Desperation

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Summary: Horror..... You've got to love it.
Review: Desperation and The Regulators were given to me as a christmas present a few years ago. I've re-read them both since then. Desperation is one of the darkest books I can ever remember reading, and I have read a lot of horror storys. Not for everyone, but definatley for me. Read it and love it.

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Summary: ONE OF KING'S BEST! A VERY PLEASANT SURPRISE!
Review: Having just slogged through "Bag Of Bones", my expectations for this book were pretty low. Basically, I was anticipating another seven hundred page turkey; my only real motive for reading it was making room on my bookshelf. Imagine my surprise to find it to be one of the best King novels I've ever read. At first, it looked like Jim Thompson-style noir. The villain, a six-foot seven small town Nevada psychotic cop, prowls U.S. 50, "the loneliest road in America", rounding up innocent motorists, kidnapping, imprisoning and killing them. So far, so good. The pure simplicity of such a storyline, especially in the hands of a master storyteller such as Steven King, can't fail to draw a reader in. The brute evil of Collie Entragian, the cop, combined with the isolation of the abandoned western mining town in which the story is set, creates a powerful, suspenseful conflict for the group of travellers Entragian has waylaid and locked up in the jail of the town of Desperation. But there's more. It soon becomes apparent that the supernatural is at work (what Steven King book would be complete without the supernatural?). Entragian speaks to the coyotes, buzzards, scorpions, spiders, snakes and other desert creatures in an unknown language, commanding them to help him carry out his nasty business. He has made good use of them so far, doing away with the entire population of Desperation, and will soon be turning his efforts against the travellers in his jail. For all of it's atmosphere and suspense, this novel is actually a return by King to the exploration of good versus evil, the nature of God and the mystery of faith which he delved into in "The Stand". David Carver, the protagonist, is an eleven year-old boy on vacation with his family when captured by Entragian. He must pit his recently acquired religious faith against the evil spirit of Tak, who has risen from the nearby Diablo mine and inhabited Collie Entragian's body. This faith is mercilessly tested throughout the story, and it's not always clear that God is with this unfortunate little group. If "Desperation" has a weakness, it's probably in the characters. In my opinion, King has never been much in that department and he doesn't show any new ability along those lines in this book. I cared about David and the other good guys only because the story itself grabbed me. However, if that's the worst you can say about a Steven King book, chances are you're talking about a good read. Believe it or not, this is some of the tightest seven hundred pages I can recall reading. I strongly recommend this book.

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Summary: Not King's Finest Hour
Review: Just finished reading Bag of Bones and Dead Zone and went right into Desperation. I'd have to say it was definitely the weakest of the three. It gets off to a great start -- really gripping and quite scary, but doesn't really live up to the bargain.

The whole thing takes place in a period of 12 hours or so, and with the limited time aspect, I felt the characters really suffered. How much character growth can you show in a 12-hour time period anyway? Only two characters even really had their past delved into in typical King style. Other than that, they were all kind of cardboard cut outs. Kind of unusual for King.

Don't read this next part if you plan on reading the book. Why didn't Tak just send all the thousands of creatures it controlled to kill all the survivors at the end? Oh, and instead of attacking the group at the end when he was in eagle form, why didn't he try to transfer his life force into one of the survivors? I don't know -- seems kinda sketchy.

Anyway, for a book of this length, Desparation seemed like it didn't have a lot to say. Now if you're looking for a good Steven King book, try Bag of Bones. I really thought that was one of his best ever. With the exception of the Mattie character being a little forced, too-good-to-be-true, and thus, a tad unbelievable, it was a real tour de force with great characterization and some really creepy stuff thrown into it.

But unless you're desperate, bypass Desperation.

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Summary: This Book is Awesome
Review: I agree with Wayne Leake. I love this boo

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Summary: A pleasant surprise, to say the least.
Review: I purchased this book, in paperback, at a local Wal-mart at about 12:45 am, after work. I don't know exactly what persuaded me to pick up King after a hiatus of a few years, but I'm glad I did. A few years ago, I stopped reading King for reasons personal to me. I must say, I was hooked, and genuinely frightened, within the first chapter. I read the book in less than a week, staying up until four, or sometimes five in the morning, reading until my eyes burned. I believe that King has matured quite a bit, and his use of Christian themes is very surprising. Read it, I promise you that you won't be disappointed. (Pet Sematary remains his most frightening, albeit disturbing novel, however)

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good, but not the best!
Review: This book was interesting to read. It kept me wanting to find out what will happen next. This book is recomended by me.

Rating:
Summary: KING AT HIS VERY BEST
Review: THIS IS KINGS BEST BOOK EVER,BAR NONE ,THERES NOTHING MORE TO SAY.JUST BUY IT.UNFORTUNATLY ITS ALL GONE WRONG SINCE.LETS HOPE THE NEXT DARK TOWER IS HIS SWAN SONG.

Rating:
Summary: King at his (Christian) Best
Review: I have always wanted to say, when asked what type of Christian I was, that I was similar to that of Stephen King and the Indigo Girs. King constantly engages with Christianity in ways that realistically explore our faith and times. He does not "sugar-coat" the fact that we as Christians live amid unreconcilables. Desperation, like The Stand before it, explores what faith truly means. King is dealing in Desperation with the question of how we can reconcile a God who loves us and yet allows us to suffer, many times without giving us clear reasons as to why. This strikes me as significant and important in ways that didactically "Christian" novels (such as, most notably, Frank Peretti) never get to the heart of in any way nearly as truly or richly as King.

Rating:
Summary: Ace and exciting
Review: The best book I think i've ever read by SK. Exciting and full of action and gore

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Summary: Despiration is a wickedly scary, and exciting.
Review: Despiration is a real page turner, a good verses evil book. The story is about an evil being that murders most of the people in a desert town on Highway 50, the lonliest highway in America. This towns name is suitable to what the main characters are expieriencing, Despiration. An extremely fast read that will keep you guessing...