Rating: 
Summary: Umm, I liked it but....
Review: Overall, Black House swept me in and kept me reading but I have a couple problems with it. For those who love The Talisman, the style of storytelling is quite different; King and Straub actually talk to the reader, which kind of hinders the book in places. I did like the book, but at far as a true sequel to the Talisman goes, I was disappointed. I enjoyed it not following the same formula as The Talisman and going a more eerie route. The characters in this book are more thought out than in the Talisman and more enjoyable, especially Henry the blind man, but I was especially disappointed that the climax was rather anti-climatic. Add in a bitter twist at the end and we are set up for another sequel. The Black Tower references were interesting but seemed to be incorporated for other reasons. Black House just seems like its purpose is to make people buy the Dark Tower books and wait for another sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: The DT information was good, but...
Review: the plot's a little thin, the writing style is very rambling and confusing, and it will make very little sense to someone who hasn't read the DT series or the Talisman. Also, I found Jack Sawyer to be extremely irritating. He's handsome, rich, good at everything he tries, everyone (with the exception of the "bad guys") are in awe of him through the entire book, and of course, he's one of the Best Cops Ever. Gag.
In case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty dissapointed. Both these authors are capable of much better.
Rating: 
Summary: MAJOR letdown.....
Review: It is hard for me to believe that any fans of the TALISMAN could
find anything to like in this 'Sequel.' So many missed opportunities....no sense of wonder, no time spent in the Territories, no interesting POV's from a villain to help sustain
interest (SO unlike the memorable evil of the first book).
It is obvious that Straub just let SK take the reins; why not,
this book will sell more copies than PS's last 5 books combined.
The "Dark Tower" stuff is mostly just silly, and I think it is
sad that this book was published at all....how could he NOT have
introduced Henry to the Territories...the only interesting character in the book (including JACK), and we don't even
get to see his extraordinary senses reaction to the Territories.
If King/Straub had written this 20 years ago, it would have been
a MUCH, MUCH better book. As it is written, it is completely
pointless and un-necessary.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: I just finished this book today and I loved it! I'm very into the Dark Tower series and I love how it ties in with that. (but why Straub went along with that I don't know) All in all, great book!
Rating:
Summary: Classic King/Straub - I LOVED THIS!
Review: I just read The Talisman this past summer... I've been a King fan for 25 years but always felt that the Dark Tower/multiverse stuff was not up my alley. Boy. Was I wrong. I have since devoured all Dark Tower stories, Eyes of the Dragon, The Talisman and now Black House. It's probably one of King's/Straub's very best. The opening narrative was a little rattling at first, but once I caught the cadence, I can't think of a better way to start the sketch which quickly becomes the most colorful, interesting, page-turning tapestry yet. Jack Sawyer as an adult is completely plausible, and what I liked most about this story is that the COPS, the law, the AUTHORITIES are right in the middle of the conflict. So often in horror or mystery stories, the authorities are seen as cynical disbelievers or bumblers and it's up to an intrepid gang of amateurs to solve the case. Not so here. Balancing a very real and very mortal serial killer with the dark forces of the Crimson King is brilliant. I think it ties in the Dark Tower worlds with ours beautifully. In short, this is going to be one of my top three favorite King novels and I highly recommend it to anyone. There are ghastly and repulsive passages dealing with the Fisherman, but beyond that, I found the novel absolutely impossible to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Shaky Construction for Black House
Review: There's a lot of positive things I can say about Black House, as well as some negatives. Overall, it's a fun, thrilling novel that feels a lot more like a Stephen King novel than a Peter Straub novel. I liked The Talisman better than this one, but I still found this story about the adult Jack Sawyer hunting down a serial killer to be highly enjoyable. Fans of King's The Dark Tower series will have a lot of questions answered that have been plaguing readers. Easily my favorite characters in this book have to be the members of the philosopher biker gang The Thunder Five, which I know sounds really goofy until you actually meet them. As for the bad stuff in this book--for such a long novel I have to say that the climax was pretty disappointing. It's full of the weird mystical mumbo jumbo that drives me crazy about so many otherwise terrific Stephen King novels (It, Desperation, etc.). Without ruining anything, let me say it involves magic baseball bats and rings that work like the one the superhero Green Lantern used. Also, considering all the buildup to it, as well as the fact that the novel takes its name from it, we see surprisingly little of the actual Black House. Watch for all the little allusions to other works by the two authors, including King's miniseries Rose Red (that hasn't even aired yet) and a nifty allusion to Straub's brilliant Ghost Story.
Rating:
Summary: A mixed blessing
Review: The Talisman is possibly my favorite book of all time... which is probably why I'm kinda disappointed with Black House.
