Desperation

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Summary: Desperation
Review: This has got to be the best book i've read in a long time. Stephen King delivers a surreal, terrifying envirorment and writes with so much details, it's hard not to get attached to the charecters. You've got to read 'Desperation'. It's horror with a moral

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Summary: Blah...
Review: I read this book about a year ago, and I still can't figure out the plot. My advice to you is to save your precious time and money. Even Judy Blume can write a better book.

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Summary: Excellent spiritual content.
Review: From the beginning to the end, this book had me on edge. The image of blood coming out of Collie Entragian, then Ellen Carver was very graphic and gross, but all was in accordance to Tak's demeanor. The history of the China Pit really brings the entire book to light because you go throughout the whole story wonders why Collie is as crazy as he is. Then you realize, it wasn't Collie, it was Tak

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Summary: A Refreshing New Book by the Master of Modern Horror...
Review: Desperation is an excellent tale of surreal horror, good and evil, blah, blah, blah... I found it to be an excellent, original read--not at all what the cover notes said it to be, though. I originally thought it to be about some abusive cop, etc...typical "psychological thriller" stuff. The only bad part about it was this slightly misleading overview on the cover. Fans of materialistic flesh and blood psychopathic killers type fare will be sorely disappointed. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY!! If you like tales of Good vs. Evil, read on and enjoy! Some sort of demon, named Tak, awakens in the Nevada desert and proceeds to do all sorts of wonderfully evil things. A handful of travellers and vacationists who happen by are apparently "called" to combat it. What follows is a tale of personal discovery, self-fulfillment, finding and holding onto belief in a greater good--overcoming desperation itself! It is good to see a battle of good and evil that involves more than the cliched "cowboy in the white hat vs. the cowboy in the black hat." I was especially pleased to find that God, as He was assumed to be the force of Good that brought the few together and guided them in their task, received such good treatment and PR! He gets pretty maltreated by authors and other artists and it's good to see Him get a break for once from the constant barrage of anti-religionism that is so prevalent in culture these days. The best part about that was that, even though the "guiding voice" was assumed to be the Prime Mover Himself, it could've been anything! It could have been the spirit of some regular person that could communicate with the world of the living and lend a hand; it could even have been each individual character's own "conscience" or "psyche" (or whatever passes for that nowadays) speaking as if it was a different voice because they are so out of touch with their own spirituality or something like that--it could've been LSD flashbacks for all I know! But King never once said that it WASN'T the voice of God, which is actually what I expected later on in the book. As I would expect from MOST modern authors. This was good. Anyway, before I get burned at the stake for being a God-fearing, Jesus-loving witch, I shall just say that King has proven that he can avoid jumping on the pop-culture bandwagon and DARE to write an original, exciting book, complete with a cameo appearance by God without bashing said deity. You go, King!!!

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Summary: This is bad
Review: I was really disappointed when i read this book. How could anyone call this trash a come-back to Mr.King puzzles me. Reading this makes me think King has a major problem with God and faith. If youre confused King keep it for yourself. And Tak isnt what id call a grade A bad guy

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Summary: Desperation - does well as a title and the author's motive.
Review: The first 2 chapters and vintage King. Stop there, and you won't be dissapointed. As far as the rest goes, I can sum it up in four simple words: repetitive, boring, predictable, and repetitive.

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Summary: They are all the same!
Review: Frankly,I've had enough of Stephen King. His story plots are all the same. Makes me wonder whether he is running out of ideas. I used to love his books, but now I must say that I have become completely bored of his stories. The worst of all the books I've read are Desperation and Regulators. Oh goodness! It is such a disappointment. Why write two books of exactly the same plot with the same characters? Geez, please Mr. King, be original

