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Summary: Another King masterpiece
Review: This is, IMO, one of King's best novels. Great setting and characterization. I read it with a smile on my face. Just another one of King's masterpieces. Run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore or library and read this today!Word Ninja
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Summary: Needful Things
Review: With the ``Last Castle Rock Story'' King bids a magnificent farewell to the fictional Maine town where much of his previous work has been set. Of grand proportion, the novel ranks with King's best, in both plot and characterization. A new store, Needful Things, opens in town, and its proprietor, Leland Gaunt, offers seemingly unbeatable (read: Faustian) bargains to Castle Rock's troubled citizens. Among them are Polly Chalmers, lonely seamstress whose arthritis is only one of the physical and psychic pains she must bear; Brian Rusk, the 11-year-old boy whose mother is not precisely attentive; and Alan Pangborn, the new sheriff whose wife and son have recently died. These are only three of the half-dozen or so brilliantly drawn people met in the novel's one-month time span. As the dreams of each strikingly memorable character, major and minor, inexorably turn to nightmare, individuals and soon the community are overwhelmed, while the precise nature of Gaunt's evil thrillingly stays just out of focus. King, like Leland Gaunt, knows just what his customers want. 1.5 million first printing; BOMC main selection.
Rating: 
Summary: Thrilling Read.
Review: I had always assumed that Stephen King wrote only horror books... I guess I was wrong. Right from the beginning I liked this book. You meet a man named Leland Gaunt. Somehow, he can provide for you the things you've always wanted. However, there's always a small price to pay. Not everything is as it seems. It may not be a horror book, but it's still really good.
The only downside to this book was that there are so many different characters that it's hard to keep them all straight.
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Summary: where did all those pages go?
Review: This is another very very enjoyable book from Stephen King, master of the sprawling apocalyptic horror novel painted on ridiculously large canvas. This novel is no different. t's a many-paged volume that you might at first blak at reading, but rest assured, all those pages whizz by in a flash. Several things aid this (aside form a fast-paced and exciting plot): an easy writing style, lots of characters, all fully formed, who are always freshening up the material because it means that there is always something different going on. The relatively short sections of the book encourage the reader to read more. And the fact that the book is just plain engrossing. The characters are all very real, very human. (Unfortunately, the one flaw in King's books is that most of the characters in all his books remind me of many that have appeared before, just with different names. His characters remain basically the same. But, with always using such a large cast, this cant exactly be avoided.) Many of them are not always likeable (but still they remian painfully human) and because we dont always like them, i suppose that makes the ending a bit easier to cope with. However, there are a couple of really likeable characters ti balance it out. This, while being an excellent, rather creepy, book, is also a bit depressing, though. So, if you're not feeling well-disposed in your attititudes toward humanity at any point, that is not the time to read this book!
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Summary: Needful Things is Needful of sequel
Review: This was the second ever Stephen King book I read next to "The girl who loved Tom Gordon" which in my opinion was pretty lame. I read this book in about 5 weeks ( I was on Holiday) and found this book absolutely compelling. The portrayl of so many characters makes the book easier to get a feel of a small town being taken over by some trickster who sells things at fatal prices. If you stuck for a book to read, read this- It doesnt take as long as it look
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Summary: Sensational
Review: King here delivers one of his best novels to date, and that means that this novel is way better than most of the fiction on the shelves today. I am a fan of Stephen King but had taken a break from him; not because I was tired of him but because I needed to relax after his intense plots, remarkable characters, and superior writing. When I decided to get back in Stephen King's writing I started with this book, "Needful Things." I was astonished by how complex the plot was, with literally about ten to fifteen characters, and how King kept it moving quickly making you turning pages and pages, and before you know it you'll be done with this humongous novel that is epic in scope. Welcome to Castle Rock, Maine, Stephen King's fictitious town which has held many previous King novels. The book opens up with a prologue type of chapter that describes the town and the people in it. King's vivid imagination is put to use here as he describes many of the characters that will be met later on in the book. Then there is a sign on a store that will be opening soon. The store is called Needful Things. The residents of Castle Rock are all wondering what the store will be like and for the first few pages we understand the characters thoughts about the store. Leland Gaunt is the owner of the store and he sells whatever the customer desires. Whether it is a baseball card, a picture, or an antique. Gaunt charges a small price for everything, but the customers must do a command that is assigned to them. Mr. Gaunt has a whole plan up his sleeve, one that can capture all of the souls of Castle Rock for himself... One of the best aspects about the novel are the characters. There really isn't one main character as King switches to the stories of many of Castle Rock's residents revolving around what is going on with Needful Things. Because of this the reader isn't stuck with only one viewpoint. We get to see enemies' thoughts through both eyes, which makes the reader have to choose between right and wrong. The reader isn't stuck with the author's take on the scene; that's up to you. Leland Gaunt is the perfect multi-dimensional villain. At times he may seem as the good guy who is trying to help everybody, but then he'll seem like the bad guy that is out to hurt everybody else. In addition to this villain every other character in this book is three dimensional, such as Sherrif Alan Pangborn, Polly, Nettie, Brian Rusk, Ace, and many others that are worth reading about. To put it simply, Stephen King is a genius when it comes to writing a well crafted novel. This book contains everything that makes a book great. He includes character development, plot development, description, and wonderful writing. This novel flows very quickly and despite its length you will have this superb novel completed in no time. I guarantee you that it will be nearly impossible to put this book down. "Needful Things" works as a thriller or as a novel involving the paranormal. King makes the novel very realistic. This is a work of genius. Read it. Happy Reading!
