Black House

Rating:
Summary: Black House, a gripping and moving collaboration
Review: This book has had mixed reviews from other reviewers but I wonder why some people knocked it so bad. The only reason I gave the book 4 stars is because the beginning was slow and the ending seemed slightly underdeveloped. The rest of the book was incredibly suspenseful. While you don't need to read The Talisman in order to understand Black House, I found it helpful. King and Straub make numerous references to Jack Sawyer's previous adventures and the characters who helped him along. Jack flips less often to the Territories in this book; most of the story takes place in French Landing, Wisconsin. Jack, a retired police detective, has come out of retirement to help solve the case of a serial killer, dubbed The Fisherman. The fisherman's crimes are greusome and he remains elusive to the French Landing police department. King and Straub tie in characters and events from King's Dark Tower Series as well. We are left wondering if Jack Sawyer will make an appearance in the next Dark Tower installment. Overall, this book was well worth reading. I definitely recommend Black House.

Rating:
Summary: THIS is what a Stephen King book should be!
Review: Yes, I know, Peter Straub wrote it too, but I'm not familiar with his work (other than The Talisman), and Black House FEELS like such a King book that I completely forgot about Straub.

Things don't really get moving for a while in Black House, which may give some readers pause (as it did me), but hang in there. After a VERY long introduction section, in which basically every building and every resident of French Landing, Wisconsin, is visited, we finally meet up again with Jack Sawyer, hero of The Talisman, and things start to pick up.

This book has all the things that King's Dreamcatcher (which I hated hated HATED) did not, most important of which are characters who feel real, who are fully developed and interesting, who make you care about them, who MATTER. Even the Thunder Five, the bad-[guy] intellectual motorcycle gang, were appealing to me, though they definitely ride the border of being ridiculous. Henry, Jack's blind radio DJ friend, was an especially fascinating character. And Jack Sawyer -- it felt like meeting up with an old friend, even though I barely remembered him from The Talisman, which I haven't read again since it first came out.

I was thrilled and absorbed by the search for the missing child, Tyler Marshall. I was fascinated by Jack's interaction with Judy Marshall, the boy's mother. I was delighted by Jack's meeting with Sophie, in the Territories. I felt for Dale Gilbertson, the in-over-his-head police chief. I was sucked into the world that King (and, yes, Straub) created and, unlike some of King's 600+ page books, I didn't want it to end.

I do have some quibbles with the book. Like that LONG intro section, which I already mentioned. I also didn't like the conceit in which the author's voice speaks directly to the reader, and acts as a tour guide throughout the book, saying things such as, "...we float away and out of the ready room and back into the sky...", "...we do the sensible thing and float out into the lobby..." etc. It got old very fast, and it never stopped. Also, while it personally thrills me that King is tying some of his new books into the Dark Tower universe (Black House and Hearts in Atlantis), I can see how those readers who aren't fans of the Dark Tower would feel cheated. And finally -- the book lacks a certain "epic" quality. I feel there should have been more travel through the Territories, I feel the scope of the novel should have expanded much farther beyond French Landing than it did.

BUT -- I did love Black House. Not King's best, but definitely closer to the top than some of his other recent efforts. It felt great to find myself still awake at 3 AM, unable to put the book down and go to sleep without finding out what happens next, and then what happens after THAT, just like I used to do with King's books.

One last note: if you want to learn more about the "Little Sisters," the vampires of the other world, check out King's excellent Dark Tower story in the "Legends" anthology.

Rating:
Summary: Liked beginning and end, but middle was blah!
Review: I've been a King fan (on-and-off again) since I was in Jr. High and I've liked most of his books overall (but there were some bad ones). But my favorite book of all time from King was Talisman. That's why I was so eager to read Black House when it came out. Well, the beginning reeled me in, the middle dragged, but the end actually picked up and changed my overall feeling of the book. The part that kind of made me wanna just finish the book were some of the characters. They just seemed unbelievable, esp. the biker gang. Even Jack was overly revered throughout the book and made him appear flawless which we know he was not by those who read Talisman. I did like the Henry Leyden character though and Speedy whom I liked in Talisman. I also wish the Territories were used more in this book but it was only a bit here and there. As an overall review, I'd say it was okay but for those who loved Talisman as much as I did, don't expect the same for Black House. That's my humble opinion!

