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The Tommyknockers

The Tommyknockers

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tommyknockers? Better stay under the covers
Review: I peg King's late-80's spiral down from literary genius to tired hack with "The Dark Half", but there's a lot of people who think that dubious honor should go one book earier, to "The Tommyknockers". As you can imagine, I don't agree with them...I consider the latter a fine, if unconventional, Stephen King novel.

Here we have a rotten patina of radioactive green over the preceedings. Roberta Thompson is a notable writer of oat eater Westerns, living a secluded life in Haven, another expertly drawn small-town distopia in the best tradition of King's own Derry. Along with her faithful beagle Peter, she stumbles upon buried "treasure" in the form of a sleeping alien spacecraft, which begins the transformation of her and her fellow bumpkins into sinister technological geniuses. On the run from his own, much more terrestrial demons comes Jim Gardener, on-again off-again lover and psychological kin to Bobbi looking for somewhere to hole up. What he finds is his lover and her surroundings twisted into a strange wonderland of perpetual power supplies, hovering lawn tractors, voice-activated typewriters and toy plastic spark guns that really fry things (a la "Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" from "Skeleton Crew").

What we have here is King's version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", his take on alien invasion that makes the weirdest "X-Files" conspiracy seem positively level-headed. There is a distinct feeling of devolution throughout the story, even as the disembodied, fairy-tale-like space-faring Tommyknockers of the title influence the townspeople of Haven to concoct their Twilight Zoneish implements of mayhem and destruction. Two particular set-pieces stand out in my mind: the talking portrait of Jesus that goads a housewife into a little TV-fueled revenge, and every kid's nightmare about a magician's act that allows for a peek under the sheet at the horrid mechanations of true green magic working below.

Resonations of "IT" also spring to mind, both from the closeness of the two books' release dates, as well as the aura of two opposing forces pulling strings in the background to make these poor people danse macabre. "Tommyknockers" is an unrelentingly bleak read as you both roar and shamble zombie-like to the book's foregone conclusion, but it is also a facinating and ultimately unsettling one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good SK, but not my favorite
Review: After reading Insomnia, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones, I was jonesing for the next SK book to read. I picked up Tommyknockers. This book took me a while longer to read. I just couldn't get into the plot. All of the digging, and the high-tech machinery detail kindof curbed my interest. Not to mention the lack of likeable characters. Gardner was the most likeable, but I do not care to read about him again. The conclusion was entertaining. But, this is one of those that I may pass along rather than keep for my collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Title Given (in true lyrical_pistol fashion)
Review: Stephen King has done it for the 30-something-ith time. The Tommyknockers is not only one of my favorite Stephen King books--it's one of my favorite books. The first 100 pages are among the most boring things I've ever read, but once past that, I couldn't put it down. Stephen King took what I consider a boring and over-used premise (aliens) and turned it into a masterpiece. He is in the elite group of novelists who can do that.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Of what I've read, one of his pretty good ones.
Review: I really thought this was a pretty good book. I am a Stephen King fan, and this is a good one. I won't go on about how great it is, or how much better he could have done (I think thats for people who don't have good taste) But if you like supernatural, great exitement, I seriously reccomend this book to you. The suspense, action, and mystery starts early in the book, wich kept me reading until the wee hours. And whats more, you think there is absolutely no hope for a good ending as you get deeper into the book, so it's a real surprise (As with all of his stupendous novels) I personally loved it, and I hope you do too if you buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW! This book had me glued to the couch.
Review: Even though the story is really far fetched, this book is by far one of Mister King's best novels ever! I mean, finding a space ship in your back yard isn't a very common occurance so I was shocked to discover how entertained I was by this book. I couldn't put it down! Another masterpiece by Mister King.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I am a huge Stephen King fan, and believe me that I know what I'm talking about. Tommyknockers is one of the poorest stories I read by SK. Why? Well, it is too long, and its lenght does not make up to the mediocre plot. There is little action on those long pages, and when reading it it seems as if you are not going forward, but stuck on the story. I put two stars and not one (or cero) because there are some exciting moments, but very few for an 800 page novel. I do not recommend it at all.

But, still, mine is only a recommendation - with the credit of being a great King fan - that can be not agreed with. When I read a review, I pay attention to what it says, but I never make a decision on it. I don't expect people not to read Tommyknockers because I say I didn't like it. Everyone should read it so they can see if I am right, only after reading it people will be able to decide if I'm saying nonsense or not. I think most people won't like it either. This review has the only aim to help someone who is trying to decide what to read by King. This should be your 15th SK book, and by no means read it as your first SK book. Besides, it is hardly scary, some parts are if you pushed me, but I wouldn't agree much. For those looking for a scary book from "The master of horror", go first for 'SALEM'S LOT, THE DARK HALF, THE SHINING, BAG OF BONES, and for just GREAT stories, THE GREEN MILE, THE DEAD ZONE and oh... so many others!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Tommyknockers far exceeds the made-for-television movie.
Review: The Tommyknockers is worth all 747 pages of reading. Of the work of King's that I've read, it was easily the most enjoyable and terrifying. There's something about fashioning highly advanced technology out of household items that I just can't get enough of. --JM at maxpages.com/LINKCONNECTION

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A decent but boring book
Review: The Tommyknockers is a sci-fi/horror story that is filled with imagination, but it is far too lengthy and too slowly paced to be considered a good book. The reason that I gave it 3 stars was because the first 300 pages are very boring and slow-paced. But then, everything starts to come together for the fast paced next 300 pages. The books biggest weakness is the ending, which was very predictable. Because of this, I would not recommend this book to most people. If you are a Stephen King fan, then give it a shot, but be prepared to be somewhat disappointed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Redundantly King
Review: I love to read Stephen King novels and have most of them in my home library. Right away I found that this was not one of his better efforts. It is long and pedantic. The first 400 pages are very slow reading, a basis for the rest of the book. The end of the book is all right and there are some really gruesome ideas that could only brought to life by King's genius. The idea of UFO's has always captivated human-kind and this book uses that fear of the unknown as a psychological scare. Maybe King is right and this is what happens when you get a big flying saucer in your backyard. Lets hope we never have to find out.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Tommyknockers
Review: This has to be one of the best books I have ever Read, from the part where Gard is attacking the Nuclear Technician to where he is thrown out of the house-party. I just love Stephen King's graphic description of everything, he has a way with words alright...... One of my other favorite parts is where That lady (mind slip) was in the Clocktower/bell-tower and the bats attacked her and threw her down the steps and building exploded..... they also repaired it with a Hologram!

From the Storage-Space Altair-4 to the Excavation of the Space-Ship, This was the best book I have ever read!


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