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Summary: Desperation vs. The Regulators
Review: I have not been a Stephen King fan for a long time. I loved his early books, particularly Salem's Lot and The Shining, but other books that followed (I admit I haven't read everything) were starting to get on my nerves, particularly the too often contrived, "clever," onomatopoeic wordplay dialogue. But then I picked up Desperation in the Airport last week to have something to read on vacation. Completely hooked from PAGE ONE! An absolute can't-put-down page turner. The characters are seductive and vividly drawn. Horror sets the pace right from the beginning with the bizarre Cop, Entragian. There was not a single boring page, nor did the story lag at any point in the narrative. I was left breathless and astounded, and very sad the book had ended. As I now begin the Regulators, I find I am confused by having the same cast of characters who appeared in Desperation, but who are older and younger and different than Desperation told me they were. I really shouldn't be judging this book yet (as I have only read about 1/3 of it so far), but I am troubled trying to correllate the characters in the two books. I keep hoping The Regulators will turn out to be a marvelous revelation that all makes sense in the end alongside Desperation. But frankly, I am so far bored to death. Too many characters thrown at you right from the beginning on this single block (Poplar Street), and difficulty keeping track of who IS who versus who WAS who in Desperation. Might it not have been better to create new characters for The Regulators? At least then I wouldn't be lost in a messy morass of comparison. But I am afraid that even with new characters in the Regulators, it would still be a pretty boring book. Saturday morning cartoon shows are not a source of horror for me. I think Richard Bachman is really reaching in this one. Is anyone else out there confused and disoriented?

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Summary: Not One Of My Favorites From King
Review: I've read everything King (and Bachman) have written. It's like a roller coaster ride. Up with The Stand and The Green Mile and down with Insomnia and Desperation. If you like otherworldly creepy crawlies and murky monsters, this book will probably appeal to you. I like my evil/horror in a more realistic package. I bought The Regulators when I was about halfway through Desperation. It's gone to the bottom of the reading pile. I'll get to it eventually, but I've got better things to read right now

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Summary: very good
Review: Jorma Knowles: "Desperation," by Stephen King, is a long and complex novel that changes point of views between the characters in every chapter and subchapter. There is a large (for a King novel) cast of characters (the very best of which is a fictional writer named Johnny Marinville, who is at first portrayed as a stuck-up jerk but who later turns into a very likable character; King was most likely using himself as a model for Marinville, who has the same amount of fame as King himself, although he does not write horror novels), and they are all fairly interesting. as the book opens, we are introduced to the main characters, one of which is killed in Part One, and the villain, a sort of evil God named Tak, who can enter and control human "vessels," the first of whom is a very overweight police officer for the town of Desperation named Collie Entragian. Next to Johnny Marinville, Entragian is the best character in the book. He is very funny (and at times hilarious; i promise you, you'll be laughing as you shudder in parts of this book) at the same time as he is evil and terrifying; in the first chapter, he mixes the words "i'm going to kill you" into the miranda rights he is reading to the Jackson's, a professor and his wife traveling through Nevada, where the book is placed. at another point, he sings and jovially "eenie meenie miney moe, catch a tourist by the toe" as he drives a mostly-doomed family into Desperation. the storyline, told simply, involves the cast of characters' escape from the jail cells in which Entragian (or Tak, I should say) has held them prisoner, and their attempts to find a way out of the town that has quickly become a hell for them. some of the characters (at least one tragically) are forced under the control of Tak and turn against their friends and family. One character, a young boy named David Carver, is cabable of talking mentally to God (who is almost one of the characters himself), who tells him what to do and aids the group in their escape. However, his real purposes are revealed later, and they turn out to be much more sinister, if not evil. (that is best described in the name of Part Four: "The China Pit: God Is Cruel") As the story draws toward it's climax, things get a little gory and a few unanswered questions are answered, namely concerning the rivalry between Tak and God. the ending is overall satisfying, but i was angered at the deaths of some of the best characters. (who i wont reveal to you; it would ruin your reading pleasure) Even so, the story is absolutely involving and will, at times, touch you. You should read this book for the intelligent storyline, the perfect pacing and continuum, the great characters, the high level of comedy, and the even higher level of suspense and horror. (although it is a little lean on that point) Overall, an entertaining and involving read