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: The cover of this book claims that it is written by Peter Straub and Stephen King. While I'm not that familiar with Mr. Straub's work it seems to me that this book belongs to Mr. King.

This story catches our hero from the Talisman, Jack Sawyer, living in French Landing, Wisconsin, during a crime wave caused by a serial killer called The Fisherman. Mr. Fisherman's crimes bear a pronounced similarity with those of Albert Fish, hence the nickname.

As you can probably guess, Sawyer manages to save the day while once again having bizarre and somewhat disturbing adventures into The Territories, or Faraway, as another character calls it.

This book ties in closely with King's Dark Tower Series and it is in fact another important chapter in that series. If you're not familiar with The Dark Tower Series you may get a little bit lost towards the end of this book.

I gave this book a lower rating because its kind of slow paced. It never really picks up until right at the end when Sawyer and company saves the day. It was entertaining, however, because of the Dark Tower references which makes me wonder even more, what was Straub's involvement with this? Did he check the spelling or name the characters? Who knows, but I would imagine that it would be easy to get lost in the shadow cast by Stephen King.

If you were to read this book for no other reason than the fact that it was written by Stephen King, you wouldn't be disappointed. While not his best book, it has substantial entertainment value. Really, what else can you expect from a book?

Rating:
Summary: Should be called "The Dark Tower, Book 4.5"
Review: Having never previously read "The Talisman", I decided to hold off on writing a review of "Black House" until I had read its prequel. Having now done so, it would appear that the two books share little other than their main character and the existence of the alternate universe known as the Territories. As a fan of King's Dark Tower series I appreciated "Black House" for its references to characters and storylines from that series, but I felt that this element overshadowed "Black House"'s relevance to the events and themes of "The Talisman".

(In fact, the Talisman itself isn't even referenced in "Black House", probably to avoid confusion with the Dark Tower since both are supposed to be the "axle upon which all worlds turn". One wonders whether Talisman and Tower are one and the same)

Of particular annoyance is the use of the first-person-plural POV ("We look into the room and see Bob. Bob doesn't look so happy, does he? Let's move on to Jim.") which then arbitrarily switches back to regular third-person POV. It can seriously disrupt the flow and pacing of the narrative. Other quibbles include the somewhat rushed and disjoint conclusion and the time spent on unnecessary development of incidental or minor characters.

In summation: this book works fairly well as a standalone part of the "Dark Tower" continuity, and on that basis I recommend it to fans of that series, but it's an incomplete sequel to "The Talisman".

Rating:
Summary: After the first hundred pages....
Review: ... it was a great read! I thorougly enjoyed the characterizations, and it completely got me anticipating the next Dark Tower book, for there were plenty of references to it in this story. But it was very far from the magical adventure that the Talisman was. The story being told in the present tense was also very difficult at first. I had figured that they were only using this tense for the prologue, but it continued throughout the book, and it was hard to digest in the beginning. But as the story progressed, I started to forget about it.

The ending was a bit of a bummer too, and I didn't feel like a lot of the questions I had were answered. I particularly remember in the Stephen King book the Tommyknockers, the main character in that book met up with who we all know is the teenage version of Jack Sawyer on Arcadia Beach. That Jack told how his mother was killed in a drunken car accident. In Black House, we learn that Lilly Sawyer succumbed to cancer- to for all you die hard King fans who have read both books, did you notice this incontinuity?

Other than this- I did very much enjoy the story as a seperate entity. I don't feel it is an apt sequel, for it doesn't really seem to connect. I had a hard time associating this adult Jack Sawyer with the young Jack of the first story. Nonetheless, I do recommend the book for die hard King fans, and for those who are greatly anticipating the next Dark Tower book!

Rating:
Summary: A seamless masterpiece
Review: Where does King leave off and Straub begin, or vice versa? This is an eloquent piece of work, a tale so chilling you might find yourself holding your breath in anticipation of the next horror. I read THE TALISMAN when it was published, but had forgotten the premise and even the main character. Not to worry. I still found this tale of slaughtered children and a form-changing sadist to be perfectly written, fully told, easy to follow and even better than expected. The authors are each at the top of their form.

