Gerald's Game

Rating:
Summary: Under a Woman's Skin
Review: King once again proves he is a genius at uncovering the human psyche. From a woman's point of view (almost as good as Rose Madder), Gerald's Game is a fascinating peek inside one woman's mind/soul.
Bravo again to King.

Rating:
Summary: A coup for King.
Review: Taking a break from universe-expanding fare like The Tommyknockers and Insomnia, King strips down to one key character in a static situation, and takes us into a horrific (but human) world of guilt, helplessness, and fear.

Don't let the kinky premise -- husband dies while his wife is handcuffed to the bed for sex games -- scare you off. It's really just a device to get our protagonist alone and helpless. Unlike your average hack writer, however, King has something in mind for this helpless female other than voyeurism and violent exploitation. King's going for more than tittilation and cheap scares. He's going for deep psychological terror and dread, not just presenting them but exploring the hows and the whys.

The most interesting parts of the book aren't the fingernail-biting scary parts, of which there are plenty. The most intriguing is when our main character is alone with her internal dialogue. King makes the female voice utterly convincing; a difficult trick for a male writer, especially one with such a distinctive voice of his own.

If your average horror novel is a bucket of popcorn, this one is a four-course meal. Dig in, if you have the stomach for it.

Rating:
Summary: couldn't finish
Review: This is the First Stephen King novel I didn't finish. I read a lot more than I wanted to, because I kept thinking it would get interesting instead it was long "drawn out" nothingness.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't Do It For Me
Review: Very disappointing. The story line was weak.
One of King's poorest.

Rating:
Summary: He does it again....
Review: WARNING: TINY "SPOILER" COMING UP. NOT MUCH OF ONE BUT I WANTED TO WARN FOR THOSE STICKLER'S OUT THERE.

At first I almost didn't read this book. It just didn't seem like the King that I like. Except I like ALL his books so I decided to go for it. It was a heart stopper and I loved it. I couldn't put it down in some parts.

One thing: and this gives a TINY bit of the story away so if you haven't read it yet you might not want to read this part:

Why didn't Joubert kill her? This was never explained. It seems totally weird that he would just lurk in the shadows and then just go away. Plot flaw!





Rating:
Summary: A handcuffed couple stays together or so they say
Review: What a story! Stephen King has the ability to amaze you from book to book and page to page. Who could have guessed the ending to this story? We have all been in a situation close to the main story line of this novel. From what was in the mind of our heroine to what was real was intermeshed to the point that everything was real. Then we come to the end. I had to set for ten minutes and relate to what I had just read in the past few days to thoughly understand my feelings. If you read another book be sure this is the one. Outstanding to say the least.

Rating:
Summary: Would Have Made a Better Short Story
Review: While playing a bondage game together, Jessie Burlingame's husband (Gerald) has a heart attack and dies--leaving Jessie handcuffed to the bed without a means of escape, in the middle of nowhere, Maine, with only the company of her memories (which primarily revolve around her being molested by her father), a hungry stray dog named Prince who makes a meal out her late husband, a bunch of unidentified voices in her head, and Death himself. As the hours and days pass with no sign of rescue, Jessie begins to contemplate which will find her first: death or madness?

I had started this book a couple years ago, then set it aside because it was rather dull. Luckily, I had left off just prior to Jessie's "ingenious" plot to escape her bonds and was able to finish the remaining 100 pages or so in a day and a half. As warning, though, don't eat while you're reading this part. I made that mistake and was a bit nauseated afterwards and found myself absentmindedly massaging my own right hand.

At times, "Gerald's Game" is quite gruesome and descriptive (particularly the climax)--as only King can do it--but it's also rather boring. I thought it would have made a better short story, rather than a 445-paged book. There's not a whole lot of action, mostly just Jessie's internal struggle with her past. From any other writer, I probably wouldn't have rated this story as high, but I really enjoy King's writing, and Jessie's creative ideas for freedom made this book a bit redeemable. It certainly makes the reader wonder what s/he would have done in the same situation and might even make them think twice about bondage games.

In summary: this is not the best Stephen King horror novel I've read so far, and I would only recommend this book to diehard King fans, particularly those who enjoyed "Dolores Claiborne", since there some similarities between the two books: incest, women's issues, interweaving characters, and the solar eclipse of 1963.