I'm so glad that they didn't try to rewrite the first book, but Black House seems to come off as more of a teaser to Dark Tower V than a real sequel to The Talisman. Why re-use Jack Sawyer? There's no real reason to revisit this particular character... the epilogue to the Talisman says it all. The only difference between him and any other nondescript gunslinger-ish hero (like Ralph from Insomnia) is his ability to 'flip' between worlds, but what exactly does this skill add to the story? Besides a few deux ex machinas, not a whole lot.
That's my biggest problem with the novel: it's more or less a rather awkward way to try to tie in the Talisman with the Dark Tower series. The story does suffer because of this - especially the way it gets pretty predictable midway through. I let out an audable groan at the end of the book - I almost expected a big goofy "To Be Continued..."
If you're keeping up with the Dark Tower, this is a must-have book - it explains quite a bit, setting us up for the next chapter, and it's all written splendidly (I can give King and Straub props for the writing, at least, because they're truly masters of narration.) Casual readers will probably find this a little bit of a chore without all the previous readings. It sadly feels that they've sacrificed a little story for a lot of background.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible masterpiece
Review: This book is different, creative, and incdrible in every way. Right from the start we know it's going to be different; the voice the authors use reveals this before we're ever into the story. King and Straub work extremely well together and this book reveals their genius and shows WHY they are the best in the field. I predict both King and Straub will be read hundreds of years from now, as both can clearly tell a tale just as well as Dickens or Shakespeare, and few authors (if any) have accomplished what King has in their careers. The connections to King's Dark Tower saga (AN INCREDIBLE WORK, READ THEM ALL) are clever as well. BUY THIS BOOK NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO! Even if you have never read The Talisman, this book is INCREDIBLE and stands alone very easily.
Rating:
Summary: What is Evil?
Review: A fine examination of the nature of evil, and why it seems to congregate in certain places and in certain people. A sequel to the novel "The Talisman," this is a piece that relates to King's Dark Tower series, the Jupiter of his novels, connecting them - and corrupting them. Jack Sawyer is older, wiser, and his memories of the Teritories are coming back at the same time that a serial killer terrorizes western Wisconsin. This is a brilliant collaboration, weighted and uplifted by the two decades of experience that King and Straub have accumulated since "The Talisman." Sadly, Straub has not had the same popular success that King has in the States, but this book will hopefully alleviate that problem. King and Straub are both at the top of their games, with King continuing the level of brilliance he achieved in "Bag of Bones." Quite simply, a must read for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Stephen King used to be one of my favorite authors. What I liked best about his writing was his striking, true-to-life dialogue and his ability to make even the most peripheral characters fully fleshed and interesting. No matter how far fetched, terrifying or creepy the plot, it was always presented in an extremely "realistic" matter. I believed vampires could take over a small town after Salem's Lot, old cars made me anxious after I read Christine. When I look at a chronology of his best sellers, it's easy to see where the "realistic tone" of Stephen King's writing I adored began to be subverted by, well, I don't even know how to explain it. "It" was the last Stephen King book that I truely loved, he perfectly nailed the friendships of the young Losers and the writing appears effortless. The disappointment began with Tommyknockers, instead of the believability of the earlier books, I never felt like the tommyknockers themselves were explained well enough. While Needful things was just okay, Insomnia was the first Stephen King book I actively disliked. I hated the dream-like, trippy ending which was such a departure from the crisper, more realistic tones of his earlier novels. This trend was continued in Rose Madder, Desperation and the Regulators. I have pretty much liked each new book less and less. I disliked Dreamcatcher so much I returned it to the bookstore for a refund. While I think Black House is a better book than Dreamcatcher, I find it extremely precious and affected. The royal "we" of the narration, for example, becomes extremely tiresome. I also began to despise the "Kingisms" I used to appreciate, you know, the little terms like "bXitchrod." His wonderful ability to inhabit a character and speak in a natural voice for that person has disintegrated, everything feels forced to me. I'm also disappointed in Stephen King's treatment of the disabled. In Dreamcatcher, the mentally disabled boy was depicted in a nearly beautific light, in Black House, blind Henry is so cool and so hip as to be rendered cartoon-like. He plays to nearly every stereotype of the blind, since Henry can't see, his other senses are hightened to nearly superhuman levels! He doesn't NEED to see, heck, according to Henry, the blind can even drive. Perhaps I am too harsh, who am I to deny my former favorite author the chance to mature as a writer, to attain a new depth of vision and to strive for a greater lyricism? All I know is, I used to look forward to every new book and now I don't. -- Former #1 fan
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