Desperation

Rating:
Summary: I almost gave it one star ...
Review: And then I started reading The Regulators! What rubbish! Only by comparison does Desperation seem to have any worthy quality to it at all! The plot is drawn out and stagnant, and seems deliberately over-gross (a King trademark, I guess). And that title! Is it a new thing now to try so hard to mislead potential readers? I guess not; I did enjoy Salem's Lot after all. But this ... this ... ugh, just as well I give up hoping that King's more modern books aren't all the same kind of let's-feed-the-audience-some-left-over-ideas or just-for-the-heck-of-it-my-name-is-King-after-all second-rate story lines. Oh well, back to Cook and Grisham and Palmer and Cornwell and Koontz and .....

Rating:
Summary: Inspired and inspirational
Review: "Desperation" was my first Stephen King novel, and it completely converted me. The book is of perfect length for its content, and it simply oozes atmosphere. I'm slightly bemused by some of the poor reviews it has received, particularly criticisms of the characters. Ok, Billingsley and a few others are not developed very much, but who could fail to be enthralled by the spiritual journey undertaken by young David? The villain of the piece generates real fear and loathing, and the horror of what he has done can surely fail to affect only the most cynical of readers. Of all the books haunting images, the one that will remain with me the most is David taking his dead baby sister down off a hook. How can this sort of writing not touch people?

Rating:
Summary: Great book overall, although some parts could be improved
Review: This was one of those books that I had trouble putting down, that is, after I got past the first couple of chapters. There are some parts of the book that at times get a little slow, but King makes up for it by throwing in a whole lot of imagination and making the characters seem very real.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Excellent...Really
Review: Desperation is simply excellent, in every since of the overused, exhausted word. I found this novel extremely clever and genius. Every character is so vividly etched it makes it difficult to see them go through stuggles. I found myself trying to give them warning, encouragement, a cab outta there...anything that would help their plight! I have read several of King's books, but none have I endeared as much. The story of good and evil never grows dull, and Mr. King magificently proves it. Naturally, it carries an air of surrealness, but that is what makes it a King novel! Nonetheless, despite a few overused, and severely ugly depictions, Desperation manages to be a wonderful work. I plan to enjoy it all over again in a few years.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: From the first page down to the very last, was excellent. I usually don't read his books, but this one belongs up there with Misery, Salem's lot, and the Shining

Rating:
Summary: masterpeice
Review: this is my first stephen king book. before all i read were star wars books. star wars is fun but desperation is awesome. if you are a fan of stephen king read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book! I couldn't put it down. The characters were so realistic, I could picture each and every one of them as I was reading. I encourage anyone who is a King fan to read this book. You won't regret it!

Rating:
Summary: Boring and insipid!
Review: After reading this book I have to wonder what all the fuss is about Stephen King? This was my first King book and will probably be my last. I had often heard people talk about not being able to sleep at night after reading one of his yarns so I decided to sample one for myself. This book was just awful. I'm not sure how it got published. There was nothing likeable or intriguing about the main characters although the burned-out has-been writer was mildly interesting. I found the "monster" in this story to be more humorous than frightening. King also has a penchant for including many "fart" references as well as other scatalogical functions that I found juvenile. I only finished the book because I wondered what kind of loony ending he would come up with. Unfortunately it was sadly predictable. There was some left-wing paranoia reflected in this book about the "evil" embodiment being anti-liberal that didn't seem to fit. (what the hell was that all about?) And also some pseudo-quasi mystic humdrum about an ancient evil unleashed as a round about form of justice for destroying the environment as an underlying theme. As usual King reflects his ignorance about Judeo-Christian theology. Overall if this book merits 5 stars from his loyal readers as most have seem fit to give him then I plan on skipping his other works and go back to Grisham and Clancy.

Rating:
Summary: Not King's Best
Review: I am a huge Stephen King fan, but with Desperation, King slips up a bit. His best stories either are epics extendeing over a long period of time (The Stand), or character studies that track the changeing mindset of a character troughout one of his strange stories (Carrie, THe Shawshank Redemption) However, in Desperation, he makes the mistake of trying to do both. It has the duration of a character study (the whole story takes place in roughly 12 hours,) but it focuses more on plot than character, and thus it moves more like an epic. And an epic that spans 12 hours just isn't believable. For example, John Marinville's outlook on life does a complete flip-flop in a perios of minutes, which is much less believable than a town being overrun with possessed animals. Still, King's writing is as descriptive and magical as ever, and, although some of the characters are boring, most are still flashy, fresh, and extremely well written. If you're a King fan, Desperation is a must. If not, read Different Seasons or The Stand, two much better works.

Rating:
Summary: Desperation is Stephen Kings most horrifying accomplishment
Review: The book is terryfing and suspensful from the very beginning. The villian is very original and the characters are extremely realistic. This book is sure to keep on the edge of your seat and chill you to the bone. Stephen King proves himself the master of horror with this book.