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Summary: A really good read!
Review: This book kept me interested for all 700 pages. I must say there were a lot characters which kept it a tiny bit hard to keep track. Yet, I've read about 12 other novels of King's and this is up there on the list. I thought some parts would be drawn out considering the length of the book but this did not happen. I must admit that I did not find this novel scary and up at night because of it, but it did have some suspenseful scenes. If you like King definetly read this and if you haven't read any of his works then start with this. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because there a few other of King's works that I enjoyed more, but this was definetly good.
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Summary: Solid and well-paced--King at his then-best
Review: All things considered, I think that you'd have to say that, at the time this book was first published, this was the best that Stephen King had ever written, bar none. Undoubtedly, the novel still stands out for its pacing, clarity, and remarkable lack of bloat (I'm a fan and I have to admit that some of his books have been a little longer than they needed to), and it's those qualities that best recommend it to prospective readers. There's a lot of good in this book, and any casual reader ought to enjoy it. However, the book also suffers from a few problems that might bother some readers. First, the obvious--we are talking about Stephen King, and that means that you're going to have some severe language, occasional violence, and sexuality. Very few of King's books have actually succeeded in avoiding those qualities, and while this one isn't the prime violator, it still might not be such a great idea to let your thirteen year old child grab this book off the shelf before you've screened it. More fundamentally, there are some elements of this book that could potentially frustrate tried and true King fans. One of the most recent criticisms leveled against Steve goes something like this: he's letting his lazily developing series (the Dark Tower books) dominate everything that he writes. That is most definitely true of this book. Those who have some passing familiarity with Roland and his journey will recognize some literary Easter eggs in the novel's conclusion, and the cosmology that Stephen King alludes to is most definitely that of the Dark Tower series. This wasn't a problem for me--I happen to like the Dark Tower books--but it could be a problem for readers who'd just as well have nothing to do with it. As usual, what King has managed to do in this book is take a story older than the combined age of all his many readers and turn it into something new and entertaining, though, and for that he should be praised. The characters in this novel (particularly Alan Pangborn, who I myself doubted could fill George Bannerman's big shoes), while certainly not deep (one of King's faults is the fact that his characters almost invariably end up defining themselves on the basis of one or two idiosyncratic traits) are endearing, and any reader of Needful Things will likely find himself remembering Alan, Polly, and Leland after he finishes the book. The usual King touch for detail is also intact--a fact which combines with his casual and neighborly voice to make this book a very easy one to read. While Needful Things may not measure up to the bar set by later entries in King's catalog (Desperation comes to mind, along with Hearts in Atlantis), the book, taken on its own merits, is an enjoyable last romp through a familiar setting made new, and while it probably won't challenge you to rethink your world view, it should be more than adequate to the task of entertaining a reader for more than a few hours.
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Summary: The Price is Right
Review: This bad boy is currently running neck-and-neck with "Salem's Lot" in the "My Favorite Stephen King Book" sweepstakes -- it's miles ahead of more well-known-but-not-nearly-as-fully-realised works like "The Shining" (which was actually kind of boring) or "Pet Sematary" (lame-o ending). Check it out, and don't worry about saving your receipt -- this is one purchase you won't regret....
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Summary: Favourite King
Review: I realise that there are better King novels out there - probably his earlier stuff - but his is by far and away my favorite. I will admit that the film with Ed Harris and Max von Sydow has influenced further my favoritism but this has everything. It draws on the inherent jealousy and envy within human nature, the desire for petty revenge that quickly spirals out of control and the religious animosity and human greed in the face of vanity. The devil raging through a small US town almost as an afterthought after newspaper clippings show far greater deeds, is excellently told. There is no ghoulishness or dripping blood at every turn, rather the fear and chills are generated through sheer human spite and maliciousness. Inevitably, this supernatural manipulation of human failings provides pathos, humor and lurching moments of genuine surprise. The characters are excellently drawn, from the small town sheriff with his arthritic girlfriend to the pitiably crazed 'Buster' and the fanatical religious leaders, the devil's subtle rampage through this small-town is excellently done by Stephen King. A must-read in the genre.
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