from brilliance to recycled. No longer to do I anticipate the next book (Dark Tower series excluded), but I read it nonetheless, hoping that he's going to get it right again. This book tries (they all do I suppose) to recapture the glory days of The Talisman, and other earlier SK works of genius. For a lesser author(s) I wouldn't be as harsh and SK shouldn't shoulder all the blame, after all, it is a collaborative effort. My chief complaint seems to be what the other reviews found to be positive, and that's the flirtation with the Dark Tower. That series my friends is something to behold, his crowning achievement in my opinion. However, its usage in this story seems somehow contrived and forced. I hate to be cynical, but I couldn't escape the feeling that the monster story they wrote was weak and so as a last ditch effort they sprinkled some King literary franchise magic over the plot and voila!
Bottom Line: I'll eventually read everything that he writes - I'm a fan and will always be. The junkies will have already read this book, but if you're new to King I would suggest starting at the very beginning with Carrie and work forward. The journey has been amazing and so much fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Damn good
Review: It's a bit hard to comment on this novel. I read The Talisman at age 12, and it completely enchanted me. Of course I had to make a go for Black House the moment it was released. So what did I think of it? The 'floating camera' standpoint was original and different. While it took some getting used to, it certainly piqued my interest. It gave some interesting insights into the setting, the characters, and a foreboding sense of doom. Calm before the storm, indeed. The characters.
I had to get used to older Jack. Maybe because I identified so strongly with younger Jack (we were of an age when I read it), I had a hard time accepting him as a man in his thirties, first. Later on I began to adore him as the adult he was: friendly, loyal, a true friend to have.
Henry Leyden was brilliant, as were the Thunder Five. Beezer St Pierre was a damn cool guy, and what happened to Mouse is something you wouldnt wish on anyone.
Judy and Sophie were beautiful, both in their own right. Tyler was a brave kid, and I was rooting for him all the way.
The only negative points were that I missed Rational Richard Sloat a lot. Never thought I would, but I did. And Lily, of course. All that hassle with finding her that Talisman, and in the next book she's dead anyway. That was a bit of a disappointment. The plot.
OMG - this is a Dark Tower novel! The Tower junkie in me was building a party during this book. So many lovely details, insights, and answered questions. And yet so many more arose, of course.
The Fisherman was a good villain, or Mr Munshun, rather. He was creepy and scary and someone you sure as hell dont want to cross. A bit like zombies or vampires are creepy and scary. I pity his poor victims. :(
The ending was to my satisfaction; it resolved this particular plotthread of the Dark Tower, of the Fisherman, and in the end even with the Territories and Jack. So nothing but praise here! The writing style.
The style was definitely different from the Talisman. Where the Talisman seemed mostly written by King, with some Straub edits and influences, it seemed in Black House that King had set up the story and let Straub do most of the writing here. I dont know if that is the case, but it subtly changed the feeling of the story and disconnected Black House from The Talisman in my mind. In the end I give it a 4 out of 5 rating. Because it's still a damn good book. It was different than I expected, but in it's own right (I see it as a bridge between the Talisman and the Dark Tower), it's still a damn good novel and worth the read. A must-read, even.
Rating:
Summary: Not sure
Review: Well, this novel is certainly a Dark Tower novel. Although this book is written by both Stephen King and Peter Straub, it feels as if King is starting to wrap up his Dark Tower series ( maybe his career too ). This book is not a bad book, however, I didn't care for the narration of the story. It became irritating constantly hearing how we would take a ride from a bird or bug or whatever and spy on the action. The beginning of the book was difficult to get into. I felt certain that Peter Straub was the culprit. Then, I found out that the entire book was written the same way. Overall I'm very pleased with the book. I don't feel that it is the best King work. The book gave us much more information on what is happening with the Dark Tower. It seemed to tie several of King's books to his Dark Tower. I do feel that King is wrapping up his career. I'm starting to feel that when the Dark Tower ends, so will his career. By the way, it was neat to find out what Ted Brautigan was up to. Buy the book. It's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Tale
Review: I really enjoyed the Talisman, so I was excited to read this work. It is a bit difficult to jump right into (the first person plural omniscient point of view took a while for me to get used to), but once the story gets rolling it's hard to put it down. Jack Sawyer is back as a retired LA cop in a sleepy Wisconsin town, when for some reason or another children start disappearing and being eaten. Yet this is no ordinary detective gore thriller. Since Jack is our hero we have other worldly forces at work and worlds to visit. I think this work blends horror and gore perfectly with fantasy. I was most impressed with the revelation of some of the Dark Tower "secrets." There's a good section of a chapter (and allusions to it throughout) devoted to the tower and its world along with some mention of a certain gunslinger and his traveling crew. This section alone makes the novel worth reading for all Dark Tower fans, as well as an "epilogue" which alludes to some potential for Jack to assist Roland in the future...perhaps. I also believe that the "supporting cast" of this work is very strong. Henry Leyden is one of the greatest King characters of all time. The "Thunder Five" are also great characters. I do very much recommend this book, but just remember that it is by no means a pure fantasy tale. There are some intense scenes with gore upon gore (the villian is a child killer after all), so just keep that in mind.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Talisman, but solid