For those of us who are DARK TOWER fans, we have the titillation of glimpsing perhaps the next in the series? (Please, please Mr. King).

Rating:
Summary: A definitely positive rebound from DREAMCATCHER
Review: After being disappointed with DREAMCATCHER, I was very, very hopeful that Stephen King's second collaboration with Peter Straub would be an enjoyable read. Thankfully, my hopes were fulfilled. While it isn't the best, BLACK HOUSE is a return to the things most King readers enjoy most - a good, spooky story, fully realized characters in whom the reader can believe, and a pace that makes the reader wonder how in the world they ever read the book so quickly.

Like many King readers (Constant Readers, as King himself likes to call us), I typically devour new books when they arrive, then return for a second, more savory reading at a later date. At this point, I've only accomplished the former, but I'm looking forward to the latter. BLACK HOUSE is a truly enjoyable read. Those who have read its predecessor, THE TALISMAN, will enjoy finding themselves wrapped up in the world of Jack Sawyer again, but even new readers should find that BLACK HOUSE isn't an insider's novel - elements from THE TALISMAN are brought into BLACK HOUSE in such a way that the reader understands what's happening even if this is their first King novel.

Jack Sawyer is one of King's most enjoyable characters, but in BLACK HOUSE he faces a dilemma that is new for King readers - a moral question that isn't simply good versus evil. Jack is intensely attracted to a married woman who holds the key to the mystery in this story, and his struggle with that attraction is one of the most wonderful elements of BLACK HOUSE. Henry Leyden, Jack's blind, immensely talented friend, is another character most readers will enjoy quite a lot. His humor, as King fans have come to expect, skates the very fine line between tastefully honest and downright vulgar, resulting in some truly funny moments. But Leyden is also a compassionate character as well, making us care about him and his relationship with Jack.

All said, this is good writing, especially since it is very difficult to tell where Straub or King is telling the tale. I've not read anything by Peter Straub, but being a King fan, I can definitely say that BLACK HOUSE is worth your while, regardless if this is your first encounter with Stephen King or if you are, like me, a Constant Reader.

Rating:
Summary: <arch>
Review: reading over some of these reviews, it seems apparent that several of these reviewers did a few things wrong in picking this book up. first, this is NOT the kind of horror novel that made Stephen King famous. It's somewhere between horror and fantasy. Second, some of these people seem to have absolutely no Dark Tower background, making much of the story incomprehensible to them. Do Not read this book if you don't have the background. it'll do nothing but confuse and anger you. Third, and worst of all, there seem to have been a few people who didn't even read The Talisman, making the reading of this book 110% pointless. Now, if you've got the background (the four Dark Tower books, The Talisman and Hearts in Atlantis), this book is worth three times what you'll pay for it. Once you get through the first 40-50 pages of the book (i will admit, the writing style gets a little tedious), it's full of great, believable characters, buttloads of suspense, a great story, and a few answers to some of those troubling Dark Tower questions. when i finished this book, i put it down with a sense of satisfaction i don't get very often from books. all in all, one of my 10 favorites of all time, and highly recommended. assuming you've got the background for it. otherwise, don't bother, and DON'T write one-star reviews, dragging down the overall.

Rating:
Summary: Too graphic for me...
Review: While I am a heavy-duty Stephen King fan, I was disappointed with this book. I just read The Talisman about 2 years ago and it was a good read even though it was a bit dry here and there. I was very excited to hear about The Black House as it is the long awaited sequel to The Talisman. This story is also a bit dry in a good many places (Stephen King should stick to writing alone - the stories are always better). However, as the mother of a young daughter, I was shocked and horrified at the graphic detail in which a murder scene of a child is described. I can handle pretty much any murder and mayhem King can dish out when it involves adults. If it does involve a child, I know King can get the point across without describing it in such detail. That's just plain disturbing. I was very disappointed. I expect more from Stephen King and he usually delivers.