Review: This book is fine, but does not live up to the standard of the Talisman. I notice that many reviwers feel that there is some conflict with this and the Dark Tower series. Having never read those books, I was able to comfortably associate this and The Talisman, based on the desciptions and people in both. I was, however, left with a desire to learn more about Roland and the Dark Tower series, which I will read in the future. This story focuses more on present day USA, which is where it falls in comparison to The Talisman, whose strength lay in its descriptions of the alternate world called The Territories. Good book, but less mentally stimulating than its prequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Divers from The Talisman as Night from Day
Review: When Black House was released over here in Holland, it was simultaneously released with a re-issue, totally revised in translation, of The Talisman. The covers of the 2 books were very much alike, except for the white cover of The Talisman and the black Black House. Very appropriate, since they are like night and day to each other! The Talisman was a tale about a young boy, who has to make a huge and dangerous journey through another dimension, a different fantasy world, in order to save his mother. The whole novel was about creating this fascinating alternate world with it's strange characters and creatures. While reading the book, you came to realise that the real horror didn't came from the fantasy dimension, but from the world we too are a part of. Although it had elements of horror, it was mainly a fantasie story, mingled with real elements such as faith and courage. Now, Stephen King and Peter Straub came up with the sequel, which is completely different. Of course the boy has grown up into a real man and he has already discovered this other world. In order to make this story interesting, he had to reinvent the "teritoria". So the writers came up with the Hook-cliche: he has forgotten this world! This is why the story is mainly set within the "real" world, where a psychopath is murdering children. It makes this book a lot more like Stephen's previous novels; the serial killer thing is getting cliche, it's been done before. And that's why it just can't live up to it's predecessor. It's lacking the originality and creativeness of The Talisman. Fortunately, the idea of making the killer part of the real world and the other dimension is what gives it an interesting spin. Another great plus are the great characters. Especially the blind man is one of my favourites, and you really start to love and care for that man! Not only this man is described very well, you also care for the grown up version of Jack Sawyer (the only returning character from part I) But the main problem of the book is the ending. I'm not talking here about the epilogue, which is great, but the climax in the teritoria. It's trying very hard to satisfy all the fans of The Talisman, but unfortunately it's too much. That's when it gets a bit boring, although it's quite gruesome. Conclusion: I must say, the whole style of this book, giving it a more realistic approach with a fantasy element in it, is a lot more my style, so I enjoyed reading it more then The Talisman. But talking about quality, it's absolutely not as good as part I, because of the lack of creativeness and originality. However, the way it is written and the great characters are making it an enjoyable read nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY THE BEST
Review: I never thought that Stephen King could write anything better than his Green Mile. I thought it was the peak of his career. Well, how wrong I was. A combination of King and Straub proved to be unbeatable. The Black House takes the cake. This book is full of everything. Good story, very intense, excellent characters, great writing. What else would you want? I want more. I could not put it down and it was huge. Is this the largest book written by either of these guys? Unreal... There is no limit to their fantasy. I think they have the nuclear charged brains. I am not going to tell what the book is about. Even if I wanted, I could not. I am not King or Straub. I am only me and I cannot write or even conceive anything like that. The Black House moved both of these great writers very high on my list of great writers. Congratulations, Stephen and Peter for a very well done job.
Rating:
Summary: Letter from the Dear Constant Reader
Review: Dear Mr. King, I'm following your work from the first book you've published and it is awhile since I realized that you're actually just preparing to write one book - the book about your childhood. You almost skipped that part in autobiography On Writing and you were once almost there with Hearts in Atlantis - but you backed out (writing about the childhood of the hero in 3rd person and about his high school years in first?) Now you're loosing yourself in scattered parts of the Dark Tower and in the end it all comes down to freeing the suffering children out of dark jails bellow the ground like in this novel? I still haven't lost hope for THE book about your childhood but we're not getting any younger. So long live the King! Your dear constant reader
Rating:
Summary: Great follow-up to Talisman
Review: This book was terrific! Definitely read Talisman first, but you can still enjoy it if you don't. Awesome book.
Rating:
Summary: Black House
Review: It took a couple of chapters for me to get into the sequel to The Talisman. I couldn't understand the writing style at first, the omnicient narrator who guides the reader into every scene with "We" as if the reader could actually SEE the surroundings. After adjusting to this strange narration style, the imagery provided enough details that I felt I could actually SEE these characters and the town of French Landing. This book has a couple of nuances. Only a couple of nuances in almost 900 pages of writing is pretty good. If you're a fan of King's and a reader of the Dark Tower series, you should definitely read this novel. It is crucial to the DT series and a fabulous read for any King fan.
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